Sky Talk

Danish military wants to get new planes sooner

 Denmark's military, which has long had its eyes on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, is pushing the government to step up the pace of procuring new planes to replace its fleet of older F-16s, according to Defense News.

Denmark put their acquisition plans on hold until 2012 but with Denish crews now flying F-16s over Libya the military wants the shopping process to begin now. Ostensibly Denmark is going to look at all of the latest aircraft models avaialbe, such as the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and Saab Gripen, but it sure sounds like the F-35 might be the only plane that meets the wish list criteria.

The AFC wants Danish pilots flying international missions over hostile airspace to have access to next-generation stealth fighters with greater firepower that will put them on an equal footing with nations like the U.S. and France.

"Danish pilots need to fly the most modern stealth aircraft into war zones," said Maj. Gen. Henrik Robøe Dam, head of Denmark's Tactical Air Command. "They must not be left feeling vulnerable. When operating in the environment that is packed with anti-aircraft and missile systems, it is important to have everything that helps make you more invisible to the enemy."

 While the Danish Air Force's pilots and F-16s are well-trained and equipped to take part in dangerous missions, such as enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya, Air Force participation in overseas missions would benefit from having access to a next-generation stealth fighter, Dam said.

"There is no doubt that if we had the availability of a fighter with stealth characteristics, and difficult to track by radar, it would be a comfort-enhancing factor for pilots," Dam said.

Denmark is one the eight countries to invest in the F-35 development program with a $125 million contribution pledge in 2002 and was expected to buy 48 planes.

- Bob Cox

APA says it supports FAA reauthorization bill amendment that keeps the new union voting rules

The American pilots say they have at least one Republican on the side of the unions.

Last year, the National Mediation Board changed the rules that govern union representation elections at airlines and railroads, making it easier to unionize a workforce in those industries.

Essentially, the rule changes allowed for unionization to occur when a majority of those who voted cast votes in favor of the union. In the past, people in that particular workforce who did not vote at all were counted as no votes.

So now with the Republican majority in the U.S. House, there have been attempts to change the rules back to the way they were before June 10, 2010 by inserting language into the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that would alter those rules.

The Allied Pilots Association on Thursday applauded efforts by Ohio Republican Steven LaTourette who sponsored an amendment to the bill that would instead preserve the voting rules in their current state.

"We applaud Representative LaTourette for his political courage and hope that some of this Republican colleagues decide to join him," said APA president Cpt. David Bates. "The outcome of union representation elections in the airline and rail industries should be determined by how workers actually vote."

Keep reading for the full release from APA.

-Andrea Ahles

WTO verdict: Airbus gets more subsidies than Boeing

In the never ending battle between Boeing and Airbus over whose company gets more government aid, it would appear that the finger of guilt appears to point more towards Airbus. At least that seems to be the conclusion of news reports today about the latest ruling published by the World Trade Organization.

Even the news reports seem at best confusing and at worst contradictory, apparently depending on their geographic point of view.

The Seattle Times reports that in "a final report published Thursday, the dispute panel of the World Trade Organization ruled that Boeing was granted approximately $5 billion in illegal government subsidies between 1989 and 2006. 

However, confirming details leaked from a preliminary report last September, the WTO tally of Boeing subsidies pales in comparison to the roughly $20 billion in subsidies to Airbus that were ruled illegal by the WTO last year. 

  “The WTO has vindicated the U.S. position,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk in a news conference. “The subsidies the Europeans have given to Airbus dwarf anything the United States has provided to Boeing.”

The majority of the government aid to Boeing that the WTO ruled to be illegal came in the form of research and development, or R&D, grants from NASA deemed to specifically target the interests of Boeing's commercial jet division and in particular its key 787 Dreamliner jet program. 

 “Absent the aeronautics R&D subsidies, Boeing would not have been able to launch an aircraft incorporating all of the technologies that are incorporated on the 787,” the WTO panel concluded.

