December 24, 2018  -  No. 101

In This Issue 
Australia to beef up technology for drone 'crackdown' 
Local programs working to fill the pilot gap with more affordable, flexible training plans 
Technology Helps New Pilots Better Communicate with Air Traffic Control, Increase Safety. 
Delayed Flight? Honeywell May Have a Fix 
Gogo's 2Ku Antenna De-Icing Fix is Working. 
The "Newest" Bombardier Challenger Actually Comes from Nextant Aerospace 
Bell Fort Worth Named Vertical Heritage Site By The Vertical Flight Society 
HNA in talks to sell IT products distributor for $7.5bn 
30 Years Later: The Impact of the Lockerbie Tragedy. 
SpaceX Launches Final Record-Breaking Rocket Of 2018, And Its First Ever National Security Mission. 

Australia to beef up technology for drone 'crackdown'

Australia will introduce new surveillance technology for a "crackdown" on drones next year, aviation authorities said Monday, as concerns mount over their increasing prevalence in public areas.
Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) plans to roll out new monitoring equipment at major airports across the country next month.

The technology has the ability to identify a drone, its serial number and the location of the controller while in flight, CASA communications manager Peter Gibson told AFP.

"We can identify therefore who is flying it," he said.

The technology, coupled with new registration requirements, will "dramatically" change the way rules relating to drones are enforced, Gibson added.

"2019 will be a drone safety crackdown," he said.

While the new equipment has been in planning for some time, the incident last week at Londonīs Gatwick airport -- which saw nearly 140,000 passengers affected by three days of disruption after reports of drone sightings -- "highlights the importance of having this capability", Gibson said.
Officials will also roll out a drone registration scheme in mid-2019, so that authorities can better track who is flying them and advise of proper safety precautions.

The new mobile tracking technology will be used in "known drone hotspots" like the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which has seen a concerning rise of drones operating in a restricted area, Gibson said.

Authorities will have greater powers to conduct safety checks, he said, and increased ability to issue fines of up to Aud$10,000 (USD$7,000) for those in breach of the rules.

"In 2019 it could be very expensive doing the wrong thing with your drone," Gibson said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-6526215/Australia-beef-technology-drone-crackdown.html

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Local programs working to fill the pilot gap with more affordable, flexible training plans

COLUMBUS - A career in aviation was not always Jessica Cowles' plan.

"I actually went to undergrad for accounting," Cowles said.

Cowles is a graduate from the University of Louisville, who started school studying nursing before graduating with a degree in accounting.

It was a job at UPS, loading planes and working with the shipping company's pilots and aircrafts, that sparked the 23-year-old's interest in taking to the skies as a pilot herself.

"Exciting, it's a whirlwind," Cowles said about her experience in flight school thus far. "I eat it up. I am confident in it, I enjoy it. It is a great career field for anybody, women, men, any race, any ethnicity, you name it, there are so many opportunities."

While women make up only 6 percent of the pilot population, a number the Federal Aviation Administration said is steadily increasing, Cowles is one of the many pilots in training at Jeff Air Pilot Services.

Jeff Air Pilot Services, in Greenwood and Columbus, is the flight school provider with Ivy Tech Community College's Aviation Technology Program where students can get their commercial pilots license starting around $46,000 a result of reduced aircraft rental costs, less expensive credit hour fees and flexible scheduling.

Jeff Air has a stand-alone flight school as well, an option Cowles took because she already had a degree and it worked with her schedule of balancing a full-time job.

"You are able to kind of just plug and chug as you go," she said. "I really like that idea, and I really like that is an option here."

Cowles plans on finishing her training in 2020, and then working as a flight instructor with Jeff Air to get her hours before going back to land what she says is her "dream job" with UPS.

"I feel home grown there so I would like to be able to return there," Cowles said. "But in the meantime, I would like to be able to be homegrown here is a really nice idea."

Cowles knows this is an industry she can soar in as there is a significant gap in pilots available and able to take the open positions.

The regional airline market is currently feeling the effects of the shortage as the legacy and national airlines are hiring thousands of pilots over the next several years. Delta announced in 2018 that it expects to hire 8,000 pilots over the next 10 years. In addition, the change in the mandatory retirement age in 2007 stagnated hiring for up to five years.

