March 2, 1992

View Full Issue Table of Contents

HEADLINE NEWS

Competing Bid Anticipated For LTV Aerospace Divisions

DALLAS LTV Corp.'s aerospace divisions have been valued at $355 million in a definitive agreement for their purchase signed last week by LTV and the newly formed Vought Corp., a joint venture of Lockheed and Martin Marietta. At the same time, another bid for the LTV units is anticipated from Carlyle Group, a Washington investment organization that specializes in defense and aerospace companies.

By DAVID A. BROWN

HEADLINE NEWS

BMW, MTU Begin Joint Venture Talks On Regional Jet Engine

BONN As a survival strategy, Motorenund Turbinen Union and BMW have be gun talks on combining their proposed development programs for 15,000-22,000lb.-thrust turbofans for the emerging 70130-seat regional transport market. An MTEJ official described the talks last week as "very preliminary."

HEADLINE NEWS

USAF Hopes Latest GPS Launch Signals Return to Routine Schedule

CAPE CANAVERAL The U. S. Air Force hopes to launch Navstar/Global Positioning System satellites every 60-90 days now that problems that curtailed launches for most of the past year have been solved. Navstar/GPS 2-12—the 12th of 24 Block 2 spacecraft in the current series— lifted off at 5:29 p. m. (EST) Feb. 23 as the payload of a McDonnell Douglas Delta 2 launch vehicle.

By EDWARD H. KOLCUM

HEADLINE NEWS

Ariane V49 Launches Superbird B1, Arabsat 1C Communications Satellites

KOUROU, FRENCH GUIANA Europe’s Ariane V49 booster successfully orbited two satellites last week that are crucial to the future of telecommunications operators in Japan and the Middle East. The Feb. 26 launch from Guiana Space Center here injected the Japanese Space Communications Corp.’s Superbird B1 and Arabsat 1C spacecraft into accurate geostationary transfer orbits.

HEADLINE NEWS

NASA Reveals Scaled Back Plan for Six EOS Spacecraft

WASHINGTON The U. S. has unveiled a slimmed-down Earth Observing System—six satellites of varying size, with the first ready for launch in June, 1998, half a year earlier than previously planned. Under orders to cut projected EOS costs through the year 2000 from $17 billion to $ 11 billion, NASA scuttled or deferred 13 of 30 scientific instruments it hoped to fly on two massive spacecraft.

By JAMES R. ASKER

HEADLINE NEWS

Legislators Seeking Defense Cuts Take Aim at SDI, USAF F-22

WASHINGTON Lawmakers keen on slashing Defense spending beyond the 1993-97 levels proposed by President George Bush are studying options that lean heavily toward cuts in the Strategic Defense Initiative and the Air Force’s F-22 program.

By PATRICIA A. GILMARTIN

HEADLINE NEWS

First C-17 Returns to Flight Status After Fuel Tanks Resealed

EDWARDS AFB, CALIF. The first U. S. Air Force/McDonnell Douglas C-17 transport has returned to flight status after being grounded approximately one month for fuel tank resealing. As of Feb. 25, the aircraft had flown 40 flights for 118.2 hr., reaching a maximum speed of 340 kt. at 10,000 ft.

HEADLINE NEWS

UTC Taps Commercial Sector Head As President/Chief Operating Officer

NEW YORK United Technologies Corp. has selected George David, president of the company’s Commercial/Industrial sector, as corporate president and chief operating officer and heir apparent to Chairman and CEO Robert Daniell. According to Daniell, the 49-year-old David will oversee day-to-day operations.

HEADLINE NEWS

F-22 Wingspan Grows Slightly In Final Design

FT. WORTH Final external design of the Lockheed/ Boeing/General Dynamics F-22 fighter has been frozen, making the aircraft shorter nose to tail and lower on its landing gear, but giving it greater wingspan than the prototype selected as the Air Force’s next-generation fighter aircraft.

AVIATION WEEK FORUM

Unfounded 'Whistle Blower’ Suit Can Kill a Small Defense Company

In the Nov. 4, 1991, issue of AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, Washington attorney Robert Vogel expounded on the virtues of “Qui Tam” or “whistle blower” lawsuits (p. 73). Orlando Helicopter Airways, Inc., (OHA) is typical of many small aviation businesses, and therefore the following account is submitted in hopes that it may provide further insight into a major problem with the U. S. defense industry.

February 241992

March 91992

March 2, 1992

March 2, 1992