FLUG REVUE update: Week ending January 5, 2003

UPDATE
Week ending January 5, 2003

+++ Meteor missile contract signed +++ Poland chooses the F-16 +++ China Airlines orders A330 and 747 +++ Galileo: Break in the negotiations +++ EasyJet confirms Airbus order +++ China plans manned spaceflight +++ News in brief +++

Meteor missile contract signed
Auftrag für Meteor erteilt

Full-scale development and production of Meteor, theEuropean Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM), was launched with contract signature by the UK Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) on behalf of the six Partner Nations. The £1.2 billion (€1.86 billion) fixed price prime contract awarded to MBDA for the new Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air weapon was signed today at the Defence Procurement Agency in Abbey Wood, Bristol by the DPA on behalf of the Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK. METEOR is the future long-range air-to-air armament selected jointly by Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK for the Eurofighter Typhoon, by France for the Rafale and Sweden for the Gripen fighter aircraft. The ramjet technology and advanced seeker capabilities of METEOR will provide these aircraft with the most advanced weapon system capable of countering all projected air-to-air threats. As the prime contractor, MBDA will manage all of the development and production of the METEOR weapon. In doing so, the company will be working extremely closely with the aircraft constructors in order to ensure timely and effective integration of METEOR onto the three candidate aircraft.
Under the contract, MBDA will manage and execute work on the programme through its operating companies in France, Italy and the UK. In a similar manner, MBDA will be working in close partnership with Bayern Chemie in Germany, Inmize, the MBDA joint venture in Spain, and Saab Bofors Dynamics in Sweden. In addition, the programme will involve a wide range of sub-contractors across each Partner Nation. These sub-contractor selections will be based on the joint criteria of technical excellence, manageable risk and best value for money. Overall, the METEOR programme will involve some 250 companies throughout Europe. Around 2500 jobs will be created and sustained, thereby ensuring that Europe maintains the high-technology skills base and critical competitive edge essential to the strategically important missile systems industry.

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Poland chooses the F-16
Fighting Falcon für Polen

On December 27th, 2002, the government of Poland declared Lockheed Martin the winner in the fighter competition to supply the Polish Air Force with 48 advanced multirole aircraft. Poland selected Lockheed Martin's advanced Block 52 F-16C/D over Dassault's Mirage and the SAAB/BAE Systems Gripen.
By selecting the advanced Block 52 F-16C/D, Poland has ensured its air force will be equipped with the most capable multirole fighter in NATO. Additional elements of the winning package include the most advanced U.S. weapons, training performed by the U.S. Air Force, and long-term support of the aircraft. The U.S. government has also provided a low interest loan to help the Polish government finance the purchase. "I would also like to add my personal thanks to the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw for its very strong support and guidance during this campaign effort, and the excellent teamwork of U.S. government agencies in Washington," said Standridge. "Our team worked very hard to show the advantages of the F-16. We believe it is the best fighter in the world and it continues to prove itself in military operations daily. Poland's ever-growing strategic relationship with the United States and the F-16's proven capabilities made the U.S. fighter a logical choice. In joining the F-16 family, Poland has chosen to secure its place in NATO while establishing a clear path towards the future."

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China Airlines orders A330 and 747
Neue Aufträge von China Airlines

China Airlines of Taiwan announced its reaching new aircraft purchase deals for firm order of 12 Airbus A330s series plus another 6 in option as well as 10 Boeing 747-400s. The move of the new fleet acquisition represents the carrier's reassurance of fleet simplification and rejuvenation aiming at its outlook of keeping competitive as one of the top-tier airlines in Asia Pacific region for the coming decade and beyond.
China Airlines has concluded the deal with Airbus for up to 18 A330 series aircraft with 12 in firm order plus 6 in option with delivery from 2004 to 2007. The new A330s will replace China Airlines' mid-range A300-600s fleet for the carrier's intensive regional service from its two major hubs, Taipei and Kaohsiung, to most of key Asian and Australian destinations. The brand new A330s will be designed as two-class configuration cabin for 290-320 seats, at least a 15% capacity increment from the current A300-600s.
With a separate deal to Boeing, the firm order of 6 B747-400 passenger aircraft and 4 B747-400 freighters are primarily to replace the remaining 4 of the government-leased B747-400 aircraft and 2 B747-200 freighters. As to industry statistics, the global cargo market remains in annual growth of 6.4% for the next two decades. The expanding B747-400 fleet stands for China Airlines continuous commitment for the North American and European markets where the carrier enjoys a healthy year-round traffic load for service on its long haul route map. China Airlines has been operating Boeing aircraft since 1967. In China Airlines growth history, Boeing played an important role.