"There is a general pilot shortage right now," David Jeffries, a pilot and the owner of Jeff Air Pilot Services, said. "On the regional level, they are having a lot of problem keeping pilots because the legacies where the desirable jobs are, are taking the experienced pilots quickly. Boeing, for instance, are saying they need worldwide 700,000 pilots from 2018 to 2037. Airbus is a little bit lower on their estimates which are 460,000. From a North American perspective, about 200,000 are expected in that same time period."

Jeff Air and Ivy Tech's Aviation Technology program are working to recruit new pilots by making a flight career more affordable, flexible and attractive.

"There has been a history of the industry lagging as far as bankruptcies," Jeffries said. " 9/11 hurt the industry. Just furloughs, just some perceptions of what the industry has been like keeps people on the sideline. In addition to that, the FAA changed the retirement age, and extended that out to 65 so it slowed some progression down for pilots for a few years."

Things are different now, Jeffries said.

"It's a very different industry than it was a few years ago. Opportunities are abundant, they are great," he said. "It takes motivation and dedication and just the trust that there will be opportunities at the end of the line and I think they are there now."

A candidate does not need a degree, but the college degree is a competitive minimum. Jeffries says some of the legacy airlines are still wanting a degree, but a degree is not needed to be a flight instructor, nor is a degree needed to be in the flight deck of an airline.

"From zero time to airline ready, anywhere from two to four years, maybe up to five years depending on the individual," Jeffries said on how long flight school can take. "We do recommend no less than one flight a week. Ideally, two to three flights is ideal for a candidate."

Jeffries says the best way to pursue a career in aviation is to enroll in a reputable flight school with a structured program. For instance, Jeff Air Pilot Services, holds an Air Agency Certificate from the FAA commonly referred to as a 141 flight school. The program is monitored by and audited by the FAA, with the syllabus approved by the FAA.

Professional pilots begin training for the Private Pilot License and will add an Instrument Rating, a Multi-Engine Rating, a Commercial Pilot License, and ultimately an Airline Transport License. Each license has certain flight time requirements and each rating typically has tasks and flight experience requirement, where some ratings are for a specific aircraft, Jeffries said.

"With our program, we would like to get you to a flight instructor certificate," Jeffries said. "And then you can flight instruct, primarily with Jeff Air, we would like you to come back and instruct with us. And then, from there, you build the experience you need. It is 1,500 hours to work for an airline right now and we would stay with you through that point."

It can be a promising financial future once pilots gain their license. The starting commercial pilot salary in Indiana is $32.59 an hour, according to Ivy Tech's Technical Certificate in Aviation Flight Technology Program.

"From a flight instructor stand point, currently with Jeff Air we are paying anywhere from $36,000 a year to about $40,000 - a little over $40,000 for the first year," Jeffries said. "And then with airlines, with signing bonuses, it depends on what airline of course, but I've seen anywhere from $50,000 to $60,000."

To enroll with Jeff Air Pilot Services, contact David Jeffries at 317-514-6373 or visit their website: https://jeffairfbo.com . If you are interested in enrolling with Ivy Tech's Aviation Technology Program, you can contact the program chair, Matthew Medley at mmedley6@ivytech.edu . More information on Ivy Tech's program, visit here: https://www.ivytech.edu/flight .

https://www.theindychannel.com/news/hiring-hoosiers/local-programs-working-to-fill-the-pilot-gap-with-more-affordable-flexible-training-plans

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Technology Helps New Pilots Better Communicate with Air Traffic Control, Increase Safety

Learning to speak a new language can be difficult in any setting. Now, imagine trying to learn the language of the sky as a new pilot, while also navigating the instrument panel and learning to fly the plane safely.

Two Purdue University alumni have come up with technology to help new pilots master radio communication skills to better interact with air traffic control operators.

Muharrem Mane, an alumnus from the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Eren Hadimioglu, an alumnus from the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology, created and developed PlaneEnglish.

