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+++ Boeing rolls-out EA-18G Growler +++ Air Forces fly 10,000 Typhoon hours +++ Boeing 737-900ER rolls out +++ OHB reaches new heights +++ Ariane 5 ECA orbits JCSAT-10 and Syracuse 3B +++ News in brief +++
Boeing rolls-out EA-18G Growler
Neues Störflugzeug vorgestellt
Boeing Company rolled out the U.S. armed forces' newest airborne electronic attack aircraft, the EA-18G Growler, on time and within budget. Boeing presented the aircraft to a crowd of more than 750 U.S. Navy customers, industry partners and Boeing employees during a ceremony at its Integrated Defense Systems facilities in St. Louis. U.S. Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, Chief of Naval Operations and guest speaker at the ceremony, said, "The Growler is a model of what a strong strategic relationship between the Navy and industry can do. It represents acquisition excellence at its finest. This program has saved billions of dollars with an innovative approach. "It is clear that the demand for electronic warfare is not only going to remain high, but is going to grow," the admiral said during his remarks. "The Growler was designed and built to answer that call. Its speed, range and robust self-defense systems will serve as force multipliers for naval aviation and greatly strengthen the entire joint force."
A derivative of the combat-proven, two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet, the EA-18G's highly flexible design enables warfighters to perform an array of airborne electronic attack (AEA) missions, operating from either the deck of an aircraft carrier or land-based fields. The EA-18G integrates the capabilities of the most advanced AEA system, designed and produced by the Northrop Grumman Corporation, which recently completed tests on the EA-6B, with the advanced weapons, sensors and communications systems found on the Super Hornet. The U.S. Navy selected the EA-18G to replace the current AEA platform, the EA-6B Prowler, which has been in service since 1971. Boeing received the EA-18G Systems Development and Demonstration phase contract on Dec. 29, 2003. The aircraft's first flight is planned for later this month, several weeks ahead of the originally scheduled date. EA-18G flight testing will take place at the Navy's Patuxent River, Md. and China Lake, Calif., test sites through 2008. The Growler will join the Navy's aircraft fleet in 2009. Capt. Donald "BD" Gaddis, F/A-18 program manager for the U.S. Navy, praised the development program, saying, "We're providing the warfighters of today something they can't even imagine. We're going to deliver a product that is truly going to transform the way we fight."
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Air Forces fly 10,000 Typhoon hours
Eurofighter erreicht 10000 Flugstunden
The Eurofighter Typhoon fleet in the four partner air forces of Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom has surpassed the 10,000 flying hours in July 2006. Together with 4.550 flying hours of the test aircraft, the Eurofighter Typhoon fleet is approaching the 15,000 flying hours mark rapidly. Aloysius Rauen, CEO Eurofighter GmbH comments: "The four national Eurofighter consortium has delivered over 90 aircraft to date. Seven units are flying the aircraft and Eurofighter Typhoon is set to take on more operational tasks in the near future. Italy protects its air space with armed Eurofighters since end 2005. Only recently the German Air Force started operations with their second Eurofighter wing, the Royal Air Force operates Eurofighter Typhoon in major aerial exercises and the Spanish Air Force is set to inaugurate their first operational Eurofighter Typhoon unit soon. In the meantime discussions with our customer on further enhancing the multi-role capabilities of Eurofighter Typhoon - as originally planned with the Tranche 2 contract by introducing new air-to-air and stand-off weapons - are progressing. This enhancement is urgently required by all partner air forces. The recent contract signature for the integration of a Laser Designator Pod to the Royal Air Force's Tranche 1 aircraft is a significant step on this route."
Meanwhile, QinetiQ has signed a contract with the UK Defence Procurement Agency, worth up to £52.5M over the next three years, to continue support for the Typhoon programme. The package includes £50M for defined technical support, advice and safety clearance activity, together with £2.5M allocated to sub-contracts and future emergent work. QinetiQ has played a central role in the evolution of the Eurofighter Typhoon since its conception almost 20 years ago and over the past five years QinetiQs activities have been focused under a single integrated support contract. This new contract continues much of the activity done to date, with the introduction of some new customer required tasks.
