FRANKFURT — EADS is slowly preparing the composition of its administrative board, to be confirmed at an extraordinary general meeting likely to be held before the end of March. Anne Lauvergeon, ex-CEO of French nuclear energy group Areva, has received strong endorsement to become the next EADS chairman, succeeding Arnaud Lagardere. Jean-Claude Trichet, a board member since 2012, is expected to be re-elected.
The Defense Department needs to better monitor contracts for the transportation of supplies, mail, and passengers in Afghanistan via helicopters, according to a recent report by the Pentagon Inspector General (IG). Some $3.5 billion worth of transactions could be at risk, the IG says.
The U.S. Navy awarded three contracts late this month worth a combined total of about $298.5 million for work related to training development for the service’s new fleet of Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) now being built. Properly training the crew and support-service personnel for the LCS fleet is considered key to its successful operation.
LONDON — The U.K. Royal Air Force has appointed a helicopter pilot as chief of the air staff for the first time in its 95-year history. Air Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford will head the RAF starting in July 2012, taking over from Sir Stephen Dalton. Dalton had led the air arm since July 2009, taking it through one of its most challenging periods, including the Strategic Defense and Security Review and the conflict in Libya as well as ongoing operations in Afghanistan.
To prepare for funding shortfalls – and even greater potential budgetary woes – Adm. Jonathan Greenert, U.S. chief of naval operations (CNO), issued guidance Jan. 25 for extensive operational and expense cuts across the board, with particular emphasis on aviation and surface-ship accounts.
EADS is slowly preparing the composition of its administrative board, to be confirmed at an extraordinary general meeting likely to be held before the end of March. Anne Lauvergeon, ex-CEO of French nuclear energy group Areva, has received strong endorsement to become the next EADS chairman, succeeding Arnaud Lagardere. Jean-Claude Trichet, a board member since 2012, is expected to be re-elected.
LONDON — AgustaWestland has flown the first production Wildcat maritime helicopter for the U.K. Royal Navy for the first time. The aircraft, designated Wildcat HMA2, was flown from AgustaWestland’s facility in Yeovil, Somerset on Jan. 17 and will be delivered to the Royal Navy’s 700W (W for Wildcat) Naval Air Squadron, the U.K.’s fielding unit for the naval version of the aircraft.
As climatic changes spark greater U.S. interest and concern about the strategic importance of the Arctic, the U.S. Coast Guard is getting ready for increased ice-breaking work in the area with refurbished or—hopefully—newly acquired ships. “The challenges in the Arctic are growing,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp said during a briefing at the recent Surface Navy Association National Symposium. “We’ll be back in business next year.”
BEIJING — China’s Y-20 heavy airlifter, long known to be in development, made its first flight on Jan. 26. Official photographs showed the aircraft powered by four medium-bypass turbojets and adopting the familiar configuration of a high-wing, T-tail and short fuselage-mounted undercarriage now almost universally used for military transports. The undercarriage had three axles on each side, with two wheels mounted on each axle. The aircraft has therefore not differed markedly from the design previously revealed in low-resolution pictures.
AIR FORCE Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, (FA8504-07-D-0001, P00017), is being awarded a $97,328,243 firm-fixed price, requirements contract modification for sustaining services including logistics support, program management support, engineering services, spares and technical data support of the C-130J Propulsion systems. The location of the performance is Indianapolis. The work is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2014. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WLKCA, Robins AFB, Ga. U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
The U.S. Navy wants its new unmanned underwater vehicle, the Knifefish, to do more than remove humans from the dangers of mine hunting. The Navy also hopes Knifefish will replace the use of dolphins. Knifefish, which was unveiled last year, is to be fielded in 2017 as part of the Littoral Combat Ship's mine-warfare mission module. After being launched, Knifefish will use a low-frequency synthetic aperture sonar to scan for mines. The Navy believes that capability will replace trained dolphins, which use their natural echolocation abilities to hunt mines.
