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Douglass to Deliver Industry's Year-end Review December 14 The association's annual Year-End Review and Forecast Luncheon will take place December 14 in Arlington, Va. AIA President and CEO John W. Douglass will present aerospace industry highlights of 2005 and a forecast of next year's economic trends. Some 300 industry executives, government representatives, and news media are expected to attend. After delivering his formal remarks, Douglass will take questions from aerospace media in attendance. Statistical data and Douglass' presentation will be available soon after the luncheon at www.aia-aerospace.org. New this year will be the first-ever presentation at an AIA event of the prestigious Lauren D. Lyman Award to an outstanding aviation or aerospace journalist or communications executive. Sponsored by AIA member United Technologies Corporation, the 2005 Lyman Award selectee is Walter J. Boyne, noted author, aerospace historian, and former director of the National Air and Space Museum. Back to the Newsletter topics AIA Chairman Addresses European Aerospace Leaders  Robert Johnson, chairman of AIA's Board of Governors, recently told members of the AeroSpace and Defence Association of Europe that ASD and AIA share the ultimate goal of building a stronger global aerospace industry.
At the end of the day, both of our organizations favor thoughtful reforms that will move us forward and help create a more level playing field — on both sides of the Atlantic," the chairman of Honeywell Aerospace predicted. "We need to be able to communicate openly and honestly about the things European and American factions have in common — and about the things that divide us," Johnson said, reminding the audience of the importance of intercontinental cooperation in dealing with global challenges facing industry. ASD is a new organization forming in Europe from a merger of the European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA), the European Defence Industries Group, and EUROSPACE, the association of the European space industry. AECMA has had a tradition of inviting an AIA-member company senior executive to address the group's annual convention. Regarding safety and security, Johnson said that "as industry leaders, AIA and ASD need to continue to push for enhancements in safety and security — and sooner rather than later. "Keeping people safe is itself the best reward. But, as business people, we also know that economies flourish when consumers feel safe, secure, and confident in their futures. It's all interrelated," he noted. Johnson also said that it's extremely important that Europe and the United States work together to develop a common set of standards, definitions, and data bases for global industry. "And we need to develop a set of exemplary business practices across all regions of the world — such as our Defense Industry Initiative (on Business Ethics and Conduct) in the United States," he added. Turning to airline recovery, Johnson pointed out that an improving economy and renewed passenger confidence have boosted air traffic above pre-9/11 levels. "With demand on the rise, experts predict that carriers will add 25,000 new aircraft to their fleets in the next two decades. Business and general aviation traffic is also growing steadily," he noted. "Our current system cannot accommodate this expansion in traffic," Johnson cautioned. "We must apply all the best current and emerging technologies to evolve the system from air traffic control to air traffic management. "The good news is that government and industry stakeholders acknowledge the problem and are beginning to lay out plans for system modernization. Concepts such as Single European Sky and the U.S. Next-Generation Air Transportation System will move us forward," he said. The speech was an opportunity for Johnson to reminisce on international challenges and breakthroughs during 36 years in the aerospace industry. He will complete his term as chairman of AIA at the end of the year and will retire from Honeywell in January. "Some people would have you believe the golden age of aerospace is behind us," said Johnson. "I disagree. I believe the best days and greatest accomplishments are yet to come." Back to the Newsletter topics AEROSPACE FOCUS  Participants in AIA's final regional meeting of 2005 enjoy a "power dinner" under an array of GE engines at the company's Learning Center. Back to the Newsletter topics WASHINGTON PIPELINE By John W. Douglass, AIA President and Chief Executive Officer Industry Doesn't Envision Financial Assault at This Time on National Security Programs With our nation faced with the financial challenges of dealing with natural disasters and the war on terrorism, leaders must make some very tough decisions as they hammer out budgets for the next several years. As congressional leaders negotiate possible cuts, our industry is not necessarily immune. But, as sometimes happens in Washington, some of the journalistic alarms are not quite as serious as they might sound. This fall brought a number of press reports talking about budget cuts coming to the Defense Department over the next five years. Some said the figure would be as much as $32 billion over that time period and raised the specter of severely scaling back, or even canceling, major procurement programs. We have addressed this issue on Capitol Hill and within the administration, and initial reports are that fears of a wholesale slashing of defense acquisition budgets in coming years are unfounded. Much of the concern stems from internal memos in the Pentagon directing the services to scale back future budgets. However, these memos referenced spending outlooks that were over and above levels spelled out in last year's five-year plan. So what the media have referred to as cuts are, in fact, returns to spending levels included in the five-year plan that actually represent healthy increases each year. That plan calls for a budget of $443 billion in