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+++ Airbus A380 debacle widens +++ Austrian needs mor capital +++ MP-RTIP radar stars flight tests +++ United Launch Alliance approved +++ 100 Eurofighters built +++ Ryanair wants to take Aer Lingus +++ Northwest orders CRJ900 and Embraer 175 +++ News in brief +++
Airbus A380 debacle widens
A380 stürzt Airbus in die Krise
Airbus has informed its A380 customers about a further delay in the delivery schedule of the A380. According to this revised plan, the first A380 will be delivered in October 2007. Thirteen more will be delivered in 2008 and 25 in 2009. The industrial ramp-up will be completed in 2010, when 45 A380s are going to be delivered. Fully aware of the impact this has on their development plans, Airbus is in close contact with its customers and is doing its utmost to find ways and means to alleviate the burden this represents for them. In June, the amount of work to be done to finalise the installation of the electrical harnesses into the forward and rear section of the fuselage had been underestimated. Beyond the complexity of the cable installation, the root cause of the problem is the fact that the 3D Digital Mock up, which facilitates the design of the electrical harnesses installation, was implemented late and that the people working on it were in their learning curve.
Under the leadership of the new Airbus President and CEO Christian Streiff, strong measures have been taken, which, in addition to management changes, include the implementation of the same proven tools on all sites, as well as the creation of multi-national teams to better use the best skills available. Simultaneously, training is being organised to swiftly bring the employees using those tools to the optimum level. With the right tools, the right people, the right training and the right oversight and management being put in place, the issue is now addressed at its root, although it will take time until these measures bear fruit.
Furthermore, in order to regain its competitive edge and to counter the financial impact of the delay as well as the weakening Dollar, Airbus is launching the Power8 programme. The objective of the programme is to reduce costs, save cash and develop new products faster. The development cycle times are to be reduced by two years while the overall productivity is to be increased by 20 per cent. The programme aims at annual cost savings of at least € 2 billion from 2010 onwards and delivering some Euro 5.0 billion in cumulative cash savings by 2010.
For EADS, the revised A380 delivery schedule results in cumulative EBIT shortfalls of Euro 4.8 billion compared to the margin contribution of its original baseline plan for the years 2006 to 2010 (at $1.30 per Euro1.00): Thereof, close to Euro 2 billion cumulative EBIT previously expected between 2006 and 2010 will be postponed beyond 2010 as a result of the delivery shifts to later years. In addition, cost overruns and late delivery payments will result in irrecoverable expenses and a corresponding Euro 2.8 billion reduction in previously expected cumulative EBIT over the 2006 to 2010 period. Finally, the build-up of inventory as well as the impact on payments from A380 customers will lead to a working capital increase of some Euro 1.5 billion. Summing up all the above, EADS anticipates the A380 programme will suffer a cumulative free cash flow reduction of Euro 6.3 billion compared to previously expected free cash flow for the period.
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Austrian needs mor capital
Überlebensstrategie bei Austrian
With the objective of continuing the dynamic expansion of its leading market position in Eastern Europe, strengthening the capital structure of the Austrian Airlines Group over the long term and speeding up the necessary investments in quality, market position and flight production, the Austrian Airlines Österreichische Luftverkehrs AG is planning to implement an ordinary capital increase later this year. The issue volume, that the Board of Management aims to achieve, totals around EUR 350 million. In order to be able to achieve this, the first step must be to take a resolution regarding an ordinary capital increase by a maximum volume of up to 68 million new shares. The capital increase is to be implemented by way of an 'at market bookbuilt offering', whereby the precise maximum number of shares, subscription ratio and maximum price are not fixed until immediately before the beginning of the offering and the final price is not fixed until the end of the offering, based on the existing order book. Bank Austria Creditanstalt and Merrill Lynch are to support Austrian Airlines Österreichische Luftverkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft in the implementation of the capital increase as the issuing banks. Shareholders in Austrian Airlines Österreichische Luftverkehrs AG are invited to an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to take place in the Austria Center Vienna at 10.00 a.m. on 2 November 2006. The most important item on the agenda will be the resolution regarding the increase in share capital by up to 68 million new shares subject to consideration of the shareholders´ statutory subscription.
The capital reduction will be implemented without the issue of capital to shareholders in the company by means of a simple rebooking of EUR 145,180,000 from the share capital against the balance sheet loss. With this measure, the share capital of Austrian Airlines Österreichische Luftverkehrs AG of EUR 247.18 million will be reduced to EUR 102 million, whereas the number of shares issued remains unchanged. The reduction of the calculated notional amount per share will not result in a loss of value for shareholders, since the value of the investment is solely driven by the share price, which will not be affected by the capital reduction of the nominal value.
Austrian Chief Executive Officer Alfred Ötsch made the following statement to mark the launch of the capital increase: 'This capital measure enables us to speed up our optimisation of the Austrian Airlines Group and its earning power, and to improve its capital structure over the long term. We will therefore be taking an essential step for the Austrian Airlines Group both in its role as an engine for Austria as an economic location and as one of the leading European airlines in the market for air traffic to Eastern Europe. We want to effectively secure our competitive position and advantage in the Central and East European market in order to create a successful long-term profile for ourselves in European aviation and to return the Austrian Airlines Group to positive results as rapidly as possible. The measures we have already introduced to increase our revenues, improve yields and to rationalise are being intensified. We are accelerating our Focus East strategy from a solid foundation as a strong, renowned brand with an uncompromising commitment to top quality, and the impact of that strategy is being maximised through our efficient global partnerships and performance of our domestic hub of Vienna.'
