Aviation Week & Space Technology

An incorrect biography was published in the Dec. 15/22 article about winners of the 2014 Aviation Week Photo Contest on page 70. The winner of second place in the General Aviation category is Ricardo von Puttkammer of New York. To see this biography and those of other winners, go to AviationWeek.com/photowinners

Russia’s drive to reestablish a super-power-like weapons industry continues to pay off, as arms sales there continue to grow. A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) on annual trends and data in worldwide arms production and sales—excluding China, due to a lack of data—shows Russian companies’ business surging, while sales for those in leading NATO member states mostly dipped or remained the same for 2013 and 2012.

Brazil’s plans to field an operational air wing on the aircraft carrier Sao Paulo has passed another milestone with the issuing of a $106 million, five-year contract to Elbit Systems of America to complete the upgrade work on four U.S.-surplus Grumman C-1A Trader aircraft. They will serve as carrier on-board delivery (COD) aircraft and refueling tankers.

A five-engine Russian Angara-5 launch vehicle demonstrated its ability to place a two-ton payload in geostationary orbit Dec. 23, launching a dummy

Johann-Dietrich Woerner, chairman of the executive board of the German Aerospace Center, is scheduled to begin a four-year term as director general of

NASA’s Kepler space telescope has detected its first exoplanet since it started operating with only two of its four reaction wheels functioning

The FAA is not quite finished with its official rules for small unmanned air systems (UAS), those under 55 lb. In the meantime, the agency did produce a public service announcement aimed at people receiving UAS as holiday gifts. “Many will be excited when they unwrap the box and find an unmanned aircraft. How do you make sure you stay off the naughty list?” the video asks, proceeding to list a number of operating guidelines.

Budget restrictions almost brought Israel Defense Force investments to a standstill in 2014, and 2015 is not looking much brighter.

As the French armed forces take on new overseas contingencies, the defense ministry battles budget challenges on the homefront.

Overall, European Union defense spending has been declining in real terms for eight years, despite an increasingly bellicose Russia

Russia is determined to continue to strengthen the military, which it exploits for foreign policy goals and internal propaganda, however shrinking budgets—due to soft oil prices and a slumping national currency—have cast uncertainty on these plans.

Germany’s long-term plan is to reach the NATO goal of spending 2% of gross national product on defense; in the short to medium term it will concentrate on using available funding more efficiently.

The market outlook for MRO services in 2015 is bright and should see increased demand. Single-aisle jets with CFM56 and V2500 powerplants should help fuel growth.

Diverse technology leaps are abounding; Aviation Week outlines nine of particular interest.

New or enhanced products that are geared to the MRO community are featured.

Although major elements are now on schedule, FAA’s NextGen ATC system faces important tests in 2015 to overcome criticism from industry stakeholders.

Regulators ready to release new rules with the new year, including several that will indirectly affect Part 145 repair stations.

The commercial aviation MRO market value is predicted to be $56.3 billion in 2015.

The fundamentals are good for Latin American airlines, but further growth could be limited by airport and ATC constraints.

UCAV similarities are a result of an emphasis on stealth with long range and endurance.

Newly enhanced service offerings from big three Gulf carriers likely to pose a challenge for competitors.

Sweden and Poland have notably stepped up their defense plans, but almost all of the European nations are boosting defense capabilities in light of aggressive actions in Russia

The air cargo industry is entering a year of many unknowns. Significant additional belly capacity will become available as more passenger widebodies are delivered, and lower fuel prices may lead to better margins, but only through rational capacity deployment.

Ukraine-related sanctions, a weak currency and falling international passenger traffic likely to create serious problems for Russian airlines in 2015.

Benefits abound for the digitization of data and automation of data-sharing practices, but implementing such strategies comes at a cost.