Your recent articles on possible joint U.S.-Israeli air attacks to slow or delay Iran's march toward a nuclear capability fail to mention several terrible possible consequences of such attacks.
Andy Fernandes (see photos) has been appointed regional manager for India at Lincoln, Neb.-based Duncan Aviation. He will continue as avionics installations sales representative. Richard Gardner has become manager for Australia and New Zealand, where he has been an international representative.
The Indian air force is close to choosing a winner in a protracted bid to buy new short-range infrared homing missiles for more than 100 of its Jaguar strike jets. The competition is now between the Rafael Python-5 and MBDA Advanced, Short-Range Air-To-Air Missile (Asraam), following the elimination of Diehl's IRIS-T last year ahead of field evaluation trials. The missile will be mounted on the Jaguar's over-wing pylons, from which it now deploys out-of-production Matra R550 Magic short-range heat-seeking missiles.
Mark Keilholz has been promoted to senior director-information technology of Kirkland, Wash-based Greenpoint Technologies, from leader of the integration of financial management and reporting systems of three Greenpoint facilities.
“Not So Easy” (AW&ST Oct. 22, p. 52) seems to echo the overly optimistic attitude that prevails in the general news media about the Iranian nuclear weapons program. The Iranians abandoned their indigenous nuclear weapons design program in 2003 once they assured themselves that the AQ Khan network bomb design was going to work. The bomb has been engineered and tested in Pakistan so all they need is a copy of a device known to work.
U.S. airlines—and particularly East Coast-focused carriers such as JetBlue Airways—will take a bigger financial hit from Hurricane Sandy than from most previous major weather phenomena, but they should be able to manage the costs. The bigger questions for the airlines are: How many more weather-related financial hits will they take this year and this winter? And will such extreme coastal weather become more commonplace because of climate change?
The U.S. Air Force second Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite completed its on-orbit testing in preparation for transfer for operational use. The satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, was launched in May. It underwent in-orbit testing by itself and also executed trials to link with AEHF-1. Though the Air Force is building more AEHF satellites, legacy Milstar systems will remain in orbit until their utility degrades.
Brian J. Morra has been named a senior fellow and member of the board of regents of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, Arlington, Va. He is VP-strategic planning for the Electronics Systems Sector of Northrop Grumman Corp.
Troy Jonas has become VP and general manager of AAR Aircraft Services of Indianapolis. He has held similar roles at StandardAero Associated AirCenter and Bombardier Aerospace Aircraft Services.
When it comes to spending money on U.S. elections, the employees of defense companies tend to play it safe. They target campaign donations toward proven incumbents. And they hedge their bets, spreading the wealth between two candidates if the polls are close, or zeroing in on the one most likely to win the race.
China might well become the third force in commercial aircraft building, as many Western companies expect, but its record of export sales of jet and turboprop airliners remains modest. The industry often takes two steps forward, frequently with a political push, then one step backward. Its foreign customers still tend to be financially weak airlines and in many cases have received the aircraft on generous terms. In at least two cases, overseas operators have given up using the aircraft after just a few years.
A Swedish think tank that monitors global arms sales says India's weapons imports have overtaken China's, which have been pushed to second place, with 6% of global imports, even as Beijing continues to build up its domestic arms industry. India accounted for 9% of all international arms imports in 2006-10, and it is expected to keep the top spot for the foreseeable future, says the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The Space Exploration Technologies CRS-2 Dragon mission to the International Space Station, currently slated for January, could slip without a major impact to activities aboard the orbiting science laboratory, in response to an ongoing joint NASA/SpaceX investigation into the Falcon 9 first-stage engine loss that accompanied the Oct. 7 CRS-1 mission launching.
Are “next-generation” low-cost carriers now inventing the long-overdue all-new business model that is expected to reconcile legacy players' aging strategy with pure players' innovative ideas? Apparently, it is slightly premature to ask the question, keeping in mind attempts that failed in the past few years or ended in tenuous compromises. Just remember Air Berlin: It was expected to devise a new strategy but, in the end, joined the crowd and a global airline alliance, namely Oneworld. Moreover, today, Air Berlin is not in very good shape.
Sherman Collins has been named field representative in Northern California for Savannah, Ga.-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. He was director of aircraft maintenance for a Dallas transportation company.
Doug Shane (see photo), president of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Scaled Composites, has been named the recipient of the 2012 James H. Doolittle Award by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Lancaster, Calif. The award is given for accomplishments and engineering achievements in aerospace technology.
Dassault will begin delivery of the Falcon 2000LXS large-cabin business jet in 2014, replacing the 2000LX and providing improved airport performance and payload. The 4,000-nm-range LXS introduces inboard wing slats to reduce takeoff and landing distances. The aircraft will have a balanced field length of 4,675 ft.—1,000 ft. less than competing aircraft, the company says—and a payload of 2,190 lb. at its 42,800-lb. maximum takeoff weight.
The Royal Australian Air Force accepted its sixth Boeing C-17 at the company's final assembly facility in Long Beach, Calif., on Nov. 1. The aircraft is the 248th C-17 to be delivered and the 30th for an international customer. India has 10 C-17s on order for delivery in 2013 and 2014.
Brice Gnahore has joined Aviation Week's fleet and maintenance, repair and overhaul data content team as MRO data analyst in the Washington office. He has been an adjunct professor of mathematics at Bethany College. Honors And Elections
