Today's Top News

• DOD freezes hiring, cuts temporary workforce
  Thousands of temporary employees are being given layoff notices at the Pentagon, one of a series of measures the Defense Department is taking in advance of expected spending cuts. The department's other moves include putting ship repairs on hold and implementing hiring freezes. Experts say even deeper cuts would need to be put in place to cope with sequestration if it occurs March 1. The Wall Street Journal (1/25), Reuters (1/25)     

	Stop Sequestration Now! More than 2 million jobs are at stake if Congress and President Obama fail to act before March 1. Click here to contact your elected officials and urge them to work together on a balanced, bipartisan solution to stop the mindless meat axe threatening our national security and economy.

Defense

• Rep. Ryan rules out U.S. government shutdown in March
  Automatic cuts in the U.S. government's spending will be allowed to take effect in March, but there won't be a shutdown, says Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee. "No one is talking about shutting the government down," Ryan said on the NBC program "Meet the Press." Reuters (1/27), The Hill/Hill Tube blog (1/27)     

• Sequestration could cut $19B in Army readiness, chief of staff says
  Sequestration would affect Army training, the CH-47F Chinook helicopter program and other budgets that total $17 billion to $19 billion in Army readiness, says Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, who warned the cuts could create "a hollow force." "We'll very quickly go to extremely low levels of readiness in the next six months throughout the Army," he said. AOL Defense (1/24)     

• Linda Hudson, industry pioneer and BAE Systems CEO, looks back
  BAE Systems President and CEO Linda Hudson says breaking into the upper ranks of the defense industry at a time when few women were in the business was extremely challenging, especially because she was conscious of carving a path for younger women who would come after her. Hudson, now nearing retirement, looks back on her struggles and victories. Forbes (1/22)     

• Other News

• India is set to receive 5 Boeing C-17 planes this year
  The Wall Street Journal (1/24)     

• 5 contractors are in the running to replace Canada's CF-18s
  Reuters (1/25)     

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Commercial Aviation

• Hawker Beechcraft works to exit bankruptcy
  Hawker Beechcraft will seek to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy, after key creditors approved a reorganization plan. The company aims to take $2.5 billion in debt off its balance sheet. The Wichita Eagle (Kan.) (1/26)     

• Gulfstream reports solid growth for 2012
  Gulfstream reported growth for 2012 as solid demand continued for its business jets. "We're seeing the largest demand [for our business jets] coming from within the Fortune 500 companies as they replenish their fleets," said Phebe Novakovic, chairman and CEO of General Dynamics, the parent company of Gulfstream. FlightGlobal.com (U.K.) (1/24)     

• United Continental CEO remains upbeat about Dreamliner
  Jeff Smisek, CEO of United Continental Holdings, is expressing his continued confidence in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and its popularity with fliers. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded the aircraft this month over safety concerns regarding its batteries. "The aircraft is a terrific aircraft, and customers love the aircraft, and I have no doubt that customers will flock back to that airplane once we're able to get it back up again," Smisek said. CNNMoney (1/24), USA Today (1/24)     

• Other News

• Photos released on social media site show progress of Bombardier's CSeries
  FlightGlobal.com (U.K.) (1/25)     

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Space

• NASA must oversee more private-crew safety, panel says
  The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel says NASA must take on more oversight for the safety of private crews on commercial spacecraft flight tests. "NASA and our nation are blazing a new trail of attempting to use an entirely different way of getting to space and it's a trail that's not well marked," said panel member John Frost. Florida Today (Melbourne) (tiered subscription model) (1/26)     

• Other News

• Atlas 5 ready for Wednesday launch at Cape Canaveral
  Spaceflight Now (1/27)     

• Ball Aerospace opens expanded manufacturing plant in Colo.
  The Denver Post (1/25)     

Suppliers' News

• Honeywell surprises with higher-than-expected Q4 revenue
  Honeywell International's fourth-quarter revenue reached $9.58 billion, topping analysts' expectation of $9.51 billion. Honeywell acquired a natural gas processor and increased revenue as a result. CNBC (1/25), Bloomberg Businessweek (1/25)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by AIA dailyLead® readers in the past week.

• Pentagon grounds F-35Bs due to engine problem (Defense News)

• Pentagon looks to conserve cash (Politico (Washington, D.C.))

• Boeing, Sikorsky form partnership for Army program (FlightGlobal.com (U.K.))

• Boeing 787 fleet to remain grounded, LaHood says (Bloomberg Businessweek)

• Boeing CEO faces test of leadership with 787 issues (Bloomberg Businessweek)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

AIA News

• AIA Member Spotlight: Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation
  Recently joining AIA as a full member, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation supports critical missions for national agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA and other U.S. government and commercial entities. The company develops and manufactures spacecraft, advanced instruments and sensors, components, data exploitation systems and RF solutions for strategic, tactical and scientific applications. See full list of AIA member companies.     

• AIA urges Congress, President to find a permanent bipartisan solution to sequestration
  Statement by Marion C. Blakey, President and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, on the failure to fix sequestration in the fiscal cliff deal: "While we are pleased Congress made some headway on tax elements of a deal to avert the fiscal cliff, we are concerned that they could not agree to a long term solution to fix a problem no serious person wants -- sequestration." Read more.     

Position Title Company Name Location Program Director, Operations RTCA, Inc. Washington, DC NDI Level II Technician Kaman Composites Vermont Inc. Bennington, VT Applications Engineer - Aviation 3432535 W.L. Gore Newark, DE Mission Support Administrator RTCA, Inc. Washington, DC Chief Engineer, Gimbals UTC Aerospace Systems | Cloud Cap Technology Hood River, OR Senior Software Engineer UTC Aerospace Systems | Cloud Cap Technology Hood River, OR Manager of Electrical Engineering UTC Aerospace Systems | Cloud Cap Technology Hood River, OR

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