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 use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
