Ad hoc task forces inside the Defense Dept.’s leadership realm have proven to be effective tools for forcing the military bureaucracy to address pressing near-term acquisition needs, top civilian and military defense officials say. But such task forces should not go on indefinitely themselves. Gates said the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) task force would disappear, and Mullen said such groups should have sunset deadlines.
Eric J. Zahler has been named chairman of the U.S.-based Universal Space Network , which is a division of the Swedish Space Corp. He is managing director/cofounder of the Sagamore Capital Group and former president/chief operating officer of Loral Space & Communications Inc. Other new directors are: USAF Lt. Gen. (ret.) Michael A. Hamel, who is senior vice president-strategy and development of the Orbital Sciences Corp. and former commander of the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center; and James W. Cuminale, chief legal officer of the Nielsen Co.
USAF Col. (ret.) Michael R. Gallagher (Hillsboro, Ore.)
Once again, U.S. Air Force requirements for a new aircraft appear excessive and premature. After upgrading the T-38s with glass cockpits as well as improved ejection seats and engines, USAF has decided it needs a new trainer to prepare pilots for the F-22 and F-35.
Steve Kelley (see photo) has been named corporate communications manager for StandardAero , Tempe, Ariz. He held a similar position with Raytheon Missile Systems.
GE Aviation and NASA will begin wind-tunnel evaluations of counterrotating fan-blade systems for an open-rotor engine at the agency’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland this summer. GE is investigating open rotors as part of its LEAP advanced engine development program for a Boeing 737/Airbus A320 replacement. The tests will use a component rig to evaluate subscale fan systems. Both the number of fan blades and gear systems to change the pitch angle of the blades are under study.
Japan’s Kaguya lunar orbiter smashed into the Moon’s surface as planned June 11, concluding a 21-month mission that began with launch on an H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center on Sept. 14, 2007.
China Eastern’s takeover of its hometown rival will lift the ailing carrier to the top rank of the Chinese industry, making the company a match for rivals China Southern and Air China in size, if not efficiency. After absorbing Shanghai Airlines, China Eastern will be about equal to Air China as the country’s second-largest airline in terms of passenger traffic and about equal to China Southern as the largest in terms of fleet size.
USAF Brig. Gen. Craig S. Olson has been appointed chief of the Office of Security Cooperation of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq in Baghdad. He has been vice commander of the Aeronautical Systems Center of Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Brig. Gen. Jonathan D. George has been named director of strategic capabilities policy for the National Security Council in Washington. He has been principal assistant deputy administrator for military application/deputy administrator for defense programs at the U.S.
The issue of exporting sophisticated technology—like satellites—came up during the confirmation hearing of President Barack Obama’s choice to be the administration’s chief arms control negotiator. Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that export control lists need to be constantly updated, removing less crucial technologies to make room for newer ones that would pose a security risk if sold overseas.
Researchers modeling the wet chemistry on Mars may have found a link between those strange blobs on the legs of the Mars Phoenix lander and the ravines and gullies imaged from orbit above the Red Planet. Scientists believe the blobs, which changed shape and size with fluctuations in temperature that didn’t rise above -5F, could have been water kicked up by the lander’s descent jets and kept liquid by heavy concentrations of dissolved salts (AW&ST Mar. 30, p. 14).
Steven A. Edwards (see photo) has been appointed product development manager for Aerospace Optics Inc. of Fort Worth. He was a systems engineering manager and a technical program manager for EFW Inc.
June 23-24Technology Training Corp.’s Unmanned Aircraft System Payloads Conference: “Needs, Capabilities & Opportunities.” Also, June 25-26—Defense Export Controls Conference. Both at Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites, Alexandria, Va. Call +1 (310) 563-1223 or see www.ttcus.com June 24-26University of Westminster Aviation Seminar “Regional and Low-Cost Air Transport: Opportunities and Challenges.” London. See www.westminster.ac.uk/transport
I was surprised and disappointed in the Steve Kolski/AirTran position on the pending FAA reauthorization bill, warning against requiring drug and alcohol testing of workers at repair stations outside the U.S. as well as unannounced inspections (AW&ST May 18, p. 21). Having been a CEO of a U.S. maintenance, repair and overhaul company, I can confirm that our management team and workers welcomed FAA inspections and strongly supported the adherence to a drug and alcohol testing program. Passengers would expect any non-U.S.
