Cover-0311-final_AA Template 2/15/11 10:12 AM Page 1 3 AMERICA AEROSPACE March 2011 MARCH 2011 MARCH UAV roundup 2011 Quieter flight: A balancing act China’s military space surge A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS 10" Live EXPERIENCE ON A SCALE WITH GMD. 10.875" Trim 11.125" Bleed Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) has over 180 uniquely configured and operational assets at 11 sites that stretch across 10 time zones. Since the start of the program, Boeing has worked side-by-side with the Missile Defense Agency on this complex and far-reaching program. Now, together with Northrop Grumman, the GMD One Team brings an unrivaled breadth of experience, ensuring that GMD is ready, reliable and affordable. 7" Live 8.125" Trim 8.375" Bleed Scale: 1.0" = 1" Job Number: BOEG_BDS_GMD_2211M_A Approved Client: Boeing Product: Boeing Defense, Space & Security Date/Initials Date: 2/16/11 GCD: P. Serchuk file Name: BOEG_BDS_GMD_2211M_A Creative Director: P. 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Frontline Communications Partners 1880 Century Park East, Suite 1011, Los Angeles, CA 90067 Client - Frontline Communications Partners Job # - 120514 Ver. - AD01 Live Cyan Magenta Yellow Black Trim Bleed TOC.MAR2011_AA Template 2/14/11 10:58 AM Page 1 March 2011 Page 4 Page 12 DEPARTMENTS COMMENTARY 3 How far can you see? INTERNATIONAL BEAT 4 Europe confronts intel capability shortfalls. WASHINGTON WATCH 8 Space, stealth, and Spartans. Page 14 THE VIEW FROM HERE 12 Mapping a course to the asteroids. AIRCRAFT UPDATE 14 MPAs: Statements of global power. ENGINEERING NOTEBOOK 18 ICESat 2: Laser eyes on Earth’s changing ice. OUT OF THE PAST 44 CAREER OPPORTUNITIES 46 Page 18 FEATURES UAV ROUNDUP 2011 22 With UAVs on the wish list of more and more nations, the growth in sales of these systems will likely continue at a brisk pace. by J.R. Wilson CHINA’S MILITARY SPACE SURGE 32 Experts say China is accelerating its military space program to target U.S. aircraft carriers. by Craig Covault Page 32 QUIETER FLIGHT: A BALANCING ACT 38 NASA aeronautics research seeks engineering breakthroughs that will lead to quieter aircraft and softer sonic booms. by Jim Banke BULLETIN AIAA Meeting Schedule B2 AIAA Courses and Training Program B4 AIAA News B5 Meeting Program B13 COVER An MQ-1 Predator armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles flies a combat mission over southern Afghanistan. See the latest on UAVs beginning on page 22. (USAF photo by Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt.) Page 38 Aerospace America (ISSN 0740-722X) is published monthly, except August, by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. at 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, Va. 20191-4344 [703/264-7500]. Subscription rate is 50% of dues for AIAA members (and is not deductible therefrom). Nonmember subscription price: U.S. and Canada, $163, foreign, $200. Single copies $20 each. Postmaster: Send address changes and subscription orders to address above, attention AIAA Customer Service, 703/264-7500. Periodical postage paid at Herndon, VA, and at additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2010 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., all rights reserved. The name Aerospace America is registered by the AIAA in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 40,000 copies of this issue printed. This is Volume 49, No. 3. Rapid Prototyping Autocoding HIL Testing Rapid Prototyping Autocoding HIL Testing Rapid Prototyping Autocoding HIL Testing Rapid Prototyping Autocoding HIL Testing march comment_AA Template 2/11/11 12:15 PM Page 1 ® is a publication of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Elaine J. Camhi Editor-in-Chief Patricia Jefferson Associate Editor Greg Wilson How far can you see? Production Editor Jerry Grey, Editor-at-Large Christine Williams, Editor AIAA Bulletin Much has been written about the apparent decline of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in the U.S. and, to varying de- Correspondents grees, other Western countries. Four years ago, the National Academy’s Robert F. Dorr, Washington oft-cited “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” study, chaired by former Philip Butterworth-Hayes, Europe Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Norm Augustine, sounded the alarm Michael Westlake, Hong Kong on challenges facing the nation, with recommendations to bolster STEM Contributing Writers disciplines to improve American competitiveness. Other studies see Amer- Richard Aboulafia, James W. Canan, ican science and engineering being surpassed by nations that are more Marco Cáceres, Craig Covault, Leonard actively investing in infrastructure and stressing education. David, Philip Finnegan, Tom