“Swarm Defense” asks how to fight off a swarm of small UAVs. The answer—“with another swarm”—seems to me to be a product of the typical big defense do-it-the-hard-way mentality. It would be far easier, more effective and less expensive to aim a microwave weapon at the enemy swarm to fry them. The swarm-versus-swarm concept is just another waste of tax dollars. Columbus, Ind.
One recent issue (AW&ST Aug. 6) contains facts, figures and projections—within several articles—that are intriguing in the whole. In “Electrifying Agreement” (p. 28) the authors state that the Israeli air force believes the F-35's “stealth protection will be good for 5-10 years.” In “Stealth and Guile” (p. 35) we learn that the Next Generation Jammer will allow current fighters to operate “in heavily defended airspace.” And then in “Swarm Defense” (p.
Second quarter aftermarket sales and MRO work was “sluggish at best,” with engine parts sales the weakest segment, says Imperial Capital, an investment bank and institutional research firm. However, it expects MRO sales for the second half of the year to increase by 3.5%. While this is an uptick, this percentage is less than anticipated. A bright point, according to its survey of MRO providers, could come from shop visits for second-generation narrowbody engines, which would drum up demand for engine parts, but not until late 2013.
Another setback hit hypersonics research on Aug. 14, when a control fin that had functioned correctly on two previous flights malfunctioned on the third flight of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Boeing X-51A Waverider, causing the scramjet demonstrator to lose control before its engine could be ignited. The expendable vehicle was lost.
Carlisle “Kirk” Kirkpatrick has been appointed CFO of the Astrotech Corp., Austin, Texas. He succeeds John Porter, who has left the company. Kirkpatrick was managing director of IncuHive and has been executive vice president/CFO of Authentium Inc.
After receiving approval from manufacturer Hamilton Sundstrand, Epcor can now service the manufacturer's APS 3200 systems on Airbus A320 aircraft. The MRO provider, a subsidiary of AFI KLM E&M, had added services for Honeywell's auxiliary power unit (APU) 131-9 systems, so it can service both types of APUs on A320s.
USAF Brig. Gen. Andrew M. Mueller has been nominated for promotion to major general. He is component commander for the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force Command, Geilenkirchen, Germany. Col. Jon A. Weeks has been nominated for promotion to brigadier general and appointment as mobilization assistant to the commander of the 23rd Air Force/director of operations for Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlbert Field, Fla.
Boeing, which has put alternative fuels research at the front of many of its international partnerships, has opened the Boeing-Comac Technology Center in Beijing to work on alternative jet fuels with China's top aircraft manufacturer. The initial emphasis will be on refining waste cooking oil into a sustainable aviation biofuel. Comac—Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China—is the state-owned manufacturer of C919 and ARJ21 jets. Boeing says the Chinese university and research institutions with which Comac works are doing advanced work in a number of alternative fuel areas.
Web Editor Sean Meade asks Ares defense blog readers: “What do you make of the looming threat of sequestration in the U.S.—automatic budget cuts, half from defense—set to kick in at the end of the year if Congress doesn't intentionally cut from elsewhere?” Meade notes that “obviously, sequestration is a major political football, especially since we're gearing up for a nasty presidential election.” Many readers weighed in, including: Pappy saying:
Joseph Rivera (see photo) has been appointed director of international operations for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga. He returns to Gulfstream from Bombardier, where he was head of the Tucson, Ariz., service center. Rivera had been senior operations manager of Gulfstream's Long Beach, Calif., service center.
Beware of abbreviations. The item “X-47B Begins Pax Tests” in The World section (AW&ST Aug. 6, p. 14) left me, tongue in cheek, with two key questions: how many passengers, and at what seat pitch! Seaford, England
Jay B. Shelat has been named senior vice president-cargo terminal services-North America for Dallas-based Worldwide Flight Services. He was vice president-cargo of Jet Airways and had been director of alliances and interline for American Airlines Cargo.
As the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) latest cargo security deadline for passenger air carriers nears, much has changed since the original Dec. 31, 2011, date, but some of the concerns have not. The carriers must be able to inspect 100% of their cargo traveling on international U.S.-bound flights by Dec. 3. The TSA postponed its original mandate after nearly one-third of the airlines commenting on the deadline balked at the time frame allotted, according to Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports.
Embraer delivered the first of three EMB-145 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) testbed aircraft to India on Aug. 16, following the completion of ground and flight tests of the heavily modified aircraft in Brazil. Changes include an inflight refueling system, increased electrical and cooling capability, and structural provisions for the mission system, which includes an active-array radar mounted in an antenna above the fuselage.
USN Capts. John P. Neagley and Charles A. Richard have been selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half). Neagley has been named deputy commander of Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command at San Diego. He is program manager for Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington. Richard has been appointed commander of Joint Functional Component Command for Global Strike of U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb. He has been the command's chief of staff for special activities-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va. Honors And Elections
In a clever parry, Airbus is preparing to establish A320-series final assembly facilities in the U.S., right in Boeing's backyard. On first glance, it looks like a daring tactic designed to further strengthen the company's global image and boost its long-term goal to become the leading player in the air transport market. But several question marks hover over this decision.
Most aerospace technologies cannot hope to match the rate of progress enshrined in Moore's Law—the observation that microchip performance doubles every 18-24 months. But in small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), where payload size, weight and power are critical, rapid progress in communication, sensor and even power electronics is paying speedier dividends.
Congress may have left Washington for its summer recess, but that hasn't stopped calls for lawmakers to end the gridlock over the federal budget deficit. New and powerful players trying to avert a potential $1 trillion across-the-board federal budget cut are emerging, as former senior officials in the Transportation and Defense departments weigh in on the debate.
Joe Locandro (see photo) has become director of information technology for Cathay Pacific Airways. He succeeds Tomasz Smaczny, who has resigned. Locandro was director of group information technology for CLP
Shortly after ST Aerospace decided not to acquire Pemco World Air Services, it appears the bankrupt MRO based in Tampa, Fla., found a new buyer. And that buyer, Avion Services Holdings, an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, does not appear to be making major changes—at least for now.