fiscal 2007, $462 billion in 2008, $482 billion in 2009, and $492 billion in 2010. The Pentagon leadership told us they would like to maintain this plan. So we in industry do not envision a financial assault on programs important to our national safety and security. This is not to say we are letting down our guard. The defense industrial base is in a fragile state these days and vulnerable to adverse financial impacts. One reason we must be vigilant is a possible shift in the way we pay for the war on terror. While past expenditures for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have come from supplemental funding bills, indications are that some in Washington might pursue investment cuts to pay for the war on terror. Major cuts in procurement could threaten entire programs and leave our military ill-equipped for future battles, not to mention shake the very foundation of the defense industrial base on which we will rely for security and safety. There is a cautionary example in our recent history. In the early 1990s defense investment plummeted after the end of the Cold War, with a simultaneous downturn in the space and civil aviation sectors. Between 1991 and recovery in 1998, the aerospace and defense industry lost a total of $107 billion in sales and 326,000 jobs. A similar sustained downturn would be devastating. The U.S. aerospace industrial base would be second-rate, with fewer workers than Europe and dependent on foreign countries for some defense needs. We cannot afford to ignore our national security. We live in a dangerous world and now is not the time to weaken our defenses. I am confident our leaders in the administration and Congress understand this well. Back to the Newsletter topics WASHINGTON WATCH: Rotorcraft Reps Seeking Fleet Revitalization AIA has formed a working group of member companies to consider how the rotorcraft industrial base can modernize and better support the defense helicopter fleet. Based on combat experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Defense Department asked the association to study ways to improve the overall safety and survivability of military rotary wing aircraft. Officially known as the Rotary Wing Revitalization Project, the group is composed of representatives of U.S. helicopter and propulsion manufacturers and rotary wing lead system integrators who plan to meet quarterly over the next year. The first meeting took place in October at AIA headquarters. The group will continue to review ways to make military helicopters safer by reducing their susceptibility to non-combat hazards. Also, the group will try to uncover ways to decrease rotorcraft vulnerability to antiquated weapons systems. It plans to submit findings and recommendations to DoD next October. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled in January. The group intends to focus on acquisition shortfalls and develop a strategy to communicate to Congress and the public the importance of improving military rotary wing aircraft. AIA Source: michael.vanzummeren@aia-aerospace.org Back to the Newsletter topics WASHINGTON WATCH: Conference Report Will Boost Vision for Space Exploration, Aeronautics NASA aeronautics research and development investment will increase and the nation's Vision for Space Exploration is fully funded within the agency's fiscal 2006 budget approved by the House last month. The conference report represents a resounding congressional endorsement of the importance of NASA's activities to the future of our country, AIA President and CEO John Douglass said. The conference appropriations report for Science, State, Justice, and Commerce and Related Agencies takes a significant step forward in areas vital to the U.S. economy by providing $912.3 million for NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. That is $60 million more than requested by the president earlier this year and $6.1 million more than fiscal 2005. In addition, the report directs the president to craft a National Aeronautics Policy to be delivered within one year of enactment. House committee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.), Ranking Member Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) were all instrumental in securing aeronautics and space exploration investment dollars. The $16.5 billion bill fully funds the president's plan to return American astronauts to the moon and eventually to Mars and beyond. "Congress has acted to preserve U.S. leadership in two vital areas — space exploration and aeronautics research and development," Douglass said. "We look forward to working with NASA to fulfill the lofty goals of advancement in our own atmosphere and beyond." AIA led a coalition of concerned aerospace advocates in pushing for increased funding for aeronautics. The budget in that area fell from $1.54 billion in fiscal 1994 to $906.2 million in fiscal 2005. Allowing the research budget to continue plummeting would allow our foreign competitors to gain the technological edge in the aerospace marketplace, Douglass said. The conference report referenced this danger, saying lawmakers are "concerned about the need to maintain the nation's leadership in science and technology." An important part of AIA's advocacy focused on ensuring that NASA's space and aeronautics missions were fully and appropriately funded. Back to the Newsletter topics WASHINGTON WATCH: House Passes AIA-sponsored Aerospace Workforce Revitalization Bill By a unanimous vote, the U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation drafted by AIA and introduced by Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.) that creates a federal inter-agency aerospace revitalization task force. The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration and a vote possibly before the end of the year. The 11-agency panel mandated by the Ehlers bill (H.R. 758) will develop a comprehensive strategy to increase the number of students and workers who choose science, engineering, and other aerospace-related careers. Led