Aviation Week & Space Technology - 3 November 2014

‘I don’t see her at very many

of the hearings.’

—SEN. JOHN MCCAIN,

of fellow Sen. Jeanne Shaheen

REUTERS/LANDOV FILE PHOTO

Washington Outlook

I

f Republicans win control of the Senate in the Nov. 4 congres-

sional elections, the outspoken Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is

likely to head the Senate Armed Services Committee. While he

is generally well-respected in national security circles, the de-

fense industry remembers his

aggressive pursuit of Boeing’s

Air Force refueling tanker

missteps and his criticism of

the Joint Strike Fighter and

Littoral Combat Ship.

In fact, McCain has scored little in

the way of campaign donations from

industry in his last two elections. So

if he takes control of the committee, it

will be interesting to see if his bulldog

reputation remains intact, or if he

reaches out more to businesses.

He worked well alongside outgo-

ing chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-

Mich.) but may now also face bruised

feelings within the committee that

once prided itself on bipartisanship.

While recently campaigning in New

Hampshire, for former Massachusetts

Republican Sen. Scott Brown, McCain

launched an unusual attack at a fellow

member of the armed services com-

mittee, calling New Hampshire’s sit-

ting senator, Jeanne Shaheen (D), not

a “serious member.... I don’t see her

at very many of the hearings. I’ve not

seen her propose any amendments

or proposals that have to do with

national security,” he said, according

to NHJournal.com. c

BROADCASTING DISCONTENT

General aviation advocates are asking

the FAA to rethink a requirement for

all aircraft to be equipped with part of

the surveillance component of Next-

gen air trafc modernization by Jan. 1,

2020. The system, known as Automatic
      Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast-Out,
      remains too costly for many general
      aviation aircraft owners, says Mark Bak-

er, president of the Aircraft Owners and

Pilots Association, in an Oct. 28 letter to

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.

“Installing equipment that costs a mini-

mum of $5,000-6,000 is simply beyond

their reach,” Baker writes, referring to

the 43% of the general aviation fleet val-

ued at $40,000 or less. Private aircraft

owners cannot pass along the charge of

equipping their aircraft to passengers.

Instead, Baker suggests looking for

lower-cost technology. Many “afordable

portable solutions can provide ADS-B-

In information to the cockpit,” he writes,

adding that similar solutions could meet

FAA ADS-B-Out requirements. c

POLICY PITCH

After more than a decade at the helm

of the European Space Agency (ESA),

Jean-Jacques Dordain has an idea for

how the spacefaring nations of the

world should cooperate in exploring

and exploiting the Solar System and

beyond. It looks a lot like ESA. In a key-

note address at the 26th Wernher von

Braun Memorial Dinner in Huntsville,

Alabama, Dordain—who is set to retire

next year—outlined seven “principles”

for international cooperation in space.

Based on his experience as the director-

general of the 22-nation ESA, Dordain

says nations should work together for

peaceful purposes, with transparency,

keeping exploration activities open to

all partners able to commit resources.

Results of space research should be

shared, he says, as should space-trans-

portation systems and other infra-

structure. Cooperating nations should

allocate a part of their space capacity

to “students and young scientists of the

world,” and international partnerships

should include private entities as well

as governments. “These seven prin-

ciples look like ESA, ESA to a global

scale,” he says. “These are my personal

remarks. But for me it is urgent to

move.” He concedes that an “architect”

is needed to provide overall guidance.

That role logically falls to Washington,

given U.S. history in space exploration.

“You should take the initiative,” he tells

industry and government players in his

mostly American audience. c

MISSED UNDERSTANDING

Congressional agreement on the fiscal

2016 defense budget is not likely until

next spring—perhaps as part of a

larger debate over the expiration of the

Treasury’s debt ceiling and whether

to return to across-the-board budget

reductions, says the Pentagon’s top

budget ofcial. But since the start of

the deficit reduction push in 2011, the

Pentagon has received funding at lev-

els somewhat less than the president

has requested and more than spending

caps stipulate, Comptroller Mike Mc-

Cord says.

The Pentagon spends a lot of time

trying to explain the military’s finan-

cial pressures. But he wonders, wryly,

if perhaps Congress comprehends the

situation all too well. “We’ve been led

to believe... that we don’t explain

the problem well enough, and that is

why there hasn’t been a consensus

in Congress to make a real definitive

move away from the [Budget Control

Act],” McCord says. “I’m not sure that

is the case.” c

Mending Fences

Will McCain’s plainspoken ways

suit him in a leadership role?

COMMENTARY

Edited by Jen DiMascio

Managing Editor-Defense,

Space & Security Jen DiMascio blogs

at: AviationWeek.com/ares

[email protected]

AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/NOVEMBER 3/10, 2014 25

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