James J. Hvizd (see photo) has been appointed vice president-tanker transport programs EADS North America , Arlington, Va. He was director of enterprise pursuits for Raytheon’s Space and Airborne Systems and vice president of the joint Raytheon/EADS Joint Cargo Aircraft program.
Synergy Aerospace has signed an agreement to buy 10 Airbus A350-800s, with an option for 10 more. The order, not yet firm, comes on top of commitments for a second A350 Prestige VIP aircraft and an A319 Airbus Corporate Jet from unnamed Chinese customers. Additionally, Airbus says it secured 238 aircraft orders in January. However, Airbus’s chief operating officer for customers, John Leahy, predicts that the high pace of sales will abate.
An inadequate airport infrastructure, unable to cope with passenger demand that’s forecast to double in five years, has prompted India’s civil aviation ministry to consider creating a government-owned corporation to run the country’s air navigation system.
Fractious relationships with neighbors, ideological and cultural divides, a dependence on maritime trade and growing economies are all factors that are driving defense spending in the Asia-Pacific region. Another characteristic of the market is that it is largely supplier-agnostic: Almost every arms industry in the world has been represented at earlier Singapore shows, while many regional countries have local arms industries with a strong technology base.
Gale Rossides has become permanent deputy administrator of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration . She was acting deputy administrator and had been associate administrator for business transformation and culture.
Ten Hawk Mk 132 advanced jet trainers are due in India on Feb. 23 to be inducted into a squadron at the Bidar airfield in south India, the main operating base for the Hawk. This begins the fulfillment of an Indian air force requirement to bridge the gap between the slow jet trainer, Kiran, and the advanced fighter aircraft currently in its inventory. The Hawk AJT contract was signed with BAE Systems in 2004. The deal calls for 66 aircraft, 24 to be built in the U.K. and 42 to be license-produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. at Bangalore.
The French armaments agency, DGA, has given the go-ahead to a €50-million ($72.9-million) effort to upgrade the country’s fleet of four E-3F airborne early warning and control aircraft. The military will work with Air France Industries to properly define the upgrade plan and implement the modifications that will enhance communications links and assure the fleet complies with civil air navigation demands. The HF, VHF and UHF radios are to be modernized, and satellite communications is being introduced, along with several other modifications.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Amy Butler (Washington), Robert Wall (Paris)
Major decisions on the future of airlifters—including Boeing’s C-17 and Lockheed Martin’s veteran C-5, advanced C-130J and the new twin-engine C‑27J—are hung up in the Pentagon, awaiting the release of studies on the need for airlift.
Christian Reck (see photo, p. 15) has become executive director for sales and supply for Ameco Beijing . He was director of government and special mission aircraft services for Lufthansa Technik.
The next U.S. President should revise the Vision for Space Exploration by placing more emphasis on Mars as the ultimate destination for human exploration, according to space planners meeting at Stanford University. The new administration should also deemphasize the Moon, and stress it as a stepping-stone to the Mars goal, participants argue. Most participants also believe a return to the Moon goal by 2020 is now unattainable.
The chairman of the House Armed Services air and land forces subcommittee predicts Congress will restore funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) alternate engine development program. The House and Senate Armed Services committees have recommended an alternate engine for the JSF, says Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii). “Given a brand-new aircraft with yet-to-be-proven technologies, we believe that developing a second, competitive engine makes sense,” even though the Pentagon repeatedly has rejected that argument, he adds.
Japan’s ATD-X Shinshin stealth demonstrator—shown in the form of a radar cross-section model—is the most advanced aircraft development program so far attempted by an Asian country. As always, Western aerospace products will be prominent at this week’s Singapore Airshow, but the global industry’s center of gravity is increasingly moving toward Asia (see stories beginning on p. 64). TRDI photo.
John S. Brunette has become chief legal and administrative officer of Iridium Satellite , Bethesda, Md. He succeeds Michael Deutschman, who has retired. Brunette was CEO of Teleglobe Inc.
Efforts by new competitors to enter the global jet commercial aircraft market seem certain to eventually spark trade friction, although at this stage the trouble is only brewing. It may not boil over for another 10 years or so. China and Russia are building large regional jets, Japan could launch a similar aircraft within weeks, and South Korean industry is pushing its government to support yet another. All those aircraft will or would compete against Embraer and Bombardier products, and all can be assumed to need government support.
European and U.S. airframe and engine makers have been establishing affiliates in Asia since the early 1990s, giving the Asians valuable experience and opening doors to the world’s supply chain.
The French government has given the go-ahead for a new airport near Nantes, called the Grand Ouest airport. The facility is to become operational in 2012 and will receive €580 million in funding. The airport will start with a 3-million-traveler capacity and hopes to triple that by 2050.
Iberia plans to take over its largest domestic rival, Spanair, which SAS is unloading. Grupo Marsans was the likely buyer of Spanair, but has pulled back. The proposed combination is likely to raise serious anti-trust concerns.
Nicolas Aguilar has been named sales manager for Mexico for National Technical Systems , Calabasas, Calif. He was quality assurance manager at Siemens Transformers, Guanajuato, Mexico.
U.S. Air Force researchers will push for more development funding for pulse detonation engines (PDEs) following the successful first-ever manned demonstration flight of an aircraft powered by the exotic propulsion system.
Malcolm R. O’Neill (see photo) who retired recently as vice president/chief technical officer of the Lockheed Martin Corp., has joined the board of directors of Information Systems Laboratories of San Diego.
The FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive calling for operators of about 2,400 Cirrus Design SR20 and SR22 airplanes to inspect the rudder, aileron and rudder-aileron interconnect rigging and correct any out-of-rig condition. The directive, effective Mar. 11, stems from reports of jamming and subsequent loss of aileron and rudder control on an SR20.
Rolls-Royce already relies on Singapore as a major engine repair center and now it is turning to the country to help satisfy the growing demand for new Trent engines.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin says time is running out for the government to authorize his agency to buy more Soyuz and Progress flights from Russia after 2011. The flights will be essential to support the space station after the space shuttle’s 2010 retirement. NASA has been allowed to purchase Russian vehicles for station resupply under a special exemption from the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Enforcement Act, but that exemption runs out at the end of 2011.
U.S. Army Gen. (ret.) Bryan (Doug) Brown (see photo, p. 15) has joined the board of directors of Aurora Flight Sciences , Manassas, Va. He was commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.
If there is one aircraft market that is sure to balloon in the coming 15 years, it’s Chinese general aviation. An official study predicts the country’s fleet of general aviation aircraft will grow by the early 2020s to almost 10,000, a level 14 times the numbers employed at the end of 2006. We can take these figures seriously because there is every sign that the sector will soon be rid of its greatest encumbrance: highly restrictive military control of airspace.