That is the sharpest criticism of the advantages gained by Boeing in the entire report. But it doesn't approach the sweeping language of the 2010 report on Airbus subsidies, which bluntly stated that without the subsidies Airbus couldn't have achieved the leading market position it has and would have been a “much different, and we believe a much weaker, (large jet) manufacturer.”

The Chicago Tribune reports, "Both sides declared victory from the latest WTO report. Airbus praised the panel's finding that Boeing could not have launched the 787 Dreamliner without prohibited subsidies.  

"U.S. officials trumpeted the WTO's earlier finding that four European governments had provided far greater illegal aid to Airbus: $20 billion, $15 billion of which was launch aid that was impermissible because it was loaned to the aircraft manufacturer at below-market rates.

-Bob Cox

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Col. John Boyd, force behind F-16, addresses Congress

Devoted followers of the late Col. John Boyd would argue that he would not have liked the F-35 (or the F-22 for that matter) but the fact the F-35 is being built by Lockheed Martin Fort Worth is in large part due to Boyd, who fought to get the lightweight fighter developed, the airplane which became the F-16 (and spawned the F/A-18 as well).

Tom Christie, Boyd's friend, Pentagon political ally and longtime weapons evaluation and testing expert, sent along this clip of Boyd testifying on military reform before the House Armed Services Committee in April 1991. This testimony came shortly after fighting in the first Gulf War ended with an overwhelming victory, due in significant part to the U.S. military and then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney incorporating many of Boyd's ideas on maneuver warfare.

For the uninitiated, this outstanding biography of Boyd lays out the story of his internal wars within the Air Force and Pentagon that ultimately led to design of a new fighter jet that became the F-16 and that just happened to employ tens of thousands of workers at General Dynamics/Lockheed in Fort Worth over the last nearly four decades.

- Bob Cox

 

 

Lockheed gets big missile defense contract

Lockheed Martin has received a $790 million production contract to produce the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon system for the Missile Defense Agency. 

The contract includes funds for the production of 48 THAAD interceptors, six launchers, four fire control units and additional support equipment, plus an option for additional launchers.

These components will be employed by THAAD Batteries 3 and 4 for the U.S. Army and will be delivered in 2013. 

THAAD interceptors are produced at Lockheed Martin's Pike County Facility in Troy, Ala. The launchers and fire control units are produced at the company's Camden, Ark., facility. A contract for the delivery of the first two U.S. Army Batteries was awarded to Lockheed Martin in late 2006. Thos ebatteries are now deployed at Fort Bliss.

Since 2005, the THAAD development program has completed 11 flight tests, with seven intercepts in seven attempts, according to Lockheed.

- Bob Cox

The Pentagon Labyrinth: Insiders tell how it works and why it doesn't work well

Since a very large slice of the Fort Worth, DFW and Texas economy are tied to defense spending and Department of Defense projects and policies, it seems appropriate to share some insights from some long time observers and participants.

A new book, The Pentagon Labyrinth (it's free and all online), features a series of essays written by some military and civilian veterans of the Pentagon's budget, weapons procurement and policy wars that have some very pointed things to say. 

Here's a C-Span discussion with three of the authors. In particular, catch Tom Christie's thoughts on the F-35.

Radio interviews with some of the authors can be found here.

The book is particularly timely given the pressure in Washington to curb federal budget deficits and the debate on whether and how to cut future defense spending.

So if you've ever wondered why weapons systems routinely take decades to complete, are black holes for taxpayer money and seldom work as advertised, this is worth reading.

If you work for a defense contractor and want to see the world from a different perspective, some of these people were pointing out these same (or similar problems) decades ago.

Just as importantly, it's a great primer on defense policies and budgets and the like for anyone remotely interested in how their tax dollars are spent and how the Department of Defense works, or doesn't work.

Authors of the essays include:

Chuck Spinney, former Air Force officer and longtime Pentagon civilian analyst who warned in 1983 that President Reagan and Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger couldn't afford all the weapons they wanted to buy.

Tom Christie spent 50 years with the Pentagon, primarily in weapons evaluation and procurement. His last job was director of the office of Operational Test and Evaluation.

