Page 2 - Aerotech News and Review 6-3-13

Briefs
Navy: Two fighter jets collide off NC coast
RALEIGH, N.C.—Two Navy jet fighters col-
lided off the coast of North Carolina during a
routine training mission May 26, sending four
people to the hospital, officials said.
The F/A-18 Super Hornet jet fighters, based
in Virginia Beach, Va., collided about 10:40 a.m.
off the coast of Cape Hatteras, said Navy spokes-
man Ensign Mark Rockwellpate. Four crew
members were taken to a hospital in Norfolk,
but Rockwellpate said he didn’t have informa-
tion about the extent of their injuries.
A safety investigation will be carried out to
determine the cause of the accident, he said.
The four survivors were plucked off a com-
mercial fishing ship that pulled them out of the
Atlantic Ocean and flown by Coast Guard heli-
copter to a hospital in Norfolk, Va., said Coast
Guard spokesman PO3 Joshua Canup.
The helicopter was dispatched from the Coast
Guard’s air station in Elizabeth City, N.C. The
station’s helicopters perform ocean search-and-
rescue operations off North Carolina and Vir-
ginia as far east as Bermuda. AP
U.S. worries about declining precision
weapons stocks for wars
The commander of U.S. Air Forces in the Mid-
dle East says he’s concerned about running low
on precision-guided weapons needed for the war
against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. is
commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command.
Brown says the U.S. has been going through more
weapons than officials forecast. He says the U.S.
is reviewing whether to take stocks from other
regions around the world to meet the war needs,
and how soon that should be done.
Brown oversees U.S. air operations in the Mid-
dle East. He says the Air Force is taking steps to
buy more weapons.
The U.S. is spending about $2.7 million a day
on munitions for the war. AP
Feds blame death of Yuma Marine on pilot,
service mistakes
Federal investigators are blaming the Marine
Corps, the Air Force and the pilot and operator of
a privately-owned military jet for the death of a
Marine killed last year when the jet crashed into
his truck while taking off from a base in Arizona.
A National Transportation Safety Board report
says the pilot of the BAE Systems Hawk jet lifted
off from the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma run-
way before achieving adequate airspeed on March
11, 2015.
The British-built jet flying on a mission for the
Air Force stalled, veered off the left side of the
runway and eventually hit Lance Cpl. Anthony T.
DuBeau’s pickup. The 23-year-old from Keno-
sha, Wisc., was providing safety oversight for a
construction crew working alongside the runway.
The NTSB report released last month blamed
the pilot for taking off too early. It also blamed
aircraft operator Air USA, Inc. for adopting a
takeoff setting that made the plane more likely
to lift off early. The agency says the Air Force
failed to properly oversee Air USA’s operations
and the Marine Corps should not have allowed
construction activity along an active runway. AP
U.S. Army to test driverless vehicle technol-
ogy in Michigan
A convoy of U.S. Army vehicles will cruise
along a stretch of Interstate 69 in Michigan as part lated nondiscrimination rules for campus organi-
of an initial testing of driverless military vehicle zations.
equipment on public roadways.
Representatives from the U.S. Army Tank Au-
tomotive Research, Development and Engineering
Center and the Michigan Department of Trans-
portation held public information sessions on the
testing May 23 in eastern Michigan.
In late June, the vehicles will test a piece of
2 Aerotech News and Review
technology that’s critical in the development and
testing of driverless and connected vehicles, the
Times Herald of Port Huron reported. Someone
will be behind the wheel of each vehicle, which
is equipped with features from the driverless ve-
hicle systems, including adaptive cruise control
and lane keep assist, The Flint Journal reported.
Six radio transmitters will be set up along In-
terstate 69 to allow for groups of five vehicles
to broadcast speed, distance, and traffic issues as
directed over the frequency, said Alex Kade, chief
system architect in ground vehicle robotics for
the Tank Automotive Research, Development and
Engineering Center.
If the testing is successful, the technology could
save the lives of soldiers serving overseas, accord-
ing to officials.
Kade said the advancement of driverless ve-
hicles could help cut down on accidents and dan-
gerous combat situations for soldiers, especially
in places where bombs and improvised explosive
devices could be hidden.
The stretch of I-69 in St. Clair and Lapeer
counties in Michigan was chosen for the test-
ing because of its proximity to and international
border crossing and to the Tank Automotive Re-
search, Development and Engineering Center’s
headquarters at the U.S. Army Detroit Arsenal in
Warren, said Doug Halleaux, the center’s public
affairs officer.
Interstate 69 will remain open to traffic during
the testing period. AP
U.S. says flight over Sea of Japan was
safe, lawful
The U.S. says an Air Force reconnaissance
flight over the Sea of Japan that triggered a Rus-
sian protest was conducted safely and according
to international law.
Russia’s Defense Ministry protested the May
22 flight by the U.S. RC-135, saying it jeopar-
dized air safety. The ministry summoned the U.S.
military attache to complain about the incident.
Moscow says the aircraft was flying with its
transponder switched off and was at an altitude
used by civilian flights in that area.
U.S. Navy Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman
for U.S. Pacific Command, says the plane flew a
routine reconnaissance mission with due regard
for the safety of navigation of all aircraft, and the 20, saying the government has been taken over
flight was professional and completed without
incident.
The U.S. says the flight posed no risk to aircraft ing their coalition agreement May 22, and it was
at any time. AP
Yale commencement includes first ROTC
graduates since 1970s
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter handed out
commissions to the Yale’s first ROTC graduating
class in more than four decades.
