In a rerun of the 2010 elections, voters in the Netherlands could go to the polls in September with parliament having voted to withdraw from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and the future of the country’s participation depending on which party wins the most seats. The opposition Labor Party (PvDA) plans to submit a proposal to end Dutch participation in the program to the lower house before the election. PvDA has only 30 of the 150 seats in the assembly, but is aligned with other anti-F-35 parties that together control 78 seats.
FRANKFURT — The Airbus A400M military transport will not fly at the 2012 Farnborough air show in the U.K., Airbus Military confirmed July 5. The company says the decision is based on “engine issues that happened last week which need further investigation.” It did not elaborate. The A400M also did not participate in the flying display at last year’s Paris air show; engine troubles were the cause back then, too. Airbus is sending the first production standard aircraft, MSN6, to Farnborough. It will be on static display.
Even as the battle over government funding for biofuels continues in Congress, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy and the Navy have announced the availability of $30 million to match private investments in commercial-scale production of biofuels. The $30 million is the first tranche of funding under a memorandum of understanding announced last August to invest up to $510 million over three years to help develop a commercial biofuels industry.
A group of seven senators is asking 15 major defense contractors to describe the effects of potential steep reductions to the military’s budget. Those reductions were approved last August by Congress when it passed the Budget Control Act. The law stipulates that lawmakers must agree to $1.2 trillion in federal deficit reduction.
ORION ARRIVAL: The first Orion spacecraft destined to fly in space is being checked out at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., following its delivery to KSC’s Operations and Checkout Building last week. The capsule was shipped after undergoing final friction stir welding at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Orion is now being prepared for Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) in 2014, in which the uncrewed capsule will be launched on a Delta IV rocket.
Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 42 deployed with four Fire Scout unmanned rotorcraft aboard frigate FFG-42 USS Klakring June 29 in support of operations off the Horn of Africa, the U.S. Navy reports. The Navy says its goal is to fly up to 12 hr. a day and significantly increase real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support to combatant commanders.
While Hawker Beechcraft’s (HBC) preliminary reorganization plan filed June 30 details an exchange under which HBC’s creditors would take ownership of the company, executives told employees July 2 they are keeping all options open, including a potential sale.
Major weapons systems largely survived a Pentagon request to shift about $8 billion in military spending, according to a defense analyst. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Congress about the late-June “omnibus reprogramming” request during a hearing before the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee last month. Panetta explained that the logistics of moving fuel into Afghanistan since Pakistan has shut down supply lines and the overall increase in fuel were adding billions to the Pentagon’s bills this year.
October 9, 2012 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Repair in New Generation Aircraft: Challenges and Opportunities Lightweight composites will soon rival metals as the primary material for airframes. Are you prepared? Aviation Week’s Aircraft Composite Repair Management Forum will highlight the latest developments, challenges, and best practices in aircraft composite repair and maintenance technology.
Anticipating regulations clearing the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in U.S. airspace, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) is hoping to set a baseline of standards with the release of an “Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations Industry Code of Conduct.” FAA is under congressional mandate to create a plan that would integrate UAS into national airspace by Sept. 30, 2015. The deadline is one of a series regarding UAS that FAA must meet for the gradual integration of the systems.
As FAA continues to sort out rules for operating UAVs within the U.S., members of Congress are already moving to block the use of weaponized UAVs here. Spurred by reports about local police departments seeking weaponized UAVs, lawmakers of both parties are responding to concerns from their constituents to prevent the possibility that a U.S. citizen could be gunned down from the air.
Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce sees ISR data from unmanned aircraft as a significant driver of demand for the company’s upcoming Global Xpress Ka-band satellite service.
Boeing is restructuring the A160T Hummingbird unmanned helicopter program after experiencing “technical challenges,” including a voluntary grounding in place since a crash on April 17. Following the crash, the U.S. Army canceled plans to deploy three A160s to Afghanistan carrying the BAE Systems Autonomous Real-Time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance Imaging System (Argus-IS).
GUARD CHIEF: President Barack Obama has nominated U.S. Army National Guard Lt. Gen. Frank Grass to be the next chief of the National Guard Bureau. If approved by the Senate, Grass will be the first Guard chief to serve a full term as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Grass currently serves as the deputy commander of Northern Command. He is nominated to succeed Gen. Craig McKinley of the Air Guard, who is retiring.
While many defense analysts have been downplaying the interest of the Pentagon and U.S. Navy in Arctic operations — saying the Coast Guard appears to be becoming the dominant U.S. player in the region — the chief of naval operations (CNO) says the service has been focusing on those waters for some time. “We’re working with the Canadians and with the Norwegian navy,” U.S. CNO Jonathan Greenert says. “We’ve been doing a series of exercises in the Arctic. So the concept of operations we’ve been developing for a number of years. Five, six years now.”
The Space Propulsion Group carried out a successful 11-sec. test firing of a developmental, 22-in. flight-class hybrid solid rocket motor fueled by paraffin and liquid oxygen
In observance of the U.S. Independence Day holiday, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish an issue dated July 4. The next issue will be dated July 5.
PARIS — European Space Agency (ESA) officials can rest assured that France has no intention of nixing its contribution to the Earth Observation Envelope Program (EOEP) when representatives of member-governments meet in November to determine budgets for the agency’s biggest projects.