Christopher White has been named director of public relations for AirTran Airways . He was deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs of the Transportation Security Administration.
Mike Stolarik has been named president/chief operating officer of Qinetiq North America , McLean, Va. He was president of Qinetiq North America’s Mission Solutions Group. Mark Greenfield has been appointed director of aerospace training for Qinetiq in the U.K., which operates the Empire Test Pilots’ School. He was head of flight safety training organization Ultimate High.
Meanwhile, U.S.-based Iridium says it will delay selection of a manufacturer for its second-generation MSS constellation, Iridium Next, to the second half of this year. The decision may be partly tied to a change in consideration for a proposed takeover of Iridium by GHL Acquisition Corp., announced on Apr. 28, that will delay the sale by several months. The change was prompted by a shift in equity market valuations since the original agreement in September.
Charles Richey has been promoted to vice president-operations from manager of the Atmospheric Measurement Business Unit at the Michigan Aerospace Corp. of Ann Arbor.
For Thomas Hobbes, “the natural state of men, before they entered into society, was a mere war—and that not simply, but a war of all men against all men.”
USMC Cols. John W. Bullard, Jr., Steven W. Busby and Michael A. Rocco have been nominated for promotion to brigadier general. Bullard has been head of aviation weapons requirements at Headquarters Marine Corps in Washington, while Busby has been executive assistant to the deputy commandant for aviation and Rocco has been commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group 39, Miramar, Calif. Lt. Col. Roger L. Cordell has assumed command of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River, Md. He succeeds USN Capt. James A. Glass. Cordell was the school’s executive officer.
Despite initial misgivings, the U.S. Defense Dept. may give Congress an “interim” estimate on a potential, new multiyear acquisition of Boeing F/A-18s sooner rather than later. Gates told Senate appropriators June 9 that while he wants such a report to be part of the upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review, he thinks the Pentagon could offer an initial assessment. Both he and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke favorably of the fighter. Gates said if Pentagon planners call for buying more F/A-18s, then a multiyear deal would make sense.
Airports are taking renewed interest in coordination of NextGen air traffic control developments and are seeking support for local airport studies to identify how technology advancements can be tailored to each airport’s unique operational issues. Christopher Oswald, vice president for safety and technical operations for the Airports Council International-North America, says airports have felt secondary in past planning efforts. Airport officials want a key role in participating in national NextGen planning efforts for the ground side.
As a 40-year reader I am saddened this time every year when I read your annual Top-Performing Companies issue, and how aerospace and defense has joined the rest of industry in being evaluated by a group of financial audit and rating firms—how our industry is being measured by “cash flow per employee” and metrics such as return on investment capital, even though Editor-in-Chief Anthony L. Velocci, Jr., warns that some of these “efficiencies” are being reached by cutting deeply into R&D (AW&ST June 1, p. 48).
Ray Peterson (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
Air traffic is off and carriers do not need as many aircraft, resulting in lower order rates, deferrals and outright cancellations. Depending on one’s perspective, the situation is either so-so or really bad.
Despite disappointing in-orbit failures and a continued U.S. embargo, China is slowly becoming a factor in the international telecom satellite market. China first broke into the telecom market in the late 1990s when China Great Wall Industries (CGWIC) landed contracts from Chinese and southeast Asian operators to launch four U.S. and European spacecraft on the LM-3B, a Long March vehicle used for large commercial telecom satellite missions.
The British Defense Ministry is considering retaining its Nimrod R1 electronic intelligence aircraft for three years beyond its notional out-of-service date of 2012, as it attempts to identify a replacement. At the same time, efforts are underway to conclude delivery of the Nimrod MR2 successor, the MRA4 maritime reconnaissance and attack aircraft, up to six months in advance of the previous schedule. While the Royal Air Force favors the U.S.
