Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), currently the longest-serving woman in Congress, will now become the first woman to lead one of what is perhaps its most powerful panels, the Senate Appropriations Committee. Mikulski takes control of the committee after the recent death of Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), who had chaired the full committee since 2009 and led Democrats on the defense subcommittee since 1989. And she will serve alongside Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), who will lead Republicans on the panel.
The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have met two major milestones for the F-35 this year just under the wire—establishing a contract for the next production lot that targets an incremental cost decrease and laying the foundation to start training pilots in January. Both are major steps forward for the $400 billion Joint Strike Fighter program managed by Lockheed Martin. But both came only after months of wrangling.
Pratyush Kumar has been appointed president of Boeing India, based in New Delhi. He succeeds Dinesh Keskar, who returned to Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Kumar was New Delhi-based president and CEO of GE Transportation for South Asia.
Joseph C. Anselmo's “Decline and Opportunity” commentary (AW&ST Dec. 3, p. 14) is an overly simplistic assessment of the “negotiations” within the government surrounding the pending fiscal cliff. To assert that Congress lacks the maturity of a six-year-old is nonsensical. Congress is not a single entity intent on doing what is best for the country. It is a collection of 535 Big Egos, each beholden to some group or ideology that elects them.
Teeing up an issue for Congress in 2013, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), have introduced a bill that would push the FAA to begin setting privacy rules for the use of UAVs in civilian airspace. UAVs can carry “infrared thermal imagers, radar and wireless network 'sniffers,' with the capability to collect sensitive detailed information while operating in the skies above,” according to Markey. As such, he is seeking to regulate their use.
John L. Berizzi has been named to the Technical Sales Group of Greenville, S.C.-based Stevens Aviation. He was a charter sales representative at Hop-A Jet.
The revenue of Russia's United Aircraft Corp. in 2012 is expected to reach 180 billion rubles (about $5.8 billion), CEO Mikhail Pogosyan said last week. By the end of 2012, UAC is expected to have delivered 20 commercial aircraft, and 35 military aircraft to the Russian defense ministry. For the first time the deliveries to the Russian military will outnumber the exported combat aircraft, said Pogosyan. The corporation delivered 102 combat and civil aircraft last year.
Russia has set another record in foreign arms trade. According to President Vladimir Putin, the value of Russian weapons delivered to foreign customers in 2012 exceeded $14 billion—6% more than in 2011 ($13.2 billion) and more than twice the $6.5 billion reached in 2006. Although no regional breakdown of the defense exports has been officially revealed, India is likely to remain the largest importer of Russian weapons.
Keith Glatz has joined Washington-based Airlines For America as VP-international affairs. He was senior negotiator for the Office of International Aviation and Affairs for the U.S. Transportation Department.
Australia and Canada, two partners in the F-35 development program, are once again signaling hesitation over their plans to buy the single-engine, stealthy fighter from Lockheed Martin.
Engine upgrades are welcomed by aircraft manufacturers and operators alike, but few appear to have as much potential to bring a much-needed boost to an aircraft's orderbook so relatively early in its life cycle as the improved GEnx-2B on Boeing's 747-8.
Ashmita Sethi has been appointed Boeing's communications director for India. She was VP-communications and public affairs for the India region at Rolls-Royce.
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Allen S. Novick, a former Rolls-Royce/ Allison executive who helped transform the fortunes of the Indianapolis-based aeroengine maker with a revolutionary development concept, died on Dec. 9. He was 70. Novick led Allison's efforts to design, develop and produce the world's first family of turboshaft, turboprop and turbofan engines for military and civil use based on a single common core.
This week, Aviation Week publishes two editions. The far-left cover features a Pratt & Whitney photo by Randy Smith of the PW1100G, the first of the new-generation, geared-turbofan engines being offered for the Airbus A320NEO, at Pratt's West Palm Beach, Fla., facility (see page 46). The cover of our MRO Edition shows a Brian Losito photo of an Air Canada Boeing 777. The airline is converting the maintenance data for its aircraft to ATA Spec 2000 format so it can gain efficiencies throughout its supply chain by using standardized data.
The relationship between government contractors and their customers is badly strained. This may not be surprising, given the tension between the need for security and the growing scarcity of economic resources. In working toward increased [weapons systems] affordability, government must challenge a legacy of myriad regulations, acquisition processes and increased oversight that have had unintended consequences. They hinder innovation and affordability.
Industry has long recognized the value of collaborating with government on applied research projects, especially in the pursuit of breakthrough technologies. Access to specialized skills and state-of-the-art facilities, not to mention risk sharing, are just a few of the direct benefits. Such cooperation has been instrumental in helping companies validate and commercialize advanced capabilities sooner than if they had been working alone.
With 1,579 firm orders since its launch, the Airbus A320NEO (new engine option) family has clearly scored well with both airlines and lessors. And with the aircraft designed for minimum change beyond the new engines, managing the transition may well be the biggest challenge.
Margriet Bredewold (see photo) has been appointed European representative for Hilton Head, S.C.-based Baldwin Aviation Safety and Compliance. She was a development coordinator and trainer for Jet Aviation AG.
Chris Chadwick President, Boeing Military Aircraft Age: 52 Education: B.S. in electrical engineering, Iowa State University; M.B.A., Maryville University. Career: Chadwick served as vice president of the F/A-18 program and program manager of the MV-22 before being promoted to his current job.
The U.S. Navy has underscored its growing interest in developing greater cyberwarfare capabilities with the approval and release of key strategy documents meant to guide the service's efforts in the field. The trio of documents are the “Navy Strategy for Achieving Information Dominance 2013-2017,” “Navy Cyber Power 2020” and the “Navy Information Dominance Corps Human Capital Strategy 2012-2017.”