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MP-RTIP radar stars flight tests
Neues Radar in der Erprobung
Northrop Grumman has started flight testing a new airborne surveillance radar for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial system to provide unprecedented situational awareness to battlefield commanders. The first test flight of the radar took place last week on the high-altitude Proteus test aircraft. The Global Hawk version of the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) sensor was tested in its moving target indicator (MTI) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) modes. "This first flight of a year-long test program was a great success," said Pat Collins, Northrop Grumman MP-RTIP program manager. "The test aircraft flew for two hours at speeds up to 100 knots at an altitude of 22,000 feet. We were able to successfully check many of the onboard environmental systems and communications links as well as beginning integration of the SAR and MTI modes of the radar." Proteus flights last April tested the aerodynamic effects of adding the pod that houses the radar to the aircraft. The pod contained mass simulators to replicate the weight and characteristics of the radar. Northrop Grumman received a $90 million contract earlier this year to integrate the MP-RTIP radar into the Global Hawk system, including the air vehicle and ground stations, to support the air-to-ground radar mission.
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United Launch Alliance approved
Grünes Licht für Boeing/Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin confirmed that United Launch Alliance, L.L.C. (ULA), its joint venture with the Boeing Co., had received anti-trust clearance from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The clearance is subject to compliance with a consent order that both parties have approved and which upon closing of the transaction will govern certain activities of ULA, Lockheed Martin and Boeing. ULA would combine the production, engineering, test and launch operations associated with U.S. government launches of Boeing Delta and Lockheed Martin Atlas rockets. The purpose for combining the Atlas and Delta operations is to reduce the cost of meeting the national security and civil expendable launch vehicle needs of the United States. ULA would be structured as a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The action by the FTC will allow Boeing and Lockheed Martin to finalize closing documents and work toward setting a closing date. Upon closing Michael Gass, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Space Transportation, will become ULA president and CEO. Dan Collins, vice president of Boeing Expendable Launch Systems, will serve as chief operating officer. These leaders will report to a six-member board of directors, each company appointing three directors. ULA headquarters will be in Denver with most engineering and administrative activities consolidated at Lockheed Martin's Space Systems Company facilities. Major assembly and integration operations will be located primarily at Boeing's manufacturing and assembly facility in Decatur, Ala. As part of the joint venture, the companies' launch facilities at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California will provide flexibility for meeting launch requirements on East and West coasts. ULA is expected to have about 3800 employees at sites in Colorado, Alabama, Florida, California and Texas.
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100 Eurofighters built
Lieferung an die RAF
The handover of Eurofighter BS021 and BS022 to the Royal Air Force at BAE Systems' Warton site marks the delivery of the 100th Eurofighter production aircraft into service with the four partner nations and industry. Aircraft number 100 was handed over on Friday, September 29th 2006 and capped a double milestone for the programme following the completion of 5,000 Eurofighter Typhoon flights by the Eurofighter four nation industry test fleet. The test fleet operated by the partner companies in Getafe (Spain), Manching (Germany), Turin (Italy) and Warton (United Kingdom) now comprises five prototype Development Aircraft, five Instrumented Production Aircraft and one Instrumented Series Production Aircraft.
The flight test programme for Eurofighter Typhoon is sustained by the unstinting professionalism of our team of pilots, engineers and ground crew. The programme is fully integrated and constantly coordinated across the consortium. The 5,000th flight has been achieved in the course of the final phase of the main development work that the consortium will conclude next year.
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Ryanair wants to take Aer Lingus
Übernahmeangebot vorgelegt
The board of Ryanair Holdings plc advised that it has acquired over 16% of the issued share capital of Aer Lingus Group plc. Ryanair now announces its intention to make an all cash offer of Euro2.80 per share for the issued share capital of Aer Lingus not already in the ownership of Ryanair. This offer is conditional on, among other things, obtaining at least a majority of the shares in Aer Lingus. This cash offer values Aer Lingus at approximately Euro1.481bn and represents a premium of 27% (approximately) over last week's IPO share price of Euro2.20 per share and a premium of 12% (approximately) over last evening's closing price for Aer Lingus shares of Euro2.51. Speaking at the launch of the offer this morning, Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, said: “This offer represents a unique opportunity to form one strong airline group for Ireland and for European consumers. We will expand, enhance and upgrade the Aer Lingus operations. This offer – if successful – means both companies will continue to operate separately and compete vigorously in the small number of routes on which we both operate – currently around 17 of the approximately 500 routes operated by the two airlines. We believe the price of Euro2.80 to be an excellent offer. If accepted the Irish Government will realise over Euro500m from the sale of their Aer Lingus shares, and the employees will realise over Euroo220m which equates to an average of over Euro60,000 per employee.”