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Boeing 737-900ER rolls out
Neue Version der 737 vorgestellt
On 8 August, Boeing unveiled the new 737-900ER (Extended Range) airplane before thousands of employees and guests at the company's Renton, Wash., manufacturing facility. Indonesian dancers escorted the newest member of the Next-Generation 737 airplane family along the south shores of Lake Washington as employees and 737 supplier representatives, local and Indonesian government officials and Indonesian launch customer, Lion Air, looked on. Boeing launched the 737-900ER in July 2005 when Jakarta-based Lion Air announced an order for 30 737-900ERs. Lion Air also exercised purchase rights for 30 additional 737-900ERs in June 2006. In addition to Lion Air, the 737-900ER has been ordered by Continental Airlines, GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) and Sky Airlines. Futura International Airways and Excel Airways will begin operating 737-900ERs on lease from GECAS in 2008. The first 737-900ER will be delivered to Lion Air in the first half of 2007, following a five-month flight test program.
The 737-900ER is the same size as the 737-900, but can carry 26 additional passengers in a one-class configuration. At 138 ft., 2 in. long, the twin-engine jet incorporates a new pair of exit doors and a flat rear-pressure bulkhead that allows a maximum capacity of 215 passengers in a single-class layout. Aerodynamic and structural design changes, including strengthened wings, a two-position tailskid, enhancements to the leading and trailing-edge flap systems, and optional Blended Winglets and auxiliary fuel tanks, will allow the 737-900ER to accommodate higher takeoff weights and increase its range to 3,200 nautical miles (5,900 km). The 737-900ER will have substantial economic advantages over competing models including 9 percent lower operating costs per trip and 7 percent lower operating costs per seat than the A321 -- which is more than 10,000 pounds (4,536 kg) heavier. The 737-900ER joins the 737-600, -700 and -800 airplanes and will share the same industry-leading reliability of the other Next-Generation 737 series models. The Next-Generation 737s are 10 years newer and fly higher, faster and farther than competing models. To date, 99 customers have placed orders for more than 3,300 Next-Generation 737s.
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OHB reaches new heights
Starke Umsatzsteigerung bei OHB
The OHB Technology AG Group took also benefit in the second quarter 2006 from the successful acquisition and integration of MT Aerospace AG. Order books, total revenues and earnings in the Group are entering new dimensions. OHB Group's total revenues came to EUR 85.5 million in the first six months of the year, substantially exceeding the previous year's figure (EUR 33.0 million), which does not include MT Aerospace AG. Deserving of special mention is the increase in total revenues in the second quarter of 2006 to EUR 48.6 million (previous year: EUR 18.3 million excluding MT Aerospace), up from EUR 36.9 million in the first quarter. Due to income of EUR 7.0 million through the takeover of a non-Group liability of an OHB Technology AG subsidiary, all earnings levels improved significantly.
In the first six months of 2006, the Group including MT Aerospace generated EBITDA of EUR 15.6 million (previous year: EUR 4.7 million) and EBIT of EUR 12.0 million (previous year: EUR 3.0 million). The net income for the period of EUR 6.8 million exceeds the year-ago figure of EUR 2.3 million substantially and translates into earnings per share for the first half of 2006 of EUR 0.46, up from EUR 0.16 in the first half of 2005. The year-on-year twofold increase of around EUR 37.0 million in cash and cash equivalents to EUR 73.0 million at the Group level as of June 30, 2006 is essentially due to the integration of MT Aerospace AG.
Firm orders were valued at EUR 440.0 million as of June 30, 2006, with the orders of EUR 317.0 million held by MT Aerospace making a key contribution after consolidation. OHB Technology AG's like-for-like order backlog as of June 30, 2006 based on the previous year's corporate structure came to EUR 123.0 million and was also up on the previous year (EUR 111.4 million).
This year, the Management Board expects the OHB Group including MT Aerospace AG to post consolidated total revenues of around EUR 175 million, with all business units making higher topline contributions compared with 2005. Due to income of EUR 7.0 million through the takeover of a non-Group liability of an OHB Technology AG subsidiary, EBIT for the full year 2006 will be higher than the EUR 13-14 million previously expected.
