* Hawker Beechcraft announced that it will not be acquired by Superior Aviation Beijing, an option they had been pursuing since July. Instead they will try to go through bankruptcy as a standalone business. CEO Steve Miller understated that “global politics may have interfered.”
* However politics don’t seem to slow down Boeing in China [PDF].
* EADS is reviewing its strategy in North America, in the wake of the failed merger with BAE which would have given it a much broader footprint in the US. New armed helicopters is one area they are expecting growth from. Meanwhile, in Germany EADS still has complicated ownership matters to resolve between Daimler and the state-owned KfW bank.
* Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met US Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and asked him to speed up arms deliveries.
* Rosoboronexport will deliver 6 Mi-17 helicopters to Ghana next year.
* The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) is conducting market research that could lead to relatively light Dismounted Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device (R-CIED) Electronics Warfare (CREW) equipment. FBO | Mil & Aero Electronics.
* Daniel Goure at the Lexington Institute wonders who is responsible for what he calls the deteriorating relationship between the Pentagon and the industry.
* Former US Secretary of the Air Force then Secretary of Defense Harold Brown thinks service secretaries are no longer needed.