The combined strength of Ryanair and Aer Lingus would establish an Irish airline group with over 50m passengers annually, capable of competing on the European and World stage against other large European airline groups, including Lufthansa/SAS/Swiss (75m passengers), Air France/KLM (70m passengers) and BA/Iberia (63m passengers). As the European airline industry consolidates, this acquisition, if it proceeds, will largely replicate previous consolidations in, for example, France (Air France/Brit Air/Regionale/KLM), UK (BA/B.Cal/DanAir/City Express), Germany (Lufthansa/Eurowings/Lufthansa Cityline/Swiss) and Scandinavia (SAS/Braethens).
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Northwest orders CRJ900 and Embraer 175
Großbestellung von Northwest
Northwest Airlines has achieved another major restructuring milestone with the announcement of orders from two manufacturers for a total of 72 new, two-class aircraft that will each accommodate 76 customers. The airline announced that it placed firm orders for 36 Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) 900s and 36 Embraer 175s that will equip Northwest with modern aircraft that offer customers a comfortable travel experience, allow the carrier to pursue growth opportunities in important markets, including in the Heartland of the U.S., and provide Northwest with improved aircraft economics. Northwest also received options for additional Bombardier and Embraer 76-seat aircraft. Both aircraft types are powered by General Electric CF34 engines. "Today's orders are examples of the steady progress we are making in our restructuring which is focused on resizing and optimizing the Northwest fleet to better serve customers; realizing competitive labor and non-labor costs; and restructuring and recapitalizing the airline's balance sheet," said Doug Steenland, Northwest president and chief executive.
"The aircraft purchases from Bombardier and Embraer allow us to tailor our service to meet market demands while providing customers with a comfortable and efficient flight experience on Northwest. Both new aircraft types will lower Northwest's operating costs over the aircraft they replace such as the Avro Regional Jet (ARJ) 85 through a combination of significantly lower fuel consumption along with inherent maintenance cost advantages," he continued. The values of the orders were not disclosed.
Discussing the multiple orders, Neal Cohen, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said, "Our Bombardier purchase builds on a well- established, long-term relationship and the Embraer order introduces another highly respected aircraft product line to Northwest travelers."
In addition, as part of the agreement to order new CRJ900 aircraft, Bombardier, GECAS and Export Development Canada have reached an agreement on restructuring the existing 126 CRJ200 aircraft fleet. This agreement includes the return of 15 previously rejected CRJ200 aircraft back into the Northwest Airlink fleet. This marks the completion of Northwest's CRJ fleet restructuring. As a result, the Airlink fleet will total 141 aircraft. The agreements are subject to the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN
Lockheed Martin has rolled out the 2300th C-130 Hercules from its assembly line in Marietta, Ga. The milestone aircraft is a KC-130J tanker destined for the United States Marine Corps. This is the second occasion the Marine Corps has received a milestone Hercules, as the 1800th aircraft delivered was also a tanker. "The C-130 is truly part of aviation history," said David Haines, Lockheed Martin vice president of C-130 programs. "It has been in continuous production for more than 50 years, yet today the C-130J Super Hercules is the most advanced airlifter available on the world market. We are seeing a growing demand for the Super Hercules. Many countries are looking for new airlift fleets and the C-130J is the only affordable option for many, as it can complete both tactical and strategic missions."
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Schiebel's CAMCOPTER S-100 VTOL UAV successfully completed a two-week border patrol exercise for the Austrian Ministry of Interior (Bundesministerium für Inneres - BM.I) from 18 to 28 September, 2006. The S-100 completed a total of 9 routine night flights along a 70 km (43 mi) stretch of the Austrian/Slovakian border, a mission normally performed by manned helicopters. The BM.I was extremely impressed by the S-100 s performance. "Schiebel's CAMCOPTER S-100 has been found to be a thoroughly reliable, efficient and tactical tool for police border patrol operations, said Chief Inspector Kurt Brunner, programme manager for BM.I. The development of this UAV over the last years has resulted in a high-tech aircraft that is able to professionally fulfil a wide range of applications, both in the military and police spheres, as well as catastrophe and rescue response. Flying at night at an altitude of 1,500 ft (450 m) above ground level, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 regularly detected points of interest at ranges of over 3,000 m (3,300 yards), using the thermal imager on the installed IAI/Tamam POP200 stabilized EO/IR gimbal system. The S-100 was controlled by Schiebel operators, flying preprogrammed paths that could be interrupted at any time to survey specific points of interest or known hot spots used by human traffickers. The payload itself was operated by the same police officers that normally operate similar payloads aboard the BM.I s manned helicopters. The payload operator communicated with both Austrian and Slovakian police and military teams in the field to investigate any suspicious activity detected from the S-100. Video was recorded onboard and at the control station, as well as being forwarded via network to a nearby command post. The two-week demonstration is the first known integration of a UAV system in live border patrol operations along the European Union (Schengen area) border. The successful tests bode well for future UAV employments along the border, which is set to expand in 2007. All flights were staged from the top of Braunsberg nearby the town of Hainburg, a 346 meter (1,100 ft) tall mountain overlooking the Danube River and the Slovakian capital of Bratislava. Two standard missions were programmed, one 50 km (31 mi) to the north, along the March River, and one 20 km (12 mi) to the south along the border to the town of Kittsee. The flight paths, programmed under the supervision of AustroControl, the Austrian aviation authority, avoided flight over built-up areas, as well as the nature preserve along the March river.