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Ariane 5 ECA orbits JCSAT-10 and Syracuse 3B
Erfolgreicher Ariane-5-Start
On Friday evening, August 11, Arianespace placed two satellites into geostationary transfer orbit: the JCSAT-10 communications satellite for Japanese operator JSAT Corporation, and the Syracuse 3B military communications satellite for the French Ministry of Defense. The launch was the 28th mission for Ariane 5 and the 14th successful launch in a row, further proof that Arianespace sets the global standard for launch services, meeting the needs of operators around the world. Arianespace enjoys a long-standing relationship of mutual trust with JSAT Corporation, the leading private telecom operator in Japan, reaching back to March 1989. JCSAT-10 is the sixth JSAT Corp. satellite to be contracted to Arianespace following JCSAT-1 in March 1989, JCSAT-5 in December 1997, N-SAT-110 in October 2000, JCSAT-8 in March 2002 and JCSAT-9 last April. Arianespace has won 23 of the 32 commercial satellite launch contracts awarded in Japan.
Syracuse 3B is the 27th military payload entrusted to the European launcher. After launching Helios IIA in December 2004, Syracuse 3A in October 2005 and Spainsat in March 2006, Ariane 5 once again demonstrates its ability to handle a broad variety of missions, in particular government launches in support of European defense.
The mission was carried out by an Ariane 5 ECA launcher from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Liftoff was on Friday, August 11, at 7:15 p.m. local time in Kourou (6:15 p.m. in Washington, D.C., 22:15 GMT, and on Saturday, August 12 at 12:15 a.m. in Paris and 7:15 a.m. in Tokyo).
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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN
Cinven Ltd announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Avio, the leading Italian aeropropulsion company, from The Carlyle Group and Finmeccanica - Società per Azioni for an Enterprise Value of 2.57 billion euros. Avio is a world leading designer, manufacturer and servicer of subsystems and components for military (Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter) and commercial jet engines and a key Tier 1 partner to OEMs such as General Electric, Rolls Royce and Pratt & Whitney. Avio's Space Business Unit produces propulsion systems for space launch vehicles and missile applications and, together with its joint venture partners, Avio is the sole supplier to the European space programme (including the Ariane programme) of complete solid rocket motors for space launchers. Avio is present in Italy and abroad in 16 locations and has over 4,800 employees. In 2006, the Company is forecasting sales of 1,395 million euros and an EBITDA of 275 million euros. As part of the transaction, Finmeccanica has agreed to reinvest in the Company alongside Cinven. The transaction is expected to close in October 2006 and is subject to the approval of the relevant competition authorities. Saverio Strati, CEO of Avio, said: "Avio is in a great competitive position to exploit the opportunities arising from the sustained growth of the global aviation industry. The management team looks forward to working together with Cinven and Finmeccanica to deliver our plans". The acquisition will be funded through a combination of equity from Cinven and Finmeccanica and debt provided by Banca Intesa, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Unicredit.
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Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for Phase III of the Counter-Man Portable Air Defense System (Counter-MANPADS) program. During the Phase III contract, which is valued at $55.4 million, Northrop Grumman will complete production of 12 Guardian missile defensive systems, modification of 11 MD-10 aircraft and operation of the Guardian systems onboard nine MD-10 cargo aircraft flying in regular commercial service. The Guardian system is a defensive aid utilizing proven military technology to defend against the threat posed by anti-aircraft, shoulder-fired missiles. Once launched, the missile is detected by the Guardian system which then directs a non-visible, eye-safe laser to the seeker head of the incoming missile, disrupting its guidance signals. To date, Northrop Grumman has completed a 16-month flight test program in commercial operational environments that included the use of a ground-based electronic missile surrogate to simulate the launch of a shoulder-fired missile toward aircraft during takeoff and landing. The tests were performed on both an MD-11 and a 747 aircraft. In each test, the Guardian system functioned flawlessly, automatically detecting the simulated launch and mock missile. Had the threats been real, an invisible laser beam harmful to the missile but safe to humans, aircraft and the environment would have defeated the threat.
