Page 5 - Aerotech News and Review 8-21-15

U.S. Army copter crash-lands on ship off Japan island

CZ.BSJ:BNBHVDIJ nawa — more than half of about 50,000 Ameri- Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga’s visit to tremely regrettable,” and told reporters that he
Associated Press can troops in Japan — has been a source of fric- the island for talks with Okinawa Gov. Takeshi has lodged a protest to the U.S. military over it,
tion and Okinawans have long complained about Onaga, a vocal opponent of the relocation plan. asking for prompt information disclosure, thor-
A U.S. Army helicopter crashed while land- crime, accidents and noise from the U.S. bases. ough investigation and implementing preventive
ing on a Navy ship during training off Japan’s “For those who live near (U.S.) bases, it’s a measures.
southern island of Okinawa, injuring six people A plan formulated in 1996 between the Japa- serious matter,” he said at the outset of the talks,
DQGGDPDJLQJWKHDLUFUDIWRI¿FLDOVVDLG nese and American governments would move reminding Suga of Okinawa’s burden and risk of Since the island prefecture reverted to Japa-
U.S. Marine Air Station Futenma from a popu- accommodating the U.S. military bases. nese control in 1972, there have been 45 crashes
The H-60 helicopter made a hard landing Aug. lated neighborhood to a less developed area, but involving U.S. military aircraft, according to
12 on the USNS Red Cloud cargo vessel around Okinawans want the Marine base moved off the Onaga has threatened to revoke an approval Okinawan government statistics. The island was
20 miles east of Okinawa, U.S. Forces Japan said island altogether. for reclamation work to build an off-shore run- the scene of a harsh World War II battle and was
in a statement, adding that the cause was under way in the area called Henoko. occupied by the U.S. for 27 years.
investigation. Okinawa is home to most of the The Aug. 12 accident coincided with Japanese
tens of thousands of U.S. troops in Japan. Suga called the helicopter accident “ex-

The injured were transported to a Navy hos- Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
pital, the statement said. Their conditions were announces organizational realignment
not available.
REDONDO BEACH, Calif.—Northrop Grumman has announced company’s growing global business areas. This alignment under-
The U.S. military originally said seven peo- an organizational realignment to improve performance and drive scores the company’s single worldwide strategy.
ple were hurt, but said Thursday that the correct profitable growth across the company’s Aerospace Systems portfolio.
number was six. Both Hernandez and Petryszyn will report to Tom Vice, corpo-
Chris Hernandez has been appointed vice president of the newly rate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Aerospace
Two of the injured belong to a Japanese spe- formed research, technology and advanced design organization. In Systems.
cial response unit called the Central Readiness this role, Hernandez will integrate resources to drive basic and ad-
Force, who were participating in the training, ac- vanced research; technology development; and advanced design, Tom Pieronek has been appointed vice president of basic research,
cording to Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force. including the rapid prototyping expertise of the company’s business reporting to Hernandez. Pieronek will lead collaborative research
One had a broken bone and the other a cut, but unit, Scaled Composites, to continue delivering unparalleled solu- groups to identify, develop and align core science capabilities to
QRVSHFL¿FVZHUHJLYHQ tions to customers. enable key markets and new business areas.

Japan and the U.S. are strengthening military Mary Petryszyn has been appointed vice president of the newly “Optimizing our resources and operations keeps us at the fore-
cooperation as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s formed global business development organization. Petryszyn, who front of our industry,” said Vice. “We are nimble in our ability to
government tries to bolster Japan’s defense role. formerly led the International organization, will integrate the sector’s align teams and resources to anticipate and respond to current and
business development and strategy organizations to align with the projected requirements of our customers. Bringing our highly col-
The other 10 people aboard the helicopter laborative teams together is the right move.”
were not hurt, said Japanese coast guard spokes-
man Shinya Terada.

Japanese national broadcaster NHK showed
video of the helicopter sitting on the cargo ship,
with its tail broken off and its body partly cov-
ered with an orange tarp.

The presence of so many U.S. troops on Oki-

August 21, 2015 Aerotech News and Review 5

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