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After 64 unprecedented flights and numerous firsts in autonomous combat aviation, the two X-45A unmanned combat air vehicles designed and built by Boeing in partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the U.S. Air Force are heading to two prominent aviation museums to be permanently displayed. One aircraft is going to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and the other to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
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Boeing has proven in a weapons integration laboratory for the first time that small-diameter bombs (SDB) can successfully be placed on a strategic rotary launcher in the bomb bay of a B-52 bomber. Scot Oathout, Boeing program director for the B-52, said the lab development -- called a fit check of the weapons -- is a significant step in helping to increase the conventional payload of the B-52 by up to 100 percent with the potential for more with further upgrades. "The engineering effort supports development of future 'Smart Bay' weapons for the B-52," Oathout said. "The bomb bay is under-utilized space today, and we want to use that asset. We believe that adding smart conventional weapons bay carriage provides the warfighter with a much more versatile aircraft that can support our nation's defense for years to come."
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Fourteen laser ranging stations participated in a campaign to track ESA's GIOVE-A satellite during the spring and summer of 2006, providing invaluable data for the characterisation of the satellite's on-board clock. The campaign was coordinated by the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) and the GIOVE Processing Centre at ESA-ESTEC. GIOVE-A, developed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (UK), was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 28 December 2005 and placed into a medium Earth orbit with an altitude of 23 260 km. Carrying a payload consisting of rubidium clocks, signal generation units and a phase array of individual L-band antenna elements, GIOVE-A started broadcasting Galileo signals on 12 January, securing the frequencies allocated by the International Telecommunications Union for the Galileo system. The performance characterisation of the on-board clocks is significantly enhanced by the use of Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), a high precision technique for orbit determination that is independent of the navigation signal generation. The technique is based on a global network of stations that measure the round flight time of ultra short laser pulses to satellites equipped with Laser Retro Reflectors (LRR). Laser ranging provides instantaneous range measurements of millimetre-level precision which can be used to derive accurate orbit data.
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The Russian Federation is a dynamically growing source and target market in Eastern Europe for the Austrian Airlines Group, and features a high proportion of transfer traffic. In order to safeguard and continue to expand its market position throughout this strategically important economic region, the Austrian Airlines Group will implement a mutual cooperation concept together with AiR Union, a top-player in Russia's airline business. This cooperation-perspective is based on a “memorandum of understanding” (MoU) signed by both partners. Austrian's Chief Executive Officer, Alfred Ötsch, issued the following statement regarding this new development: 'Our cooperation with AiR Union is truly a milestone in our Focus East strategy. We are proud of the fact that this move enables us to advance our market position an enormous distance eastwards – in effect, to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.' Austrian's Chief Commercial Officer, Dr. Josef E. Burger, went on to explain: 'Both in terms of passenger traffic and in the cargo segment, the AiR Union agreement will be seen as a model for cooperation between Eastern and Western airlines. With its far-reaching route network, which extends from the Urals across Central Asia and out to the Pacific, AiR Union is the perfect partner for us in the East. In return, we will act as the Russian airline's 'preferred Western carrier', a role made possible by our strong network in Western Europe, the Levant and on North Atlantic routes, where we will continue to deepen and widen our product range in 2007. In a spirit of mutually beneficial partnership, we will be working on a multi-hub strategy, with Vienna, Moscow (Domodedovo), Samara and Krasnojarsk as our hubs.'
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Boeing announced that Larry Dickenson has been named to lead the Boeing Commercial Airplanes sales team as vice president, Sales, reporting to Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson. Dickenson, 63, replaces Carson, who was named president and CEO in September, effective immediately. Dickenson will have responsibility for sales of commercial airplanes and related services to airline customers and leasing companies around the world. His replacement in Asia/Pacific sales will be named shortly.
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Although the negotiations on a Passenger Name Record (PNR) agreement between the EU and the US could not be concluded before 1st October 2006, the timeframe provided for by the European Court of Justice in its 30th May 2006 ruling, European Commission Vice- President Franco Frattini and US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff have agreed that the negotiations will continue in a constructive atmosphere with a view to concluding an agreement as soon as possible. Much progress has already been made. It is in the interests of all concerned, travellers, airlines, law enforcement agencies and data protection authorities, that a new agreement is concluded as soon possible. Vice-President Frattini is in regular contact with Secretary Chertoff and agrees on the need to reach a rapid and satisfactory agreement.
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On 1 October 2006 the Integrated Merlin Operational Support (IMOS) contract reached its final implementation milestone with responsibility for on and off-aircraft depth maintenance being transferred from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to prime contractor AgustaWestland. The Merlin Depth Maintenance Facility is located at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in southwest England and is responsible for performing all Royal Navy and Royal Air Force EH101 Merlin depth maintenance. In February 2006 the MoD's Defence Logistics Organisation and AgustaWestland signed a ground breaking partnering arrangement, valued at £450 million for the first five years of a 25 year contract, to provide support for the EH101 Merlin Mk.1 and Mk.3 helicopter fleets, operated by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force respectively. The IMOS contract is the most innovative support contract yet awarded by the MoD and reinforces the Strategic Partnering Arrangement signed between the MoD and AgustaWestland in June 2006. The IMOS contract introduces payments for achieved flying hours and novel incentivisation arrangements associated with delivering agreed levels of aircraft serviceability, operational fleet aircraft numbers and Merlin HM Mk.1 training system availability.