It is an aviation radio simulator to help new pilots acquire radio communication skills becoming proficient in aviation phraseology and communication, developing advanced skills in realistic environments, and giving instantaneous feedback through voice recognition and speech analysis.
The app-based tool also aims to help new pilots reach Federal Aviation Administration and International Civil Aviation Organization standards for English language use, put in place to ensure safety in the sky.

"We've gotten feedback that this is something very different and very new in the area of flight training," Mane said. "It's a combination of ease of access-train on the go-the way we're doing the speech analysis, and feedback to the user that is something that doesn't exist out there."

PlaneEnglish has more than 50 lessons accessible at any time. Lessons guide users through simple and complicated interactions with air traffic control on every phase of flight from taxi out, to takeoff, to airspace entrance, to approaches, to taxi in.

Each simulation includes visual clues that show altitude, distance from an airport and direction. A variety of airports can be selected or one will be randomly selected for the user.

Users are required to respond properly in specific situations, using the correct phraseology, speech rate and other factors. There can be as many as five or six exchanges back and forth with "air traffic control." Then users are graded on those responses.

"Every time you do a lesson, there is going to be something that changes," Mane said.

"You can't just memorize."

Mane also said the technology comes at a time when the FAA has put an increased focus on English language proficiency for pilots, and started asking instructors to test their students on their speaking and communication abilities.

https://www.ecnmag.com/news/2018/12/technology-helps-new-pilots-better-communicate-air-traffic-control-increase-safety

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Delayed Flight? Honeywell May Have a Fix

Honeywell International Inc. CEO Darius Adamczyk isn't the type to play the hype man, so when he says he's "extraordinarily excited" about something, it's meaningful. Those were the words he used earlier this year to describe Honeywell's vision for using technology to improve air travel and stake out a leading position in the burgeoning field of connected aircraft. It's Kristin Slyker's job to make that happen.

Slyker, 44, leads the company's efforts to sell antennas that enable satellite communications, high-speed in-flight WiFi service and software that can improve fuel efficiency, predict maintenance needs and help pilots plan flights. It's a job she says she never would have envisioned for herself when she joined the company more than 16 years ago in an information-technology role. Having grown up in the Phoenix area, where Honeywell Aerospace's headquarters are located, she graduated from Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business with a degree in computer information systems. But with a father who served in the Air National Guard, airplanes were an important part - and occasional playground - of Slyker's childhood.  

"This job brings it full circle," Slyker, vice president of connected-aircraft customers and partnerships, said in a Dec. 4 interview on board Honeywell's Boeing Co. 757 test plane as we circled the Grand Canyon. The plane, stripped of most passenger accoutrements save for a dozen or so seats, now serves as a flying laboratory for Honeywell's latest innovations. These include its GoDirect software services and connected radar that crowdsources information from other planes, satellites and ground systems to give pilots a more complete and accurate picture of the weather. 

One reason Slyker may not have envisioned her job is that it didn't officially exist until early 2017, when Honeywell Aerospace CEO Tim Mahoney established connected aircraft as its own business and tapped her to lead it. Connectivity is in Honeywell's DNA: the company has been enabling cockpit satellite communications since the 1980s, and has a long history with radar and flight-planning services. The turning point for converting its connected-aircraft aspirations into a full-fledged business was when it gained the ability to pair those traditional offerings with big-data mining and real-time information, Slyker says. The market also had to be ready for next-generation technologies.

Buzzwords like "connected" and "digital" tend to translate as "overplayed" and "expensive" to industrial investors bruised by General Electric Co.'s poorly executed foray into software. Honeywell has pitched its connected-aircraft business as a means to make its aerospace unit, the company's largest, less vulnerable to economic slumps. Demand for connectivity upgrades and software services isn't dictated by flight hours or gross domestic product to the same extent as new plane purchases and traditional repair work, Ben Driggs, president of services and connectivity at Honeywell Aerospace, said in an interview. The big question, as it was for GE, is whether this can be a new source of revenue for Honeywell or if these investments are simply necessary to maintain its hold on high-margin maintenance work, says Scott Davis, CEO of Melius Research.

