The U.S. Air Force stopped work at startup contractor MAV6 on the Blue Devil II intelligence-collection airship contract because of performance issues. Blue Devil II was originally envisioned to carry 2,500 lb. of intelligence payloads, including imagery and signals-intelligence collectors. But the cost of the system has grown substantially and the company has been unable to demonstrate a first flight due to problems designing the tail fin. In March, the Air Force removed intelligence payload-integration from the contract.
I had a visceral reaction to “Power Poll,” a recent Washington Outlook item that seems to endorse the views attributed to “Americans” regarding a proposed 25% cut in defense spending (AW&ST May 14, p. 23).
Los Angeles Bureau Chief Guy Norris posts more about Boeing's small launch vehicle concepts on the Leading Edge blog. AvWeek recommends: Viewing more concepts, cutaways and close-ups, as well as a diagram of a typical mission profile.
Christopher Kubasik, Lockheed Martin's incoming CEO, plans to maintain the heading set by his predecessor, Robert Stevens, when he takes the helm of the Pentagon's largest contractor next year in the face of major cuts to the defense budget.
The results of Aviation Week's 2012 Top-Performing Companies (TPC) study are providing fresh evidence that downturns in U.S. and European defense spending are starting to hit contractors (p. 44). BAE Systems, Finmeccanica, General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon all saw their TPC scores decline from last year. And the strong gains in operational efficiency made by defense primes during the past decade are showing tentative signs of weakening.
Fernando Val and Julio Rodriguez (see photos) have been promoted to chief operating officer and director-network planning, revenue management and distribution, respectively, for the Barcelona, Spain-based airline Vueling. Val was director of quality and inflight safety and Rodriguez director of revenue.
The core structure for the fourth Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs) satellite has been delivered to Lockheed Martin's Mississippi Space & Technology Center. Engineers there will now integrate the propulsion system onto the structure before shipping it to Sunnyvale, Calif., for mission systems integration.
Andrew Best has been appointed head of line maintenance at Zurich-based SR Technics, part of the Mubadala Aerospace maintenance repair and overhaul network. He succeeds Antoine Gervais, who has become head of operations development. Best was head of commercial operations at SR Technics and will remain a member of its leadership team.
Jim McNerney smiled broadly as he bounded onto a podium in a historic hangar at Reagan Washington National Airport this month, a gleaming Boeing 787 serving as a dramatic backdrop just beyond the open hangar door. The chairman and CEO of Boeing was accepting the 2011 Robert J. Collier Trophy on behalf of the team that developed the 787, a jet that is finally in service following more than three years of delays.
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) is a key technology in the Federal Aviation Administration's move to a satellite-based Next Generation (NextGen) air traffic management system for operations throughout the U.S. However, one of the first and most welcome applications of the advanced system required some specialized adaptation and a strong stomach since tight quarters and boat rides were involved.
Michael Bruno (Washington), Mark Carreau (Houston)
One thing has been made certain by the mission launched last week to the International Space Station (ISS) by Space Exploration Technologies Inc.: governments now have someone else they can call to send their cargo into space. The demonstration of Dragon's capabilities since its May 22 launch make clear that cargo transport to the ISS can be viably outsourced to at least one commercial player.
Robert L. Del Boca will succeed Giles Kyser as president and CEO of Selex Galileo, Arlington, Va. Del Boca has been a senior adviser to the Selex Galileo board and the CEO since 2010. He had been sector VP and general manager of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Defensive Systems Div.
When it comes to campaign air travel, incumbents have a clear advantage. Each hour, the cost to fly Air Force One is $179,750, according to a new Congressional Research Service report. But when traveling to a campaign stop, the president and his assistants reimburse the government for a mere fraction—the price of a commercial air ticket. The government picks up the tab for the president's security staff, who are always considered on official duty. The cost per flight hour is so high because when the president flies, there's an advance team to consider.
If there is an upside to the A380's wing-component cracking saga, it may be that it should enable Airbus to avoid an embarrassing misstep on its next big development program, the A350.
Since the dawn of military aviation in 1914, 100 of the 869 winners of the Medal of Honor have been aviators. Why such a relatively small number? On Memorial Day (May 28 in the U.S.), the question is worth pondering as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down and the U.S. honors the men and women who have died while serving in its armed forces. Photos courtesy of the Medal of Honor Society.
Here is one simple lesson to be gleaned from Aviation Week's Top-Performing Companies (TPC Study): avoid overconfidence. History shows that a first-place finish is no guarantee of long-term success. Conversely, even consistently strong performers have a bad year every now and then.
Given the complex, long-term nature of the supply chain, there is a risk of raw material and parts shortages that could cause disruptions that result in delays and drive up costs.
Boeing is on track to meet its milestones in the second phase of NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev-2) competition, after completing preliminary design review May 18 for software needed to operate its CST-100 crew capsule. Still to come are CCDev-2 milestones that include an orbital maneuvering/attitude control engine hot-fire test, NASA says.
Jeffrey Bernier (see photo) will become Asia-Pacific managing director for all countries outside of Japan for Delta Air Lines. He will remain managing director-Pacific sales and affairs.
Plagued with massive losses, Finnair is becoming the first European airline to outsource a significant part of its short-haul network. But SAS Scandinavian Airlines, its main rival in the Nordic region, is learning the hard way what can happen when regional partner airlines become unreliable as it too seeks its own financial turnaround.
The order backlog for Airbus and Boeing is now more than 8,000 units and worth about a half-trillion dollars. Their factories will be busy to the end of the decade, smoothing the impact of any order retrenchments that some industry trackers expect in the middle of the decade.