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Spanair will consolidate Barcelona's El Prat airport as one of the company's three most important bases. With this expansion plan Spanair becomes the only airline in Barcelona capable of satisfying not only the leisure segment's necessities, by means of its reduced prices to a great number of direct destinations, but also its special orientation towards the business segment thanks to its quality service and its flight schedule adapted to the frequent flyer, flexible fares, increased number of daily frequencies on the routes to/from Barcelona, VIP lounges, etc. The company will add to its routes inaugurated in 2006 between Barcelona and the cities of Alicante, Granada, Valencia and Zurich, 5 new routes to domestic and international destinations which will link Barcelona during the Summer 2007, with Jerez, Almería and Munich, with 2 daily frequencies respectively as well as Algiers and Frankfurt with one daily frequency respectively.
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Boeing and EgyptAir marked delivery of the airline's first Next-Generation 737-800 by announcing the Cairo-based carrier's exercise of options for six additional 737-800s for delivery in 2009. The total order for 12 airplanes is valued at $850 million at list prices and marks a significant investment by EgyptAir to bolster its regional operations with the highly efficient and reliable 737.
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NASA is marking a historic moment in the life of the nation's largest rocket engine test complex. The Stennis Space Center conducted the final space shuttle main engine test on its A-1 Test Stand Friday. Although this ends the stand's work on the Space Shuttle Program, it will soon be used for the rocket that will carry America's next generation human spacecraft, Orion. The A-1 Test Stand was the site of the first test on a shuttle main engine in 1975. Stennis will continue testing shuttle main engines on its A-2 Test Stand through the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2010. The A-1 stand begins a new chapter in its operational history in October. It will be temporarily decommissioned to convert it for testing the J-2X engine, which will power the upper stage of NASA's new crew launch vehicle, the Ares I. The J-2X will also power the Earth departure stage of the Ares V new cargo launch vehicle. The Ares I and V vehicles will provide the thrust, while the Orion crew capsule will be future astronauts' home in space.
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Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC (RTSC), a subsidiary of Raytheon, has been awarded a $5.6 million contract by the U.S. Navy to conduct the Shared Reconnaissance Pod (SHARP) Target Cuing System (TCS) program. The enhanced capability provided through this effort will significantly increase the mission effectiveness of the SHARP system and reduce the workload of image analysts. SHARP provides U.S. Navy carrier-based air wings with high-resolution, digital tactical air reconnaissance that features advanced day/night and all-weather capability. With the TCS upgrade, the system's tactical imaging sensor will deliver more refined information to the image analyst. By reducing the amount of manual labor required of the analyst to make identifications, specific targets can be more quickly located and action taken.
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Fraport AG's supervisory board has approved personnel changes for the company's executive board effective April 1, 2007. Following a board meeting in Frankfurt, Fraport's supervisory board chairman and Hesse Minister of Finance Karlheinz Weimar announced that Dr. Stefan Schulte, the company's executive board member for finance (CFO) and construction, will take over the vice chairmanship of the executive board on this date. He will assume this position currently held by Prof. Manfred Schölch, who has decided to leave the company on March 31, 2007. In his new task, 46-year-old Schulte will be responsible for Fraport's airport expansion program, construction activities, flight and terminal operations as well as security.
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Adam Aircraft announced it has achieved a major milestone in receiving an amended FAR Part 23 Type Certificate (TC) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the all-composite A500 pressurized centerline twin-engine aircraft. The six-seat Adam A500 has been designed and developed with 21st-century materials and state-of-the-art engineering techniques to become the industry leader in performance, safety, and reliability in the twin-engine piston category. This Type Certification marks the first-ever Day/Night VFR/IFR certification for a new-technology, all-composite, pressurized, twin-engine aircraft. The last new pressurized twin-engine airplane was manufactured in 1986. "The A500 is the only pressurized twin-engine piston aircraft in production today," said Rick Adam, founder and CEO of Adam Aircraft. "Our customers benefit from our elegant carbon-fiber construction and the safety of our twin in-line thrust engines. The A500 is an excellent step-up airplane for the thousands of owners of new-generation single-engine aircraft." The A500 is now certified to its full 5.5 psi pressurization, which provides a sea-level cabin to 12,500 ft. Additional certified upgrades include a fully coupled IFR autopilot, Day/Night VFR/IFR, single-pilot flight operation, leading-edge cuffs to improve low-speed handling characteristics, and an expanded CG range. Maximum operating altitude expansion to 25,000 ft. will occur this winter concurrent with de-icing certification. Final performance numbers will include a 230-knot cruise speed and a more-than 1,100 nm NBAA IFR range at 75% power.
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RUAG Aerospace, a subsidiary of the RUAG technology group, has signed a project collaboration agreement with the Defence Electronics arm of EADS Deutschland GmbH in the German city of Ulm. Military transport aircraft and helicopters have self-protection systems to ward off the threat posed by infrared guided missiles. These systems use flares to "blind" the missiles and throw them off target. There has recently been growing demand for similar self-protection systems for civilian business jets. RUAG, whose activities in the field already include fitting self-protection equipment to the Swiss Air Force's Super Puma and Cougar helicopters, has now signed a project collaboration agreement with EADS in Ulm. The two companies will work together to integrate self-protection systems and jointly develop a novel flare for business jets. The project also covers the sophisticated test systems developed by RUAG Aerospace. RUAG's radar missile and laser simulator, which can simulate threats from missiles, radar and laser units, and is suitable for civilian and military applications, will be further developed and jointly marketed.