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MetOp, the first in the new European series of operational meteorological satellites in polar orbit, is now scheduled for launch on 7 October 2006. The new date was established last week following various planning meetings between the partners (ESA, EUMETSAT, CNES, NOAA) and Starsem, the launcher company.MetOp's planned launch from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on a Soyuz/ST launcher, originally planned for 17 July, had to be called off after three consecutive attempts due to technical reasons related to the Soyuz's ground system.
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The business model of Luebeck Airport has begun to sway. On behalf of all members of the Federation of German Airlines (BDF) Air Berlin took legal action against the subsidies paid by Luebeck Airport to the Irish company Ryanair. According to the written reasons for the judgement, the First Chamber for Trade Disputes at the District Court of Kiel has decided that the remuneration regulations of Luebeck Airport are "unreasonable" and therefore "not binding" for Air Berlin. The court further decided that the airport has to disclose all preferential terms which have been given to Ryanair so far. Air Berlin had to stop its flights from Hamburg to London due to them being uneconomic as a result of Ryanair having been able to offer connections from Luebeck to London at dumping prices, due to the subsidies paid by the airport. At first the airport company had rejected the right to bring a suit in principle. "This judgement is of fundamental importance. For the first time, a German court has ruled that an airline is entitled to a declaratory judgement even if this airline does not regularly fly to the airport in question but operates from a nearby airport", BDF-Manageress Dr. Tanja Wielgoss explained.
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Cathay Pacific Airways announced it will recruit its first ever United States-based cabin crew this summer. Based in San Francisco, North American headquarters for Cathay Pacific, the new cabin crew will support direct service between the city and Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific will recruit for approximately 180 new positions, including a base manager, base office administration staff, and flight attendants. For the cabin crew positions, fluency in English as well as one Asian language, including Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Vietnamese or Tagalog, is one prerequisite.
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Embraer announces that at a meeting its Board of Directors appointed Frederico Fleury Curado to succeed Mauricio Botelho as President and CEO of Embraer, to be elected in April 2007, in accordance to a previously defined and publicly announced schedule. After that date, Mauricio Botelho will remain as Chairman of Embraer's Board of Directors, a position he has held since last March 31, with a three- year mandate up to April 2009. Frederico Fleury Curado, 45, was born in Rio de Janeiro and received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Brazil's Aeronautics Technological Institute (Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica - ITA). In addition, he received a postgraduate degree in Foreign Trade at the Getulio Vargas Foundation (Fundacao Getulio Vargas - FGV) and has completed the International Executive MBA program at the Sao Paulo University (Universidade de Sao Paulo - USP).
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Raytheon has delivered its 500th Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM). Final assembly and testing of the missile occurred at Raytheon's all-up-round facility in Camden, Ark. "ESSM provides effective and affordable fleet defense for the U.S. Navy and our allies around the world," said Brent Holtzen, Raytheon's ESSM program manager. "This delivery is a key event in the program's history and is an important milestone for us."
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The Fraport Group's revenue and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) continued to grow substantially in the first six months of 2006. Compared to the same period last year, revenue increased by 3.5 percent to EUR1,037.3 million. EBITDA climbed over-proportionally by twelve percent to EUR288.4 million from January to June 2006. Group profit at EUR97.0 million was 33.6 percent higher than in the previous year. Earnings per share rose from EUR0.80 to EUR1.06. During the first two quarters of the year 25,065,512 passengers used the FRA air transportation hub - 1.3 percent more than in the previous record year 2005. Weather and strike-related flight cancellations during the first three months of the year were compensated by the high passenger traffic during the 2006 World Cup games. The Fraport Group served a total of 33,910,156 passengers from January to June 2006, down 0.6 percent from the first six months of 2005. This slight decline is due to the distribution of passenger traffic until the end of April at Antalya Airport (AYT) in Turkey. Since May the number of passengers passing through the Fraport-Terminal in Antalya is on the rise again so that we expect a noticeable improvement of the Group's passenger count during the third quarter of 2006. Fraport registered noticeable growth again at its Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN) location. HHN counted 1,688,595 passengers (plus 18 percent) during the first half of 2006.
