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Magazine Issue

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, May 20, 2014

VOL. 249 NO. 32 May 20, 2014

Operations

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California Enlists U.S. Navy Seahawks To Fight Fires

May 20, 2014
Six flight crews from the Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC)-3 provided support to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) to help fight wildfires throughout San Diego County this month. At the request of Cal Fire, the six specially-equipped MH-60S, or Sierra, Seahawks are supporting firefighting efforts in the vicinity of USMC Camp Pendleton, Calif., by conducting aerial water drops.
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U.S. Navy Sees Lift In Rotary-Wing Operations

May 20, 2014
BATH, MAINE — While the current fiscal 2015 Pentagon budget proposal includes plans to cut future buys for Sikorsky MH-60 helicopters and Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout UAVs, the U.S. Navy is continuing to build and train for future operations using both, especially in tandem, off its surface-fleet ships.
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U.K. Sends Sentinel To Nigeria

May 20, 2014
The U.K. government has sent one of its Raytheon Sentinel ground-surveillance radar aircraft to Central Africa to assist in the search for schoolgirls kidnapped by extremists in Nigeria. The Sentinel was one of a number of options offered by London to the Nigerian government to assist in the search operation for the 223 schoolgirls abducted by the militant Islamic group Boko Haram in April.

Programs

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ULA Explores Shifting Atlas V Launches to Delta IV

May 20, 2014
COLORADO SPRINGS — United Launch Alliance (ULA), which manages the two launch vehicles used to loft U.S. national security payloads, is already starting contingency planning in the event that its Atlas V rocket is grounded following Russia’s decision to cut off deliveries of the RD-180 first stage amid political tensions over the crisis in Ukraine.
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Switzerland Votes “No” To Gripen

May 20, 2014
LONDON — Switzerland has rejected its government’s planned purchase of the Saab JAS 39E Gripen fighter aircraft. Some 53.4% of the public voted “no” in a referendum on the purhcase held on May 18, which will force the Swiss government to abandon the 3.1 billion Swiss franc ($3.5 billion) program for 22 aircraft, and re-examine its options to replace the aging Northrop F-5 Tiger. Nearly 2.9 million Swiss voters took part in the referendum, with a turnout of 55.3%.
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Airbus, Alenia And Dassault Propose Joint MALE UAV

May 20, 2014
Three of Europe’s largest military aircraft manufacturers are proposing a joint approach to the development of a pan-European, medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV. Airbus Defense and Space, Alenia Aermacchi and Dassault Aviation say they have delivered proposals for what the companies call MALE 2020 to the defense ministries of France, Germany and Italy, and say their plans are backed by industrial agreements on work shares as well as a cooperative agreement.
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ESA Approves Service Module Design For Orion

May 20, 2014
After a nearly one-year delay, the European Space Agency (ESA) has approved the system design of a service module being developed by Airbus Defense and Space to fly on NASA’s Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) in 2017, the company announced May 19. ESA’s approval green-lights hardware development of a structural model that will be used for static tests expected to start “in the next few months,” followed by dynamic tests simulating launch loads that will be conducted within the coming year.
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SpaceX Sails For Port After Recovering Third Dragon

May 20, 2014
HOUSTON — SpaceX recovery ships steered for port in Los Angeles following a successful Pacific Ocean recovery of the company’s third round-trip Dragon resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The freighter splashed down May 18 about 350 mi. west of Baja, Calif., at 3:05 p.m. EDT, ending a 30-day flight that delivered nearly 5,000 lb. of cargo and returned with more than 3,500 lb. of station hardware, crew equipment and research materials, including perishable medical specimens and biological samples.
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Crowded Schedule Ahead For Indian Space Agency

May 20, 2014
NEW DELHI — India’s space agency has a busy period coming up, with the next launch of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C23) bearing a clutch of foreign satellites slated by the end of June, and an experimental launch of its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-Mk. 3) by the end of July. Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) say both missions are currently at “different stages” of progress. The next two months will be “very hectic” for the space agency, they say.

Forecasts/Industry Data

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U.S. Defense Department Major Weapon Systems, Fiscal 2015

May 20, 2014
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In Brief

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Construction to Begin on 2016 NASA Mars Lander

May 20, 2014
MARS LANDER: NASA’s Insight (Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) Mars lander passed its critical design review on May 16, clearing the way for the agency and its international partners to begin construction. Insight will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in March 2016, making it the first interplanetary mission ever to launch from California, NASA says. The lander will dig beneath the Martian surface to study the planet’s interior, shedding light on how rocky planets form and develop their layered inner structure.

Contracts

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Selected aerospace and defense contracts for the week of May 12-16, 2014

May 20, 2014
Selected aerospace and defense contracts for May 12, 2014 NAVY