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The new BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 has touched down at Eglin Air Force base in Florida, USA after its first transatlantic flight. During a six week visit the aircraft, which is taking part in its first deployment outside of Europe, will be subjected to rigorous environmental trials, undergoing a series of intensive tests in extreme temperatures, ranging from -40OC to +45 OC. Trials are being undertaken at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory, owned by the US Department of Defense and operated on a 24/7 basis by BAE Systems. Its main test chamber is the largest facility of its kind in the world. During testing, Nimrod MRA4 will be positioned on jacks and chained to the ground while its engines are run, to create the optimum conditions for work being carried out. Using the McKinley Climatic Laboratory allows testing of Nimrod MRA4 systems at any temperature, simply by programming a computer. Conditions ranging from the bitter cold of Alaska to hot dry desert heat of Arizona or anything in between can be simulated. Engineers will also be running simulations of day/night cycles as well as testing under high humidity and solar radiation conditions.
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BAE Systems Regional Aircraft announced at the European Regions Airlines Annual General Assembly in Barcelona that is has signed lease extensions with Lufthansa CityLine covering 13 Avro RJ85s. This further endorsement by Lufthansa CityLine means that it will continue to operate the aircraft well into the next decade. The cabin flexibility of the quad-jet enables Lufthansa to offer a two-class service to provide seamless compatibility with the larger narrowbodies in the Lufthansa group fleet. Lufthansa CityLine is part of the Lufthansa Regional grouping that comprises five airlines – Lufthansa CityLine, Eurowings, Augsburg Airways and Contact Air of Germany, together with Air Dolomiti of Italy. Three of these carriers – CityLine, Eurowings and Air Dolomiti - operate a total of 37 Avro RJ/BAe 146s. SWISS – which is part of the Lufthansa Group - operates a further 25 Avro RJs to bring the total fleet operated by the Lufthansa Group to 62 Avro RJ/BAe 146s – the world's largest fleet operated by airlines belonging to one of the world's strongest and most profitable airline groupings.
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ARINC and SITA released a detailed set of standards and specifications to enable the adoption of efficient, XML-based business-to-business messaging in the Air Transport Industry (ATI). The standards define a new messaging approach — Type X — making use of XML and Web Services technology to complement existing industry Type B messaging. ARINC and SITA operate extensive global networks carrying an estimated 40 million Type B messages daily for airline reservations, passenger check-ins, baggage handling, and data communication between airlines, global distribution systems, ground handlers, and other travel service providers. The underlying IATA standard spans both legacy and Internet Protocol (IP) communications, and today's modern communications may still use Type B message formats, but Type X will enable more cost efficient IT environments and flexible communications.
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Spirit AeroSystems announced that it has entered into an agreement with Aviall Services Inc. of Dallas, Texas, for international parts distribution. The contract covers all markets outside the United States and Canada. Under the terms of the agreement, Aviall, a leading provider of new aviation parts and related aftermarket services, will be responsible for sales, marketing, forecasting and planning in support of Spirit and its customers inside Aviall's coverage area.
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FAC, the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, has seen a huge surge in new subscriptions this Summer, with 41 aerospace and defence companies signing memberships since the Farnborough International air show in July. This takes the total membership to over 400 – making FAC one of the largest aerospace and defence trade associations in the UK. Companies that have signed up recently include: VT Defence; AVISA Aviation Safety Systems Ltd; Cobham Advanced Composites Ltd; Allyance Ltd; Northrop Grumman; ASTRIUM and BIC Systems. Ross Bradley, Chief Executive, FAC said: “The globalisation of the aerospace industry has had a profound affect on supply chains and particularly medium and small sized businesses, many of whom are now unsure of future opportunities for growth. One of the main reasons we are attracting so many new members is that we bring together the requirements of global primes with smaller companies within the supply chain. We act as a conduit for government initiatives within the sector, linking buyers with sellers, close coupling academia and research to industry and ensuring government spending is helping aerospace and defence companies in the region to improve their competitiveness.”
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NASA is extending a previous contract action with ATK Thiokol of Brigham City, Utah, to continue design and development of the first stage for the Ares I crew launch vehicle. The extension has a maximum value of $35 million. Ares I is the crew launch vehicle that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle, its crew or other small cargo payloads to low-Earth orbit. The first stage will consist of a single solid rocket booster similar to those used on the space shuttle, but with a fifth motor segment added. The upper stage will consist of a J-2X liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen engine and the associated propellant tanks and main propulsion system. The contract action maintains the design, development, test and evaluation schedule; expedites the procurement of new nozzle metal hardware and production tooling for propellant casting and nozzle fabrication; and maintains the necessary design and engineering analysis leading to a Systems Requirements Review in December 2006.