by the Labor and Defense departments, the task force will also establish partnerships with industry, organized labor, academia, and state governments to coordinate aerospace career education and training programs. "An industry so critical to the nation's economic and national security must have a reliable, long-term supply of technically qualified workers," Ehlers, one of only two physicists in Congress, said after the passage of H.R. 758. "I am grateful to all of my colleagues for recognizing that the federal government can play a dynamic role in harnessing the resources of both the public and private sectors to expand the number of students who choose aerospace careers." After passage of H.R. 758, AIA President John Douglass expressed thanks to Ehlers and his colleagues for recognizing the demographic challenges faced by the industry over the next several years. Ehlers noted that the aerospace industry's three core segments — national security, civil aviation, and space systems — make unique contributions to sustaining the nation's global political and technological leadership. Twenty-seven percent of the aerospace manufacturing workforce will become eligible for retirement during the next three years, and, according to the bipartisan Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry, U.S. students rank near the bottom of industrialized countries in mathematics and science test performance. H.R. 758 has no new expenditures and requires the task force to submit annual reports to Congress on its workforce recommendations and initiatives. AIA Source: patrick.mccartan@aia-aerospace.org Back to the Newsletter topics Boyne Selected for Lyman Award Walter J. Boyne, aviation and aerospace author and former director of the National Air and Space Museum, has been selected to receive the prestigious 2005 Lauren D. Lyman Award. Established in 1972 by the former Aviation/Space Writers Association, the award will be presented by AIA at the association's 41st Annual Year-End Review and Forecast luncheon on Dec. 14. Boyne, author of more than 40 books, is one of only a few writers who have had best sellers on both the fiction (The Wild Blue) and the non-fiction (Weapons of Desert Storm) lists of the New York Times. He is also the former chairman of the board of Wingspan: Air & Space Channel and is president of his own firm, Walter Boyne Associates. The award honors Deac Lyman, a Pulitzer Prize winner who covered aviation for the New York Times and later became a public relations executive for United Aircraft, predecessor of today's United Technologies Corporation. Sponsored by UTC, the award honors the winner for distinguished, career-long achievements in aviation journalism or public relations. A career Air Force officer, Boyne retired as a colonel with 5,000 hours flying time. He joined the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, becoming director in 1983. While at the museum Boyne founded Air & Space magazine. Previous Lyman Award winners include: Pierre Sparaco (2002); Jim Holahan (2000); Carole Shifrin (1999); William Schoneberger (1998), Arthur Reed (1996); Jim Woolsey (1994); Philip Geddes (1993); Joseph Murphy (1992); Edward Kolcum (1991); John Taylor (1990); Philip Klass (1989); Robert Serling (1988); Howard Benedict (1987); Kenneth Weaver (1986); Dick Witkin (1985); C.V. Glines (1984); Leighton Collins (1982); Marvin Miles (1981); Eric Bramley (1980); Jerry Hannifin (1979); Devon Francis (1978); George Haddaway (1977); Vern Haugland (1976); Willis Player (1975); Bob Hotz (1974); and Wayne Parrish (1973). AIA Source: anne.wiskerchen@aia-aerospace.org Back to the Newsletter topics Association Hosts International Representatives The aerospace and defense industry is becoming increasingly borderless, and international cooperation is the only way to safeguard the security and economic stability of both the United States and our allies, AIA President and CEO John Douglass told a gathering of foreign visitors in October. "Over the longer term we're only going to see aerospace become more globalized," Douglass told the audience of international representatives gathered at AIA's offices. Craig Steidle, AIA vice president of defense and international programs, hosted a joint meeting of two international panels — the Foreign Procure-ment Group and the attaches from nations with security memoranda of understanding agreements with the United States — to find areas of common interest. Topics included Buy American legislation, offsets, acquisition reform, and others that affect America's relationship with various nations. Attendees represented the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, South Korea, Taiwan, Norway, Sweden, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, and Brazil. In addition to Douglass' remarks, AIA Legislative Affairs Vice President Jon Etherton provided the two groups with information regarding the status of issues of importance in Congress. Export controls were a topic of keen interest to the international representatives. Douglass said AIA is working to fix the problems in the current control system and remove items that are on the munitions list that shouldn't be there. "In general what industry would like to see are far fewer things controlled," Douglass said. AIA Source: craig.steidle@aia-aerospace.org Back to the Newsletter topics Association Adds Three Members to Roster A former AIA member has re-joined, an associate member has moved up, and a newcomer has come aboard in recent association roster activity. NORDAM Group, one of the largest independently owned aerospace companies in the world, has re-joined AIA. Founded in 1969, the company designs, certifies, and manufactures integrated propulsion systems, nacelles, and thrust reversers for business jets. In addition, NORDAM manufactures interior shells, custom cabinetry, radomes, and aircraft transparencies, such as cabin windows, wing tip lenses, and simulator screens. The firm is also one of the world's largest third-party