When safety issues arise with products used by millions of Americans, Congress is often quick to exercise its oversight role. But for the most part, lawmakers are willing to let the FAA and Boeing take time to discover just what caused the 787 battery fires that have grounded the fledgling fleet (see page 30). Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee who plans to retire in 2014, is one exception. He had a brief outburst last week pressing for congressional inquiry into the matter.
ARLINGTON, Va. — As the production line looks to ramp down for the LPD-17 San Antonio-class amphibious dock ship, Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding unit is eyeing other possible variants for the ship that could perform such missions as ballistic missile defense (BMD), hospital work or sub tending.
A team of researchers working with Hungarian air survey company Interspect has unveiled what is claimed to be the most detailed geo-referenced airborne image to be acquired from an airplane, versus helicopters or low-flying ultralights. The image has a resolution of 0.5 cm, which the team says is five times what has been achieved in other countries; the same group produced a 1.8-cm resolution image in 2009.
LONDON — Airbus Military has marked the last delivery of Spain’s most successful indigenous aircraft— the C212. The company handed over the last C212-400 light transport to the Vietnam marine police on Dec. 28, marking the end of production of the type in Spain. The C212 was developed by CASA—now Airbus Military—during the 1960s and the type made its first flight in March 1971. Since then, 477 C212s have been built for more than 90 operators. Approximately 290 are still in service today.
The next U.S. aircraft carrier, CVN-78, the Gerald R. Ford, is 90% complete. The Newport News Shipbuilding division of Huntington Ingalls Industries recently added three units to the ship, including two sponsons—structures that project from the side of the hull and provide the space needed for flight-deck operations. One sponson is 140 ft. long and weighs 391 metric tons, one of the largest ever erected. In addition, shipbuilders have installed 3 million ft. of the total 10 million ft. of cable. Workers add 10,000 ft.
NASA's loss is Boeing's gain, as former space shuttle program manager John Shannon retires to head up the company's International Space Station program. “It is really great to be back in an operational program again,” Shannon says. Not so great for his space-agency bosses, who continue to see rising stars bail out while Congress and the White House squabble over NASA's future.
HBC REORG: Hawker Beechcraft is hoping to receive U.S. Bankruptcy Court confirmation of a reorganization plan to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week after receiving approval from key creditors. The company announced Jan. 25 that the key creditors have overwhelmingly approved the proposed joint plan for reorganization, and that the confirmation hearing is scheduled for Jan. 31. The company, which filed for Chapter 11 on May 3, hopes to exit bankruptcy protection in the second half of February.
Ceramic materials have become viable—even better—replacements for conventional metallic armor plates on tanks, personnel carriers and other armored vehicles. They not only resist penetration by most explosive projectiles encountered on a battlefield, but provide considerable weight savings, which in turn increase the agility and maneuverability of these multi-ton platforms. Ceramic plates, however, have one significant problem: weakness in the adhesive bond that connects them to their composite backing material, which reduces their effectiveness.
Seasons greetings from Iceland came early in 2012, carried aloft by seven jolly men in a newly upgraded Bombardier Dash 8 Q300. The aircraft, a maritime surveillance platform belonging to the Icelandic Coast Guard, flew for 8 hr. and 1,835 nm from Reykjavik to Moncton on Dec. 18 via a fuel stop in Goose Bay, Labrador. The goodwill mission aimed to help Toronto-based Field Aviation, the aircraft modification company that installed a new flight deck on TF-SIF, the Q300's Icelandic registration, in 2011.
NEW DELHI — India will test fly its Nirbhay subsonic cruise missile in February, a top defense scientist says. “Nirbhay is at a final state of integration and we hope to flight-test its capabilities, including stealth and accuracy, next month” says V.K. Saraswat, head of state-run Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). Nirbhay will be launched from Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha, in eastern India.
Angus Batey and Francis Tusa London and David Eshel Tel Aviv, Francis Tusa (London), David Eshel (Tel Aviv)
Infantry operations have evolved dramatically in the past decade, along with weaponry. The combat equipment that many soldiers now field reflects rapid advances in areas ranging from weapons design and precision firepower to battlefield networking.
