Terry Neal has been appointed senior VP-public relations and communications for LightSquared, Reston, Va. Neal was senior VP and director of strategic media at Hill & Knowlton.
Robert Stangarone (see photo) is the new VP-corporate communications-North America at Brazil-based Embraer. He was VP-corporate communications for Cessna Aircraft Co. of Wichita.
Dov Baharav (see photo) has been named chairman of Israel Aerospace Industries, based at Ben Gurion International Airport. He was president and CEO of Amdocs Management.
Paul Pfaffenberger has joined Phoenix Heliparts, Mesa, Ariz., as engineering program manager. He was a founder and engineering director of FAA-PMA manufacturer Extex.
Kevin B. Yim (see photos) has been appointed director-advertising and promotions, and Ann Botticelli, senior VP-corporate communications and public affairs for Hawaiian Airlines. Yim was VP-brand and advertising and promotions manager for the Bank of Hawaii. Botticelli, who will succeed the retiring Al Hoffman, was VP-community relations and communications at Kamehameha Schools.
Thomas R. Ingersoll has become CEO of Skybox Imaging, Mountain View, Calif., succeeding co-founder Dan Berkenstock, who is now executive VP and chief product officer. Ingersoll was co-founder and CEO of Universal Space Network.
Robert Smith has been named manager of quality control and engineering by Torrance, Calif.-based AeroWorx. Smith was a design engineer for Ancra International.
Derek Zimmerman (see photo) has been named VP-product support materials at Savannah, Ga.-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. He was VP-supply chain and aftermarket development for Piper Aircraft.
USAF Brig. Gen. Richard A. Klumpp, Jr., has become director of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan and liaison to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. He was inspector general at Headquarters Air Mobility Command. Klumpp has been succeeded by Brig. Gen. Steven J. Arquiette, who was deputy director of operations of Operations Team Two of the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon. And Arquiette has been followed by Brig. Gen. Christopher J. Bence, who was deputy director of the Operations and Plans Directorate at Headquarters U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
Peter van Oorshot has been appointed VP-strategic alliances at VisionWaves, Zeist, Netherlands. He has held business development roles at KLM, Prolin, Hewlett Packard, GorillaPark and Qinetiq. HONORS & ELECTIONS
Brad Furukawa, VP-information technology solutions and chief information officer at Northrop Grumman Corp., has been named to the Boston-based National Association of Asian American Professionals' list of Top 100 leaders. He was recognized for his leadership and professional achievements, which reflect the group's aim to honor Asians who have overcome obstacles to make contributions to the success and prosperity of North America.
Rand Simberg, who recently joined the Competitive Enterprise Institute as an adjunct scholar, has been named to receive the Space Journalism Award by the Space Frontier Foundation. Simberg has written extensively on space topics from a free-market perspective for The New Atlantis, Popular Mechanics, National Review and other publications.
Easing U.S. visa regulations is not top of mind for either lawmakers or travelers as they recall the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. But the airlines and U.S. travel industry have been arguing for exactly that. Although it is lost in the skirmishes over the debt, FAA reauthorization and other more pressing issues, the existing U.S. visa regime puts a major squeeze on airlines, particularly those seeking to expand in the global economy's brightest spots, the rapidly growing BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
British Defense Secretary Liam Fox warns the government may soon issue a list of programs of concern, to put pressure on contractors to improve performance. The defense ministry has already held one review of major projects. Another is due next week and, if the outcome is not satisfactory, the list will be published, Fox warns during the Defense & Security Equipment International exhibition in London. The list would serve to alert the stock market what contracts may be at risk, he says.
Even though NATO's military campaign in Libya is not yet over, policy makers are starting to look at what comes next. One of the main tasks will be rebuilding the Libyan military, which has been taken apart by weeks of NATO air strikes. The U.K., at least, is already putting some intellectual effort into the reconstruction job. The government has consulted with officials with experience in how to do this, including those who helped put together the arms package to rebuild Kuwait's military after Iraq's invasion in 1990.
Airbus Military is preparing to deliver the first Royal Air Force A330 tanker now that the Future Strategic Transport Aircraft (FSTA) has received its civil and military type certificate. Airbus says the first of 14 aircraft is due for handover in “the coming weeks.” Half the fleet will be two-point refuelers with underwing pods—including the first aircraft which is covered by the type certificate—with the other seven three-point refuelers. They additionally have a centerline hose-and-drogue option, which still needs to complete the certification process.
Saab has kicked off the formal launch of the sales push for its RBS 70NG very-short-range air defense system, with a series of five demonstration firings to a group of 17 countries. The RBS 70NG is the first major upgrade of the weapon system in about a decade, and is designed to extend the life of a man-portable air-defense system first devised in the 1970s. The system is designed for vehicle mounting, ground launch or remote system operations from a central control station.
The U.S. and Australia are adding cyberspace to their Anzus Treaty, marking the first public pledge of allied cyberdefense outside of NATO. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the focus on cyberspace “is in large measure a recognition . . . that cyber is the battlefield of the future, and that we are all going to have to work very hard not only to defend against cyberattacks, but to be aggressive with regard to [them] as well.” The move comes via the annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations in San Francisco last week.
U.S. Homeland Security Department officials plan to expand its fleet of UAS to 24 that are operational by fiscal 2016, including 11 on the Southwest border, according to a Sept. 12 report to congressional Armed Services committees. The department, which includes the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection, has seven UAS to provide response and monitoring capabilities throughout North America.
The board of cash-strapped Air India somewhat surprisingly has decided to go ahead with the acquisition of 27 Boeing 787s despite the fact that a government official said recently the airline didn't have the money to pay for the aircraft. At its first meeting under new Chairman and Managing Director Rohit Nandan, the Air India board decided it wants the 787 acquisition to be part of its overall expansion program. The state-run airline will seek the federal government's approval for the purchase, an airline official said.
A week before Boeing is set to deliver its first 787, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has approved a bill that would take away the power of the National Labor Relations Board to penalize companies for closing or relocating plants in retaliation for strikes by employees. That charge was leveled against Boeing by the company's unionized machinists after the manufacturer opened a second final assembly line at a new factory in South Carolina rather than at its traditional home for widebody jets in Everett, Wash. The case is pending in Seattle.
Boeing's 777 order count has increased by eight, to 118 for the year. The company did not identify on its website who placed the orders. No other orders were reported for the period, which ended Sept. 14. Total Boeing net orders this year stand at 382.
Pratt & Whitney has completed initial flight testing of the PW1524G geared turbofan engine for the Bombardier CSeries regional jet after 25 flights and 115 flight hours. The engine maker initially expected to wrap up evaluation of the X802 test engine in August after about 50 hr. but opted for more work “since things were going so well,” an official said. The next flight series will be conducted using X804 by year-end.