It's easy to understand the business model for Honeywell's JetWave equipment that enables reliable WiFi even over oceans. The company also sells access to that connection via a distribution agreement with satellite communications operator Inmarsat Plc. In an increasingly connected world, the ability to be plugged in and entertained at all times holds appeal for passengers - and for the airlines that can charge them for that service. The less tangible part of Honeywell's connected-aircraft push is the idea of using data harvested from plane parts to improve operations. United Technologies Corp.'s $30 billion takeover of avionics maker Rockwell Collins Inc. is a bet that scale will help it get ahead in connected aircraft, but Honeywell is prioritizing quality over quantity. What works in Honeywell's favor, Davis says, is its bottom-up mindset.

The company starts with a known problem - like the delays passengers can face while an airline tracks down a fueling truck from the other end of the airport - and then tries to find a way to solve it via software and data analytics. In this case, it's Honeywell's GoDirect Ground software, which uses data scraped from fueling and baggage-sorting trucks to give operators better awareness of how their fleet is being used, allowing them to allocate vehicles more efficiently and improve turnaround times.(2) It sounds simplistic, but it's easy to spend a lot of money in software and wind up with offerings people aren't willing to pay for. "I'm not going to build my infrastructure in the hope that I'm going to find a problem to solve," Slyker said. "I'm building my infrastructure to solve the problems I know exist."

She has unique insight into what those problems are. Before coming to Honeywell, Slyker worked in programming and program management at Accenture with a focus on the oil and gas industry. She drew on that background at Honeywell as she transitioned from IT, working first with the team that decided what next-generation business jet technologies the company should invest in before eventually handling planning and controls for the commercial-aviation business's $1 billion annual research and development budget. She also spent about four years as vice president of commercial-customer operations for Honeywell's integrated supply-chain team, which is a fancy way of saying she had to manage cranky phone calls if deliveries didn't show up or quality issues arose. This isn't a job I envy, but it trained her to make customers' needs the starting point for decision-making. 

That mentality is paying off. Swissport International, the world's largest ground-service provider, inked a deal this month to deploy GoDirect Ground across its operations.(1) No financial terms were disclosed, but the 13 percent reduction in maintenance costs Swissport reported after applying Honeywell's service across five ground-handling stations earlier this year was enough to entice it to sign up for a bigger project.

The benefit of Honeywell's multi-faceted approach to connected aircraft is that it doesn't necessarily need to earn billions of dollars in revenue from predictive-maintenance software to be successful in this industry. In addition to satellite antennas, Honeywell also sells a little gray box it calls the Aircraft Data Gateway, which gives airlines a way to securely and wirelessly transfer information on and off a plane. It's what makes this whole idea of connected-aircraft and real-time information work, so you can see the appeal even for airlines that may prefer to build data-analytics capabilities in house. Honeywell's predictive-maintenance offerings should also allow the company to save costs on its own repair work: if you know something will break ahead of time, it tends to be a more minor (and less expensive) fix.

All of this math is made easier by the fact that Honeywell hasn't been throwing money around willy-nilly on software. Its connected-aircraft operations blossomed out of three acquisitions and, true to Honeywell form, they were niche and reasonably priced. The company bought wireless-connectivity company EMS Technologies for $491 million in 2011 and then paid an undisclosed amount to acquire fuel efficiency software-maker Aviaso and in-flight airtime provider Satcom1 in 2015. Contrast that with GE's recent announcement that it will sell a majority stake in its ServiceMax field-technician software business to Silver Lake for seemingly a lot less than the $915 million it paid for it in 2017.

Connectivity is a squishy word that many companies abuse, but Slyker and Honeywell have a concrete approach to it that should pay off one way or another.

(1) This software was developed in partnership with telematics company Pinnacle.

(2) Swissport was acquired by HNA Group in 2016. The debt-laden Chinese conglomerate is attempting to unload assets and was reportedly in talks to sell Swissport to Brookfield Asset Management.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/delayed-flight-honeywell-may-havea-fix/2018/12/21/f2c4ae46-0531-11e9-958c-0a601226ff6b_story.html?utm_term=.9e1ecf38e3b4

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Gogo's 2Ku Antenna De-Icing Fix is Working

The de-icing modifications added to Gogo's 2Ku antenna are resolving performance degradation issues experienced by airlines while flying aircraft equipped with the in-flight connectivity (IFC) technology in cold weather.

