Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, June 13, 2016

Embraer’s announcement of its CEO succession plan caught some financial observers off guard.

LEONARDO-FINMECCANICA on June 9 deliverd last of 30 AERMACCHI M-346s ordered by Israel in 2012. First delivery was in 2014. AIRBUS GROUP completed sale of 0.83 million shares in DASSAULT AVIATION, or around 9.05% of the company’s share capital, for €784m ($883m). INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH SERVICES launched Intelsat 31 satellite aboard ILS Proton rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan June 9 at 13:10 local time.

The special mission aircraft market is expected to grow from $10.5 billion in 2015 to $12.5 billion by 2020, a 3.5% compound annual growth rate, according to a report from ReportLinker. The market exhibits a lucrative growth potential in the Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East regions due to ongoing conflicts and territorial disputes there, the report says. It is further driven by the increase in defense spending in China, India and Brazil. The intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance application is expected to contribute the largest market share during the forecast period.

The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) is sticking by its requirement for 18 new fighters despite a lack of funds, and says it is considering such options as taking delivery of the aircraft first and paying later.

Anti-air warfare (AAW) remains a major question mark for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), even as the class morphs into a frigate configuration and ads an over-the-horizon missile, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) office says.

Hanwha is promoting a weapon that may have completed development in a secretive program launched to give South Korea a long-range means of striking North Korean artillery.

With the development of lasers, railgun and hypervelocity projectile (HVP) weapons, the U.S. Navy has its best potential menu yet for alternative missile shields, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) says in a recent report.

The U.S. Navy's F-18 fleet has experienced, on average, a weapons mishap about once every other year since fiscal 2009, an Aviation Week analysis of Naval Safety Center data shows.

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to lead development of the ability to add autonomous behaviors to existing UAVs.

To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. For a complete list of Aviation Week Network’s upcoming events, and to register, visit www.aviationweek.com/events (Bold type indicates new calendar listing). June 14-15—Training and Simulation Industry Symposium (TSIS), Rosen Centre Hotel, Orlando, Florida. For more information go to www.ndia.org/meetings/Pages/default.aspx