You can’t be a real airplane lover and take satisfaction in seeing the end of a flagship aviation program.
That said, Airbus’ decision last week to halt production of the A380 by 2021 will bring an end to a polarizing program.
It was neither sleek nor particularly attractive, but it was an astonishing aeronautical achievement that was ultimately too big to succeed.
Lt. Gen. David Deptula, USAF Ret., dean of Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies discusses the legacy of Lt. Gen. George Muellner, USAF Ret., the Institute’s recent report on nuclear command and control and the Air Force’s plan to acquire new F-15 fighters with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.
Eric Fanning, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, discusses the priorities of the organization on its 100th year from budgetary predictability, smart regulation, international trade fairness and workforce development with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.
Siegfried Usal, Thales’ vice president for research and technology strategy and managing director of cortAIx — the company’s Center of Research and Technology for Artificial Intelligence Expertise in Montreal — discusses the role of the center and AI investment with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. Thales sponsored reporters’ travel to Montreal to visit cortAIx AI research and development facility and launch of an AI partnership the company and Centech, Québec’s largest start-up incubator.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, PhD, R-Wisc., a member of the House Armed Services’ Seapower and Expeditionary Warfare subcommittee, discusses the need for new US amphibious warfare concepts and more with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. Gallagher is a former Marine how represents a district that is home to Fincantieri Marinette Marine, which builds the Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship and is one of the competitors in the US Navy’s competition for a new frigate. We spoke on the sidelines of the Amphibious Warship Industrial Base Coalition breakfast in Capitol Hill.
Amb. Kurt Volker, the executive director of Arizona State University’s McCain Institute for International Leadership, discusses the lasting legacy of the late Sen. John McCain with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2018 Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada. Our coverage was sponsored by L3 Technologies and Leonardo DRS.
Joe DePietro, vice president of Lockheed Martin Small Combatants and Ship Systems, discusses the variant of the company’s Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship — with Fincantieri Marinette Marine — being proposed for the US Navy’s FFG(X) frigate program with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the Surface Navy Association’s 2019 conference and tradeshow in Northern Virginia. We are an SNA media partner and our coverage was sponsored by Huntington Ingalls Industries, GE Marine, L3 Technologies and Leonardo DRS.
Patrice Caine, the chairman and CEO of Thales Group, discusses his company’s artificial intelligence strategy, market applications and sustained research and development investment with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. Thales sponsored reporters’ travel to the company’s cortAIx AI research facility in Montreal, Canada.
Tom Karako, the missile defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discusses the Trump administration’s decision to exit the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia and future systems with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The conversation also included a recap of a Feb. 1, 2019, panel discussion on what’s next now that the administration has completed its Missile Defense Review, hosted by Karako at the think tank, that included Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy David Trachtenberg and Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves, USAF, the director of the Missile Defense Agency.
Tony Castilleja, systems engineer, and Josh Barrett, communications specialist, both with Boeing Space & Missile Systems, discuss the company’s new Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and new spacesuit with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview was conducted in Washington, DC, at “To the Future” space experience by Boeing and Axios that will run through the mid-February.