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Galileo: Break in the negotiations
Probleme mit Galileo GPS-System

Despite the determined efforts of the European Space Agency's Executive at a meeting of the ESA Council in mid-December, it has not proved possible to obtain unanimous agreement on ESA's participation in the Galileo project. Although 13 of the Agency's Member States were ready to accept a compromise solution in the common interest, two (Germany and Spain) were unable to do so. In the words of Antonio Rodotà, ESA Director General, "This is a hard blow for Europe. The entire space industry in Europe will badly suffer from this break in the negotiations.” He went on to say that, "While keenly aware of the economic, industrial and strategic importance of satellite navigation, our Member States failed to reach an agreement, thereby delaying the start of the project's development and validation phase.” The ESA Executive will be renewing its efforts to get the Galileo project back on track immediately after the Christmas break.
Galileo is intended to complement the existing satellite navigation system, which relies entirely on GPS, the American Global Positioning System. Developed by ESA and the EU on the basis of equal co-funding, Galileo is designed to provide a complete civil system. Scheduled to be operational by 2008, it will offer the citizens of Europe and the world an accurate and secure satellite positioning capability.

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EasyJet confirms Airbus order
Großauftrag für A319 bestätigt

On 30 December 2002, EasyJet has signed a previously announced contract to buy 120 Airbus A319s. The contract is worth over $3 billion. The EasyJet order, which includes options to purchase an additional 120 planes at a later date, pushes Airbus gross order intake for 2002 to 309 aircraft. EasyJet said the deal was on terms "substantially similar" to those agreed when the deal was originally announced on October 14. Excluding the options, the sale is worth some $6.2 billion at list prices. But the European planemaker is said to have offered a discount of 40 percent or more, which would put the value of the deal at about $3.7 billion.
Airbus is expected to deliver more planes next year than Boeing for the first time ever, with the companies calling for 300 Airbus jets and between 275 and 285 Boeing planes to roll off production lines.

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China plans manned spaceflight
Bemannte Kapsel noch in diesem Jahr

China has announced plans to become the world's third space-traveling nation by launching a manned capsule sometime this year. The announcement came days after the launch of the fourth unmanned spaceship, Shenzhou IV, on December 30, 2002, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province. The next mission, Shenzhou V, will contain at least one ``taikonaut,'' the Chinese version of an astronaut, according to a report from China News Service, a government news agency aimed at Chinese speakers abroad. It quoted Yuan Jie, director of the Shanghai Aerospace Bureau, as saying the flight will take place during the second half of 2003. Shenzhou IV was scheduled to return to earth late Sunday in central Inner Mongolia. By early Friday it had orbited earth 69 times.

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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