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Raytheon delivered ahead of schedule to Boeing the first next-generation active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the F-15C. The delivery, in late June, closely followed a series of successful flight tests on a Raytheon test asset that began in May. Completion work on the antenna and final verification of the system in Raytheon's Radar System Integration Lab, prior to flight test, were achieved in a record seven weeks when six-to-12 months is usually the norm. The APG-63(V)3 AESA radar exceeded all performance expectations in air-to-air modes during flight test. At least 10 more flights, intended to further demonstrate enhanced air-to-air capability, are expected to begin at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., this fall.
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NASA and the United States Air Force have formed an aeronautics research partnership. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne signed a Memorandum of Understanding Monday at a Pentagon ceremony. The agreement builds upon and expands on the longstanding relationship between the two organizations. "Although NASA and the Air Force have differing missions, there are common aeronautics research goals that dictate we maintain a close partnership,” Griffin said. “Besides the obvious benefits, it's in the nation's best interest for us to work together.” "This is a great day for aerospace," Wynne added. "It's a renewal of an already strong partnership and codifies what we've been doing all along." The agreement is designed to ensure the free exchange of research information, reduce duplication of research, and enhance long-term research planning for both organizations. It covers areas such as advanced aircraft design, propulsion development, materials development and aviation safety.
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The Royal Air Force will get a fifth C-17 transport aircraft,to be delivered in 2008, in a deal announced today by Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Tom Watson. The deal, signed by the Ministry of Defence and Boeing, will increase the size of the RAF's C-17 fleet from four to five. The C-17 can carry outsized loads of equipment, such as armoured vehicles, logistics equipment and helicopters, and allows UK Armed Forces to be deployed rapidly around the world. Tom Watson also announced that the RAF will purchase the four aircraft it currently leases at the end of the current contract with Boeing in 2008. This will give the RAF a guaranteed long term capacity in this area and significantly improve its heavy airlift capability.
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Eutelsat's Hot Bird 8 communications spacecraft has been successfully deployed by the Breeze M upper stage, capping a 9-hour flight that resumes commercial launches for Russia's Proton rocket fleet after a failure five months ago. "We appreciate the continued confidence Eutelsat has shown Proton," said International Launch Services President Mark Albrecht. ILS is the joint U.S.-Russian group that markets American Atlas and Russian Proton boosters. "Today's successful launch was made possible through the exceptional levels of commitment by ILS and Khrunichev to the Proton launch vehicle. Our Hot Bird 8 broadcast satellite is now well on course to its final destination at our prime video neighborhood at 13 degrees East, and we look forward to bringing it into commercial service in October," said Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta. The 10,748-pound satellite is a Eurostar E3000 model built by EADS Astrium. It carries 64 Ku-band transponders for television and radio broadcasting. Eutelsat has a fleet of spacecraft positioned in geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above the equator at the 13 degrees East longitude slot that beams 950 television channels and 600 radio stations to 110 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
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ESA astronaut and International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 13 crew member Thomas Reiter set a new record for the number of days spent in space by a European astronaut last week when he completed a total of over 209 days in orbit. On the morning of Friday 4 August, just over 30 days after arriving at the Station on board Space Shuttle Discovery as a member of the STS-121 crew, Reiter broke the previous record of 209 days 12 hours 25 minutes and 11 seconds, which was held by his ESA colleague Jean-Pierre Haigneré. The Astrolab Mission is Thomas Reiter's second stay in space, between September 1995 and February 1996 he was on-board engineer for the ESA-Russian Euromir 95 mission to the Mir space station, along with Russian colleagues Yuri Gidzenko and Serguei Avdeev.
