UAS FOCUS: Twenty aviation associations are cautioning FAA acting Administrator Michael Huerta to protect airspace access and guard against manned-aircraft fleet modifications as unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations are introduced into the national airspace system (NAS). “For FAA to succeed, the agency must remain focused on safety rather than privacy issues, where FAA has no statutory standing or technical expertise,” say the associations, representing business and general aviation, airports, airlines, repair stations, and air traffic controllers, among others.
Lockheed Martin has fired CEO-elect Christopher E. Kubasik for having “a close personal relationship with a subordinate employee.” Marillyn A. Hewson, who was to succeed Kubasik as president and COO on Jan. 1, 2013, has been named to be the new CEO. Lockheed asked for Kubasik’s resignation “effective immediately” after completing an ethics investigation sparked when an employee came forward at the end of October “with an expression of concern,” says Chairman and current CEO Robert Stevens.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s defense minister says the purchase of a long-range ground-based radar for the country’s air force remains a high priority, but he will not say when a winning contractor will be selected. “I have told my staff if they are ready to select a supplier for the ground-based radar, I am ready,” Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro told Aviation Week Nov. 6 on the eve of the IndoDefense exhibition in Jakarta.
NEW DELHI — The Indian air force (IAF) is likely to start taking delivery of 512 CBU-105 sensor fuzed weapons (SFW) made by Textron Defense Systems in the first half of 2013, a defense ministry official says. Under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales deal, Textron will deliver the SFWs to the U.S. Air Force, which in turn will give them to the IAF, the official says. The SFW will be mounted on the IAF’s Jaguar fighters, and Textron will work closely with state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. to integrate the weapons, the official says.
Airbus Military and partner Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) have launched a new version of the C212, which is to be called the NC212. The NC212 will have a new avionics and autopilot system, says Ignacio Alonso, Airbus Military’s senior VP for commercial, strategy and industrial relations (Asia). The airframe and engines will remain unchanged from the current model, the C212-400. But thanks to a more efficient use of space—with a new interior cabin and seats—the passenger seat capacity will increase to 28 from 25, he says.
NEW DELHI — The Indian government plans to sell a 10% stake in state-owned defense aerospace firm Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), according to a senior minister. “The government is aiming to sell HAL’s shares through an initial public offering,” Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Nov. 8. The sale is expected to take place in the next fiscal year, which begins April 1. The government hopes to earn 25 billion rupees ($460 million) from the sale.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Airbus Military and partner Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) have launched a new version of the C212, which is to be called the NC212. The NC212 will have a new avionics and autopilot system, says Ignacio Alonso, Airbus Military’s senior VP for commercial, strategy and industrial relations (Asia). The airframe and engines will remain unchanged from the current model, the C212-400. But thanks to a more efficient use of space — with a new interior cabin and seats — the passenger seat capacity will increase to 28 from 25, he says.
Even as the U.S. Marine Corps whittles away at personnel, acquisition and modernization efforts, the service still needs to beef up its cyber ability and retain its reacquired expertise in counterinsurgency (COIN) operations, says Gen. James Amos, Marine commandant. Amos cites cyber as the Marines’ one major capability gap, saying, “There is a lot we don’t know.”
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s defense minister is adamant that the country will be getting anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters. Purnomo Yusgiantoro says the country’s defense budget, passed by parliament, includes money allocated for the purchase of ASW naval helicopters. The aircraft are to be stationed on the navy’s Sigma-class corvettes. The navy has four corvettes, and a fifth was recently ordered.
CALL TO ARMS: The leaders of top military service associations are appealing to congressional leadership to prevent sequestration. In a letter being sent Nov. 9 to House and Senate leaders, the retired military officials say the across-the-board cuts would harm the nation’s security and its economy. “The defense-industrial base is a strategic national asset; assuring its survival requires careful planning and foresight – not shortsighted draconian cuts,” write retired Gen. Gordon Sullivan, president of the Association of the U.S. Army; retired Lt. Gen.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia is building a squadron of locally developed UAVs for air surveillance in border areas. Each UAV will reportedly be four meters long, with a wingspan of around six meters. An aircraft was unveiled in October at Halim air base in Jakarta. Indonesia’s Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology and the ministry of defense’s research and development division developed the UAV.
The coming decade should bring strong growth to the global satellite production and launch industry, according to the Paris-based consulting company Euroconsult, which forecasts $198 billion in revenues for the 2012-2021 period, a 36% increase over the previous 10 years. Demand from established government space programs, as well as a commercial sector faced with replacing aging telecommunications spacecraft, will drive the anticipated demand despite global economic concerns.
Despite lingering disagreement over how to address the nation’s deficit, lawmakers from both parties in Congress are talking openly about a plan to avert sequestration. “I believe that there is a very decent chance that we can come up with a plan to replace the sequester for six months, while we negotiate a longer-term solution,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, told reporters after speaking to the World Affairs Council of America on Nov. 8, stressing that replacement is different from postponement.
EADS witnessed massive cash outflow in the first nine months of the year and hopes it will be break even on free cash flow for the full year, but is dependent, in part, on achieving targeted Airbus A380 delivery numbers. The company reported a €3.2 billion ($4 billion) negative free cash flow in its third-quarter results briefing for the year to date, with net cash falling from €11.3 billion to €8 billion. This is in sharp contrast to previous cash flow projections.
Boeing Defense, Space and Security is restructuring its business units once again, undoing some of the changes it enacted only two years ago in an effort to reap savings that it can pass on to more frugal defense customers worldwide.
The U.S. Navy needs to make more improvements in its Aegis-equipped fleet, according to a recent report obtained by the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) that was prepared by a Navy Operational Advisory Group (OAG). Destroyers and cruisers equipped with Aegis radars and defense shields are becoming more vital components for the ballistic missile defense (BMD) missions envisioned by the Navy to protect the nation and its allies.
PHOENIX — A who’s-who panel of Washington insiders with the aerospace and defense sector sees a better-than-decent chance that lawmakers and the White House go through a series of mini-compromises for years over everything from defense spending to tax issues and the federal debt ceiling, now that the status quo power arrangement there has been re-cemented.
Democrats retained control of the U.S. Senate majority in a number of nail-bitingly close elections in states key to the defense industrial base. And the election sets up a potential shift at the top of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where Sen. John McCain, the top Republican, faces a party term limit. At least five seats on the committee, four of them Democratic, are now vacant due to retirements or losses.
NEW DELHI — India will expedite the procurement of the Swiss Pilatus PC-7 Mk. 2 trainer and the Indian air force (IAF) will begin training courses on the new turboprop aircraft starting in July 2013, the country’s defense minister says. The contract for 75 trainers, signed in May, is worth more than 500 million Swiss francs ($520 million). Deliveries will begin in February 2013 and last until August 2015.
Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.), the leader of the House spending panel on defense, has hung on to his seat, leaving him in position to lead an effort to pass a full-year fiscal 2013 defense spending bill, potentially by late March. Young’s ongoing tenure adds some stability to the panel, where mass turnover otherwise will take place on the Democratic side. In addition to the retirement of Rep. Norm Dicks (Wash.), the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) are also departing.
MUSICAL CHAIRS: Sen. Jim Inhofe (Okla.) is seeking to replace Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) as the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Because of the term limits for Senate Republican Ranking Memberships, I am looking forward to stepping in as Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee,” Inhofe said in an emailed statement to Aviation Week, acknowledging that Republican committee members will have to vote for him. “I am deeply concerned about planned defense cuts and pending defense cuts through sequestration.