On 21 December 2002 at around 15.45 hours local time, a CH-53GS helicopter of the German Heeresflieger crashed in Kabul, Afghanistan, some 5 km west of the "Camp Warehouse" barracks. The helicopter burned out, and all seven occupants were killed. Investigations so far seem to point to a technical failure, possible with the main rotor gearbox.
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The first C-5 Galaxy modified under the C-5 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) made its first flight Saturday, Dec. 21, from Lockheed Martin's Marietta, Ga., facility several weeks ahead of the planned February 2003 date. "Our team is excited to begin demonstrating the enhanced capabilities the AMP modification provides," said Blair Marks, Lockheed Martin Strategic Airlift deputy for AMP. "Over the next year, we will introduce additional features of the new automatic flight control system and Global Air Traffic Management-compliant systems, providing a modern avionics suite for the Galaxy fleet." The combined US Air Force and Lockheed Martin crew took off from Dobbins Air Reserve base at 11:10 a.m. and landed five hours later. The flight consisted of several activities, including demonstration of basic flying qualities and basic navigational system operation, verification of the new primary flight displays and initial exploration of stability augmentation operation.
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A next-generation Proton launch vehicle carried the Nimiq 2 satellite into orbit, bringing the year to a successful close for International Launch Services (ILS). This was the first commercial mission for the Russian-built Proton M/Breeze M rocket configuration. The vehicle lifted off at 4:17 a.m. local time (6:17 p.m. Sunday EST, 23:17 Sunday GMT). Six hours and 53 minutes later, the satellite was released into a transfer orbit. The satellite, designed for direct broadcast services, was built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, and will be operated by Telesat Canada. "The Proton vehicle has once again proven its reliability," said ILS President Mark Albrecht. "Proton is the workhorse of the Russian fleet, and Proton M with the Breeze M upper stage builds upon that heritage while featuring more lift capability, advanced materials and digital avionics." ILS has conducted 10 launches this year, five each on Atlas and Proton, using all variants - Atlas IIA, IIAS, III and V, and Proton K and M. In addition, the Proton has flown four missions for the Russian government, for a total of nine launches this year. ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. in the United States, which builds the Atlas; and Russian companies Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and RSC Energia, producers of the Proton vehicles. Today's launch was the 26th for ILS on Proton.
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The European Commission has authorized the acquisition by European aerospace and defense company EADS of BAE Systems's shareholding in Astrium, a European supplier of space systems created in 2000. The modification from joint to sole control will not significantly alter the current competitive structure in the market. EADS is a jointly-held vehicle which combines the former group activities of Aerospatiale Matra of France, DaimlerChrystler Aerospace (DASA) of Germany and Construcciones Aeronauticas of Spain. EADS is active in commercial aircraft, civil and military helicopters, space vehicles and orbital infrastructures, guided weapons, military aircraft and defense electronics and systems. Astrium's main activities consist in the design, development and supply of space systems, including satellites and their payloads, sub-systems for launchers and manned space flight vehicles, ground stations, and various other sub-systems and technologies. The Commission found that the present transaction did not give rise to competition problems. The Commission investigated in particular whether any vertical issues were likely to result from the closer link between EADS and Astrium, but concluded to the absence of any foreclosure risks.
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With effect from January 1, 2003, Arianespace, whose Board of Directors is chaired by Jean-Marie LUTON, has adopted a new organization. The organization comprises two main bodies. The Executive Committee, whose members are: Jean-Yves LE GALL, Chief Executive Officer, Françoise BOUZITAT, General Secretary and Senior Vice-President - Finances, Philippe BERTEROTTIERE, Senior Vice-President - Sales & Marketing, Patrick BONGUET, Senior Vice-President - Programs. The Management Committee, comprising members of the Executive Committee, and: Edouard PEREZ, Senior Vice-President - Engineering, Jean-Marcel AGASSE, Vice-President - Operations,Louis LAURENT, Vice-President - Launch Vehicles Developments, Jean-Max PUECH, Vice-President - Finances, Claude LE MOIGNE, Vice-President - Purchasing.
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Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. (P&WC) completed its first run of the new PW307A engine, selected last year for the Dassault Falcon 7X business jet, marking a major milestone in its development program. The PW307A, the latest member of P&WC's popular PW300 family of engines, performed smoothly during the test at P&WC's facilities in Mississauga, Ontario on December 6. The engine has accumulated over 10 hours of operating time reaching its maximum rated thrust, and will perform a series of initial testing until January 2003. It will then be removed in preparation for other testing. "This first run was completed only 15 months after the engine program launch in September 2001 and we are on target to meet our customer requirements," added Mike Perodeau, Vice President - Corporate Aviation, P&WC. "This milestone was achieved because of the remarkable work by our engineering and operations teams. We are proud of the engine performance and we are now looking forward to seeing it fly on the Falcon 7X," added Alain M. Bellemare, President, P&WC.