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A radar antenna the length of a football field that would weigh less than the 22 players in action on it is in development by Raytheon under terms of an $8 million contract associated with the Integrated Sensor is Structure or ISIS program from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Te active electronically scanned array (AESA) antenna would be bonded to the hull of an unmanned airship 150 to 300 meters (164 to 328 yards) in length that could hover for long periods above the jet stream at altitudes of 65,000 to 70,000 feet. The antenna would transmit on UHF and X-band. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) is a leader in AESA technology, which uses no moving parts to scan at nearly the speed of light. "DARPA wants to be able to look for airborne and ground-based targets and to communicate directly with the battlefield from a single antenna," said Michael Wechsberg, director of radio frequency systems programs for the Advanced Concepts and Technology group of SAS.
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Boeing began manufacturing the aft fuselage section for the U.S. Air Force's 100th F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter at the company's Developmental Center in Seattle. "I'm proud of this team's perseverance in applying Lean Enterprise principles to the Raptor manufacturing process," said Paul Bay, Boeing vice president and F-22 program manager. "Since delivery of the first aft fuselage in October 1996, we've continually improved our cost, quality and delivery performance, reducing man-hours per unit by 89 percent and cutting overall flow time in half." Boeing manufacturing engineers streamlined production in late 2003 when they replaced the facility's massive stationary assembly jigs with much smaller, more flexible tooling on wheels. For this and other industrial design breakthroughs, Boeing's F-22 assembly center has become a model of manufacturing excellence.
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After a construction period of less than six months, ARA emergency helicopter RK1 is able to move into its new air rescue centre in Fresach on July 15th . The centre is run by TEAM DRF partner ARA-Flugrettungs GmbH, the medical personnel comes from the Red Cross in Carinthia. The centre has been renovated to the latest medical standards. emergency helicopter RK1 has been based at Fresach for four years already and until now the crew's quarters have been at a distance of one hundred meters from the helicopter. The new modern air rescue centre includes the airfield, a gas station, the hangar, office buildings and the crew's lounges. All missions are coordinated by Carinthia's regional control centre. In 2005 RK1 flew 683 rescue missions in total. The non-profit air rescue organization ARA-Flugrettungs GmbH was founded in 2001. Its emergency helicopters bring fast medical help to emergency patients. The air rescue organization with headquarters in Klagenfurt is a partner in the air rescue alliance TEAM DRF. It is a licensed company according to the existing guidelines for air rescue, holding an Air Operator Certificate (AOC).
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The regional aircraft manufacturer ATR and the Tanzanian carrier Precision Air Services have signed today a deal for 6 new ATR aircraft (three ATR 42-500 and three ATR 72-500). The deal, valuated at $ 97 million, has been signed in Dar es Salaam between Michael Shirima, the Board of Directors Chairman of Precision Air Services and Filippo Bagnato, ATR CEO. The Minister for Infrastructure Development, Basil Mramba, has attended this signature. The six new ATR aircraft will be delivered between 2008 and 2010 and will be equipped with the “Elegance” cabin and the newest technological innovations in the field of communications and navigation aid tools.
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Cessna began function and reliability (F&R) flight testing on the Citation Mustang, the last step before gaining type certification (TC) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “We have essentially completed the majority of our certification issues and expect to wrap things up with the F&R program, keeping us on schedule for TC as predicted four years ago when we launched the program. Not only will we meet FAR Part 23 requirements, we'll also meet a number of the Part 25 commuter aircraft requirements regarding takeoff and landing performance,” said Jon Carr, Citation Mustang project engineer. “We have more than 1,600 hours in the air and hit some 2,200 test points, meeting or exceeding all our program performance goals including range and speed.”
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Delta reported a net loss of $2.2 billion in the second quarter of 2006, compared to a net loss of $382 million in the second quarter of 2005. Excluding the reorganization items described below, net income was $175 million in the second quarter of 2006, a $479 million improvement compared to the $304 million net loss excluding special items in the second quarter of 2005. Operating margin for the quarter was 7.9 percent, a 10.9 point increase over the same period in the prior year. Delta also filed its Monthly Operating Report for June 2006 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court today. In that report, the company reported a net loss of $2.2 billion for the month. Excluding reorganization items, June 2006 net income was $145 million.
