Boeing introduces new 737 Signals Intelligence aircraft

Boeing in January said it planned to offer a 737 signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft that can be used for airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and also advanced network-centric communications.

The aircraft concept is a variant of Boeing's P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft being developed for the U.S. Navy. The 737 SIGINT variant will leverage the P-8A's advanced open mission-system architecture, mature design, contractor logistics support, training and world-class production facilities. According to Tim Norgart, director, Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Business Development, the aircraft not only will provide the U.S. Department of Defense with options for current and future ISR requirements, but also is adaptable to international SIGINT mission sets. Commonality between the new aircraft and the P-8A will help save development, operating and maintenance costs.

Making history: 5,000th 737 delivery celebrated

Thousands of Boeing employees, joined by Southwest Airlines representatives and other guests, celebrated a historic milestone last month at Boeing's Renton, Wash., site: the delivery of the 5,000th 737 to come off the production line. Guinness World Records has acknowledged the 737 as the most-produced large commercial jet airplane in aviation history. The 737 is the best-selling commercial jetliner of all time, with total orders exceeding 6,000 airplanes.

"The 737 is an icon of efficiency in air travel and one of commercial aviation's greatest success stories," said Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We are absolutely thrilled that the world's largest 737 operator, Southwest Airlines, is the owner of this historic airplane. Our partnership with Southwest and hundreds of other 737 customers has resulted in continuous improvements to the 737 and its ability to help our customers be successful."

Don Malvern: first F-15 program manager

Don Malvern, the first F-15 program manager and former president of the McDonnell Aircraft division of McDonnell Douglas, died Jan. 19 at age 84.

Born in Sterling, Okla., Malvern graduated from the University of Oklahoma after serving as a fighter pilot with the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. After joining McDonnell in 1946, he was promoted to chief of flight test engineering in 1954, which at the time included the F3H Demon program for the U.S. Navy and the F-101 Voodoo for the U.S. Air Force. Malvern was named companywide project manager for the F-4 program in 1958 and vice president of advanced design in 1968. In 1969 he became the first F-15 vice president and general manager and led the company's successful effort to bring the production contract for the fighter to St. Louis.

In 1982 he was named president of the McDonnell Aircraft Company division.

Herman Barkey: father of the F-4 Phantom

Herman Barkey, the McDonnell Aircraft chief engineer who did the first drawings of the airplane that become the F-4 Phantom, died Dec. 9. He was 96.

Born in North Judson, Ind., Barkey studied mechanical engineering at the University of Notre Dame before graduating from the University of Detroit in 1932 with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He joined McDonnell in St. Louis in 1945 and worked on several early projects, including the XF-85 Goblin and XF-88 Voodoo experimental fighters and the F2H Banshee carrier-based fighter. In 1953, Barkey laid down the initial drawings of what was then McDonnell Model 98. A year later, after the company received a contract from the U.S. Navy for two prototype aircraft, he was named senior project engineer for the F-4 development program. In 1970, Barkey was named vice president of engineering for tactical aircraft.

—Larry Merritt