Gogo published a response to investor inquiries on the performance of its 2Ku antenna system stemming from recent significant winter storm activity. As of Dec. 10, their IFC network had experienced no incidents of 2Ku system degradation on aircraft installed with Gogo's recent de-icing modifications.

John Wade, president of Gogo's commercial aviation division told Avionics International that the modifications are being completed across all in-service and in-production aircraft.

"The modifications include sealing the 2Ku radome adapter plate to the fuselage to prevent fluid getting under the radome during the de-icing process," Wade said.

Underneath the radome, are two symmetrical, phased-array antennas that rise four inches in profile above the airframe. Both antennas are capable of transmitting and receiving satellite signals in any direction without tilting or moving vertically.

Antenna performance was primarily affected by moisture and liquids leaking onto the antenna apertures as a result of the de-icing procedures.

Gogo Chief Executive Oakleigh Thorne addressed the 2Ku antenna de-icing issues during the company's third quarter earnings call in November. He said Gogo also has provided a modification to the bottom cover of the radome and may also roll out a top-cover modification, but that will require further testing.

Thorne said the modifications can eliminate up to 90 percent of the de-icing events that occurred on 2Ku-equipped aircraft during the winter of 2017.

The majority of the de-icing activities are occurring in North America, and the modifications are being applied to newly equipped 2Ku aircraft internationally as well. Gogo has applied the de-icing modifications to 95 percent of its in-service North American fleet, according to Wade.

"Our deployed modifications have enabled us to avoid de-icing issues and drive high 2Ku system availability during this initial cold weather period," Wade said.

The 2Ku system is now featured on 898 aircraft operated by 14 different airlines globally.

A total 600 aircraft equipped with Gogo's de-icing modifications have made 2,601 flights, according to the latest available FAA data regarding airports that have experienced de-icing conditions.

https://www.aviationtoday.com/2018/12/21/gogos-2ku-antenna-de-icing-fix-working/

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The "Newest" Bombardier Challenger Actually Comes from Nextant Aerospace

Nextant Aerospace, the Ohio company that since 2007 has been remanufacturing pre-owned aircraft so that they are even better than they were when brand new, is adding another offering to its lineup. Joining the three Nextant models that derive from the Beechcraft 400 light jet (the 400X, 400XTe and 400XTi) and the G90XT turboprop (a rebuilt Beechcraft King Air) is the large-cabin 604XT, a Bombardier Challenger 604 that will feature new avionics, a redesigned and customizable interior, and longer range.

"We specifically chose these aircraft [the Challenger, King Air, and 400] because of their pedigree, because of their ruggedness and reliability," says Nextant director of sales Randy Znamenak. "And then through our remanufacturing process, we completely transform the airplanes. I like to call it transformational remanufacturing, where we introduce carefully selected technology, systems and materials."

The Challenger 604, the successor to the 601 and the predecessor of the 605, was in production from 1996 to 2006, during which time Bombardier delivered close to 350 examples. Presently, Nextant is offering only the avionics upgrade to the 604. The new flight deck received FAA certification in November, and Nextant delivered the first Challenger equipped with it in December.
 The company will next seek certification of the interior upgrades and then the capability enhancements. It expects the certification processes to be completed within two years. At that point, Nextant will offer the 604XT as a turnkey aircraft, though it will continue to offer each of the upgrades ā la carte.

The new avionics system is the Collins Pro Line Fusion, and its centerpiece is a 14.1-inch high-resolution touchscreen display. "The display enhances the situational awareness of the flight crew and reduces their workload," says Steve Bruce, the program director for the 604XT.
By extending the Challenger's wings and adding winglets, Nextant will raise the aircraft's flight ceiling to 45,000 feet and its range to an estimated 5,200 (land) miles when carrying four passengers. "One of the less desirable characteristics of the 604 is its range," says Nextant executive vice president Mark O'Donnell. "It's a large-cabin aircraft, but it's not a true intercontinental airplane, especially when you're going west against the wind. It really can't make it from Europe to the US without going up north for fuel. So we're going to add 500 [nautical] miles of range, which would make it a true intercontinental airplane and very desirable to a lot of operators, especially those that cross the Atlantic regularly."