Carter, a Yale alumnus, May 23 awarded 18
commissions, 14 to Yale students and four to
others who trained at the Ivy League school. The
military ceremony followed the awarding of more
than 3,600 degrees at Yale’s 315th commence-
ment.
ROTC programs left Yale and the campuses
of several other prominent universities in the late
1960s and early 1970s in the fervor of student
protests against the Vietnam War.
They were kept away until 2012, after the mili-
tary ended its “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that
had banned gays from serving openly in the armed
services. The universities had said the policy vio-
Carter said he is gratified to be leading the de-
fense department in an era when society admires
the military. He told the ROTC students they were
bridging a divide in the campus community that
had persisted for too long, and providing other
Yale students with a new perspective.
“People think differently about the world when
www.aerotechnews.com ........ facebook.com/aerotechnewsandreview
a former roommate is managing the nuclear reac-
tor on a submarine, or a former organic chemis-
try classmate is serving as a combat medic, or
a fellow programmer is defending our nation’s
cybersecurity,” he said in his prepared remarks.
The return of the ROTC renewed a long mili-
tary tradition at Yale. David Bushnell, an inven-
tor, is credited with creating the first submarine
ever used in combat while studying at Yale in
1775, and one of the original six Naval ROTC
units was established at the university in 1926. AP
Boeing sells 100 planes worth $11.3 billion
to Vietnam’s VietJet
Boeing is selling 100 aircraft worth about $11.3
billion at list prices to Vietnam’s VietJet as the
airline seeks to expand its international and do-
mestic flights.
Aircraft in deals of this size are typically sold
at a discount to list prices, however.
Boeing said May 23 that the planes, all of
which are 737 Max 200 models, will be delivered
between 2019 and 2023.
It was the single largest airplane purchase by
Vietnam, according to the Chicago company.
The deal was signed in Hanoi, Vietnam, and
witnessed by President Barack Obama, who is
visiting the country for the first time. VietJet will
also buy $3 billion worth of airplane engines
from Pratt & Whitney, a manufacturer owned by
United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington,
Conn. AP
Israeli defense minister steps down
Israel’s defense minister officially stepped
down May 22, capping a tumultuous week of
politics that is expected to replace the former
military chief with an inexperienced hard-liner in
the sensitive post.
Moshe Yaalon’s departure cleared the way for
Avigdor Lieberman, one of Israel’s most polar-
izing politicians, to take over as defense chief.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week
invited Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu party into the
government in a move meant to shore up his nar-
row governing majority. But Lieberman reported-
ly demanded the Defense Ministry as a condition,
forcing Netanyahu to ask Yaalon to step aside.
Yaalon angrily announced his resignation May
by “extremist and dangerous elements.”
Netanyahu and Lieberman were still negotiat-
unclear when he would formally join the govern-
ment.
Yaalon was one of the last moderate voices in
Netanyahu’s Likud Party.
His departure leaves the Cabinet dominated by
religious and ultranationalist ministers who op-
pose the establishment of a Palestinian state and
have close ties to the West Bank settler move-
ment. Lieberman himself is a West Bank settler.
AP
Biden: Diverse military of women, gays
strengthens U.S. forces
Vice President Joe Biden told the U.S. Military
Academy’s class of 2016 May 21 that greater di-
versity, including more women and openly gay
soldiers, will strengthen the country’s armed
forces.
“Having men and women together in the bat-
tlefield is an incredible asset, particularly when
they’re asked to lead teams in parts of the world
with fundamentally different expectations and
norms,” Biden said in his speech at a graduation
ceremony at Michie Stadium on the West Point
grounds along the Hudson River.
More than 950 cadets received their degrees
and commissions as second lieutenants. Among
them were the first seven women to be commis-
See BRIEFS, Page 4
How to contact
Aerotech News and Review
• Mail: 456 E. Ave. K-4,
Suite 8, Lancaster CA 93535
• E-Mail: editor@aerotechnews.com
• Phone: (661) 945-5634
• Fax: (661) 723-7757
Advertising
Corporate Headquarters:
(877) 247-9288
Subscriber Services
Subscriptions to Aerotech News
and Review are $59 for six months
or $89 for one year. For more in-
formation, contact the subscription
department at:
456 E. Ave. K-4, #8, Lancaster CA
93535
Story ideas, letters, editorials
Please address all letters and edi-
torials to Stuart A. Ibberson, editor,
456 E. Ave. K-4, Suite 8, Lancaster
CA 93535
Web Site
Access the Aerotech News web site
at www.aerotechnews.com
Submissions for upcoming events,
air shows and museums should be ad-
dressed to Web Updates, 456 E. Ave.
K-4, Suite 8, Lancaster CA 93535
For questions concerning the web site,
contact the webmaster at webmaster@
aerotechnews.com.
Where you can get
Aerotech News and Review
For information on Aerotech dis-
tribution, call Chris Ramos, Circula-
tion Manager, at (661) 949-7293 or
e-mail delivery@aerotechnews.com.
Aerotech News and Review is published
every Friday serving the aerospace and
defense industry of Southern Califor-
nia, Nevada and Arizona. News and ad
copy deadline is noon on the Tuesday
prior to publication. The publisher as-
sumes no responsibility for error in ads
other than space used.
Your comments are welcomed and
encouraged. Write to the address below.
• Publisher .........................Paul Kinison
• Business Manager.............Lisa Kinison
• Editor..............................Stuart Ibberson
• National Advertising
Manager ..........................Paul Kinison
Aerotech News and Review
456 E. Ave. K-4, Suite 8
Lancaster, CA 93535
e-mail: editor@aerotechnews.com
Visit our web site at www.aerotechnews.com
June 3, 2016