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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 1663.PDF
HEADLINES DEFENCE GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES USAF to consider U-2 revival proposal Lockheed Martin offers alternative to pricey Global Hawk The US Air Force is studying a Lockheed Martin proposal to restart production of the U-2 high- altitude reconnaissance aircraft as a low-cost alternative to full develop ment and procurement of the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle. Lockheed Martin delivered the last U-2R in 1989 and is upgrading the USAF's 31 U-2S and four two- seat U-2STs with new avionics, but has maintained the production tooling. The company says its pro posal was submitted at the USAF's request, although unsolicited pro posals to restart production were made in the 1990s. Lockheed Martin says the USAF may respond by the end of next month. Northrop Grumman, the USAF and major RQ-4 suppliers have, meanwhile, formed a joint afford- ability team to "come up with ini tiatives to reduce the cost of the system by between 25% and 50%", says the manufacturer. The venture was formed in April and briefed USAF acquisition chief Darleen Druyun late last month on its ini tial findings. Northrop Grumman says around eight categories of potential cost-savings have been identified, with most changes involving the sensors. The USAF has balked at Global Hawk's $75 million price tag, cited by USAF chief of staff Gen John Jumper at a recent Air Force Association meeting. Having iden tified a 50% cut as its "stretch goal", the USAF has pinpointed the sensors, particularly the Raytheon Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS), as the prime expense. Raytheon argues that lower- than-expected production rates have raised ISS costs to around $12 million, compared with the $6 mil lion target price. The problems are expected to increase with the heav ier payload weight of the forth coming multi-platform radar tech nology insertion platform now being developed for the RQ-4, as well as the Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS. Northrop Grumman says the team will present its recommenda tions to Druyun this month. The plan will then be put before USAF acquisition under-secretary Marvin Sambur, a critic of the sensor sys tem costs. The recommendations are expected to trade sophistication and capability for cost. Northrop' Grumman says it is anxious to present options that prevent the USAF making unilat eral cost-cutting decisions. Two low-rate initial production RQ-4s are due to be delivered in September and December, with a third vehicle proposed in the last budget. Fifty-one RQ-4s are ex pected to enter service. BUSINESS GERALD BUTT / NICOSIA Qatar pulls out of ailing Gulf Air The three remaining owners of Gulf Air - Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Oman - agreed at a crisis board meeting last week to keep the struggling airline going, with an $82 million cash injection after fourth equal shareholder Qatar pulled out. The board is to discuss a further financial contribution in three months. Before the meeting there were suggestions that Oman and Qatar would with draw. Both states have their own carriers - Oman Air and Qatar Airways. The latest cash injection will ensure Gulf Air's survival in the short term, but was substantially less than the $272 million hoped for. Gulf Air has $800 million debts, says chairman Shaikh Hamdan al-Nahyan, who says he is confident it can emerge from its current financial crisis. The carrier had serious financial troubles before 11 September, with the owners injecting $160 million in April last year. Recently appointed chief executive James Hogan, formerly of Ansett Airlines and BMI, aims to complete a restructuring plan by the end of August. Briefing Aer Lingus and pilots play brinkmanship STRIKE Aer Lingus pilots went ahead with a one-day strike on 30 May, despite management saying that it would take them off the payroll until they "signed up in full" to the stricken carrier's "survival plan". Although the pilots' union Impact said they would be available for work immediately after the strike, Aer Lingus said it was closing operations for the two following days. The pilots had already agreed to forego a pay increase and accepted a reduction in pilot numbers, but the sticking point was Aer Lingus' demand for changes to the rostering system. Czech Gripen buy slips to September PURCHASE The Czech government has postponed signing a contract with Saab/BAE Systems for 24 Gripen fighters until the end of September. The move follows rejection by the parliamentary upper chamber's senate defence committee. It had planned to sign the deal by 30 June, which would have cleared the purchase before national elections. The upper chamber of parliament, meanwhile, was due to vote on 31 May on the bill to finance the fighters. If the senators accept the bill, the purchase could still be approved by Czech president Vaclav Havel. President approves F-15K deal FIGHTERS South Korean president Kim Dae-jung formally approved the purchase of 40 Boeing F-15Ks on 28 May, clearing the way for the signing of a $4.2 billion contract with the US manufacturer. Kaiser Electronics, a Rockwell Collins business, has meanwhile been selected by Boeing to supply the F-15K cockpit display suite. It will be produced in conjunction with Korea-based LG Innotek, and will include three flat panel colour displays, four multipurpose displays and a wide field of view head-up display. FiatAvio joins GE/R-R JSF engine team CO-OPERATION Italy's FiatAvio has joined the General Electric/Rolls- Royce team developing the F136 alternative engine for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. FiatAvio, a long-time partner of GE Aircraft Engines, will supply structural components for the low-pressure turbine and participate in development of the accessory gearbox. Italy is expected to join the JSF development programme later this year. Philips ETG of the Netherlands is also part of the team, leading a consortium of Danish, Dutch and Norwegian companies participating in design of the F136. NASA to open commercial UAV centre AGREEMENT NASA has signed an agreement with Massachusetts- based Clark University and the Girvan Institute to establish an unmanned air vehicles (UAV) applications centre in the NASA Research Park close to the Ames Research Center, California. The centre will study science and commercial applications of UAVs equipped with high-resolution digital imaging systems, and will plan future campaigns, develop operating procedures and test data acquisition, transfer and applications. Korean 777 manufacturing deal COMPONENTS Korean Air's (KAL) aerospace division has secured a subcontract from Boeing valued at 25 billion won ($20 million) covering the production of wing parts for the extended-range Boeing 777-300ER. KAL says the deal covers an eight-year agreement under which Korean Air Aerospace in Busan will manufacture the raked wingtip for the new 777 variant. The airline operates the 777-200 and stretched -300, but does not have any longer-range -200LR or -300ER aircraft on order. New chairman for Pratt & Whitney Canada APPOINTMENT Gilles Ouimet has been named chairman of Pratt & Whitney Canada with Alain Bellemare replacing him as company president. Bellemare joined P&WC as vice-president, manufacturing in 1996 and became executive vice-president last year. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 4-10 JUNE 2002 5
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