Craig R. Cooning has been appointed president of Boeing’s St. Louis-based Network & Space Systems businesses. He has been vice president/general manager of N&SS’s Space & Intelligence Systems and succeeds Roger Krone, who has left the company.
Mbuvi Ngunze (see photo) has been promoted to group managing director/CEO of Kenya Airways from chief operating officer, effective Dec. 1. He will succeed Titus Naikuni, who plans to retire.
Robert A. Schacht has become CEO of Westfield Hydraulics Inc., Pacoima, California. He was chief operating officer of Ace Clearwater Enterprises and had been president of Hydra Electric.
Allan Goodbrand has been promoted to general manager for Circor Aerospace & Defense Europe from general manager for Circor UK. Don Stinnett has been promoted to general manager for Circor Aerospace & Defense California from product line director for landing gear and actuation. And Paul Devaux has been appointed president of Circor Chemille (France). He was a general manager for United Technologies Aerospace Systems in Indonesia.
Anthony Carbone has been named non-executive chairman of Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has been lead independent member of the board and succeeds Clay Jones, who plans to retire July 31. Carbone was executive vice president of the Dow Chemical Co. and later was vice chairman of its board.
With its increasingly industry-friendly space policies, Britain is seeing a surge of activity in the growing field of small-satellite technology as the government aims for a regulatory environment supportive of space-based enterprise in the U.K. The government is reducing the amount of insurance that satellite companies must acquire before it will ensure third-party liability. Britain is also weighing how cubesats are regulated in an effort to shorten the time it takes operators of small satellites to acquire a license.
After working for two decades with little government support, Britain’s Reaction Engines Ltd. (REL) is gaining ground with the U.K. and European space agencies and is now collaborating with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory on an innovative synergetic air-breathing rocket engine, known as Sabre.
Russia is continuing its comeback effort in the commercial narrowbody market with the new MS-21, in production and aimed at domestic, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Southeast Asian markets.
Only four years ago, Boeing and Airbus were in a bitter fight for the largest contract for aerial refuelers to come on the scene for at least a decade.
The big question for the U.S. Air Force’s T-38C replacement program—the largest tender for fast-jet trainers in years—remains what Boeing will bring to the table. The answer remains—as it was a year ago—a ways off. The service is starting to put muscle behind the effort. But the competition isn’t expected to begin until late next year. So until that request for proposals is released, contractors likely to vie for the work remain largely mum.
Airbus initially planned the A320neo family as a minimal upgrade to the current A320 family, but this is no longer true for the A321neo, which is gaining more cabin capacity. Over the years, the A321 has gradually evolved from a niche product for a few dense routes to an aircraft meant for the center of the market. At the end of May, the A321 backlog stood at more than 1,100 aircraft, while the A319’s was just 104. If conversion rights are exercised, the A321 share will rise further; almost half of the manufacturing slots are now planned for the model.
J ack Smith has been promoted to senior vice president-operations from vice president-ground operations for Southwest Airlines . He will be succeeded by Steve Goldberg , who has been promoted from managing director of ground operations.
Boeing’s planned maintenance services partnership with SIA Engineering Co., of Singapore represents the manufacturer’s most aggressive push into the commercial aftermarket and tracks with the company’s strategy of teaming with partners that add value as it seeks to grow its services revenues. The deal, slated to close this year, would create Boeing Asia Pacific Aviation Services. Boeing would hold 51% and SIA 49%.
A year ago, the future turboprop market seemed cutthroat, with possibly many overlapping competitors that could ruin each other’s profitability. Now competition for the next decade looks likely to be less fierce, since only one of five projects for new aircraft has moved ahead.
N o doubt there was a lot of eye-rolling at NASA headquarters back in May when the Government Accountability Office faulted the agency for its lack of rigor in estimating life-cycle costs for the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS). Certainly no one there who wants to see the big booster built is eager to draw attention to its price tag. But no one knows the costs of SLS or any of the other hardware NASA needs to fulfill its mandate to explore space.
Pratt & Whitney’s ambitious plan to re-enter the mainstream commercial engine market with the geared turbofan is facing its sternest test yet as Airbus -readies the first PW1100G-powered A320neo for flight, and Bombardier prepares to resume CSeries testing after the recent PW1500G failure.
Lockheed Martin, the F-35 manufacturer, and Israeli Elbit Systems’ Cyclone subsidiary are in advanced negotiations on developing an external fuel tank to be used by all Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) customers to extend the range of the aircraft. The two companies are working on designing a 600-gal. external fuel tank, which could be carried in the non-stealth part of a mission, so after disposing the tank, the attachment pylon could be stored in an internal compartment, restoring full-stealth capability.
A s the U.K. looks to invest in a replacement for its Trident-based nuclear deterrent and to restore its carrier strike capability, there is a growing realization that it will have to bring back some sort of maritime patrol aircraft capacity in order to help keep them safe. The U.K. lost its maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) back in 2010 when the Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) controversially concluded that the armed forces should not bring the long-delayed Nimrod MRA4 aircraft into operation.
