As he was recently discussing the pivot of U.S. strategic emphasis to the Asia-Pacific region, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter repeated an assertion that the U.S. spends more on defense “than the next 16 largest militaries combined.” While Carter's talking point is more or less technically correct, such a comparison does not indicate what an appropriate level of spending should be. A more useful way to think about U.S.
Constance A. Soloway (see photo) has been appointed vice president-human resources of the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Linthicum, Md.-based Electronic Systems sector. She was vice president-human resources, office administration, facilities and real estate, environmental health and safety, and flight operations for the company's Enterprise Shared Services organization.
Australia-based low-cost carrier Jetstar Airways is often in the headlines due to its rapid expansion into Asia. But as with other successful airline models, its forays into new overseas markets are built on strong performance in its own backyard.
Perhaps obscured by the haze of bankruptcy, Beechcraft CEO Bill Boisture has grossly missed the target with the most recent appeal of the light air support (LAS) contract (AW&ST April 1/8, p. 22). The company's AT-6 is an excellent and time-proven platform when it comes to primary flight training, but the same can be said of Embraer's A-29 with regards to light attack.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. David L. Mann has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general and assignment as commanding general of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. He has been commanding general of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Fort Knox, Ky. Brig. Gens. Ole A. Knudson and Gwendolyn Bingham have been nominated for promotion to major general.
Following French media group Lagardere, German car manufacturer Daimler has sold its remaining shareholding in EADS. The company sold a 7.5% stake for €37 ($48) per share for a total of €2.2 billion, part of which was picked up by EADS itself. The move came a day after EADS concluded the buyback of a 1.56% stake from the French government for €480 million and on top of a 1.6% stake acquired from Lagardere for €500 million earlier this month.
Joseph Doubleday has been named director of maintenance for Cambata Aviation International's StarPort at Orlando-Sanford (Fla.) International Airport. He was manager of the FAA's Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Group in Oklahoma City.
Keith Chatten (see photo) has become vice president of engineering for Superior Air Parts, Coppell, Texas. He was associate vice president of engineering for Continental Motors.
Every new warning of war voiced by North Korea, or act of terrorism within the U.S., drives home security officials' cautions about the “era of persistent conflict.” So it is a heck of a time to decapitate national intelligence capabilities—but that is exactly what the 2011 Budget Control Act cuts will do.
William J. Lewandowski, CEO Aerospace Supply Chain Solutions (Severna Park, Md. )
The Viewpoint “Transparency Is Defense World's Achilles' Heel” (AW&ST March 25, p. 58), was misleading since it did not take into account the dramatic and consistent strides that have been made by the defense industry itself in policing and preventing corruption since the mid-1980s. Widespread fraud allegations had called into question the integrity of the defense acquisition process. The situation prompted then-President Ronald Reagan to appoint the Packard Commission to recommend reforms.
Rockwell Collins senior systems engineer Geoff Shapiro tests advanced man-machine interfaces that could be part of next-generation cockpits starting in 5-10 years. Aviation Week & Space Technology takes an in-depth look at future flight decks from the viewpoints of technologist and human factors experts at key avionics makers in the U.S. and abroad, beginning on page 42. Rockwell Collins image by Mike Fager of Fisheye Photography.
May 1-2—SpeedNews 11th Annual Aerospace & Defense Industry Suppliers Conference. Charleston (S.C.) Place. See www.speednews.com/ConferenceInfo.aspx?conferenceID=22 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
David Ashton has been promoted to executive vice president-business development and technology at Wimborne, England-based Cobham plc from vice president of the company's Tactical Communications and Surveillance unit. Julian Hellebrand has been promoted to executive vice president for life-cycle management and program management from chief of staff to the CEO and group director of communications. James Barber has been named vice president of Cobham Defense Electronics-East, Lansdale, Pa.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is slowly nearing the issuance of the Airworthiness Directive (AD) that will include the guidelines on how operators have to modify wings of the in-service Airbus A380 fleet.
A final word of warning: Don't think your summer holiday travel plans survived sequestration just because you make it through the airport security line in time for takeoff. You also have to hope each flight arrives on time, or does not suffer other hiccups caused by an expected increase in air traffic congestion.
The U.S. Navy is assessing whether the Bell/Boeing MV-22 can operate as a potential Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) vehicle, in advance of a competition to replace the aging C-2C Greyhounds, which now perform that role. The tiltrotor was slated April 19 to conduct “palletized cargo and cyclic operations” using the deck of the carrier USS Harry S. Truman, as the first phase of the assessment. In June, the second phase will begin with Navy operational testers evaluating the aircraft's integration into “cyclic operations” on deck for six days.
John Croft (Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Phoenix and Tucson)
New technologies focusing on the sense of sight will boost the utility and efficiency of the cockpit within the next few years. From advanced synthetic-vision applications to unique head-up devices and enhanced-technology head-down displays, avionics makers are perfecting a palette of designs in the laboratory and on the flight-test fleet that aircraft makers will likely choose from for their new and upgraded products.