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An American Predator unmanned aerial vehicle was "assumed lost" over southern Iraq, U.S. Central Command officials said. A CENTCOM news release says the reconnaissance drone was reported missing after being fired upon by Iraqi military aircraft. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said U.S. officials are assuming the aircraft was shot down. "It is not a fact," he said. "We do not know for sure that it was shot down." Rumsfeld said he doesn't see this as an escalation of tensions in Iraq. Rather, it is merely a continuation of a perilous situation for coalition aircrews. "(The Iraqis have) been making a strenuous, energetic effort to shoot down U.S. aircraft for many, many, many months now manned and unmanned," the secretary said. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted Iraq has been trying to shoot down coalition aircraft for several years. He called today's incident "a lucky shot."
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On December 25, a Proton K launch vehicle was successfully launched today with three satellites for the Russian government's Glonass constellation. The Proton vehicle and Block DM upper stage performed normally and the separation of the spacecraft was successful. This was the eighth Proton mission for the year, with four for the Russian government and four thus far for International Launch Services.
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Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, a joint venture partner in International Launch Services Inc., (ILS) has made available to ILS information regarding the investigation into the Nov. 26 Proton K/Block DM launch, which failed to place the ASTRA 1K satellite into proper orbit. The information is a preliminary conclusion from the Russian State Failure Commission investigating the incident. It was forwarded by Vlachislav Ivanov, deputy director general of the Khrunichev Center and deputy chairman of the commission. In summary, the commission exonerated the three-stage Proton K vehicle in the incident and focused on the Block DM upper stage. It stated that the engine of the Block DM experienced excessive temperatures and was destroyed during its second ignition, resulting in the separation of the spacecraft into the wrong orbit. Indications are that there was excessive fuel in the main engine at the time of the second burn, leading to the burn-through. The commission is continuing its investigation into the probable cause of the failure, including the indication of excessive fuel. The commission is expected to release its final report and recommended corrective actions next month. ILS' Failure Review Oversight Board will then commence a review of the final report and issue its findings at the appropriate time.
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"Swiss Sun” has been selected as the new brand name for the charter services offered by Swiss International Air Lines. The new name will feature on the four new Airbus A320 aircraft which will supersede the present Boeing MD-83 fleet on such services from April 2003 onwards. Swiss Sun will provide Swiss International Air Lines with a visually-distinct identity for its charter products while still maintaining a close association with its prime SWISS brand. The new charter aircraft will seat 168 passengers, though the option of a more-generously-configured Business Class cabin will also be available. SWISS's charter network extends to various medium-haul destinations including points in Mediterranean Europe, North Africa, the Canary Islands, Egypt and Iceland.
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SWISS has successfully concluded the prefinancing with the banks for the twelve Airbus A340 aircraft currently on order. Financing has also been secured for the ownership of seven Embraer 145s to be transferred to a leasing company on a sale-and-leaseback basis. The new financial arrangements will provide SWISS with an additional CHF 450 million in liquid funds. The banks have provided a "pre-delivery facility” for the twelve Airbus A340s which are currently on order from Airbus Industrie. The prefinancing indicates that the banks are also interested in assuming the longer-term financing of the new Airbus fleet. The arrangement, together with the sale-and-leaseback deal for seven Embraer 145s, will enable SWISS to finance its new aircraft with bank credits amounting to CHF 450 million in the 2002 financial year. And this in turn will ensure that the company maintains its currently-strong liquidity. The SWISS balance sheet showed cash & cash equivalents and short-term money deposits of CHF 982 million at the end of September 2002. Shareholders' equity at the end of September amounted to CHF 2 125 million, giving a balance sheet equity ratio of 44.9 per cent.
