BOMBARDIER CONFIDENT DESPITE 2010 FALL
Bombardier delivered 58 fewer aircraft during its 2010-11 fiscal year compared with the year before, but remains confident its fundamentals are strong in the long term for both the business and commercial aircraft markets. The Canadian airframer delivered 244 aircraft for the 12-month period ended 31 January 2011 - 143 business jets, 97 commercial aircraft and four amphibious aircraft - compared with 302 aircraft in FY2010.
DASSAULT, IAI OFFER FRANCE HERON TP
Dassault could team with Israel Aerospace Industries to provide the French armed forces with Heron TP unmanned air vehicles for use in Afghanistan. "We have proposed an interim solution consisting of leasing the Heron TP," says Dassault chief executive Charles Edelstenne.
EADS GERMAN STAKE FACES SHAKE-UP
The German government is expected to discuss buying a 15% stake in Airbus parent EADS: 7.5% from a consortium of German banks and 7.5% from automotive giant Daimler, which would retain 7.5% and "industrial leadership" of the share, balancing that of France and its partner, Lagardère. A buyer is eventually needed for the banks' share, while Daimler is believed to want to reduce its exposure to non-core EADS, whose A400M programme losses have cost it nearly €350 million ($475 million) since 2009. There is strong opposition in the German government to nationalisation.
JOHANNES KEPLER RIDES SWEET ARIANE TO ORBIT
Ariane 5 underscored its reputation as the workhorse of heavylift launchers with its 42nd consecutive successful launch, and heaviest in its history, to send the 20.1t Johannes Kepler, the European Space Agency's second Automated Transfer Vehicle robotic supply ship, to the International Space Station for a planned 24 February docking. The 16 February launch, at 18:50 from ESA's French Guiana spaceport at Kourou, had been delayed 24h after a propellant measurement anomaly.
GROUND VEHICLES OFFSET BAE'S SAUDI SURGE
Reduced write-downs and lower regulatory penalties helped BAE Systems boost 2010 pre-tax profit to £1.44 billion, from £266 million in 2009. Sales edged up less than 2% to £22.4 billion, with increased Typhoon deliveries and related support activity in Saudi Arabia offset by lower land vehicle sales in the USA.
ETHIOPIAN: ALARM DATA DOES NOT EXPLAIN CRASH
Ethiopian Airlines has condemned interpretations of a progress report on the loss of a Boeing 737 out of Beirut in January 2010, after the Lebanese minister of works was cited as stating that the crew received 10 bank-angle and two stick-shaker warnings, as well as an overspeed alert. Ethiopian dismisses this as "misleading" and says the information "does not tell why the aircraft behaved the way it behaved or why the captain could not turn the aircraft to its normal position despite all his efforts".
F136 ENGINE FACES CANCELLATION
US lawmakers in the House of Representatives have voted to cancel the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 engine by a 233-198 margin, but the debate about the alternate engine for the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter will resume in the Senate.
Source: Flight International