Jones, David Key among these concerns is the relatively sparse percentage of U.S. Rockwell, J.R. Wilson students seeking advanced degrees in science and engineering, especially Fitzgerald Art & Design compared with their counterparts overseas. While some concrete steps Art Direction and Design have been taken to reverse this trend, recent economic concerns, coupled with inevitable cutbacks, pose a threat to this progress. And nowhere do Craig Byl, Manufacturing and Distribution those threats seem as alarming as in the aerospace community. Present Mark Lewis, President uncertainty in NASA’s direction and budget, calls for “efficiencies” in the Robert S. Dickman, Publisher DOD, and even funding threats to national test and evaluation infrastruc- STEERING COMMITTEE ture all suggest that aerospace will not fare well. Michael B. Bragg, University of Illinois; However, the situation is not as bleak for aerospace as it is for other Philip Hattis, Draper Laboratory; Mark S. STEM fields. Researchers at the National Institute of Aerospace have been Maurice, AFOSR; Laura McGill, Raytheon; compiling data on aerospace student enrollments dating back over two Merri Sanchez, National Aeronautics and decades, and the results are encouraging. In 1989, the various aerospace Space Administration; Mary Snitch, Lockheed Martin; David W. Thompson, Orbital undergraduate programs enrolled roughly 350 students per program; by 1996 that number had fallen to about 130. But since 1997, these enroll- EDITORIAL BOARD ments have shown a steady rise, such that by 2008 they had returned al- Ned Allen, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics; most to the late 1980s levels and continue to grow. Graduate enrollments Jean-Michel Contant, EADS; Eugene Covert, are even more encouraging, with U.S. programs now reporting 50% more Massachusetts Institute of Technology; L.S. students than in the late 1980s. Last year, the 57 aerospace programs par- “Skip” Fletcher, Texas A&M University; Michael Francis, United Technologies; ticipating in the survey reported total enrollments of over 20,000 students. Christian Mari, Teuchos; Cam Martin, Think we’re not attracting top students from around the globe? A recent NASA Dryden; Don Richardson, Donrich National Academy study suggests the opposite. The quality of aerospace Research; Douglas Yazell, Honeywell students across the board remains second to none. Our biggest challenge is not one of supplying the next generation of ADVERTISING aerospace engineers; rather, it is in having sufficient demand. Program National Display and Classified: Robert Silverstein, 240.498.9674 cancellations, starts and stops, and facility closures all mean fewer oppor- [email protected] tunities for our graduates. Students come to aerospace seeking the chance West Coast Display: Greg Cruse, to contribute to meaningful progress in air and space transportation and 949.361.1870 / [email protected] exploration. If our society does not provide those, they will eventually go elsewhere. Send materials to Craig Byl, AIAA, 1801 The benefits of educational outreach hardly require justification—we will Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 500, Reston, VA 20191-4344. Changes of address should be always want to recruit the best and the brightest. To do so, we must convince sent to Customer Service at the same address, decision makers to create lasting opportunities, so that we don’t lose this gen- by e-mail at [email protected], or by fax at eration’s talents and enthusiasm. In securing the future, the greatest contribu- 703.264.7606. tion we can make to education is to provide inspiration. Then we can all look Send Letters to the Editor to Elaine Camhi with pride at the many ways aerospace technology has already transformed at the same address or [email protected]. our world, and extrapolate to a future where it continues to bring value to March 2011, Vol. 49, No. 3 our lives while opening new avenues of knowledge and understanding. Mark Lewis Willis Young Professor, University of Maryland AA-layout-BEAT0311_Layout 1 2/11/11 12:44 PM Page 2 Europe confronts intel capability shortfalls EUROPEAN MILITARY ALLIES WILL HAVE operational environment, and a need cluding the operation of C-160 Gabriel to dramatically increase their levels of for more precise and reliable informa- aircraft with recently upgraded Thales cooperation if they are to make up for tion,” said Attila Simon, research and electronic surveillance systems. In a potential shortfall in intelligence, technology project manager within the September 2008, Thales was awarded surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), European Defense Agency (EDA), at a a contract to upgrade the aircraft’s signals intelligence (SIGINT) and elec- September 2010 Paris conference.