Anthony Carbone has been named non-executive chairman of Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has been lead independent member of the board and succeeds Clay Jones, who plans to retire July 31. Carbone was executive vice president of the Dow Chemical Co. and later was vice chairman of its board.
Airbus initially planned the A320neo family as a minimal upgrade to the current A320 family, but this is no longer true for the A321neo, which is gaining more cabin capacity. Over the years, the A321 has gradually evolved from a niche product for a few dense routes to an aircraft meant for the center of the market. At the end of May, the A321 backlog stood at more than 1,100 aircraft, while the A319’s was just 104. If conversion rights are exercised, the A321 share will rise further; almost half of the manufacturing slots are now planned for the model.
After working for two decades with little government support, Britain’s Reaction Engines Ltd. (REL) is gaining ground with the U.K. and European space agencies and is now collaborating with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory on an innovative synergetic air-breathing rocket engine, known as Sabre.
With its increasingly industry-friendly space policies, Britain is seeing a surge of activity in the growing field of small-satellite technology as the government aims for a regulatory environment supportive of space-based enterprise in the U.K. The government is reducing the amount of insurance that satellite companies must acquire before it will ensure third-party liability. Britain is also weighing how cubesats are regulated in an effort to shorten the time it takes operators of small satellites to acquire a license.
Only four years ago, Boeing and Airbus were in a bitter fight for the largest contract for aerial refuelers to come on the scene for at least a decade.
The big question for the U.S. Air Force’s T-38C replacement program—the largest tender for fast-jet trainers in years—remains what Boeing will bring to the table. The answer remains—as it was a year ago—a ways off. The service is starting to put muscle behind the effort. But the competition isn’t expected to begin until late next year. So until that request for proposals is released, contractors likely to vie for the work remain largely mum.
Russia is continuing its comeback effort in the commercial narrowbody market with the new MS-21, in production and aimed at domestic, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Southeast Asian markets.
J ack Smith has been promoted to senior vice president-operations from vice president-ground operations for Southwest Airlines . He will be succeeded by Steve Goldberg , who has been promoted from managing director of ground operations.
Russia launched its new Angara-1.2 light launcher from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome July 9, after a technical glitch postponed a planned June 25 debut. Lifting off on a ballistic trajectory at 12:00 UTC, the two-stage Angara carried a mass simulator weighing 1,430 kg (3,150 lb.), according to Angara prime contractor Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. Khrunichev said the suborbital demonstration mission ended as planned when the Angara second stage and its dummy payload landed 21.28 min. post-launch 5,700 km (3,600 mi.) from Plesetsk.
Avic’s Xian Aircraft factory has begun final assembly of the center fuselage for the Comac C919 program’s first flight-test aircraft. The plant, one of several Avic units supplying major structural assemblies to Comac, says it completed the center wingbox, which should be part of the center fuselage module that Xian Aircraft is contracted to supply to Comac in Shanghai for final assembly of the aircraft. The center fuselage should be delivered this month. The first C919 is due to fly in 2015. Certification of the 158-seater is scheduled for 2018.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) of Guilford, England, will build the medium-resolution Alsat-1B remote-sensing satellite for Algerian space agency ASAL, along with a new spacecraft assembly and integration center in Oran, on the country’s northwestern coast. Based on the SSTL-100 small satellite bus, Alsat-1B will carry a 24-meter-resolution (39-ft.) multispectral imager and a 12-meter-resolution black-and-white imager.
Lufthansa and Air China should begin joint-venture operations between China and Europe as early as the 2014 winter schedule, providing improved market access to the German airline and cooperation with a competitive partner to the Chinese carrier. The two Star Alliance airlines also plan to collaborate more closely on maintenance, repair and overhaul services. The memorandum of understanding was signed on July 7.
Boeing could face “long-term credit risks” if the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the official export credit agency of America, is not reauthorized before October, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said July 8.
Japan has delayed entry into service of the Kawasaki Heavy Industries C-2 airlifter by two years to 2016 following an airframe failure in a strength test. Concentrated loads around the frames near the cargo door caused the failure, the ministry of defense says. The strength of the wing has evidently been verified. When the program was launched at the beginning of the last decade, the first delivery was due in 2011. More recently, the type was supposed to be in service this year. Japan has ordered six C-2s.
French lawmakers said July 8 that the nation’s €190 billion ($258 billion) military spending plan for 2014-19 is short €1.5 billion for next year, owing to an anticipated gap in revenue expected from the sale of radio-frequency spectrum allocated to the nation’s military. These exceptional resources, gleaned from the one-time sale of real estate, spectrum allocation and other state assets, will be used to fund €6.1 billion of the France’s defense budget, including €1.77 billion in 2014, €1.77 billion in 2015 and €1.25 billion in 2016.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and U.K. Defense Minister Philip Hammond are expected to sign an agreement July 15 to study joint development of a future combat air system (FCAS). The memorandum of understanding, to be signed during Le Drian’s visit to the Farnborough air show next week, follows a January summit between U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande, where they agreed to fund a feasibility study toward an unmanned combat drone that could form the basis of an FCAS.
Boeing’s planned maintenance services partnership with SIA Engineering Co., of Singapore represents the manufacturer’s most aggressive push into the commercial aftermarket and tracks with the company’s strategy of teaming with partners that add value as it seeks to grow its services revenues. The deal, slated to close this year, would create Boeing Asia Pacific Aviation Services. Boeing would hold 51% and SIA 49%.
Lockheed Martin, the F-35 manufacturer, and Israeli Elbit Systems’ Cyclone subsidiary are in advanced negotiations on developing an external fuel tank to be used by all Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) customers to extend the range of the aircraft. The two companies are working on designing a 600-gal. external fuel tank, which could be carried in the non-stealth part of a mission, so after disposing the tank, the attachment pylon could be stored in an internal compartment, restoring full-stealth capability.