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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered 16 extrasolar planet candidates orbiting a variety of distant stars in the central region of our Milky Way galaxy. The planet bonanza was uncovered during a Hubble survey called the Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search (SWEEPS). Hubble looked farther than has ever successfully been searched before for extrasolar planets. Hubble peered at 180,000 stars in the crowded central bulge of our galaxy 26,000 light-years away. That is one-quarter the diameter of the Milky Way's spiral disk. The results will appear in the Oct. 5 issue of the journal Nature. This tally is consistent with the number of planets expected to be uncovered from such a distant survey, based on previous exoplanet detections made in our local solar neighborhood. Hubble's narrow view covered a swath of sky no bigger in angular size than two percent the area of the full moon. When extrapolated to the entire galaxy, Hubble's data provides strong evidence for the existence of approximately six billion Jupiter-sized planets in the Milky Way.
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At an Extraordinary General Meeting, the shareholders of BAE Systems passed a resolution approving the disposal of BAE Systems' entire interest in Airbus. As a result, BAE Systems expects completion of the disposal to take place not later than 14 October 2006, in accordance with the Shareholders' Agreement between BAE Systems, EADS and Airbus.
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The Eurofighter ASTA team completed the Acceptance Testing of the latest software for the Aircrew Synthetic Training Aids (ASTA) with software load 1.0 standard in Manching. This new software will significantly increase the training capabilities of the Eurofighter Typhoon partner air forces especially in the field of mission simulation. The new functionalities include Networking Capability meaning that two training devices (Cockpit Trainers or Full Mission dome simulators) can perform the same training mission interactively. With full Air to Air Radar functionality and full weapon indication, performance and failure simulation for the Armament Control System with AIM-9L, ASRAAM and AMRAAM new performance steps can be taken in training pilots. The pilots see the fired missiles and experience the aircraft's reaction after launch. With Computer Generated Forces (CGF) functionality now introduced other aircraft such as wing man, tankers or hostile aircraft can be introduced into the training scenario. The operator can support the training session with various role play options from the Instructor Station.
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On Saturday 30 September, a mishap occurred during the handling of the upper composite, which comprises the MetOp spacecraft, the Fregat upper-stage and the Soyuz fairing. Although no obvious damage was done, as confirmed by the limited inspection possible via access doors in the fairing, it was decided to inspect the spacecraft and Fregat as a precautionary measure, which requires the removal of the fairing. Results of this inspection and the analysis should be available by Wednesday, when a decision to restart the normal flow of the launch campaign could be taken.
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The first Global Hawk surveillance drone will deploy to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in April 2007 on a temporary demonstration basis, Col. Michael Boera, 36th Wing commander, said Tuesday. The deployment is in preparation for a permanent contingent of seven Global Hawks that will begin moving to Andersen in 2009 or 2010. “It's in line with our growth in the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission here and how important that is to security in this neck of the world,” Boera said. Andersen will also begin construction next summer of a $52.8 million maintenance and operations complex for the Global Hawks. Boera said the hangar will be typhoon-resistant and will be able to accommodate other aircraft, such as bombers and tankers. The facility will be complete in fiscal 2009 for the arrival of the first of Andersen's permanent Global Hawks.
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The procurement contract for the heavy-weight Surface-to-Surface Missile System RBS15 Mk3 was signed by Saab Bofors Dynamics and the Polish companies MESKO and BUMAR. MESKO and BUMAR are procuring the RBS15 Mk3 on behalf of the Polish Ministry of Defence. The value of the contract for Saab Bofors Dynamics is ME 110. Poland is the 2nd NATO-nation to order the new generation RBS15 Mk3. Germany placed an order with the prime contractor Diehl BGT Defence in September 2005. The ordered missiles will arm Poland's ORKAN-class corvettes, which are currently under modernisation. This contract is follow-on to the ship integration contract signed in 2001 with Thales Naval Netherlands for the supply of ship equipment.
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The last Bombardier Challenger 604 business jet, serial number 5665, rolled off the assembly line to joyous applause this week at Bombardier's Dorval facility. The green aircraft will be completed by Midcoast Aviation and is scheduled to enter customer service in spring 2007. This momentous occasion marks the conclusion of a long and prosperous run for one of business aviation's most popular aircraft designs, which was launched at the Paris Air Show in 1993. A total of 365 Challenger 604 business jets have now been manufactured for leading corporations, governments, and charter and private operators around the world, making it the best selling jet in its class.
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The Aerospace Quality Worldwide Congress has taken place this week in the Spanish city of Seville organized by IAQG (International Aerospace Quality Group) and EADS CASA, with collaboration and support from regional and local institutions from the Junta de Andalucía and the City Council of Seville. The IAQG is an organisation integrated by the most important industries and associations within the aerospace and defence sector. The aim is to establish and maintain a cooperative attitude, based on the confidence between the companies of the sector they represent, in order to develop initiatives to achieve significant improvements in quality and cost reductions in all the chain value. In this occasion the Congress has gathered more than 500 delegates, the largest number ever for this event. The Spanish Secretary of State of Defence, Francisco Pardo, the Counsellor of Innovation, Science and Business of the regional Government of Andalusia, Francisco Vallejo, the Chief Quality Officer of EADS and President of IAQG, Bill Black, and many of the most relevant executives from the main aerospace and defence companies in the world, have attended. IAQG, under the leadership of Bill Black, has consolidated its position as a global reference for quality in aeronautics, space and defence. This meeting is the culmination of six months of hard work of quality groups from many companies in the sector and follows up also a series of more than 30 technical workshops celebrated during the week.
