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 AIA UPDATE: November/December 2007, Volume 12, No. 4
AIA Executives Raise Significant Questions at Space 2007 Conference Two senior AIA executives played prominent roles in the Space 2007 Conference and Exposition hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Long Beach, Calif., in September. AIA President and CEO John Douglass spoke to a crowd of 1,100 space professionals during the event's opening panel, summarizing the health of the industry and providing his perspective of significant events over the last decade. Douglass noted that the space sector of the industry had made significant gains during his tenure at AIA. He also pointed out a return to the moon would likely require more commitment from the federal government. "I don't think we can get back to the moon on 0.6 percent of the federal budget," he said. J.P. Stevens, AIA's vice president of space systems, moderated the plenary panel "Space Entrepreneurs — Looking Out Ten Years." Panelists discussed several current entrepreneurial space ventures and projected where commercial space is likely to be in 10 years. They also responded to predictions collected from the audience and took questions. "Ten years after Alan Shepard's suborbital Mercury flight, he was golfing on the moon. I doubt he ever considered that in 1961," Stevens said. "In 2004, the X-Prize was won performing a feat similar to that of Shepard. "I'm not saying that in 10 years our space entrepreneurs will have tourists golfing on the moon," Stevens cautioned. "I'm simply saying the future can be more amazing than we sometimes dare to imagine." Audience predictions included:
AIA Source: andrew.barber@aia-aerospace.org AIA Backs Space Commerce Bill A bill proposed by the Commerce Department would bolster the U.S. government's commercial space activities and strengthen the industry as a whole, AIA President and CEO John Douglass predicted. The bill is extremely important to ensure the success of the growing list of space commerce services people rely on every day, including wireless communications and Global Positioning System technologies, he emphasized. "The U.S. aerospace industry strongly backs this bill and appreciates the Commerce Department's commitment to this vital sector," Douglass said. "This market must continue to grow to keep up with public demand for its services, and this bill is key to fostering that development." The bill would reauthorize the Office of Space Commercialization and return it to its original name — the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) — to reflect more accurately its functions. It would update the office's responsibilities to implement policies supporting space commerce while recognizing its role to promote important geospatial technologies like GPS and space-based remote sensing imagery. The OSC is an important link between the commercial space industry and the federal government, Douglass added. It works to foster the industry by removing barriers to growth, thereby enhancing U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace. The bill would also make the OSC responsible for the U.S. Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Policy Executive Committee and Coordination Office. That office manages GPS policy issues on a national basis. AIA Source: andrew.barber@aia-aerospace.org AEROSPACE FOCUS  WASHINGTON PIPELINE: Challenges Ahead in Civil Aviation, National Security, and Space Exploration By John W. Douglass, AIA President and Chief Executive Officer As many of you know, I am retiring from AIA at the end of this year, and my successor Marion Blakey is already in place. It is a natural time to look back to when I came to the organization in 1998. Several statistics tell the story of the growth and expansion in aerospace and defense since then. Sales have skyrocketed to $195 billion from $148 billion, and our foreign trade surplus has jumped from $41 billion to $55 billion. This expansion is reflected in AIA membership levels. Today we have 103 regular members compared to 52, and 172 associate members, compared to 24. We've made great strides as an industry, both financially and in policy areas, and I've been proud to have played a role during an exciting time. But rather than looking back in my final "Washington Pipeline" column, I think it's important to concentrate on some challenges we as an industry must address in the future. There is important work to be done to ensure our civil aviation system is improved, our national defense remains strong, and our leadership in space exploration does not falter. One challenge is modernizing the U.S. export control system, but we must continue to push forward. Our work with the Coalition for Security and Competitiveness, an alliance with other major trade associations to improve export controls, will likely yield some results in how the system is administered. But more lasting changes are needed, and so the planned second phase of the effort — to make legislative improvements — must be a priority. A defense issue on the horizon is the concept of civil-military integration, which encourages the services to use readily available commercial products, services, and practices whenever possible. There are still significant barriers in place preventing the military from using common sense procurement methods that save time and money. Civil-military integration will not only increase DoD efficiency but also strengthen the defense industrial base. In civil aviation there is one priority we must pursue as aggressively as possible because the health of the aviation industry and related manufacturing depend on it. The Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, is the desperately needed upgrade of air traffic control, security, safety, and virtually everything else related to air travel. The satellite-based system, which would elevate air traffic control from the relative technological dark ages, is key to dealing with the ever-growing demand for air travel. We do not see the federal government investing sufficiently in the development stages of NextGen, and so our industry must keep stressing the importance of this system to our elected representatives and others. In space, the obvious challenge is the five-year gap between the retirement of the space shuttle in 2010 and the launch of the Orion/Ares vehicles. We must work to reduce that timeframe as much as possible to make sure we do not slip in space exploration efforts. There is also a need to stress the importance of furthering human exploration as 2008 presidential candidates craft their space policies. The Constellation Program goals of returning to the moon and exploring Mars should be a common stance by all the candidates, and NASA funding levels need to correspond to these objectives. The future of the aerospace and defense industry looks strong, and I believe we can easily rise to these challenges collectively. Let me close by saying it has been an honor to serve as AIA president and CEO for the last nine years, and I wish Marion, AIA, and the industry as a whole good luck and Godspeed. WASHINGTON WATCH: Supply Chain Security Plan Announced AIA President and CEO John Douglass plans to introduce the association's U.S. Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) initiative at the Board of Governors Meeting in Phoenix Nov. 14-16. President Bush signed legislation in August that requires 100 percent scanning of U.S.-bound maritime cargo within five years and screening of all cargo carried on passenger aircraft within three years. Implementation will have significant implications for the time-sensitive aerospace industry supply chain, thereby heightening the importance of programs such as C-TPAT. Over the last 18 months, AIA's C-TPAT Working Group has developed a coordinated aerospace industry approach to promote and facilitate industry compliance with the Department of Homeland Security's C-TPAT program. This approach centers on an AIA-hosted foreign supplier database that will allow U.S. importers to review a list of suppliers that have completed a standardized facility security self-inventory of aerospace industry "best practices." There is also an optional third-party validation of the questionnaire paid for by the foreign supplier. The secure online database is expected to be launched in January 2008. The 9,000 U.S. importers currently participating in the partnership certify that their entire supply chain and foreign partners meet specific U.S. government security criteria. They benefit from reduced customs inspections and border delays with "Green Lane Treatment" and from potential reciprocal arrangements with international supply chain security systems, such as the European Union's Authorized Economic Operator program scheduled to begin in January. AIA Source: joseph.lai@aia-aerospace.org WASHINGTON WATCH: AIA Kept Busy During Fall Legislative Session As the first session of the 110th Congress approached its holiday recess, AIA staff has been kept busy following a myriad of key aerospace and defense legislation and other congressional activities. Commerce, State, Justice, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill (S. 1745): By a veto-proof margin of 74 to 22, the Senate passed S. 1745 in late October. Appropriations Committee staff members from the House and Senate have begun identifying key issues for the joint congressional conference to develop the final version of the bill. Major differences between the respective versions of the legislation include the AIA-supported and Senate-passed NASA Restoration Amendment, which adds $1 billion in compensatory funding to the agency's budget as a result of unanticipated expenditures triggered by the Shuttle Columbia tragedy and Hurricane Katrina. President Bush has threatened to veto S. 1745 because it recommends spending nearly $3 billion more than the administration requested. SMC 10th Anniversary: AIA's Legislative Department briefed the Fall Supplier Management Council meeting held in Atlanta in October. Policy matters discussed included strong congressional support for the small business-oriented Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program as well as the status of the FAA and Defense Department budget reauthorization cycles. The briefing is available through the SMC and Legislative Department links on AIA's Web site. R&D Tax Credit: The R&D Tax Credit Coalition, co-chaired by The Boeing Company and Microsoft Corporation, conducted a congressional advocacy program during the week of Oct. 22 on behalf of both basic R&D credit and the so-called "simplified credit" that particularly benefits military contractors. AIA member companies actively participated in the effort. AIA also continues to consider a draft bill by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, that would phase out the basic credit while increasing the simplified credit from 12 to 20 percent over the next three years. Congressional offices have indicated that there will be a package of legislation in the form of a comprehensive bill reported by the House Ways & Means Committee to extend popular credits such, as the R&D incentive, by year-end. Boeing, Raytheon, GE Aviation Win Defense Department 2007 PBL Awards AIA member companies Boeing, GE Aviation, and Raytheon and their military partners have received 2007 Secretary of Defense Performance-based Logistics Awards. Jointly developed three years ago by DoD and AIA, the annual PBL awards acknowledge outstanding government-industry partnerships at the system, subsystem, and component levels. PBL is a logistics discipline that focuses on performance and capability rather than a product or service alone. Boeing won the System Level Award, along with the U.S. Navy, for the F/A-18 Integrated Readiness Supply Teaming program. The FIRST program provides support equipment, training, maintenance planning, technical data, and other services to Navy fighter crews. It enabled Super Hornet mission-capable rates to increase from 57 percent in May 2000 to 73 percent in May 2007. Raytheon and the U.S. Army won the Subsystem Level Award for logistics support for the Improved Target Acquisition System (ITAS), which is used to guide TOW (Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided) missiles. The program uses existing infrastructure to maximize Army depot support of items common to ITAS and the M220 Ground TOW 2 missile system. Raytheon's performance has exceeded all contract requirements, including 99-plus percent average operational readiness and predicted costs savings that total $300 million. GE Aviation and the U.S. Navy were recognized with the Component Level Award for the T700 aircraft engine used on H-60 Seahawk and AH-1W SuperCobra helicopters. GE Aviation's contract provides complete repair and replacement support for the four components making up the engine core. The PBL program delivered an average of 99 percent first-pass material availability, up from 64 percent, plus zero backordered parts and a 3.4 percent price reduction. AIA Source: rusty.rentsch@aia-aerospace.org ICAO Takes Aggressive Action to Further Improve Global Air Transport The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recently took major steps to ensure that aviation safety, security, navigation, and environmental programs are performance-based and results-oriented. During their 36th Assembly in September in Montreal, delegates from the organization's 190 contracting states reviewed ICAO activities over the past three years and agreed to a work program for 2008-2010:
Finally, the Assembly resolved that including international aviation in emissions trading systems before its next meeting should only occur through mutual agreement between ICAO contracting states. Member states belonging to the European Union and European Civil Aviation Conference did not approve this resolution. That leaves non-European contracting states concerned that Europe might take unilateral action to include non-European airlines in the EU emissions trading system. AIA Source: howard.aylesworth@aia-aerospace.org AIA Space Council Hosts Industry Workforce Synergy Roundtable Fifteen space organizations attended a Space Workforce Synergy Round-table hosted by the AIA Space Council this fall. "Many of these associations have been concerned about the demographic cliff our aerospace workforce has been heading toward for some time." said J.P. Stevens, AIA vice president of space systems. The roundtable provided an opportunity to address the issue in a positive way. In sharing their efforts at revitalizing the U.S space workforce and attracting the next generation, participants fulfilled the goals for the roundtable discussion:
AIA Source: andrew.barber@aia-aerospace.org An AIA Perspective: Environmental Policy Must Be Performance-based By Howard Aylesworth, AIA Director of Civil Aviation Environment This is the last segment in a five-part series highlighting AIA's commitment to environmental excellence in collaboration with airlines, airports, air traffic system providers, manufacturers, and government agencies worldwide. The long-standing global consensus is that evolving environmental concerns could limit future aviation growth. In the 1960s, jet noise was a growing concern. Aviation responded by establishing aircraft noise standards. In the 1970s, attention was drawn to engine emissions affecting local air quality. Aviation responded by establishing engine emissions standards. In the 1990s, climate change was placed on the global agenda. Aviation responded by requesting the Special Report on Aviation from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations, and by developing means for aviation to address carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Aviation, though, is only one part of an integrated transportation network that connects people and enables commerce. The challenge before us now is to continue to identify factors critical to aviation that will permit transformation of the industry while, at the same time, exploring how other modes of transportation can help alleviate our shared environmental challenges. If airlines can begin using lower carbon fuels in the next 10 to 15 years while manufacturers accelerate reduction of CO2 emissions from aircraft, then emphasis on aggressive transportation technology development programs and timely, robust methods for their deployment could become sustainable aviation policy. This also holds true for other forms of transportation. Development of high bypass ratio engines and advanced aircraft performance technologies has yielded significant environmental and economic benefits. Yet, NASA research and development programs critical to the aviation technology pipeline have been woefully under-funded since the 1990s. Early stages of research on high-risk, high-payoff technologies are an inherently governmental function essential to national prosperity and security. The loss of these programs threatens the nation's ability to reduce aviation noise, improve local air quality, and address climate change impacts. AIA believes the answer rests in development of new technologies, alternative fuels, and new energy sources, as well as the elimination of congestion and delay across all transportation modes. The amount of CO2 reductions each mode is capable of achieving will, however, be different. Since 1960, aviation CO2 emissions per passenger mile have been reduced by 70 percent. This is based on the strength of market forces that might not influence decisions to reduce CO2 emissions in other transportation modes. Technological options available to ground and marine transportation are, however, not suited to aviation. Aviation will still be dependent upon jet fuel far longer than automobiles or trains will be powered by carbon-based fuel. Modern society cannot advance without transportation. Today, we must consider what the appropriate environmental policy approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all transportation sources is. It should be based on reducing transportation CO2 emissions as a whole and aimed toward maximizing the development and deployment of the technologies available to each mode while minimizing the costs. For its part, government must invest its share of the technology R&D pipeline in order to make possible the significant investments the private sector must undertake. This is the right policy for industry, for consumers, and for the nation. Government and Industry Team Focusing on Quality Parts Issues To ensure quality parts management and combat counterfeit parts, which is a growing concern for aerospace and government, AIA's Quality Assurance and Intellectual Property committees have formed a joint industry-government integrated project team. The team's first order of business will be determining a common definition of "counterfeiting," followed by an aggressive action plan. Contributing to counterfeiting problems are activities related to outsourcing to manufacturers other than original equipment producers or their approved suppliers, the Internet's high-speed/fast trade marketplace, parts obsolescence that forces re-engineering or re-design of replacement parts, and cost and schedule compliance pressures. In addition, NASA's increasing use of advanced technologies reduces its ability to use standard military parts and increases the agency's susceptibility to counterfeiting. NASA, FAA, the Defense Department, and the aerospace industry have taken independent actions to mitigate the scope of the problem. Business, for example, has established the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy, of which AIA is a member. From among the Coalition's six task forces, the Detection and Enforcement Task Force is producing a Brand Enforcement Manual, and the Technology Task Force is developing a technology matrix to identify organizations most in need of protecting their supply chains. Without better prevention, a growing number of suspect parts might find their way into aerospace, remain in supply chains for years, and impose an increasingly negative impact on product integrity and businesses. AIA Source: david.pauling@aia-aerospace.org |
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