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The core shareholders in SWISS have extended the current embargo on their disposal of the shares they subscribed to under the company's recent capital increase to August 31, 2004. SWISS's ownership will thus remain firmly anchored in both the public and the private sector, enabling the company to continue its development with a stable shareholder base. The realignment of Crossair from a European regional airline to Switzerland's national carrier with an intercontinental route network saw the company provided with an additional CHF 2 561 million in shareholders' equity. Most of the subscribers to the new share issue undertook not to dispose of their new holdings before December 28, 2002. A total of 33 of these shareholders, representing slightly more than 90 per cent of the new shares, have agreed over the past few days to extend the sale embargo to August 31, 2004. The new date was selected since both the company's 2003 annual financial statements and its 2004 first-half results will then be available, permitting an objective assessment of the company's earnings performance and potential. A number of investors intend to offer the company's shares to a broader public following the expiry of the extended embargo period, a move which will be supported by SWISS.
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A first-of-its-kind aircraft joined the cadre of weapon systems getting tested at the Air Force Flight Test Center when the YAL-1A, or Airborne Laser, touched down at Edwards AFB Dec. 19. The aircraft arrived from the Boeing Maintenance and Modification Center in Wichita, Kan. The YAL-1A will rely on sensors, lasers and sophisticated optics to find, track and destroy ballistic missiles while they are in the launch phase. When fully developed, the system will perform its mission by focusing its megawatt-size chemical laser on the missile's fuel tank, causing it to rupture and explode. Experts from the Airborne Laser Integrated Test Force here will soon begin installing the lasers and optical system on the test aircraft.
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Pierre Baud, Airbus Senior Vice President Training and Flight Operations, retired at the end of the year after an impressive career in aviation that spans five decades, including thirty years with Airbus. He is to be replaced by Jean-Michel Roy, currently Airbus' Senior Director, Training Policy. Pierre Baud joined Airbus in 1972 as engineering test pilot, becoming Vice President Flight Division and Chief Test Pilot in 1978 - a role he held until he was appointed Head of the Training Centre in 1994. As such, Pierre Baud took part in the development and certification of the first widebody-twin ever built, the A300B in 1974, the first two-man cockpit in a widebody-twin in 1981, the first commercial fly-by-wire aircraft in 1987 and the first European four-engine subsonic aircraft in 1991.
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Bombardier Aerospace announced that Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) have recommended Type Validation/Certification for the 86-seat Bombardier CRJ900, the newest and largest model in Bombardier's family of industry leading regional jets. Transport Canada awarded the Bombardier CRJ900 Aircraft Type Approval on Sept. 9, 2002 and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration granted the aircraft a Type Approval Certificate on Oct. 31, 2002. The Bombardier CRJ900 will be the first of the new 90-seat class jetliners in the market as were the 50-passenger CRJ100 and 70-passenger CRJ700 when Mesa Air Group in the U.S. begins operations under the America West Express banner in the first quarter of 2003. Mesa has placed firm orders for 25 Bombardier CRJ900 while aircraft lessor GECAS has placed firm orders for 10 of the aircraft. Mesa already operates 32 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 and recently accepted the sixth of the 15 firm ordered 64-seat, 2-class Bombardier CRJ700 regional jets.
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Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, a unit of The Boeing Company, has been awarded a U.S. Air Force contract option to build a third satellite in the Wideband Gapfiller Satellite, or WGS, program. Each WGS satellite provides the U.S. and its allies with increased space-based communications capability that augments current Defense Satellite Communications System, or DSCS, and Global Broadcast Service operations. The WGS is a key military satellite communications, or Milsatcom, program being weaved into a Boeing integrated battlespace where real-time information is quickly and simultaneously made accessible to platforms, forces and commanders on the ground, at sea and in the air. Boeing received funding to build the first two satellites in January 2002 for launches scheduled in 2004. The third satellite is scheduled to launch in 2005. The WGS contract includes options for as many as six Boeing 702 satellites and associated spacecraft and payload ground control equipment that is jointly funded with the U.S. Army. With the current option for the WGS F3 satellite, the total value of the contract is now approximately $660 million.
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The sixth pre-series Embraer 170 aircraft took off for its maiden flight on Friday, December 27 at 19:32 hrs from São José dos Campos Airport, where it landed after completing its routine. The flight marked the beginning of the final stages in the intense certification program for the first jet of the new Embraer 170/190 commercial jet family. The crew in charge of Embraer 170 S/N 0006 inaugural flight was composed by Capt. Guilherme de Miranda Cará, pilot Otávio Vaz Kovacs and flight engineer Henrique Zandonaide Botelho. The aircraft performed several routine and special maneuvers with complete success. Another important step in the Embraer 170 certification process was attained in November 2002, when the Pre-Flight Board Meeting Council was held with CTA. The result of this meeting was the issuance of the Type Inspection Authorization, a document authorizing Embraer to conduct flight tests with the presence of CTA certification authorities on board the Embraer 170.
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