Madhu Unnikrishnan (Waltham, Mass. ), Anthony L. Velocci, Jr. (Waltham, Mass.)
William H. Swanson has spent nearly his entire career at Raytheon, starting as a mechanical engineer in 1972. He was appointed chief executive in 2003 and chairman in 2004. During his tenure, Raytheon has expanded its footprint globally, with a full quarter of its sales abroad. In an interview at Raytheon's headquarters in Waltham, Mass., with Aviation Week & Space Technology Editor-in-Chief Anthony L.
The photograph that accompanied the Washington Outlook column May 16 (p. 21) actually depicted Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), while it should have shown Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.).
Bill Meehan has been appointed to succeed Wake Smith as CEO of Pemco World Air Services, Tampa, Fla. Meehan was senior vice president of airports services at Continental Airlines and had been president and chief operating officer of Continental Micronesia.
The oil price uncertainty and its effect on airline managers and industry in general as a result of the political upheaval in the Middle East reminds me of articles that I have read in Aviation Week & Space Technology and similar reports in other weekly news magazines during the winter. These articles addressed the use of coal-derived jet fuel being used to refuel jetliners at Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. A 40-60 mixture of the coal-derived jet fuel blended with regular JP-8 was used.
Tobin Shackleford (see photo) is the new director of Cincinnati-based Field Aviation subsidiary Special Mission. He was director of special mission sales at Raisbeck Engineering.
Andrew Watterson (see photo) is the new vice president of planning and revenue management and ticket pricing at Hawaiian Airlines. He was a partner in Dallas in the aviation, aerospace and defense practice of consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
Forget the engine, how about an alternate fighter? Shocked by a potential $1 trillion price tag to sustain the JSF over its life span, senators have started asking the Pentagon whether it has an alternative to the next-generation fighter. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says contractor Lockheed Martin should begin to absorb some of the program's cost overruns after its “abysmal job” of managing the contract.
Unmanned aircraft are moving closer to the fight, teaming with manned helicopters and ground troops in a major demonstration planned by the U.S. Army and providing close air support in a program launched by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Both the Army Manned Unmanned Systems Integration Concept (Music) and Darpa's Precision Close Air Support (PCAS) project focus on demonstrating architectures enabling information to be shared between manned/unmanned aircraft so targets can be rapidly engaged.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Robert Wall (London)
The biggest deterrence to computer network invasion—pinpointing the origin of a cyberattack or other foul play—may be waiting in the wings. A technology of interest—a forensic tool dubbed “cyberexhaust”—is described as the digital equivalent of a trail of bread crumbs through the forest.
Look for the House to begin debating a defense authorization bill for fiscal 2012 this week, including one measure to ensure that the GE-Rolls Royce engine for the Joint Strike Fighter receives no government funding. The companies have already agreed to pick up the tab for further development of their alternate to Pratt & Whitney's JSF engine, but Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) wants to make sure that, if the companies have access to government facilities, there is no back-door government spending toward the effort.
GE Aviation has completed a $3 million, seven-acre solar power field that is expected to produce 700 kw of power for its Durham, N.C., engine facility, which makes GE90s and GEnxs. Operations are to begin this month. The field includes more than 9,000 thin-film panels. GE Aviation Durham Plant Manager Mike Wagner says the panels will reduce the plant's electricity bill by 30% and cut its C02 emissions by more than 400 million tons a year.
Aviation Week's recent profile of the strategies used by top foreign aviation manufacturers in China (AW&ST April 25/May 2, p. 42) included a map of current and pending joint ventures that we knew might get us in trouble by being outdated or incomplete. China can be a tough market to research accurately.
New members of the board of directors of the International Air Cargo Association are: Oliver Evans, chief cargo officer of Swiss International Airlines; Neel Shah, senior vice president and chief cargo officer of Delta Air Lines; Vladimir Zubkov, vice president of Volga-Dnepr Group of Companies; and Jason Foote, vice president-international air and charter operations for UPS Airlines.
June 2—American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Executive Symposium: “Aerospace Today and Tomorrow.” Kingsmill Resort and Spa, Williamsburg, Va. And, June 27-30—41st Annual Fluid Dynamics/20th Annual Computational Fluid Dynamics/29th Annual Applied Aerodynamics/42nd Plasmadynamics and Lasers/42nd Annual Thermophysics/Sixth Annual Theoretical Fluid Mechanics Conferences. Sheraton Waikiki and the Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu. Call +1 (703) 264-7511, fax +1 (703) 264-7551 or see www.aiaa.org
The U.K. government has approved early design activity for the future submarine that will take over the role of the country's nuclear deterrent, replacing the Vanguard Class starting in 2028. The so-called initial gate approval was made last week, with formal program go ahead, or main gate, planned in 2016. The new submarine will carry fewer warheads and Trident II missiles. The government projects the program to cost around £11-14 billion.
Exports will hold the key to whether Europe's A400M military airlifter program will ever make money. But past missteps are causing prime contractor Airbus Military to tread carefully as it decides how to approach the global market.
Senators who pushed NASA's three-year reauthorization act last year want biweekly briefings on how the agency is doing in meeting its requirements to build a heavy-lift rocket and develop government and commercial cargo and crew capsules. They fear the agency is dragging its heels (see p. 36).
As Airbus Military looks to expand its product portfolio, it is preparing to flight test a C-295-based airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) following a self-funded technology assessment. Prototype testing is set to begin soon at Airbus Military's Seville, Spain, facility. Three months of flight trials are planned largely to validate the radar's aerodynamic effects on the aircraft, says Miguel-Angel Morrell Fuentes, head of engineering.
It was interesting to read “Tell-Tale Tail” and to note that you have decided to resume reporting on U.S. military black programs (AW&ST May 9, p. 22). However, I wish you had covered the missile launch off the coast of Los Angeles that occurred last November. Ironically, your total silence concerning that story speaks volumes.
Japanese researchers have conducted drop tests to validate techniques for use in designing a low-boom supersonic transport. The tests confirmed that careful design can reduce the sonic boom by half, says the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Two different dart-shaped models were dropped from a high-altitude balloon at the Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden. Their sonic booms were measured in the air and on the ground and then compared.
The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) lost out on buying 439 aircraft between fiscal 2003 and 2010 due to ever-growing program costs crowding out procurement, the vice admiral in charge of the Navy and Marine Corps' aviation acquisition command told the Aviation Week Affordability Requirements Conference May 18. Vice Adm.
NASA might ease its “delicate position” by following the cost-cutting approaches used by Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX) in developing the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, a key member of the panel that reviewed U.S. human spaceflight plans for President Barack Obama is telling Congress. Administrator Charles Bolden apparently agrees, saying that the SpaceX approach to management is “disruptive technology” that can bring “great gains” to the space program.
A week after returning its X-3 hybrid helicopter to flight, Eurocopter says it has topped the program speed target of 220 kt. by achieving 232 kt. in sustained forward flight at France's Istres flight test center. The prototype received a gearbox upgrade to achieve the performance target. Eurocopter argues its hybrid concept will yield a more cost-effective high-speed rotorcraft than, for instance, the Sikorsky X-2, which aims for higher speed.
