The Obama administration’s State Department is in the process of deciding new policy on foreign sales of UAVs, and the outcome could provide a long-sought boost to U.S. industry, according to a recently departed official.
LONDON — More than two and a half years since its rollout, the U.K. defense ministry has finally lifted the veil on the test program for the Taranis unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator. Little has been heard of the £185 million ($300 million) program since the project went black shortly after its unveiling. But now, with the first phase of trials completed with flights of up to an hour in duration, industry and defense officials say the aircraft, claimed to be the most advanced ever produced in the U.K., has surpassed all expectations.
The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (Nawcwd) is redesigning its forward-firing miniature munition missile – called Spike – to address more recent threats. The guided missile was conceived, designed, tested, procured and delivered by Nawcwd, which owns and controls the weapon’s design, using modern modular designs and commercial-off-the-shelf components through “non-Department of Defense” U.S. companies, Navy officials note.
HELO SCANDAL: A day after barring AgustaWestland and parent company Finmeccanica from participating in the country’s biennial military exhibition, India says no decision has been made whether to to blacklist the firms from future business for breaching a pre-contract integrity pact concerning the now-canceled purchase of 12 VIP transport helicopters for the Indian air force. The contract for 12 AW101s, signed with AgustaWestland International Ltd. on Feb 8, 2010, was terminated by the government on Jan. 1.
Operating the International Space Station until 2024 will broaden the “planning horizon” for commercial companies to use the facility, adding 45% to the research and crew time available for industrial research and technology development for deep-space exploration, according to the NASA official responsible for human spaceflight. William Gerstenmaier told the FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington Feb. 5 that the service life extension for the ISS “changes the way commercial providers think about this.”
Raytheon is pursuing new applications for the ADM-160 miniature air-launched decoy as the U.S. Air Force prepares to wrap up operational testing of the MALD-J jammer version after software fixes designed to cure navigation problems. Production has switched to the dual-use MALD-J, which can operate as a decoy or stand-in jammer. The 1,000th vehicle will be delivered to the Air Force in April for use on B-52s and F-16s, says Joe Staton, manager of MALD advanced programs at Raytheon Missile Systems.
Integrating the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) with carriers, including the next-generation CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford class ships, continues to present obstacles for the U.S. Navy, according to the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). “The Navy is working to address several JSF integration challenges on its aircraft carriers,” DOT&E says. DOT&E has looked at some of these issues before and Navy officials say changes are underway or have been made.
Technology to rapidly equip different aircraft types for the close air-support mission and provide fast, digital coordination with ground controllers is to move into live-fire flight testing later this year. Raytheon has begun work under a $25.5 million contract for Phase 3 of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) program. Flight tests are planned to begin in July.
In the wake of a recent Pentagon report touting the Virginia-class attack submarine’s quiet operations, the U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics’ Electric Boat a $525 million contact for more sub work. The undefinitized contract modification awarded this month is associated with the two fiscal 2015 Virginia-class submarines – SSN-794 and SSN-795 – and the two fiscal 2016 Virginia-class submarines – SSN-796 and SSN-797.
AEW DELIVERY: The Turkish air force has received the first of its long-delayed Boeing 737 airborne early warning and control aircraft, ordered under the Peace Eagle program. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) delivered the first of four aircraft, which were ordered in 2003, to Konya air base after modification on Jan. 31. The aircraft will enter service following a base ceremony on Feb. 21.
A small but significant number of U.S. congressmen are backing a bill that would halt the U.S. Army’s plans to move some helicopters out of the National Guard and into active duty, while looking to establish a blue-ribbon commission on the armed service like one recently completed for the Air Force.
BEIJING — Japan is considering building at least one more amphibious landing ship, with the aim of defending remote islands and the East China Sea, according to local media. The design is very likely to be much larger than that of the three, 14,000-ton Osumi Class amphibious ships that the Japanese navy now has in service.
NEW DELHI — India’s defense ministry has barred AgustaWestland and parent company Finmeccanica from a biennial military exhibition as the two companies are “under investigation” for breaching a pre-contract integrity pact concerning the now-canceled purchase of VIP transport helicopters for the Indian air force. “As per our policy, any company under blacklist ... [or] under investigation will not be allowed to participate in the DefExpo,” says G.C. Pati, ministry secretary for defense production.
LONDON — The U.K. and French governments hope to decide by 2016 whether the two countries will collaborate on the demonstration and manufacture of an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV). At a one-day summit between U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande, at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire on Jan. 31, the two leaders jointly agreed to spend £120 million ($197 million) on a feasibility study toward a UCAV that would form the basis of a Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program.
LOS ANGELES — SpaceIL, the Israel-based team competing for the Google Lunar X-Prize, is optimistic about winning the pole position in the race to land a privately developed unmanned vehicle on the Moon following the award of a contract with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the propulsion system.
LONDON — Air Greenland has canceled an order for two Airbus Helicopters EC225s because the offshore market around the island has not developed as expected. The company ordered the aircraft as part of a DKK380 million ($69 million) deal announced in December 2011. It planned to use them on search-and-rescue missions and passenger-carrying duties with an expected influx of oil and gas companies exploring for oil around the huge country.
LONDON — The French and British governments are looking to rationalize the development of what they call complex weapons capabilities with industrial partner and missile manufacturer MBDA. The plan is revealed in a communique following the one-day summit between U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, on Jan. 31.
NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (Ladee) mission will spend an extra 28 days circling the Moon at low altitude to extend observations of the tenuous atmosphere for an additional light/dark lunar cycle. The extension will postpone Ladee’s anticipated impact with the surface until about April 21.
LONDON — The U.K. defense ministry has accelerated plans to introduce a helicopter-borne early warning radar system for the country’s new aircraft carriers. The Crowsnest program is expected to integrate an airborne early warning (AEW) radar onto the Royal Navy’s AgustaWestland Merlin Mk. 2 helicopters, replacing the capability provided by the Westland Sea King Mk. 7s carrying the Thales Searchwater radar, which will be retired at the end of March 2016.
