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.
Commercial production is rising, defense spending is falling, and economic conditions remain precarious, so what lies ahead for aerospace and defense in 2013 and beyond? That is the theme of Aerospace 2013, with its expanded analysis of global security concerns, defense programs, commercial developments and new technologies. In this issue, we look also at business aircraft, rotorcraft, spacecraft and demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul. Additional digital content can be found at AviationWeek.com/Aerospace2013. Cover design by AW&ST Art Department.
Russia's air transport industry continues to grow at a fast pace for the third year in a row. This advance is accompanied by the liberalization of the international flights segment as well as the industry's consolidation, backed by the government.
The kind of precision maintenance, repair and overhaul practiced by Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services at its Richmond, British Columbia, facility demands precise, plentiful interior illumination. It doesn't hurt to cut the light bill either.
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.
Myanmar officials say pilot error and poor weather may have contributed to the Dec. 25 crash of an Air Bagan Fokker 100. The information ministry says the pilots tried to land the aircraft at Heho Airport in heavy fog and mistook a road for the runway, hitting a power line, landing on the road and then sliding into a rice paddy. One passenger and a motorist on the road died. Eleven passengers were injured, according to the ministry. The aircraft, a Fokker 100 built in 1991, was on a flight from Mandalay International Airport to Heho.
From the CSeries to the NextGen air traffic modernization and new Chinese weapons, 2013 is shaping up to be a busy year with a lot of milestones in aerospace and defense.
Jan. 7-10—AIAA's 51st Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition. Gaylord Texan Hotel and Convention, Grapevine, Texas. See www.aiaa.org/asm2013 Jan. 9-10—Fourth Annual China Aerospace Manufacturing Summit. Post Hotel, Harbin City. See www.galleonevents.com/2013CAMS Jan. 9-11—Army Aviation Symposium and Exposition. Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center. National Harbor, Md. See www.ausaaviation.org
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.
NASA is polling industry for information on a common upper-stage compatible with various launch vehicles the agency plans to use for future planetary missions. With notional plans to fly a Mars mission at every 26-month launch window and “an additional science mission every three to five years beginning in the 2017 time frame,” the agency wants a “complete and independent” upper stage that can fly on existing launch vehicles, including the SpaceX Falcon 9 and the forthcoming Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares.
From the CSeries to the NextGen air traffic modernization and new Chinese weapons, 2013 is shaping up to be a busy year with a lot of milestones in aerospace and defense.
Switzerland's Pilatus Aircraft has opened a production, delivery and service base in state-backed Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing, China, and delivered the first two of more than 20 PC-6 single-engine Turbo-Porter utility aircraft ordered by Xinjiang General Aviation, Yunnan Ruifeng Group and Minsheng Financial Leasing. Pilatus says its agreement on the project, “with a total investment of some $400 million,” includes relocating the PC-6 production and PC-12 production lines for the Asia-Pacific region to Chongqing from the company's home of Stans, Switzerland.
When Europe's second-tier airlines started their slow slide into deficits and cutbacks 10 years ago, there was always hope that somebody would make an investment and rescue them. But several years into this deteriorating situation, there is no money left in Europe to spend on bailing out airlines.
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.
When the first Bombardier Global 5000 business jet equipped with Rockwell Collins's Pro Line Fusion avionics entered service in May 2012, it was a big day for proponents of head-up displays (HUD) in civil aircraft. The Global is the first aircraft to be certified with synthetic vision—a computer-generated three-dimensional view of the outside world—on the HUD. Now developers want to exploit the “always daylight” environment provided by synthetic vision to enable lower-visibility landings at a wider range of airports.
New developments cut the cost of composites and keep metals in contention. But it is the environment that continues to be a major driver of advances in civil aviation technology.
