Aerospace Diary

by  Vladimir Karnozov Additional reporting by Neelam Mathews  - April 25, 2017, 9:39 AM   This scale model of the Indo-Russian Brahmos II hypersonic missile design, could also represent the all-Russian Zircon missile. (Photo: Vladimir Karnozov). Inset: the latest test-firing of a Brahmos from an Indian warship. (Photo: Indian Navy) Amid growing concern in the West about the vulnerability of large warships to very fast sea-skimming missiles, Russian news agencies have reported a successful firing test of the long-range hypersonic Zircon weapon. Coincidentally, India has recently been test-firing new versions of the medium-range supersonic Brahmos missile, which is a joint venture between India and Russia and is based on the P-800 Onix, one of several supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles in service with the Russian Navy. With Russian help, India is developing a hypersonic Brahmos   II   version, which could be based on the Zircon. The Ru...

By LHT April 28 2017 It is a German-Chinese success story straight from a textbook: Today, high-ranking guests from politics and public administration joined customers, management and employees to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the Lufthansa Technik Group's high-tech Asia Pacific subsidiary, Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen. The celebration took place at the company's workshops at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen was initially founded for the sole purpose of providing regional repairs of difficult-to-transport thrust reversers. Now the company and its roughly 600 employees support customers throughout the Asia Pacific region with component repairs, Airframe Related Components (ARC®), engine part repairs and many different Airline Support Team (AST®) services that are provided at customer sites. The company has extensive know-how, for example in the repair of complex components made of fiber-reinforced composites. This an...

STATEMENT  April 28, 2016 – Zurich  World leading MRO service provider SR Technics and flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) recently signed a 12-year Integrated Component Services (ICS) agreement. The agreement covers the servicing of a total of 45 A321 and 15 A330-300 aircraft, including component maintenance, component pooling and consignment of the main base kit, ensuring flexible access to spare parts. The services will be managed by the SR Technics Center of Excellence for component maintenance in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which currently serves over 460 aircraft in the Asia Pacific region. "Safety remains the cornerstone of our operations. As such, we put premium in cultivating relationships with entities like SR Technics to help ensure the reliability of our fleet," says PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Jaime J. Bautista. SR Technics CEO Jeremy Remacha comments: “We are delighted to contribute to the success of Philippine Airlines, extend...

FYI Land and Warfare K9 gives boost to India-Korea partnerships 24th April 2017 - 3:18 by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi  Engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and South Korea's Hanwha Techwin signed a contract for  co-development and co-production of the K9 Vajra-T  155mm self-propelled howitzer for the Indian Army on 21 April. However, this could be just the start of their relationship. While the  K9  'is a programme for a specific relationship , we have a choice to grow beyond the project,' Jayant Patil, head of defence and aerospace at L&T, said. For example, the two companies could partner ....more on Shephardmedia.com

Record Info hide Publication Jane's Airport Review Author Neelam Mathews , Delhi Ben Vogel , London Section Equipment Date posted 28-Mar-2017 The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked airlines to ban oversized cabin baggage on flights to and from certain "performance-limited" Indian airports. "Since oversized hand baggage can lead to overloading and create safety hazards, the operator shall ensure that size of the hand baggage is restricted as per the dimensions of the overhead bins or available space under the seats of an aircraft," BS Bhullar, head of the Indian aviation regulator, announced in a safety circular. ........In the absence of a global standard, passengers are encouraged to comply voluntarily with airline hand baggage policy by placing items into a simple metal gauge at check-in or at the boarding gate. This method is arguably insufficient - so Malaga-based Ie .....more on jane's air...

Vietnam steering committee addresses cyber Neelam Mathews, Delhi - IHS Jane's Airport Review 13 April 2017     In a belated response to a major cyber attack in 2016, the Vietnamese government is setting up a national steering committee for aviation cyber security, at the recommendation of the National Civil Aviation Security Committee. "Vietnam will set up the committee to address incidents related to cyber security," Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc announced in March 2017. Key international airports serving Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi were hacked in July 2016. In a press statement, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) confirmed ......

Neelam Mathews April 11, 2017 China -based e-commerce retailer JD.com has carried out thousands of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) delivery tests in remote rural areas of four provinces since June 2016. It is also adding 150 UAV stations in Sichuan Province "in the short-to-medium term," a JD.com representative told  Jane's   , referring to the plan as an "aspirational goal". 1699710 A JD.com delivery UAV, pictured in November 2016 on take-off in Suqian, Jiangsu Province,  China . (JD.com) This expansion would enable JD.com - the second largest online retailer in  China  behind Alibaba - to serve more provinces and villages. "We'd rather not call the facilities 'airports', as some publications have referred to them," the official added. The UAV infrastructure plan was developed by JDX, the logistics research and development arm of JD.com. JDX focused on innovative solutions to transport items from warehouses to cus...

07th April 2017 - 7:14 by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi  India approved an approximately $650 million procurement of 100 tracked self-propelled howitzers (SPH) of 155mm 52-calibre, with an option for 50 more, on 29 March. More on shephardmedia