EUROPE EYES SATELLITE AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
SAFETY EADS's Astrium division has been awarded a five-month study by the European Union's Single Sky future air traffic management programme to look into new satellite solutions for tracking aircraft over remote locations. Astrium, working with France's DGAC aviation authority and Canada's Star Navigation Systems, will assess satellite infrastructure and look at communication technologies for uninterrupted access to flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
POLISH AIR FORCE OFFERED A LIFT
CONTEST Poland's advanced/lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) requirement has attracted responses from five contenders. Warsaw should choose between the Aero Vodochody L-159T1, Alenia Aermacchi M-346, BAE Systems Hawk 128, Korea Aerospace Industries/Lockheed Martin T-50P and Patria-upgraded Hawk 51/51A in February or March, and sign a contract by June 2011.
CHINESE FLEET 'TO TRIPLE OVER 20 YEARS'
AIRLINERS Boeing forecasts that China will require 4,330 new commercial aircraft worth $480 billion over the next 20 years, tripling China's aircraft fleet to make it the largest market outside the USA. Widebodies will make up about 890 deliveries and super-large aircraft such as the 747 or Airbus A380 will account for about 70. Chinese carriers are expected to add about 330 freighters 2029.
ISRAEL MOVES TO NATIONAL AIR SECURITY BODY
SECURITY The Israeli transport ministry hopes to establish by the end of March 2011 a national authority for air transport security, to replace the current system in which formerly state-owned El Al supplies security services for the other Israeli airlines. Transport minister Israel Katz is to propose the change to his cabinet colleagues, noting: "The situation in which a private company is responsible for the security of flights of other airlines and competitors is illogical."
NEW TRAINERS FOR PHILIPPINES
DELIVERY The Philippine air force has received its first four of 18 Alenia Aermacchi SF-260F primary trainers to have been assembled by Aerotech Industries Philippines. The rest should be delivered in the first quarter of 2011, and help the service to address a current training backlog of around 150-170 pilots.
IPO POSSIBLE AS UDVAR-HAZY SEEKS CAPITAL
LEASING International Lease Finance founder Steven Udvar-Hazy hopes his new venture, Air Lease, will soon become an investment grade debt issuer as a mechanism for existing shareholders and management to invest further capital. He says a stock market flotation is also possible, but adds that "one of the luxuries" of Air Lease "is that is we have a clean sheet of paper, we can stay private".
COUNTERMEASURES CALL FOR MEDEVAC UAVS
UNMANNED SYSTEMS The accelerated development of unmanned air vehicles as battlefield casualty evacuation platforms has spurred an Israeli effort to develop efficient countermeasures to protect the systems. One source says the best way to "ensure the short sprint from the forward fighting zone to the safety of a field hospital" is likely to be a combination of active countermeasures, low noise and heat signatures, and an appropriate flight profile.
Source: Flight International
