August 28, 1995

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HEADLINE NEWS

WHITE HOUSE, AIRLINES CLASH OVER FUEL TAX

NEW YORK Administration officials lock horns with U.S. airlines over whether the industry can absorb a jet fuel tax increase The Clinton White House is sharply at odds with the nation's airlines and Wall Street about whether carriers can afford the Administration's proposed 4.3-centper-gallon tax hike on commercial jet fuel.

By ANTHONY L. VELOCCI, JR.

HEADLINE NEWS

CATHAY TO SPEND BIG ON CABIN UPGRADES

HONG KONG Cathay Pacific Airways is to spend HK$1 billion ($130 million) to upgrade cabin services of its entire fleet, including installation of seat-back multi-channel video screens in economy class. Retrofitting in business class (below) of Boeing 747s is well underway, and Airbus Industrie A330s are being delivered with the new features.

HEADLINE NEWS

USAF TO PAY PREMIUM IN F-15 JTIDS COMPROMISE

WASHINGTON Senior Pentagon civilians have ordered the U.S. Air Force to buy a more expensive F-15 data communications system than it wanted, but they contend the resulting new program will open additional international military markets.

By DAVID A. FULGHUM

HEADLINE NEWS

ARMY PUSHES MISSILES FOR UAV USE

WASHINGTON U.S. Army officials have declared themselves competitors in the race for one of the few growth areas in the U.S. defense budget—boost phase intercept—by proposing two high-speed missile projects. The Army has set its sights on new roles in BPI and deep strike, both as adjuncts to the Pentagon's growing fleet of long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

By DAVID A. FULGHUM

HEADLINE NEWS

EXPORTS, JOINT VENTURES DOMINATE MOSCOW SHOW

RUSSIA Long-awaited "fifth-generation" Russian combat aircraft failed to appear at the second Moscow International Aviation & Space Salon, which was dominated by an increasing emphasis on civil and military export efforts, as well as more joint ventures with Western companies.

By JOHN FRICKER/ZHUKOVSKY

HEADLINE NEWS

MiG-AT, YAK-130 TO FLY THIS YEAR

ZHUKOVSKY, RUSSIA Two contestants for the Russian air force L-39 trainer replacement requirement are poised to start their flight development programs, in an effort to capture Russian orders up to 800, plus many more for export. While the Russian air force orders would more than cover the R&D investment for these programs, the Moscow government is reportedly providing only about 10% of this funding. This emphasizes the importance of finding overseas partners to share the development costs.

HEADLINE NEWS

SUKHOI OFFERS Su-32FNs FOR EXPORT MARKET

ZHUKOVSKY, RUSSIA Russia's latest production combat aircraft, the Sukhoi Su-32FN long range (4,000+ km.) substrategic strike aircraft, will be available for export within about two years, according to Sukhoi General Designer Mikhail Simonov.

HEADLINE NEWS

EMBRAER TO DEVELOP LIGHT-ATTACK SUPER TUCANO

SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, BRAZIL Brazil's air force will pay Embraer $50 million to develop a light-attack version of its Super Tucano turboprop in a move that could offset some of the company's investment in its failed bid for the U.S. Joint Primary Aircraft Training System contract.

HEADLINE NEWS

NASA PLANS 1998 HANDOVER OF SHUTTLE OPERATIONS

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER NASA plans to select a single prime contractor to run its space shuttle program within a year and hand over most responsibility for producing, assembling and operating the four orbiters and their components by 1998. NASA top space flight and shuttle managers laid out for more than 300 contractors their proposal for completely revamping the requirements, operating rules and contracts of the $3.2-billion shuttle program by the year 2001.

By JAMES T. McKENNA

HEADLINE NEWS

PRESSURE DROP THWARTS NEW LAUNCHER'S FLIGHT

WASHINGTON After coming close to launching its commercial rocket and recovery capsule, EER Systems is analyzing a drop in hydraulic pressure for a steerable rocket nozzle—the latest problem thwarting the first Conestoga/Meteor flight. The rocket, carrying EER's Meteor microgravity science spacecraft, came tantalizingly close to flying on Aug. 13.

By JAMES R. ASKER

August 211995

September 41995

August 28, 1995

August 28, 1995