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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1338.PDF
FARNBOROUGH FIRST NEWS FIRST NEWS Farnborough 2004 The world's aerospace industry gathers at Farnborough in opti mistic mood amid signs the recovery is gaining a foothold. The show takes place as organiser the SBAC begins a review of its for mat. Craig Hoyle, Vladimir Karnozov, Max Kingsley-Jones, Peter La Franchi, Guy Norris, Stephen Trimble, Graham Warwick and Justin Wastnage report DEFENCE Lockheed Martin revamps Orion 21 for export market US manufacturer repackages failed US Navy MMA bid for international customers Lockheed Martin is unveiling plans at the show to repackage elements of its failed bid to capture the US Navy's Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA), and offer them to export customers. A 40% more powerful version of the P-3C Orion, Lockheed Martin's Orion 21 proposal lost the MMA prize last month to the Boeing 737- 800ERX. The navy has not fully dis closed the reasons for its decision, but has credited Boeing for submit ting a lower bid and potentially accelerated production schedule. Lockheed Martin, meanwhile, has recast the Orion 21 concept as a new package of options that can be selected individually or taken as a whole by international cus tomers, says Tom Weatherall, direc tor of P-3 programmes. The strat egy is based on providing lower- cost, but proven, alternatives to the navy's more advanced Boeing MMA platform. Several elements of the Orion 21 are already available separately to a variety of customers. US Immigra tion and Customs Enforcement has successfully modified its P-3 fleet with glass cockpits and digital mis sion systems. Lockheed Martin also has international orders for other Orion 21 features, including new wings and horizontal tail surfaces. The navy's two-year concept advanced development phase for MMA provided Lockheed Martin with $30 million to perform risk reduction on overall integration and design issues. Weatherall says most potential buyers in the international market place would be satisfied with the export Orion 21's cheaper, incre mental improvements rather than an all-new design. The Orion 21's proposed 7,000shp (5,215kW) turboprop - the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A - with Hamilton Sundstrand NP2000 propellers will also be offered as an option. Meanwhile, the USN's plan to retire nearly 80 P-3Cs over two years due to fatigue stress concerns is driving rising interest in refur bished aircraft, says Weatherall. The navy has cleared the first 12 retired P-3Cs for a potential foreign military sales deal, which matches an existing requirement by Taiwan's navy. AIR TRANSPORT Gulf carriers add aircraft Gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways are expanding their widebody fleets with deals for Airbus and Boeing widebodies. Emirates has concluded a deal for up to 13 more Boeing 777-300ERs - four firm orders and nine options - worth $3 bil lion at list prices. Deliveries will begin in 2006. The deal takes Dubai-based Emirates' firm commitments for the General Electric GE90- 115B-powered version of the 777 to 30 aircraft, after last year's Paris air show lease deals with GE Capital Aviation Services and International Lease Finance for 14 and 12 -300ERs respectively. Etihad is poised to conclude a major fleet expansion deal with Airbus for widebodies this week. The Abu Dhabi carrier launched last year with leased A330-200s. The order could be for 25 aircraft. AIR TRANSPORT Sukhoi prepares for full-scale launch of RRJ Sukhoi Civil Aircraft is expected to name a launch customer for the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) this week with Sibir, UTair and leasing com pany FLC seen as likely first buyers. The candidates have plans to order up to 100 RRJs this year, a number considered sufficient by Sukhoi for full-scale launch by October. Russia's largest domestic carrier A Sibir order for RRJ-95Bs could see the programme launched by October Sibir is negotiating an order for 50 RRJs with 10 options - worth about $1 billion - which is the largest deal Sukhoi can expect this year. First delivery is planned for 2007. Sukhoi general director Mikhail Pogosyan says that, if won, the expected Sibir order would enable "a full-scale launch" of the RRJ pro ject. He adds that he is optimistic that "a good number of Russia's largest airlines" will have placed RRJ orders by the end of this year. The 60-to 100-seat RRJ family is offered in three fuselage lengths - the RRJ-60, -75 and -95 - in basic and long-range variants, with the latter incorporating additional fuel capacity. All aircraft are powered by Snecma/NPO Saturn SM146s. Sibir's expected order would focus on the largest, shortest-range variant, the RRJ-95B, which Sibir general director Vladislav Filev says would be able to replace the air line's larger Tupolev Tu-154Bs and Ms. Sukhoi is finalising work on defining the RRJ-95B with a focus on Sibir's requirements. UTair says that it "seeks to issue an order for the RRJ no later than October 2004". UTair general direc tor Andrei Martirosov says that the airline will have "to renew the fleet by 2010 and replace 20 Tu-134s". Should Sibir and UTair become first RRJ customers, this will lead to the RRJ being opimised for Siberian air lines that need a 3,500-5,000km (l,900-2,700nm) range. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20-26 JULY 2004 11
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