Although it seems that old military helicopters never die, a top Army aviation official thinks the Black Hawk, Chinook, Apache and Kiowa Warrior will all be put out to pasture by 2040. As the Army considers its vision for aviation in 2030, upgrades are not a part of the picture. “We should not plan for the Apache Block 40,” says Maj. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, head of the Army's Aviation Center of Excellence.
Kerry Lynch (Washington), Michael Bruno (Washington)
The U.S. Air Force might be turning away from Hawker Beechcraft's T-6 trainer, but Mexico is rolling out the red carpet and company representatives hope the move could lead to a long relationship for the embattled Wichita manufacturer south of the border.
The next-generation battlefield—whether high- or low-intensity—may not appear less busy to the unaided eye, but the number of soldiers and airmen immediately involved and in danger will shrink significantly. Instead of troop-carrying helicopters, manned reconnaissance and close air support aircraft, the battlefield and the air over it are going to be thickly populated with a few heavily armored manned vehicles, a lot of robotic ground vehicles, airborne standoff weapons and both unmanned strike and reconnaissance aircraft, say Israeli and U.S. officials.
Jerry Hogge has been appointed senior VP-business development for McLean, Va.-based Qinetiq North America. He was VP-strategy and business development for Science Applications International Corp.
NASA bigwigs want to be in Cape Canaveral to watch Space Exploration Technologies launch its first Dragon capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) on Feb. 7. The problem is, the Obama administration expects to present its budget request Feb. 6, so officials are undecided about whether to spell out NASA spending details in Washington or from Florida. As is often the case, the Falcon 9 rocket launch may slip. To allay NASA safety concerns and meet the Feb.
William Johnson, chief scientific and technical adviser for human factors in aviation maintenance for the FAA, has received the Whittle Safety Award from the International Federation of Airworthiness.
Jan. 31- Feb. 2—MRO Middle East 2012. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Feb. 14-16— Defense Technology and Affordability Requirements. Arlington, Va. March 7—55th Annual Laureate Awards. Washington. March 13-14—Innovation Supply Chain Showcase. Orlando, Fla. April 3-5—MRO Americas 2012. Dallas. April 3-5—MRO Military Conference & Exhibition. Dallas. April 23-25—NextGen Ahead: Air Transportation Modernization. Washington. May 8-9—Civil Aviation Manufacturing. Charlotte, N.C.
For six decades, America's military strength has helped preserve a relatively stable Asia-Pacific environment. However, in recent years Beijing has rapidly modernized its military with aspirations of supplanting the U.S.'s position. If present trends continue, China's growing capabilities may help it win a bloodless victory so the regional balance of power tilts in Beijing's favor as it is increasingly able to deter U.S. forces from entering the region, coerce neighboring states, or—should conflict ensue—win a rapid victory.
Airbus has added to its A320NEO firm order backlog, with Mexico's Volaris signing for 30 of the aircraft (in addition to 14 classic A320s). Additionally, Spirit Airlines has confirmed its deal for 45 of the reengined A320s is now also firm, boosting the backlog for the aircraft family to more than 1,270 aircraft.
The biggest problem with creating an anti-electronics attack missile is to control the electromagnetic interference (EMI) created by its directed-energy warhead that could affect actuators, flight controls, onboard computers and communications of the vehicle that carries it, say airborne electronic attack specialists.
A multibillion-dollar annual market for space tourism and launch services could emerge within the next five years, projects suborbital spaceflight hopeful XCOR Aerospace, which aims to begin flight tests of its first Lynx reusable launch vehicle by year-end.
While 2011 was a tumultuous year for Australian airlines, enough challenges remain to make 2012 another pivotal period. Australian carriers certainly had a bumpy ride over the past 12 months—even by the volatile standards of the global airline industry. For some the upheaval was intentional, but for others the year was marked by unwelcome setbacks that are affecting their 2012 plans.
An Airbus decision to shift A320 wing work to Korea Aerospace Industries is drawing fire from the U.K.'s Unite labor union representing workers at the Broughton facility where the work has been done. Unite, in a statement, says workers were told on Jan. 10 that the bottom wing skin production work would shift to KAI. No job cuts loom as a result, with Airbus committing to shifting the affected personnel to other work.
Boeing's progress toward producing two aircraft per day from its Renton, Wash., 737 factory has reached another milestone with the rollout of the first aircraft on a 35-per-month cycle. Renton's parallel final-assembly lines are scheduled to reach a combined rate of 42 aircraft/month in the first half of 2014. With 21-22 production days per month, that rate equals about one aircraft per day from each of the two lines. The last time Boeing increased its rates was in 2009.
Israel is considered a world leader in electronic warfare, but the country's military analysts fear that for the first time in 40 years new Russian air defense systems could have an edge over the Israeli air force (IAF). In the last two years, the Syrian army has deployed Russian Pantsyr-SE1 (SA-22 Greyhound) guns and missiles, short- to medium-range air defense systems and the medium-range Buk-M2 (SA-17) systems. Moscow is still denying constant Syrian requests to procure the S-300PMU (SA-20) air defense system.
Olivier Gillot has been named senior VP-strategy, marketing and sales of the MRO unit of Industria de Turbo Propulsores, Zamudio, Spain. He held sales and business development positions within the Safran and Thales groups.
Ivy Chee has joined the Pacific Asia Travel Association in Bangkok as director for Asia. She was regional business development manager at Wego Pte in Singapore. Honors And Elections
Operational satellite networks that routinely monitor Earth's climate in the same way meteorological satellites watch the weather today will be extremely useful as the links between human activity and long-term environmental conditions become better understood, and perhaps more dangerous. It is an opportunity the aerospace industry cannot afford to pass up, given its unique ability to address climate-change issues.
Carlos Graziani (see photo) has been named general manager of Houston-based Landmark Aviation's Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport location in Florida. He was operations manager for Atlantic Aviation in Tucson, Ariz.
In early 2008, Avic I, as it was called then, announced it was setting up an airline that would buy its regional airliners, a move that had many industry watchers perplexed. To any trenchant doubter of China's future in civil aeronautics, it must have seemed that the product—the 50-60-seat MA60 turboprop—was so uncompetitive that Avic I could only sell it to itself.
Despite its programmatic progress and status as an acquisition reform program for the U.S. Air Force, GPS III—as with any other Pentagon project—is under the microscope and could be subject to funding cuts. The budget environment at the Pentagon gives new meaning to the term “capture team,” which is used to describe the group assigned by a company to win a program. Many contractors say they feel they are in a perpetual “capture team” mode, constantly fighting not only to win programs, but to keep them once they have won the contract.
Richard Ziskind has been appointed VP-sales and marketing for Greensboro, N.C.-based Dynamic Airways. He was director of marketing at Omni International.
Frank Morring, Jr.'s “What's Next For Deep Space Crew Vehicle” drew varied reactions, most of them pessimistic. Coastal Ron says: I think the multi-purpose crew vehicle is destined to be a $8 billion lifeboat, which is probably way overpriced. I know the original Orion was part of [then-NASA Administrator] Michael Griffin's “Apollo on steroids” approach to returning to the Moon, and from that uninspired perspective, an upsized Apollo capsule made sense for the short Moon trips it was to do.
Boeing's decision to close its Wichita defense plant is a story of too much factory capacity and not enough work. The 2013 closure raises concerns about the future of the company's more than 2,100 employees as jobs shift to facilities in other states.
