Eurofighter CEO Aloysius Rauen made a strong plea here yesterday for the four partner nations–the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain–to close the deal for 236 more Typhoon combat jets. “My highest goal is to ensure the continuity of production. That way we avoid extra cost,” he said. Rauen confirmed that the UK and Italy have requested information on what it would cost to buy fewer airplanes–or none at all.
Farnborough Air Show » July 17, 2008
July 16, 2008 - 11:39am
Northrop Grumman rates its chances of clinching the KC-X contract as only 50 percent, if the U.S. Congress intervenes in the decision. Paul Meyer, who heads the company’s bid team, told Aviation International News of his confidence that the Pentagon would select the KC-45 again the second time around. But he fears that protectionist sentiment could overturn the verdict.
July 16, 2008 - 11:19am
GKN Aerospace was the proud recipient yesterday of an appreciation award from Mexico, which recognizes the success of GKN’s Mexicali operation, located next to the U.S. border in the state of Baja California. Established in 2002, the operation has grown from 25 employees to 130, “exceeding all growth, quality and delivery targets,” said GKN.
July 16, 2008 - 11:17am
Yesterday AgustaWestland and Boeing signed an agreement to jointly manufacture the Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopter for the Italian army. AgustaWestland serves as the prime for the Italian contract, and takes responsibility for design and systems integration, plus delivery. Boeing Rotorcraft Systems plans to build the Chinook fuselages at its plant at Ridley Park, Pennsylvania.
July 16, 2008 - 11:17am
Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Capital plans to acquire ten Boeing 747-8Fs and eight 777Fs from Emirates Airline in a split purchase and leaseback agreement that will increase its lease portfolio to 49 aircraft. DAE Capital has 200 Airbus and Boeing aircraft on order for delivery during 2010-13
July 16, 2008 - 11:14am
IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani lambasted European governments for their alleged greediness for environmentally inefficient taxes here yesterday.
July 16, 2008 - 11:12am
For the third day running, Airbus and Boeing defied pessimistic predictions of softening demand for airliners with new contracts collectively worth almost $6 billion.
July 16, 2008 - 10:34am
This month Raytheon begins integrated tests on its APY-10 inverse synthetic aperture radar for the Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patroller. The company will supply three more radars by year-end under the terms of the system design and development contract. It will test the sensor from a tower, before the first unit gets fitted to a P-8 for a first flight in 2010.
July 16, 2008 - 10:32am
BAE Systems, in conjunction with Cranfield Aerospace and Cranfield University, executed an entire flight without human intervention in a BAE Systems Jetstream 31 turboprop. The event was the first “unmanned” flight with a flight crew onboard. “To comply with current aviation regulations, the Jetstream is a ‘surrogate UAV,’ meaning that it always has aircrew on board,” said Nick Colosimo, program manager with BAE Systems.
July 16, 2008 - 10:30am
A revolution in the progress of aviation could result from Rockwell Collins’ recent acquisition of Athena Technologies. Athena Technologies said it is convinced that the time has arrived for completely safe operation of unmanned parcel-carrying aircraft.
Athena bases its prediction on a successful flight test in which it ejected almost 60 percent of the right wing on an F/A-18 subscale model without an ensuing disaster.
