News Digest
appointments
INDIAN AIR FORCE
Air Marshal S.B.P. Sinha took over as
the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff at Air
Headquarters on April 30, 2014.
RAYTHEON
Raytheon has appointed Thomas A.
Vecchiolla as President, Raytheon International, Inc., effective immediately.
BOMBARDIER
Bombardier has announced key leadership changes in its Parts Services
Team. Bill Molloy has been appointed
Vice President of Parts Services.
Stéphane Hébert will succeed Molloy
as Director, Customer Services & Support, CSeries Program.
HONEYWELL AEROSPACE
INDIA
Pritam Bhavnani has been named
President, India and High Growth
Regions. Arijit Ghosh has replaced
Pritam Bhavnani as President, Honeywell Aerospace India.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE
CORP
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp has
named Tony Swift its First Field Service Representative (FSR) in Africa
AIRBUS GROUP
Airbus Group has announced key
management appointments at Airbus
Helicopters, Aerolia and Airbus
Defence and Space. Christian Cornille
joins Airbus Helicopters as Executive Vice President - Industry Cédric
Gautier to succeed Cornille as CEO of
Aerolia Rafael Tentor to manage the
A400M programme at Airbus Defence
and Space.
QuickRoundUp
Missiles and associated equipment, parts, training
and logistical support for an estimated cost of $98
million. The principal contractor will be Raytheon Missile
Systems Company.
BOEING MILITARY AIRCRAFT
Rolls-Royce
Boeing named four executives to
new leadership positions in its Boeing Military Aircraft (BMA) business
unit. David Koopersmith is named
Vice President and General Manager
for Vertical Lift. Kim Smith replaces
Koopersmith as Vice President of Attack Helicopter Programs and AH-64
Apache and AH-6 Program Manager.
Chuck Dabundo is appointed Vice
President, BMA Engineering and BMA
Chief Engineer. Stephen Parker is
promoted to Vice President, Cargo Helicopters and H-47 Program Manager.
Azul Brazilian Airlines has became a new Rolls-Royce
customer with the announcement that it is to operate 11
Trent-powered Airbus aircraft. The airline has also signed
an agreement worth $400 million for TotalCare engine
service support.
Rolls-Royce has been awarded $39 million to support
AE-1107C engines for V-22 aircraft operated by the US
Marine Corps and Air Force for 2014-15. The Rolls-Royce
MissionCare contract, a modification of a prior agreement,
includes repairs and support services.
Russian Defense Ministry
The Russian Defense Ministry has signed a $470-million contract with the MiG Corporation for the delivery
of 16 advanced MiG-29 SMT fighters. The MiG-29 SMT,
developed in the first half of the 2000s, features add-on
fuselage fuel tanks for extended range, special radarabsorbing paint and can be outfitted with supersonic and
anti-ship missiles.
BAE SYSTEMS
BAE Systems Applied Intelligence has
named Jim Anderson as President for
the Americas region.
Saab
Industry
Europe
Selex ES successfully demonstrates
BriteCloud Decoy
Selex ES, a Finmeccanica company, has
successfully carried out multiple end-toend tests of its BriteCloud Expendable
Active Decoy. The successful tests have
also cleared the way for their production.
BriteCloud is a self-contained Digital RF
Memory (DRFM) jammer for fast jet aircraft, providing an off-board capability to
decoy RF-guided missiles and fire control
radars. During the tests, fully functional
decoys were launched from a fighter
aircraft that was being tracked by a
ground-based fire-control radar. All of the
decoys performed as planned, on each
occasion detecting the threat radar and
jamming it with the decoy’s embedded
DRFM jammer. BriteCloud was launched
by Selex ES in November 2013 jointly
www.sps-aviation.com
with its launch partner Saab who is offering the decoy as an EW enhancement
option with its entire range of Gripen jets.
SPACE
Saab has successfully performed the first flight with the new
Infra Red Search and Track sensor (IRST) which will feature
in Gripen E, according to schedule. The IRST does not emit a
signal and can, without revealing the aircraft’s own position,
silently detect, track and identify all types of targets.
US
Europe
Arianespace boosts Sentinel-1A Earth
Observation Satellite into Orbit
On April 3, 2014, Arianespace successfully carried out the seventh Soyuz
mission from the Guiana Space Center
(CSG), orbiting the Sentinel-1A satellite
for the European Commission within the
scope of a contract with the European
Space Agency (ESA). Launched as part of
the European Commission’s Copernicus
programme, the Sentinel-1A satellite will
play a decisive role in meeting Europe’s
environmental monitoring and security
requirements. In particular, it will contribute to observation of the terrestrial
and maritime environments. •
The US State Department has made a determination
approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Mexico
for 18 UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters and associated
equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an
estimated cost of $680 million.
US Air Force
The top three acquisition priorities for the US Air Force are
the KC-46A aerial tanker, the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and
the Long Range Strike Bomber, officials told members of
Congress during a hearing of House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on seapower and projections forces.
US Air Force officials have announced the two bases
selected to house and operate the KC-46A Pegasus
aircraft, which will replace the KC-135 refuelling tanker.
Altus Air Force Base has been selected as the KC-46A’s
formal training unit, and McConnell Air Force Base, is the
first active duty-led Pegasus main operating base.
ISSUE 5 • 2014
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