Benoit Defforge (see photo) has been named managing director of Airbus Corporate Jets. He succeeds Habib Fekih, who has assumed other responsibilities. Defforge remains head of the Airbus Corporate Jet Center.
Etihad Airways is setting up a new group structure to better reflect its activities beyond the core airline. According to CEO James Hogan, Etihad Aviation Group is being created later this year with the airline as the biggest of several pillars. Other units will include a loyalty program and a travel agency service. Hogan says it is not certain Etihad will invest in Alitalia after the ongoing due diligence process is completed.
Tom Arseneault has been appointed chief operating officer of BAE Systems Inc., Arlington, Va. He was executive vice president of BAE's Product Sectors, overseeing both the Electronic Systems and Land & Armaments businesses. Dave Herr, executive vice president of the Service Sectors, is retiring.
When it comes to electronic warfare upgrades for the U.S. Air Force's F-15 fleet, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems are taking opposite approaches. Meanwhile, the entire program may be threatened by budget cuts. BAE Systems is offering a system that is already fully funded through Saudi Arabia's F-15SA program, while Northrop Grumman is proposing a largely new system that it says will require less extensive aircraft modifications and be less costly in the long run.
This week, Aviation Week & Space Technology publishes two editions. On the covers of both is a Lockheed Martin Skunk Works concept for a hybrid wing-body design that combines aerodynamic and structural efficiency with existing airlift and airdrop operations. The company is working with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to define a future tanker/transport fleet that will burn 90% less fuel than today's models (see page 40). The aircraft would use available technology to reduce development time, cost and risk.
Electronic jamming systems based on digital radio-frequency memory (DRFM) technology are now being offered by Russian manufacturers on the global export market, and have appeared in service on Russian-built aircraft. The systems are claimed to be able to confuse fighter radars and defeat attacks with the widely used AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (Amraam).
Tracy Biegler has been promoted to president/CEO from vice president of Enstrom Helicopter, Menominee, Mich. He succeeds Jerry Mullins, who has retired.
Count me among those who would like to see your content return to a higher proportion of technical engineering, and testing-and-operations-related information. I could happily forego much of the business, government and budget material. Recent indications are that Aviation Week is returning part-way toward its “technical” roots and for that I am grateful. I enjoy the print edition because even though have access to the online material, I rarely use it because of the amount of screen time I must spend related to my work.
You should rename the magazine “MRO Bean-Counters and Advertisers Weekly” so you would not have to deal with all that pesky aviation and space stuff. Alternatively, spin off a separate MRO publication and return to the roots that made Aviation Week & Space Technology the publication of record for news related to aviation and space. Surrey, British Columbia
The Obama administration is weeks away from submitting its fiscal 2015 budget, but its choice to be the next deputy defense secretary signals a doubling down on new and advanced weaponry. The White House is proposing Bob Work to be the Pentagon's No. 2, and senators will vet him Feb. 25.
Indian regional startup Air Costa has firmed its ambitious growth plans by ordering up to 100 Embraer E2 jets at the airshow. The deal comprises 25 firm orders each for the E190-E2 and the E195-E2. It includes the same amount of options. Air Costa began flying in October 2013 and currently has a fleet of two E170s and two E190s. The airline is based in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh state in Southern India.
Electronic warfare is changing. The switch from chasing insurgents to facing down a superpower, and the threat of commercial electronics giving adversaries advanced capabilities, is bringing urgency and velocity to electronic-warfare (EW) development not seen since the height of the Cold War.
Caroline Mather (see photo) has been named marketing director for London-based OAG. She was group events director at World Trade Group and has held senior positions at UBM, Emap and LexisNexis.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), the powerful chair of all Senate appropriations—as well as for NASA specifically —wants the agency to maintain competition in its commercial crew vehicle development effort to curb operational costs later on. Administrator Charles Bolden may not be so sure, having spent a year declaring that anything short of the $821.4 million sought in last April's 2014 budget request would endanger the 2017 target for the first commercial crew flights. Last month, Congress finally appropriated $696 million in its 2014 omnibus spending measure.
USAF Maj. Gen. Martin Whelan, director of requirements at Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo., and Assistant Defense Secretary Madelyn Creedon have been named to receive the Stellar Award for Government Service from the New York-based Society of Satellite Professionals International at its annual Gala Dinner on March 11. The Stellar Award honors service to the U.S. government using satellites and satellite technology.