Col. Chet Richards (U.S. Air Force, ret.) consultant and author of "If We Can Keep It:  A National Security Manifesto for the Next Administration (2007);" "Certain to Win: The Strategy of John Boyd Applied to Business (2004);" and other publications on Third and Fourth Generation Warfare.

Pierre Sprey, former Pentagon official who played a major role in seeing that the F-16 fighter and A-10 close support aircraft were developed and procured despite Air Force opposition.

Read it and post comments, please. Email and tell me what you think by clicking on my tag below.

- Bob Cox

 

 

 

FAA proposes $550,000 fine against Executive Airlines, subsidiary of AMR

The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a $550,00 civil penalty against AMR Corp. subsidiary Executive Airlines for operating two ATR-72 twin turboprop planes when the aircraft were not in compliance.

The government agency alleges that Executive, which flies under the American Eagle brand out of San Juan, Puerto Rico, did not complete "required periodic, time-specific inspections of the aileron control systems" of the two planes.

"All operators must comply with maintenance regulations and requirements in a timely fashion," FAA administrator Randy Babbitt said.

The FAA says that Executive flew at least 35 revenue flights between June 13 and June 19, 2009 when the aircraft were not in compliance.

-Andrea Ahles

A look at the "headquarters" of AMR's would-be buyer

Here at Sky Talk, we love our readers.

Particularly readers like David Oakes, a Davie, Fla. resident who was more than a little curious about Wednesday's news that a Davie firm called Sterling Global headed up by Allen Weintraub had offered to buy out American AIrlines' parent company, AMR Corp., for $3.25 billion.

Oakes decided to drive by the mailing address that Sterling Global used on its letterhead sent to AMR and here's what Oakes, a former reporter, found:

"Used more than 15 years ago by as local cable company’s repair and dispatch center, the one-story, flat-roofed building fronts a busy six-lane road that cuts through Davie and runs the length of Broward County, FL. A knock on the metal door of Suite B produced no answer. Entering, I passed through a short narrow hallway into a waiting area cluttered with file folder boxes and with two men, one in a T-shirt, sitting at a round white plastic table. Asked if they knew Mr. Weintraub, they shook their heads no. One man pointed toward another man sitting behind a desk in an office, and he, too, said he didn't know him.

"A toilet flushed and a man who appeared to be in his late 50s walked out of a bathroom. Asked if he was Mr. Weintraub, he said, no. He identified himself as an attorney and said Mr. Weintraub was his client. Asked if he was aware that Mr. Weintraub had made an offer for American Airlines' parent company, the attorney grimaced and said he didn't know that. He seemed surprised when told that Mr. Weintraub was using his mailing address."

-Andrea Ahles

American temporarily suspends two of its six daily flights to Japan

American Airlines said it will temporarily suspend two of its six daily flights into Japan due to a decrease in demand after the earthquake and tsunami earlier this month.

Starting April 6, the Fort Worth-based carrier said it will suspend one of its two daily Dallas/Fort Worth-Tokyo Narita flights and its daily flight from New York’s JFK airport to Tokyo’s Haneda airport, which it had launched earlier this year.

The carrier's spokesman Ed Martelle said American plans to reinstate the flights starting on April 26.

American's move comes after similar capacity cuts announced last week by Delta Air Lines. Delta told investors it was cutting flight capacity into Japan by up to 20 percent through May because of a drop in demand.

–Andrea Ahles

House GOP members: Cut budget, but more for defense

Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee say defense spending should be boosted, not cut in the FY 2012 budget, Military Times reports.

While acknowledging that cutting federal spending is a top priority in the Republican-controlled House, the committee says defense spending is a special area of the federal budget.

 “We should not jeopardize the security of the nation by accepting across-the-board cuts to national defense without regard to the inherent strategic risks,” states a letter signed by 29 Republican committee members and sent to the House Budget Committee, which is trying to draft an overall federal spending plan for 2012.

- Bob Cox