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The upper composite of ESA's new small launcher has passed its vibration tests at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) with flying colours. Vega's components are built and tested at various locations across Europe. The first launch is planned for the end of 2007 from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Vega, which is being built by European industry under the leadership of ELV SpA (Italy), is a small launch vehicle designed to carry payloads in the range 300 kg to 2.5 tonnes into low Earth orbits. The typical reference for Vega's launch capacity is to carry 1500 kg to a 700 km-altitude polar orbit. Vega will be particularly suitable for the launch of scientific and Earth observation missions. During the launch of a rocket, vibrations occur due to engine ignition, the thrust of the engines and the high-speed flow of air over the body of the vehicle as it accelerates through the Earth's atmosphere. The upper composite that has just been tested is the top part of the launcher, which houses the navigation, communications and control equipment. The payload is carried on top of the composite, protected by a streamlined fairing, or nosecone. During testing, a mechanically representative model of a real satellite was used. In order to confirm that the upper composite will be able to withstand the vibrations that it will experience during launch, it was mounted on the 'multi-shaker' in the Test Centre at ESTEC. This electrodynamic vibration table applied accelerations to the base of the composite while around 400 accelerometers and 40 strain gauges measured the movements and forces within the structure. This confirms that the design calculations are correct. “The vibration tests went well and we are on schedule” said Vega Test Manager Wolfgang Teichert. “We have carried out most of the tests for the final stage of the launcher”.
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Raytheon has received its first production award in the amount of $112.9 million for the AIM-120D configuration of the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). This contract supplements the Lot 20A effort awarded in February 2006 and, in addition to funding AIM-120C7 missiles, it also includes the first production deliveries of AIM-120D missiles from December 2007 through January 2009. The two Lot 20 contracts combined total $168 million. Production and delivery will support the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army. Contract work will be done primarily at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz. AIM-120D is an enhanced capability missile that includes enhanced data link, improved kinematics and GPS Inertial Measurement Unit capability, developed to meet the changing technology and battlespace requirements of the warfighter.
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The Guided Bomb Unit-39/B small diameter bomb was flown into combat for the first time Oct. 5 by members of the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. The unit, deployed to the Southwest Asia area of operations, launched a two-ship formation of F-15E Strike Eagles at 1:30 a.m. EDT carrying the new air-to-ground bomb on a mission to provide close-air support for ground troops operating in Iraq. "Today, we added an extraordinary capability to our warfighter's arsenal," said Lt. Gen. Gary L. North, the Combined Forces Air Component commander. "The GBU-39/B (small diameter bomb) provides the Air Force with the ability to reduce collateral damage, while providing joint terminal attack controllers another option to prosecute targets. It is a significant milestone for our coalition forces fighting the global war on terror. "This new air-to-ground munition gives our warfighters the explosive power of a conventional bomb without the fragmentation and blast area of other weapons in our inventory," he said. The new bomb, the first of its kind in the Air Force inventory, gives aircrews the ability to destroy targets that would normally be "passed over" due to the proximity of friendly troops, civilians, structures or personal property. As the smallest guided bomb in the Air Force, munitions crews are able to load more of the 250-pound bombs onto an aircraft, compared to larger, heavier guided weapons. "Obviously, because of its size, our aircraft are able to carry more individual weapons into battle, benefiting the Soldiers on the ground with more opportunities to defend their positions, while precisely destroying targets that would threaten American, coalition and Iraqi lives," General North said. "The SDB is uniquely qualified for urban targets that call for precision accuracy and reduced collateral damage and in close-air-support missions that our aircrews find themselves in during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom," General North said. "We now have the ability to put ordnance in places where collateral damage might be a concern."
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SELEX Communications - a Finmeccanica company - announced that its Laser Obstacle Avoidance and Monitoring system (LOAM) has been accepted by the Danish Air Force for its EH101 Search and Rescue Helicopter, and is now entering service. The announcement was made after the successful completion of the qualification and flight test program, making the EH101 the first military platform to host this innovative solution. Winner of the 2005 Flight International Aerospace Industry Award, LOAM is the first 2nd generation laser Obstacle Warning System specifically designed for military and professional (public safety agencies, emergency services, government, transportation, etc.) applications. Thanks to its performance and innovative features, this solution greatly contributes to the safety of day and night operations. LOAM is able to both warn the crew of possible collision with wires (down to a diameter of 5 mm), pylons and other obstacles (e.g. ground and buildings) and to cue the crew with an escape avoidance maneuver.
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Arik Air, the new Nigerian airline, Lufthansa Technik, the leading provider for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of airplanes, components and engines, and Lufthansa CityLine have signed an exclusive technical support agreement for the new Boeing 737-300 and Bombardier CRJ200 and CRJ900 fleet. Arik Air will begin its operations on October 17th. Over the next five years Lufthansa Technik will serve initially two Boeing 737-300 airplanes via a Total Technical Support TTS contract including complete line maintenance at the carrier's hub Lagos. In addition Lufthansa Technik will provide component repair and overhaul, component pooling as well as Maintenance Management Services MMS.
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