Le Bourget, France—The United States has “lost enormously in market share in commercial satellites,” said Aerospace Industries Association President Marion Blakey. In an interview here with the Daily Report at last week’s Paris Air Show, Blakey said US export controls have driven the United States from one-time leadership in the satellite business to one of a struggling competitor. Controls need to be reformed swiftly, she said. “It’s not just a question of economic activity, such as jobs and sales,” she said. If companies can’t sell their products, “they won’t see a reason to innovate” in technology and cost, she continued. She applauded the Obama Administration for already taking significant strides in export control reform, eliminating some 70 percent of restrictions on items, such as vehicles. It is now undertaking a similar “case by case” analysis of aerospace goods, but it can’t come fast enough, she said.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.