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Boeing delivered the U.S. Army's 501 st AH-64D Apache Longbow multi-role combat helicopter, marking completion of work that spanned the past decade in support of Boeing's largest Apache customer. "While the delivery marks completion of a major production effort by the Apache team in support of the U.S. Army, it certainly does not signal the end of Apache production," said Al Winn, vice president of Apache programs at the Boeing Rotorcraft facility in Mesa, Ariz. "Follow-on orders for new and remanufactured Apache Longbows and the looming Block III effort for the Army mean continued production and support for the Apache for years to come."
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US Air Force officials announced plans to assign the mission of training new Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and allied F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter pilots and maintainers to the 33rd Fighter Wing here. Final planning for the move is dependent on the results of the ongoing environmental impact analysis process that is required by the National Environmental Policy Act and designed to identify and assess potential environmental impacts of the proposed action. The first of the F-35s, a family of next generation, stealthy, multi-role fighter aircraft, should begin arriving by 2010. The wing will include Sailors, Marines, Airmen and allied military personnel and all three versions of the new fighter - conventional take off and landing, short take off and vertical landing, and carrier variants. The Lightning II's advanced airframe, avionics, propulsion systems, stealth and firepower will make it an affordable, lethal, supportable and survivable aircraft for warfighters around the globe.
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Lockheed Martin has completed upgrading computer software and hardware on eight AN/FPS-117 long-range, air surveillance radars used by the German Air Force. Under a November 2003 contract, Lockheed Martin upgraded the synthesizers and preprocessors on the eight German ground-based radars to avoid obsolescence and extend their usefulness for an additional 20 to 30 years beyond their expected 20 year lifecycle. The Bundesamt fuer Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung (Germany's Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement) originally acquired the radars from Lockheed Martin under a 1988 contract. The systems have been operational and providing air surveillance for the country since the early 1990s. Besides the technology upgrade, the actual upgrade schedule required deft coordination to ensure that each time a radar was being upgraded that the operational availability of the other seven was maximized.
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The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation a $135.8 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned air vehicle (VTUAV) program. The award definitizes the remaining portion of the work to complete the program's systems development and demonstration (SDD) phase through 2008. “This award indicates continued customer support of the Fire Scout program,'' said Doug Fronius, VTUAV program director for Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector. “We have worked with the Navy to create an integrated common baseline so we're well positioned to execute the program.''
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Aerosud, the Pretoria-based aerostructures manufacturer, has been awarded a contract by BAE Systems to produce components for the Eurofighter Typhoon, one of the most advanced swing-role fighters in operational service. This USD $20-million (approximately R137.7-million at current exchange rates) contract is the latest BAE Systems order placed with Aerosud under a USD$100-million strategic partnership, which was formed between the two companies in 2004.
Set to run for at least six and a half years, the contract encompasses the manufacture of up to 3,500 detail parts and minor assemblies for Eurofighter Typhoon, Europe's largest defence contract.
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The C-295 military transport of the Team JCA partnership of Raytheon and EADS CASA North America has been selected by the U.S. Army to proceed to Phase II evaluation of the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) program. "Team JCA is happy that the C-295 transport has advanced to Phase II," said Jim Hvizd, vice president of Team JCA. "Our C-295 is the only battle-proven and operational military transport aircraft in the JCA competition fully certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to get to the fight anywhere in the world. We look forward to participating in aircraft evaluation and firmly believe that the C-295 will distinguish itself yet again as the most effective intratheater lift solution for the vital dual mission of protecting the homeland and supporting our soldiers on the battlefield." During Phase II evaluation, the JCA joint program office will examine aircraft system performance based on proposals offered by industry. The first C-295 JCA aircraft to be equipped with systems that would be used by Army and Air Force crews during evaluation has completed flight test and validation. This aircraft is ready to participate in the early-user-survey demonstration, where it will showcase not only its unmatched performance but also the strength of Team JCA's worldwide logistics and support network.
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Farnborough International Limited(FIL), the organisers of the Farnborough International Airshow, announced today that more detailed study of the order announcements made by industry at the 2006 airshow (July 17-23) shows that the total value of these announcements reached nearly US$42 billion, up from the previous estimated figure of US$38 billion. FIA 2006 was one of the biggest in recent memory with 1480 exhibitors from 35 countries taking part. Some 75 defence delegations from 43 countries attended, along with 40 civil aerospace delegations from 15 countries. Trade show attendance figures during the week were up from 133,000 in 2004 to 140,000, while public day visitors rose by 20,000 over the 2004 airshow to reach 130,000.
