Mark H. Lefever has been promoted to chief operating officer and Richard W. Hildenbrand to president of Burbank, Calif.-based Avjet Corp. Lefever was president and Hildenbrand executive VP.
Scott Bousum has joined the global public sector policy team of Washington-based TechAmerica as an expert in defense and intelligence matters. He was a staffer for the House Armed Services Committee supporting the tactical air and land forces subcommittee.
Russia's Tactical Missile Corp. has completed trials of the Kh-31PD, RVV-MD, RVV-SD and RVV-BD air-launched missiles, CEO Boris Obnosov tells Russian media. The Kh-31PD is the latest modification of the AS-17 Krypton family, powered by a combined rocket-ramjet engine. It is equipped with a passive radio homing head and can hit radar stations to a maximum range of 180-250 km (110-155 mi.). Obnosov also says the Kh-31AD anti-ship variant with an active seeker is in the final stages of testing. Both missiles can be used by the Sukhoi Su-30MK and Su-35 and MiG-29/35 fighters.
Boeing will not be housing its new intelligence-gathering system, the medium-sized Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA), on an Embraer platform, according to the Brazilian manufacturer's defense chief, Luiz Carlos Aguiar. He said the two companies are not in talks on the MSA project, despite an agreement on other programs, such as the KC-390. Boeing unveiled the MSA concept at the Farnborough air show last summer. Plans for a platform provider announcement were dashed at year-end.
Michael DiGeorge has been appointed managing director of Arinc Inc.'s Asia Pacific Div., based in Singapore. He was senior director for E-enabled programs in Arinc's Hong Kong office.
Peg Billson (see photo) has been named president and CEO of Chatsworth, Calif.-based BBA Aviation's Aftermarket Services. She was president of BBA Aviation Legacy Support.
Sondra L. Barbour (see photo) has been named executive VP of Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Information Systems & Global Solutions. She was senior VP and chief information officer. Rick F. Ambrose has been appointed executive VP of the Space Systems business after a tenure as VP and deputy. Barbour and Ambrose will succeed Linda Gooden and Joanne McGuire, respectively, both of whom plan to retire.
Sean McGeough has joined Cleveland-based Nextant Aerospace as president. He was senior executive for the Middle East, Africa and Europe at Hawker Beechcraft.
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While the Chinese city Hefei has a big new airport that it would like to keep busy, aircraft maker Avic has a turboprop airliner plant that is not busy enough. Each of these state entities is making a small contribution to solving the other's problem.
Iranian space officials say their nation's launch and recovery of a live monkey on a suborbital spaceflight advances the goal of an orbital human mission, but that day apparently is more distant than the stated 2020 date. The Iranian Space Agency is said to have used a variant of the Kavoshgar rocket for the 120-km (74-mi.) flight, following a 2011 test that reportedly carried a sealed biocapsule, but no monkey. The 22-meter-long (72-ft.) rocket is believed to have a payload capacity of 50 kg (110 lb.). Israel dismissed the flight as a “publicity stunt,” while a U.S.
The Airbus/EADS advertisement that ran recently in successive issues (AW&ST Dec. 10/17/24, 2012, pp. 4-5) is low-class mudslinging, at best. The fact that Boeing did not respond indicates its management's high business ethics and standards.
The price of EU Allowances (EUA) under the European Union Emissions Trading System crashed to a new low for the December 2013 contract in January after an EU committee rejected a proposal to adjust auction timings to prop up prices. EUAs for delivery in December 2013 collapsed to €3.97 per metric ton ($5.38) at the close on Jan. 29—an all-time low for the contract. That compares with a price as high as €7.40 in December and €9.45 in November.
South Korea's STSAT 2C is operating nominally following the country's first successful launch from its Naro Space Center Jan. 30, according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. Succeeding on the third try with its two-stage KSLV-1 launcher, South Korea became the 11th nation to orbit its own spacecraft. The satellite will test space hardware and measure radiation levels from its elliptical polar orbit.
Jeff Trauberman, VP-space, intelligence, missile defense and government operations at Boeing, has been elected board chairman of the Washington-based Satellite Industry Association. Other news officers are: Bill Weller, VP-marketing and sales at Space Systems/Loral, vice chairman; and Stacy Fuller, VP-regulatory affairs for DirecTV, treasurer.
I am writing in response to your naming Angela Merkel as your Person of the Year—but citing her as a person of negative influence (AW&ST Jan. 14, p. 44). I was surprised by how little your editorial tried to understand Merkel's viewpoint in the context of the recent global economic problems. The woman is responsible and accountable to 81 million Germans, and arguably many more people throughout Europe.
China has conducted its second ballistic missile interception test, state media report. The target was an intercontinental ballistic missile in the mid-course phase of its flight—after engine shutdown and before reentry. The Jan. 27 test met its goals and was defensive in nature, says the Xinhua news agency.
Scaled Composites' veteran Kevin Mickey has been named president of the Northrop Grumman subsidiary, taking over from Doug Shane, who is assuming a special assignment to focus on completing the Virgin Galactic and Stratolaunch programs. The transition also sees Cory Bird, the current chief engineer on the Stratolaunch effort, become vice president.
