For most of the Cold War, Britain built or tried to build large fighters and strike aircraft that it believed were needed to face the Soviet threat. France consistently built smaller, cheaper fighters that it could export. So whereas English Electric and its successor company made 338 powerful Lightning fighters, which had an empty weight of about 13 metric tons (29,000 lb.), Dassault made 1,401 contemporary Mirage IIIs, which were half as large.
Fresh off its first successful flight with the new Antares liquid-fueled medium-lift rocket (see page 16), Orbital Sciences Corp. has won contracts to build two Explorer-class scientific spacecraft, one to search for extra-solar planets and the other to study how atmospheric and space weather affects the ionosphere. Both will be based on Orbital's LEOStar-2 spacecraft bus and are scheduled for separate launchings in 2017.
In his recent Viewpoint, “Not Even Close: The Better Choice for LAS” (AW&ST April 15, p. 58), Fred George identifies “significant differences” between Beechcraft's AT-6 and Embraer's Super Tucano aircraft, both competing for the hotly contested U.S. Air Force (USAF) Light Air Support (LAS) bid. However, his opinion of those differences ignores significant facts and badly misuses others in an attempt to substantiate his view.
USAF Maj. Gen. William J. Bender has been appointed deputy director for operations in the Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq, U.S. Central Command in Baghdad. He has been commander of the USAF Expeditionary Center of Air Mobility Command (AMC) at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and is swapping positions with Maj. Gen. Frederick H. Martin. Maj. Gen. Paul T. Johnson has been named director of operational capability requirements/deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. He has been deputy U.S.
India, whose plans to spend billions on modernizing its military have caught the eye of weapons makers around the world, is issuing new rules designed to reduce its dependence on imports. “The only way forward for the country is rapid indigenization of defense products, with both the public and the private sectors playing pivotal roles in this endeavor,” Defense Minister A.K. Antony says. Increased indigenization is important for the armed forces so they have access to reliable supply chains, he says. India purchases 70% of its defense goods from foreign companies.
Matt Perkins, CEO of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., has been elected vice chair of the U.K. Industry Association for Space. He succeeds Stuart Martin, formerly of Logica/CGI, who is CEO of Satellite Applications Catapult.
Craig Maccubbin has been named chief technology officer/vice president-technology operations for Southwest Airlines. He was vice president/chief information officer of Spirit Airlines.
NASA will spend an estimated $4.38 million with ILC Dover on the design, manufacture and test of a next-generation spacesuit, under a contract announced April 25. Designed to improve astronaut capability during extravehicular activities, the Z-2 suit will operate at higher pressure than previous models, to improve productivity. It will also be designed to work with existing airlocks and new designs in development at the Johnson Space Center.
The European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (Ebace), scheduled for May 21-23, might serve as a prism of sorts for highlighting the differences between the old world and new, business aviation-wise, that is.
Congressional auditors see the U.S. military's almost $14 billion worth of satellite control networks as ripe for consolidation and cost-savings, according to the sentiment expressed in a new Government Accountability Office report. The GAO recommends the Office of the Secretary of Defense direct officials of future satellite acquisition programs to write business cases for proceeding with a dedicated or shared network for satellite control operations, as well as develop a department-wide plan for modernizing the Air Force Satellite Control Network.
Ach du lieber! It is a sight that would surprise and delight the old Graf himself. Technicians in Goodyear's cavernous Wingfoot Lake hangar, near the tire company's Akron, Ohio, headquarters, have begun the months' long process of assembling the first of three LZ NO7-101s (top photo). The airships are descendants of the gassy goliaths that von Zeppelin lofted above Lake Constance more than a century ago.
Mori Hosseini has been elected chairman of the board of trustees of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). One of three alumni on the board, Hosseini is chairman/CEO of Intervest Construction Inc. As ERAU board chairman, Hosseini succeeds Jim Henderson, who was elected vice chairman. Alumnus Zane Rowe will become board secretary and chairman of the Audit Committee. Rowe taught economics at Embry-Riddle and is a member of the university's Industry Advisory Council for the College of Business. He is the vice president of U.S. and Canada sales for Apple Inc.
This week, Aviation Week publishes two editions. The cover at the far left features the KF-X fighter concept that South Korea is developing (page 46). Elsewhere in both editions are a special report on the Boeing 787 (starting on page 24), a look at the challenges facing Willie Walsh in managing the IAG airline group (page 30), the issues and impacts of FAA flight controller furloughs (page 32) and an examination of U.S. missile tracking satellite efforts (page 33). Our Defense Technology Edition includes additional articles.
Robert S. Rivkin has been named senior vice president/deputy general counsel for international and regulatory affairs, for Delta Air Lines, effective May 6. He has been general counsel at the U.S. Transportation Department and was vice president/deputy general counsel of the Aon Corp.
May 6-9—Regional Airline Association Annual Meeting. Montreal. Contact Cheryl Goldsby of Emerald Media at [email protected] May 13-14—65th Naval Helicopter Association Symposium. Town and Country Hotel, San Diego. See regonline.com/nhasymposium2013 May 14-16—Imdex Asia. Singapore. See www.imdexasia.com/media-coverage.aspx May 21-23—American Helicopter Society's 69th Annual Forum and Technology Display. See www.vtol.org/forum