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Boeing and VSMPO-AVISMA announced a joint-venture agreement for the machining of titanium forgings for use in Boeing commercial airplanes. The 50/50 equity joint venture will produce titanium parts for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. VSMPO-AVISMA will perform rough machining of titanium forgings in Verkhnaya Salda, Russia. Final machining and processing of the forgings will be completed by Boeing's Portland, Ore., fabrication facility and other machining subcontractors. On April 13, 2006, Boeing and VSMPO announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding leading to the formation of the joint venture. Consistent with their long-standing business relationship, the two companies also completed a framework agreement to outline the guiding principles of their future work in the area of titanium products.
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The new LN-120G stellar navigation system developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation has successfully completed its first flight test on RC-135 aircraft. The LN-120G is a GPS-augmented stellar inertial navigation system that tracks stars day and night. It uses the information about a star's location to refine the positioning information provided by the aircraft's inertial navigation systems. Repeating this process enables the LN-120G to provide heading information accurate to 20 arc seconds -- the highest accuracy available in the world. “The LN-120G will offer improved tracking, more frequent stellar updates and improved performance over the LN-20 system it replaces," said Mark Casady, vice president of Navigation and Positioning Systems for Northrop Grumman's Navigation Systems Division. "The LN-120G will provide the RC-135 aircraft with a reliable and supportable advanced technology stellar navigation system."
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Boeing and the U.S. Air Force have signed a $19.8 million engineering manufacturing development contract for the modernization of the first Swedish Air Force C-130 aircraft. The Undefinitized Contract Action award, which falls under the Air Force C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP), leads to a foreign military sales contract between Boeing and the U.S. Air Force. The contract, the largest ever administered by the U.S. Air Force for the Swedish Government, is expected to be definitized by October 2006. "The C-130 AMP program will lower Sweden's total ownership costs for its C-130 fleet while giving their air force the most capable C-130 aircraft available," said Mike Harris, vice president and C-130 program manager for Boeing. Sweden became the first European operator of the aircraft when it received its first C-130 in 1965. The country also is the first international C-130 AMP customer.
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Ural Airlines, the sixth largest carrier in Russia, and Lufthansa Technik, the leading provider for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of airplanes, components and engines, signed a technical support agreement for the new Airbus A320-200 fleet. The initial two Airbus aircraft will join Ural Airlines´ fleet in September and will be complemented by an additional four A320 in 2007. Over the next five years Lufthansa Technik will serve the fleet of all together six Airbus A320-200 airplanes via a Total Component Support TCS contract with the provision of components at the carrier's hub Yekaterinburg-Koltsovo Airport. The contract enables Ural Airlines to participate in one of the world's largest pools for aircraft components whereof more than 500 different part numbers of LRUs (Line Replaceable Unit) have been pre-selected. The contract comprises as well of Lufthansa Technik's Airframe Related Component ARC services, which cover MRO support for composite materials like thrust reversers.
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The German Air Force successfully completed check out activities on the first Eurofighter Typhoon dome simulator at Fighter Wing 73 "Steinhoff" in Rostock-Laage on Wednesday. With the first ASTA (Aircrew Synthetic Training Aids) Full Mission Simulator (FMS) now introduced and the Cockpit Trainer (ECT) already in operation since early this year, the German Air Force now can use two ASTA training devices to perform simultaneous training at the same Main Operating Base (MOB). This provides greater flexibility in delivering the training syllabus to the pilots. The Eurofighter consortium will deliver a total of 19 Full Mission Simulators (FMS) plus Cockpit Trainer/Interactive Pilot Stations and associated ancillary devices to the five air forces that have ordered Eurofighter Typhoon. In March 2006 the first Cockpit Trainer was accepted and entered into service. Following this achievement the ASTA development programme continued at pace leading to a new and improved software release.
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