providers of maintenance, repair, and overhaul services to the military, commercial, airline and air freight markets. NORDAM employs approximately 2,300 at facilities in the United States, England, Wales and Singapore. Additional information is at www.nordam.com. Sparton Corporation, one of the largest associate member companies, has upgraded to regular membership. Now in its 105th year, Sparton provides design engineering and electronic contract manufacturing services. Headquartered in Jackson, Mich., the company has seven manufacturing locations encompassing nearly 837,000 square feet of space along with several alliance partner facilities throughout North America. Earlier this year, Sparton opened a manufacturing plant in Vietnam. Sparton offers a complete range of pre-manufacturing, post-manufacturing, and engineering services, including core surface mount technology and plated through-hole, printed circuit board assembly, and complete assembly manufacturing capabilities. For more, visit www.sparton.com. Evergreen International Aviation, Inc., a privately held global aviation services company, has become a new member of AIA. Evergreen is recognized as a world leader in air freight and aviation services with a broad base of customers that includes other air carriers, aviation companies, and governmental agencies. Based in McMinnville, Ore., Evergreen International Aviation has combined its years of aerial firefighting expertise with experience as an owner/operator of Boeing 747 supertanker firefighting aircraft, offering the most superior drop capabilities, safety standards, and operational flexibility on the market. To learn more about Evergreen, see www.evergreenaviation.com. AIA Source: trish.ward@aia-aerospace.org Back to the Newsletter topics Defense Trade Info Only a Click Away AIA members trying to make sense of export control rules, Buy American policies, or anything else having to do with foreign trade in defense products from U.S. companies now have a central clearinghouse of information at their fingertips. The new Defense Trade Resources section of AIA's Web site provides a primer on the complicated topic, including questions and answers, white papers, a glossary, and a section that deciphers the many acronyms commonly used. The e-source is available to the general public, not just members, and is geared toward journalists, congressional staff members, issue advocates, and anyone else who needs the information. Defense trade issues are prominent on Capitol Hill and often in the news, but basic information is scattered among different government agencies and jurisdictions. The AIA resource is aimed at providing as much of that information as possible in one convenient location. Defense Trade Resources is at www.aia-aerospace.org/issues/defense_trade/index.cfm or under the Issues and Policies tab on AIA's home page. AIA Source: remy.nathan@aia-aerospace.org Back to the Newsletter topics AIA Emphasizes Globalization at Regional Meeting General Electric Company hosted the final 2005 AIA regional meeting, showcasing its GE Learning Center for more than 50 AIA members in attendance. Scott Ernest, GE - Aviation vice president and general manager of supply chain, provided an in-depth introduction of the company's successful aviation division and illustrated how growing defense needs are bringing potential business opportunities to the aerospace industry. The company's commitment to the industry's supply base was emphasized by Mike Chanatry, general manager of the Global Sourcing Department. He briefed AIA members on GE's focus on supplier relationships and stressed support to AIA and the association's Supplier Management Council. GE - Aviation is the world's leading producer of large and small jet engines for commercial and military aircraft. Presentations made at the meeting are available on the AIA members-only Web site at www.aia-aerospace.org. AIA Source: trish.ward@aia-aerospace.org Back to the Newsletter topics Wings of Liberty Awarded to Rep. Kolbe 
AIA President John Douglass (left) presents an AIA Wings of Liberty award to Congressman Jim Kolbe of Arizona. An 11-term member of the House, he has been a strong proponent of NASA, free trade, and critical national defense funding. A Republican, Kolbe chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs.
Back to the Newsletter topics DoD Recognizes Aerospace and Defense Companies for Performance-Based Logistics Excellence
Lockheed Martin, General Electric, Honeywell, and AAI were winners in the first-ever Secretary of Defense Performance-Based Logistics Awards given out last month. The awards, developed jointly by AIA, the Defense Department, and the Defense Acquisition University, recognize outstanding results in the relatively new field of PBL, a logistics system that focuses on performance and outcomes rather than a product or service alone. DoD is promoting PBL and now has implemented it in more than 100 major programs. Lockheed Martin won the System Level Award along with the Air Force F-117 Nighthawk total system support partnership team for innovative contracting measures enhancing war fighter capabilities and cutting costs. General Electric took the Sub-system Level Award along with the Navy for re-inventing the F/A-18 Hornet logistics supply chain, achieving record levels of readiness for the GE F404. Honeywell was recognized with the Component Level Award along with the Navy for demonstrating the positive impact of PBL concepts in the management of aircraft Auxiliary Power Unit Total Logistics Support Team. AAI received a Special Award — Global War on Terrorism along with the Army for reliability of the Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Lou Kratz, assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for Logistics, Plans, and Programs, and AIA Defense and International Programs Vice President Craig Steidle presented the awards at the AIA Product Support Conference in Hilton Head, S.C.
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