Advances in rocket engine technology do not come along often, so it was noteworthy in October 2012 when Orbital Technologies flew a sounding rocket powered by its “vortex” engine, which injects fuel and liquid oxygen so the burning mixture does not touch the walls of the combustion chamber, allowing it to be thinner, lighter and cheaper. Oxidizer is injected at an angle that sets up a pair of coaxial vortices. Combustion occurs in the innermost swirl, the outer vortex protecting the chamber walls from the heat of combustion.
European government bickering scuttled a mega-merger of EADS and BAE Systems, and the Pentagon continues to hold firm against further consolidation among its top contractors. But consolidation amid second- and third-tier contractors is likely to accelerate as defense spending heads down in the U.S. and Europe.
The pace of advance in China's military modernization has reached the point where the question is more one of what surprises will be sprung on the world in 2013, rather than whether there will be any. The first-ever flight operations from a Chinese aircraft carrier took place in November, with what was by national standards a blaze of publicity. In September, outgoing Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao personally officiated at the carrier's commissioning.
NASA Space Launch System (SLS) advocate Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) is leaving Capitol Hill, but the program should get a boost by meeting an early test. An engineering board has cleared the first element of the heavy-lift rocket for preliminary manufacturing, keeping the program on track for a first flight with the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle in 2017.
NASA wants $800 million in fiscal 2013 for its program to outsource the transport of crews to and from space, and says if it does not get the funding first commercial flights to the International Space Station will slip to 2018. With station funding set to expire in 2020, that could be a problem.
Although some questions about Britain's plans for its future national defense were answered in 2012, the year was defined by ongoing uncertainties, and 2013 looks likely to continue the trend.
As the U.S. military pulls out of Afghanistan and “resets” for the Pacific theater, will there be an accompanying shift in the Defense Department's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance forces? The year should see the beginning of a shift away from lower-tech systems geared to detect improvised explosive devices and toward future high-tech sensors.
Dozens of women are filling senior management positions across aerospace and defense, changing the face of an industry not known for diversity. Another glass ceiling will shatter on Jan. 1, when Marillyn Hewson (right) becomes CEO of Lockheed Martin and Phebe Novakovic fills the top spot at General Dynamics.
The U.S. Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system, which has not had a successful intercept since 2008, is expected to return to flight in early 2013 after a two-year hiatus. And the U.S. will continue to roll out its Phased Adaptive Approach to protecting Europe, including construction of the first Aegis shore-launch site in Romania and further flights of the improved SM-3 Block 1B interceptor.
Germany plans a 2013 defense budget of about €33.3 billion ($43.5 billion), a €1.4-billion increase from 2012. Military pay raises will account for most of this increase. The 2013 budget includes funding for these raises, to make it more attractive to serve in the all-volunteer Bundeswehr. Personnel strength will be reduced to 196,200 soldiers in 2013, on the way to a planned maximum of 185,000. These cuts are expected to reduce the defense budget to €33 billion in 2014, and to €32.5 billion in 2015 and again in 2016.
Weeks after North Korea's successful rocket launch, South Korea may take steps to beef up its surveillance capabilities. On Dec. 21, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency formally notified Congress that South Korea has proposed buying four RQ-4 Block-30 Global Hawks for up to $1.2 billion. The sale of Northrop Grumman's high-altitude, long-endurance UAV would help South Korea assume the lead in intelligence gathering as the U.S. plans to dissolve the Combined Forces Command in 2015, notes the agency.
The Pentagon continues to set the standard for research and development spending on missile defense, though purchases from allies are increasingly setting the production pace for regional defense systems. This trend is likely to continue in 2013, as Iran threatens Israel and other U.S. allies in the region.
Could optionally piloted vehicles (OPV) be the next wave in cost-effective special-mission aircraft, able to fly in civil airspace with pilot and sensor operator on board but also capable of flying unmanned for far longer duration at lower cost than the Beechcraft King Airs so favored today? Aurora Flight Sciences and Northrop Grumman would answer yes. Aurora is developing the $4.5 million Centaur OPV, and its first buyer is Switzerland's Arma-suisse, which will use it as a flying testbed for unmanned-aircraft airspace integration.
Japan's 2013 defense budget faces the biggest drop in percentage terms since 2004, set to contract 1.3% after three consecutive 0.4% reductions since 2010. Japan's security environment, especially around its southernmost islands facing China, is “tougher than ever” according to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, but 20 years of economic stagnation make it increasingly difficult to pay for defense.
Displays are getting personal. As soldiers join the network they need displays, and today's ruggedized laptops are heavy, power-hungry and breakable. The push is on to field lightweight, flexible displays that can be worn on the wrist or integrated into clothing or protective eyewear. The U.S. Army is testing wrist displays, and the U.S. Air Force kneepad touchscreens, produced by L-3 Display Systems using unbreakable plastic-backed organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology from Universal Displays. These displays are small—only 4.3-in.
While privacy concerns bedevil efforts to integrate unmanned aircraft into U.S. national airspace, police departments across the country are pushing ahead with plans to field small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS) operating under existing rules. The vehicle of choice appears to be a miniature rotorcraft, providing the ease of operation that comes with vertical-takeoff-and-landing and the ability to hover and stare. Canada's Draganfly Innovations has led development of the public-safety market with its 4.5-lb.
After its unveiling of the J-20 and J-31 stealth fighters, it is not unimaginable that Beijing could pull off another technological surprise in 2013. Could it up the superpower stakes by testing an unmanned combat air vehicle, an air-launched strike weapon or even a mini-spaceplane? Speculation abounds.
An inflection point is approaching for rotorcraft manufacturers and their customers, civil and military, where they must decide whether to invest in de-veloping and purchasing a step change in capability or continue on a path of incremental improvement. The decision is particularly pressing for the U.S. military, which by opting to repeatedly upgrade its existing airframes has fallen behind the commercial world in helicopter technology. The choice now lies between simply catching up with the commercial market, or boldly leaping ahead.
A “wait-and-see” banner flies over France's 2013 defense budget, which, like all others for EU defense ministries', has to contract to meet the government's goal of bringing the country's public debt down to 3% of GDP from the current 5.2%.
Routine aircraft-like spaceflight operations could begin in 2013, with Virgin Galactic and XCOR Aerospace flying to the edge of atmosphere, but fully reusable air-breathing space access remains a dream. A crucial step forward could be tests of an air-breathing rocket engine component now underway in the U.K.
