Patrick Ky was appointed executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in September 2013. He is the second person to head this organization, which was formed in 2003 to develop a single civil aviation regulatory system for the European Union's member states.
President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Jan. 28 hit the theme of rebuilding American infrastructure several times, making U.S. airports and their proponents happy. “Commercial aviation makes a tremendous economic impact across virtually all sectors, and dedicated investment is long overdue, especially in our nation's airports,” said Airports Council International-North America CEO Kevin Burke.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force has become the latest customer for the Beechcraft T-6 Texan turboprop trainer. Beechcraft and Global Mission Support have partnered with Safe Air and CAE to provide 11 T-6s and simulators and other equipment to support training. The T-6 will replace the CT-4 Airtrainer. The first four are scheduled to be delivered in November, and all 11 by mid-2015.
The cliff-hanger Boeing machinists' vote that cleared the way for 777X production in Washington state in the first few days of 2014 was crucial to the company's commercial future, says Boeing chairman and CEO, Jim McNerney. “We are exiting a period where every few years we had a dramatic event and entering a period of 10 years of stability. Having said that, the vote was close. There were emotions on both sides of the equation but eventually everyone centered on this huge business opportunity we had with the 777X and we came together.”
Michael Duncan has been named director for Africa for the London-based AJW Group. He has overseen aviation projects in several African countries for the AREF Investment Group.
With U.S. funding promised until at least 2024, the scientists and engineering managers charged with getting maximum use out of the International Space Station are touting its unique advantages as a place to observe the Earth from above. Two of NASA's five Earth-science missions planned this year will operate on the ISS, and the non-profit organization set up to attract commercial users to the station has just released a request for Earth-observation proposals. Both reflect the growing presence of Earth-facing instruments on the massive orbital outpost.
Singapore is synonymous with MRO in the Asia-Pacific region, but the fast-paced growth of Asia-Pacific airlines is drawing local and global companies to establish aftermarket support entities in Indonesia and Malaysia as well.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense is expected next week to sign a long-awaited contract for the country's first squadron of F-35B Joint Strike Fighters. The so-called Main Gate 4 decision had been expected late last year, but it is now expected to be announced before Defense Secretary Philip Hammond visits Washington Feb. 4-6. The order will be for 14 aircraft to form the U.K.'s first operational F-35B unit. The U.K. already has three F-35Bs and a fourth on order.
Jim Roche, deputy CEO of Pilatus Aircraft, explains how the Swiss company expects to expand its presence in both defense and general aviation markets in India, in an interview with AW&ST Contributing Editor Jay Menon. AW&ST: What are the short- and long-term business plans for Pilatus in India?
With the Singapore Airshow set for Feb. 11-16, much of this issue focuses on Asia. A special report begins on page 46 with an article on the impact of low-cost carriers in the region. An article on page 40 and a section beginning on page 73 focus on India's defense buildup. Bruno Delliere's photo depicts one of the custom-configured F-16s in Singapore's inventory. Some, such as this aircraft, are based in the U.S. for training. A major mid-life update program is planned.
Two recent events epitomize radically diverging fates in the global defense industry. At the end of 2013, Singapore ordered Type 218SG submarines from German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) for €1.6 billion ($2.2 billion). A month later, the French defense minister awarded a €1 billion contract for the modernization of Dassault's Rafale fighter aircraft (see photo). A good story for both companies? Not quite.
Joanna Kolatsis and Saleema Brohi (see photos) have been appointed partners in the aviation team of the London-based law firm Hill Dickinson. They have been partners in the aviation law firm Gates and Partners.
Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., has been named chairman of the Washington-based Atlantic Council's board of directors. He succeeds former U.S. national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, who was interim chairman, and Chuck Hagel, who is now U.S. defense secretary. Huntsman is a former governor of Utah and U.S. ambassador to China and Singapore. Scowcroft remains chairman of the council's International Advisory Board.
“Open and Shut?,” on page 46 of the Jan. 20 issue, should have stated that it is the HS748 aircraft, known as the Avro in India, that is facing retirement.
The trend lines for next year's defense budget are clear: The Pentagon is putting its investments in technology associated with the U.S. “pivot” to the Asia-Pacific region. That means intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities will be in demand in fiscal 2015 and beyond, along with long-range strike programs, warship construction and weapons that counter anti-access, area-denial strategies by China.
Sharing borders with China and Pakistan, both of which have undertaken their own weapons modernization efforts, and having borne the brunt of devastating terrorist attacks, India has undertaken its own military transformation. Without its own defense industrial base, India's modernization has been fueled by imports, and India now tops the list of global weapons buyers in the last five years (see map on pages 74-75). Despite procurement delays due to India's current political situation, the trend is expected to continue in the long term.
“Speed Fix” (AW&ST Jan. 20, p. 37 reports on how Boeing dealt with failed pitot tube anti-icing failures. The specific incident involved a Ryanair 737-800 crew who experienced divergent airspeed indications and other warnings throughout their final approach to Riga Airport in Latvia on Jan. 7, 2012.
Maj. Gen. James M. Richardson has been appointed commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. He was commander of the U.S. National Support Element Command-Afghanistan. Richardson succeeds Brig. Gen. James H. Dickinson, who has been named deputy to the inspector general in the Office of the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon.
Aviation Week has appointed Jeremy Torr as Singapore-based Southeast Asia bureau chief, effective immediately. Torr is a trained engineer and a journalist who has worked in Singapore for 13 years, most recently as editor of Asian Airlines & Airports magazine. He began his career in the U.K., where he wrote for The Guardian, The Sunday Times and a range of technical publications. Torr later was a technology editor for The Sydney Morning Herald.
An audacious project to convert land-based helicopters for shipborne amphibious operations has been given the go-ahead by the U.K. Defense Ministry. The £330 million ($546 million) program, awarded to AgustaWestland in December but only formally announced on Jan. 29, helps to secure the U.K.'s amphibious power projection capabilities, which will become a key part of the country's ability to mount a Responsive Force Task Group (RFTG) on its future Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
Brian Moran has been appointed Brussels-based president for Boeing of European Union and NATO relations. He succeeds Antonio De Palmas, who has been named president of Boeing Italy. Moran has been the Berlin-based head of Boeing International's activities in Northern Europe and had been senior manager of international business development for the Nordic region, Switzerland and the U.K. De Palmas succeeds Rinaldo Petrignani, who is retiring.