In the 604XT cabin, which can accommodate from nine to 11 passengers depending on the configuration, Nextant plans to include, among other features, a new entertainment system, LED lighting throughout, and a redesigned interior shell that will allow more natural light into the interior. "One of the areas of the 604 that's been a concern with some owners is that it has relatively small windows," says Znamenak. "So we're looking at different ways to make those windows appear larger, to enhance the window reveals from the shell."

Nextant is owned by Directional Aviation Capital, the parent company of the fractional provider FlexJet, the flight-card company Sentient Jet, and, following a recent acquisition, the charter broker PrivateFly. Nextant's siblings also include Constant Aviation, a company that refurbishes aircraft-Gulfstreams, Dassault Falcons and Bombardier Globals as well as Challengers. O'Donnell notes that Constant Aviation's experience and expertise will come into play as Nextant determines the options available for the 604XT cabin.

The price of the Pro Line Fusion avionics is just over $1.1 million (installed). A turnkey 604XT-with a new interior and enhanced capabilities, plus the new flight deck-will depend greatly on the cost of the preowned aircraft that serves as the foundation and on the options and finishes that the buyer selects for the interior. "Assuming that you could purchase a 604 for around $4 million," says Znamenak, "you're looking at probably $6 million to $7 million out the door, depending on options and finishes."

https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/newest-bombardier-challenger-from-nextant-aerospace-2836182/


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Bell Fort Worth Named Vertical Heritage Site By The Vertical Flight Society

In 1951, Bell broke ground in Fort Worth for the first factory in the world specifically built to manufacture helicopters. Since then, generations of iconic rotorcraft and tiltrotor have been conceived, with more than 35,000 Bell aircraft delivered worldwide to date.

Bell's Fort Worth Headquarters is the second facility in company history to be designated as a Vertical Heritage Site. In 2015, Bell's "Gardenville" Site in Cheektowaga, New York was celebrated. 

The Vertical Flight Society - founded in 1943 as the American Helicopter Society - is the world's oldest and largest society dedicated to advancing vertical flight technology. The Society's Vertical Flight Heritage Sites Program recognizes and helps preserve the important vertical flight historical sites around the world.

https://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12439409/bell-fort-worth-named-vertical-heritage-site-by-the-vertical-flight-society

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HNA in talks to sell IT products distributor for $7.5bn

Chinese conglomerate aims to shed assets to focus on aviation

Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co. is in discussions to sell Ingram Micro Inc., one of America's largest distributors of personal computers and other technology products, to private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apollo made an offer for Ingram two weeks ago, the people said, but HNA rebuffed it as too low. HNA is hoping to sell Ingram for $7.5 billion, including $1.5 billion in debt, one of the people said. Apollo and HNA are currently in talks to see if a deal can be reached, the people said.

Other U.S. private-equity firms have expressed interest in Ingram, though the Apollo discussions currently appear the most advanced, some of the people said. There is no guarantee any deal for Ingram will be reached.

A deal for Ingram, which a unit of HNA acquired for $6 billion about two years ago, would bring in billions of dollars at a time when the conglomerate is trying to downsize and raise funds to pay off debt.

HNA amassed piles of debt as it acquired assets around the globe worth more than $40 billion over a two-year shopping spree. That came to an end when the Chinese government cracked down on overseas investments by large private companies-driven by concerns that high levels of debt could pose a risk to the country's economy.

The Chinese conglomerate also encountered scrutiny of its complicated ownership structure from U.S. regulators and global lenders. The company is now shedding assets to focus on its core area of aviation.

Apart from Ingram, the company is planning to exit stakes in Deutsche Bank AG and dozens of Chinese banks and insurance companies, The Wall Street Journal has reported. It already sold its investment in the Hilton hotel chain at a roughly $2 billion profit.

