I agree with reader Todd Fredricks' comments about the T-38 (AW&ST Dec. 19/26, 2011, p. 8). A logical replacement for the trainer would be the supersonic F-5F, which is equipped with an internal M-39 20-mm cannon and two engines, and can expend a wide variety of air-to-air/air-to-ground ordnance. The F-5F also carries the AN/APQ-159 X-band air-to-air search, range and angle tracking radar with off boresight acquisition capability. Maintenance costs for the aircraft are similar. Years ago, Northrop prototyped composite components for the F-5—now mothballed.
When Obama signed into law the defense authorization act, he also took a baby step toward expanding the use of UAVs inside the U.S. civil airspace. As part of the New Year's law, Congress directed the Pentagon, with help from the FAA and other agencies, to assess how fast the integration is taking place and look at the potential for creating test ranges to speed up the process.
The president's appointment of three new members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) could disrupt a delicate agreement on the FAA reauthorization bill. The current bill extending the agency's operating authority expires Jan. 31, and Congress has a limited number of days in session to pass an agreement this month. Congressional leaders have been negotiating a final deal that would allow the first full-fledged FAA bill since 2007 to finally pass, but labor issues have been key sticking points.
Eliminating duplicated maintenance required by different regulatory agencies could take billions of dollars out of maintenance and engineering work for leased aircraft when they transfer across borders. That's not a typo—it's billions. Given that leased aircraft comprise about 40% of the world's total commercial fleet, and that figure continues to climb, these costs if not corrected will grow with the leased fleet.
Stefan Gardefjord (see photo) will join the Swedish Space Corp. in Solna as CEO on May 1. He will succeed Lars Persson, who is moving on after five years in the role. Gardefjord is CEO of Logica Sweden.
NASA's twin Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (Grail) spacecraft straddled the New Year as they eased into orbit around the Moon, where they will provide the most detailed gravity maps available and important clues to the origins of Earth's big satellite. Before the mission is over, the two spacecraft will also give thousands of middle-school students some hands-on experience in space research. After spending 3.5 months on a low-energy trajectory that started with a tandem launch Sept. 10, 2011, the first of the Grail orbiters braked into lunar orbit at 5 p.m.
Nick Whitney (see photo) has been appointed managing director of the Operational Support Services unit of Marshall Aerospace, Cambridge, England. He comes from AgustaWestland, where he handled all business with the U.K. Defense Ministry.
President Barack Obama's changing of the Pentagon's global military focus from Europe to the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions could breathe new life into dormant plans for a new stealthy bomber, and fuel the development of improved intelligence and surveillance aircraft and ballistic- and cruise-missile defenses around the globe.
More than 20 scheduled carriers now vie for a share of Indonesia's commercial air transport market, with intense price competition and more regulatory requirements the order of the day. But such conditions will eventually force some airlines out, says Rusdi Kirana, head of Lion Air, the country's largest domestic airline. He foresees a massive shakeout through mergers and business failures, leaving just four airline groups to serve the world's largest archipelago, within the next 6-7 years.
The Chinese space community is building momentum for its objective of a manned lunar landing, with the central government approving research on a launcher rocket. Approval for work on the launcher in the 2011 China Space Activities white paper, presumably covering the five-year plan period to 2016, does not mean that the government has approved a mission to land astronauts on the Moon. But it does mean preliminary studies already conducted will now move on to more detailed investigations.
Launch of France's first Pleiades Earth-imaging satellite plus a quartet of French military radar-mapping microsatellites atop the second Russian Soyuz flying from the European spaceport near Kourou, French Guiana, suggests that some cross-fertilization may be in order for the troubled Russian space program. The Dec. 16 mission marked the second flight of the Europeanized rocket from the new Soyuz pad at Sinnamary (see photo).
The conflict in Libya introduced to combat a new weapons system: the Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft. But that first exposure came without warning, and the spur-of-the-moment redeployment forced the U.S. Navy to demonstrate its operational and technological flexibility within NATO and U.S. Air Force frameworks.
E. Robert Lupone has been appointed executive VP, general counsel and secretary of Providence, R.I.-based Textron, succeeding Terrence O'Donnell, who is retiring. Lupone was senior VP and general counsel of Siemens Corp.
Airbus says it has already developed a fix to wing cracking found on some A380s. The cracks, first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, have been seen by at least Qantas and Singapore Airlines. Airbus confirms the cracking on “on some non-critical wing rib-skin attachments on a limited number of A380 aircraft.” The aircraft maker adds that safe operation of the fleet is not affected, and no flight limitations are being put on the A380. Airbus says an inspection and repair process has been identified.
David Smith has become senior manager of financial planning and analysis and Richard Squire-Tibbs controller at The McGraw-Hill Companies' Aviation Week. Smith was manager of accounts receivable and credit analysis in MGH's Financial Reporting Department, and Squire-Tibbs was controller in the MGH Business Services Center. Both work in New York.
Giorgio Vismara will join Zurich-based advanced composites manufacturer Gurit as general manager-marine, effective Jan. 17. He is general manager for Vismara Marine.
If the U.S. defense budgeting process could be any more disconnected from reality, it's hard to imagine how—which is precisely what comes to mind as we reflect on efforts by the Obama administration and Congress to reconcile the national security strategy the U.S. needs in a world of rapidly evolving threats with the spending it can afford.
Pat Long (see photo), vice chairman of Longistics, has been named a finalist for two Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Long's nominations are for Best Entrepreneur and Best Overall Company in the Service Business.
