Do not be surprised if Defense Secretary Leon Panetta secures a $1.4 billion deal to sell India 22 Boeing-made Apache Longbow attack helicopters during his trip there this week, say Center for Strategic & International Studies analysts.

Manufacturers are hanging ever-larger engines under the wings of their airliners in the quest for higher bypass ratio and lower fuel burn, and bigger fans lie ahead. Will there come a time in the pursuit of ever-higher efficiency when the trend must reverse? NASA thinks so, and is pursuing research into distributed propulsion, where many smaller fans are integrated into the airframe so as to not only provide thrust, but to reduce drag and potentially augment lift for short takeoff and perform flight control.

Whether it is highly integrated antennas that reduce drag, certifiable data links for unmanned aircraft or simulation tools for NextGen airspace research, it is not often that a major manufacturer takes the wraps off its internal R&D. But Aviation Week was given a glimpse inside Rockwell Collins' Advanced Technology Center (ATC)—and a look into the avionics company's future—during a visit to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Technical and management problems abound and wages are skyrocketing.

As the first engine maker to attach a fifth-generation civil turbofan to a more-electric aircraft's all-composite primary structure wing, Rolls-Royce says its Trent 1000 experience on the Boeing 787 gives it a significant advantage in the race for ever greater levels of engine-airframe integration.

For Mexico's airline maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry, this is a time of change, especially given recent developments at Aeromexico and Mexicana MRO Services, the two heavyweights in airframe third-party maintenance in the country. Aeromexico runs a joint venture with Delta TechOps, and Mexicana MRO Services is operating despite the August 2010 bankruptcy and service suspension of Mexicana Airlines, which once accounted for 60% of its business.

European Union emission allowance (EUA) prices drifted lower in May, reflecting nervousness in the wider financial markets as traders mulled the risk of a Greek exit from the eurozone. EUAs for December 2012 delivery under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) fell as low as €6.42 ($8.02) per metric ton on May 18, down from €7.60 on Apr. 30.

Due to financial distress, the municipality of Milan is preparing to sell its majority stake in the Malpensa and Linate airports authority, SEA. The idea is to sell a 50% stake, which could fetch at least €750 million.