Founded in 1979, Irvine, Calif.-based Ingram is one of the largest distributors of personal computers and other technology products, including printers, scanners, TVs, video-game consoles, and software. It has more than 30,000 employees and has operations in 52 countries, according to its website. HNA didn't make changes to Ingram's senior leadership after the acquisition.

For the nine months ended Sep. 29, Ingram posted sales of $35.6 billion, up from $32.9 billion a year earlier.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/HNA-in-talks-to-sell-IT-products-distributor-for-7.5bn

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30 Years Later: The Impact of the Lockerbie Tragedy

Thirty years ago, pieces of Pan Am Flight 103 - a Boeing 747-121 that was carrying 243 passengers and 16 crew - rained down on the village of Lockerbie, turning the picturesque Scottish town into a fiery scene of horror. The jumbo jet had broken apart in midair after a bomb in a suitcase in its hold detonated at 31,000 feet, sending flaming wreckage plummeting onto houses below. It's estimated that only two minutes elapsed between the device detonating and the debris slamming into Lockerbie. Everyone on the plane died, as did 11 people on the ground.

The intense investigation that followed concluded that the improvised explosive device that brought the flight down on Dec. 21, 1988 had been built and placed aboard the aircraft by Libyan intelligence agents and provided evidence that the attack had been ordered by Libya. Beyond the emotional pain suffered by the friends and families of the victims, the disaster helped transform air travel, for better or worse. Pan American Airways, which faced lawsuits and bad publicity over its failure to prevent the bomb from being placed aboard the plane, took a financial and public relations hit. The venerable airline, considered by some the unofficial international flag carrier of the United States, would cease operations just a few years later. But, perhaps most importantly, the bombing and the way it had been carried out provided a watershed moment in the approach to air travel security.

A Personal Toll
As I've written here in the past and in my memoir Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent, the case was immediately very personal. Danny O'Connor and Ron Lariviere, two fellow Diplomatic Security Service special agents who were returning to the United States on leave for the holidays, perished in the tragedy. Maj. Chuck McKee of the Defense Intelligence Agency and Matt Gannon, the brother of another DSS agent, were also among the victims.

I played a small part in the investigation. The DSS assigned me to chase down a theory that the bombing might have been an attempt to assassinate the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, who had been booked on the doomed flight but missed his plane. That theory did not pan out. Eventually, however, FBI bomb technicians pieced together a picture of what happened, linking the device directly to Libya. By a strange irony, the FBI laboratory in Washington identified that the circuit board used in the bomb's timer was identical to one that came from a timer that one of my colleagues in the DSS Counterterrorism Investigations Division had recovered from an arms cache while investigating a Libyan-sponsored coup attempt in Lome, Togo, in 1986 and then submitted to the FBI lab for analysis.

Before the bombing, I had investigated two Libyan-backed attacks on U.S. diplomats in Sanaa, Yemen, and Khartoum, Sudan, so the Libyan angle was not surprising, but the agents' deaths still delivered a gut punch to everyone at the State Department.

A Sea Change in Security
From an aviation security perspective, we have come a very long way since that horrible night in 1988. Although Moammar Gadhafi is no longer around to plot the demise of U.S. airliners, the threat to civilian aviation is still quite active. But today, in response to tragedies like Pan Am 103 and the 9/11 attacks, the approach to security has fundamentally shifted. While measures have evolved to keep pace with the risks, the task remains herculean, even with the use of robust and sophisticated technology.

Some security screenings are readily visible to anyone who travels: Every piece of checked and carry-on luggage is scanned for indications that a bomb may be hidden inside. Other systems focus on the passengers themselves, searching for evidence of explosives secreted on or within a traveler's body. Where security arrangements were once left to individual airlines, they are now handled by employees of the U.S. Transportation Security Agency, which uses comprehensive databases to track and map luggage to passengers.

