Aviation International News
August 2015
PUBLICATIONS Vol. 47 No.8 $9.00
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Lockheed Martin expanding with $9B Sikorsky acquisition by Mark Huber and Thierry Dubois Lockheed Martin’s decision to buy Sikorsky Aircraft from United Technologies (UTC) for $9 billion lifts a cloud of uncertainty that has hung over the Connecticut-based helicopter maker since UTC announced its desire to shed the enterprise earlier this year. Made public on July 20, the deal is subject to potential vetoes from both the U.S. Defense and Justice departments but is expected to receive regulatory approval. The parties anticipate closing on the acquisition late in this year’s fourth quarter or early in the first quarter next year. Lockheed Martin and United Technologies have agreed to make a joint election under Section 338(h)(10) of the Internal Revenue Code, which treats the transaction as an asset purchase for tax purposes. The election generates a tax
benefit with an estimated present value of $1.9 billion for Lockheed Martin and its shareholders, bringing the after-tax price of the acquisition to $7.1 billion. Lockheed Martin CFO Bruce Tanner said the company plans to finance the deal with $1 billion in company cash and $8 billion in new, low-interest debt. Lockheed Martin has annual revenue of $45 billion, $22 billion of which comes from direct U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contracts. Its signature military products include the F-35 Lightning II multirole fighter, C-130J transport aircraft, Patriot anti-missile systems and the Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ships. UTC had been publicly shopping Sikorsky since at least February, and the Lockheed-Sikorsky deal Continues on page 42 u
Lockheed Martin, which has a strong presence in the defense sector, plans to retain both Sikorsky’s civil and military businesses.
High-fidelity visuals give pilots a sense of the ground rushing toward them.
FlightSafety’s G550 simulator models real upset behavior by Matt Thurber During the past 30 years, hundreds of people have died in accidents when pilots lost control of the airplane. The causes of these accidents vary, but many of them might have been prevented or ameliorated had the pilots received upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) and understood exactly how to apply the training.
JAMES HOLAHAN
Special Report
Interiors
Safety
Product Support Survey: Aircraft
Cabin electronics
First half accident stats
AIN readers rate manufacturers’ performance in supporting their aircraft. Gulfstream takes the top spot among jet makers while perennial favorite Mitsubishi leads t-props. page 20
As they have in years past, greater inflight connectivity and faster streaming for voice communications and data remain the primary drivers in the cabin electronics market. page 50
Not since 2009 has the business jet sector recorded zero fatal accidents worldwide, as it did in the first six months of this year. The turboprop segment did not fare as well. page 10
Jim Holahan, founding editor of this magazine, died on the Fourth of July at home in Saddle River, N.J., with family at his side. He was 94, and had retired in 1998. We pay tribute to this tenacious pilot, editor and journalist on page 30.
FlightSafety’s new UPRT course offers training that can help pilots deal with loss of control, the accident category with the greatest number of fatalities in business and commercial aviation and also one of the NTSB’s “most wanted” safety improvements. The FlightSafety UPRT program is conducted in a Gulfstream G550 simulator, Continues on page 40 u