The security that the average air passenger doesn't see is even more impressive. Intelligence checks are run on every passenger on a flight manifest, especially those traveling into and out of the United States. Analysts identify high-risk flights and routes that warrant special intelligence assistance, including the discreet deployment of federal air marshals to thwart possible threats on board, such as a hijacking. Behind the secure doors, technology enhancements are in place including cameras, technology and software to detect preoperational surveillance. These systems are plugged into the national intelligence assets and enhanced with information gathered by monitoring of human, communications and electronic intelligence. Security planners know that groups like al Qaeda remain fixated on bringing down an airliner, therefore, international collection efforts are centered on uncovering aviation-related plots. This laser focus did not exist at the time of the Pan Am 103 bombing, nor did the supporting infrastructure.

Sadly, I've learned over the years that too often it takes tragedy to force change in the security arena. Rather than being proactive, governments for the most part are reactive, waiting until a failure reveals a security vulnerability rather than thinking outside the box in an effort to prevent the next disaster. The Pan Am 103 bombing shined a spotlight on the horrible human costs of failing to screen luggage for bombs, leading to the implementation of a procedure that seems so routine today.

https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/30-years-later-impact-lockerbie-tragedy


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SpaceX Launches Final Record-Breaking Rocket Of 2018, And Its First Ever National Security Mission

Rewrite those record books, because SpaceX has successfully launched its 21st rocket of the year - smashing its previous record, and launching its first national security mission in the process.
At 8.51am Eastern time today, Sunday December 23, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida with a shiny new GPS 3 satellite built by Lockheed Martin for the US Air Force.
 The launch had been delayed several times this week, but finally took off today.

This was the 20th flight of a Falcon 9 rocket this year, and SpaceX's 21st flight in total, with the other being the Falcon Heavy launch in February. Their previous record was 18 launches in 2017.
This launch did not attempt a landing, unlike SpaceX's recent launches including the somewhat botched attempt earlier this month. There was no landing attempt on this flight because the full performance of the rocket was needed to take the satellite on board to its intended orbit about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) above Earth.

The launch has been heralded as a big success for SpaceX in breaking into the military space market. In 2014, they contested a US Air Force decision to award a non-compete contract to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) partnership between Boeing and Lockheed. The suit was dropped in 2015 when the Air Force opened up the bidding to competition.

And ultimately that proved great for SpaceX. In 2016 they were awarded an $83 million contract to launch this satellite, which itself is worth half a billion dollars. This is the first of a class of new GPS satellites that are being built by Lockheed Martin.

The launch was originally scheduled for May 2018, but was delayed as SpaceX continued testing of its new Block 5 rocket. SpaceX is contracted to fly four more GPS satellites, in deals totaling more than $380 million.

The goal of this satellite, nicknamed Vespucci and which has a lifespan of 15 years, will be to replace an existing old GPS satellite that's been in orbit since 1997. This new satellite boasts some advanced capabilities over its predecessor, including more secure and accurate signals that are harder to jam.

Ultimately these new GPS 3 satellites will replace all of the 32 GPS satellites operated by the US military in space. Used by an estimated 4 billion people worldwide, these provide us with incredibly useful location data, as well as being used by the military. These new satellites also boast improved integration with Europe's own version of GPS, called Galileo.

Lockheed is also touting an ability to increase the accuracy of GPS receivers such as your smartphone from between three and ten meters (ten and 33 feet) to one and three meters (three and ten feet). However, a complex ground control system built by US defense contractor Raytheon called OCX that's needed for this capability won't be ready until 2022 at the earliest, so us civilians won't see this improvement until then.

While the Air Force might be having a few problems, this launch rounds out a hugely successful year for SpaceX. It got off to a flying start with two launches in January, before that incredible Falcon Heavy launch on February 6. More than half of the 21 launches this year included successful ground landings.

But 2019 could be an even better year for SpaceX. Alongside a string of planned launches, including at least one more Falcon Heavy, the company plans to conduct an uncrewed test flight of its new Crew Dragon vehicle in January. If all goes to plan, they could start launching astronauts by summer 2019.

So while 2018 was undoubtedly a great year for SpaceX, the best is yet to come. And that's saying something.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2018/12/23/spacex-launches-final-record-breaking-rocket-of-2018-and-its-first-ever-national-security-mission/#656eecc48547

Curt Lewis