General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has flown an improved version of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle as it positions to take over production and support of the engine for the U.S. Army’s current version of the Predator-family unmanned aircraft.
NASA is revealing its most detailed assessment yet of the design challenges that are being tackled as part of its plan to develop and test the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle for human exploration from 2017 and beyond.
NEW DELHI — The launch of India’s GSAT-14 satellite aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) fitted with an indigenous cryogenic engine will take place on Aug. 19, a top scientist says.
Russia’s Progress 50 cargo capsule departed the International Space Station’s (ISS) Russian segment on July 25, opening a berthing port for the July 27 arrival of a replacement freighter carrying a NASA space suit repair kit among its nearly 3 tons of supplies. Progress 50, filled with trash and unneeded equipment, departed the station’s Pirs docking port at 4:43 p.m. EDT, destined for a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean.
In the final analysis, it will be up to federal lawmakers to decide whether the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) acquisition plan is worth the risks cited by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its newly released report on the program.
Click here to view the pdf Indian Naval Acquisition Plans Fiscal 2013-2018 Indian Naval Acquisition Plans Fiscal 2013-2018 Platform Name Size of Existing Inventory (2013) FY13 Units FY14 Units
The navy-to-navy relationship between the U.S. and India is “solid and growing,” says Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the U.S. chief of naval operations. Speaking July 19 at a media briefing, Greenert cited the expansion of the Malabar exercise in Indian waters.
FAIR WARNING: U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wants Congress and the White House to backload sequestration cuts under the 10-year time frame of the 2011 Budget Control Act and to give the Defense Department more flexibility to meet any overall reduction. Otherwise, the law’s annual, automatic recisions make for a process that is too steep, too fast — and it will mean culling military missions, particularly as the combined military gets smaller to meet budgets.
FRANKFURT — EADS is preparing a major structural overhaul that will lead to realigned divisions and a new name: Airbus. According to several industry sources, the changes may be confirmed at next week’s board of directors meeting scheduled for July 30. EADS did not comment officially.
DENVER — Dextre, the multipurpose dexterous manipulator that rides at the end of the International Space Station’s robotic arm, will acquire some new tools and tasks by year’s end. Among the cargo tucked into Japan’s fourth H-II Transfer Vehicle scheduled for launch to the ISS on Aug. 4 is Phase II hardware for NASA’s Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM), a testbed the size of a window air conditioner bolted onto the station truss that mimics operational satellites.
The U.S. Navy agrees with some of the recent recommendations made by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding the much-maligned Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, but the service essentially intends to continue following the program’s current acquisition and development course. The GAO started to investigate the LCS program following congressional outrage last year in the wake of Aviation Week reports about problems aboard LCS-1, the USS Freedom, and related programmatic problems.
The U.S. missile defense system that has failed to intercept a ballistic missile target since 2008 needs more regular testing, says U.S. Air Force Gen. Bob Kehler, who oversees the Pentagon’s Strategic Command.
U.S. Pacific Command (Pacom) has developed and deployed a new logistics tracking system between the U.S. and Australia that the U.S. Navy says will help ensure faster, more coordinated responses to humanitarian crises and other contingencies. U.S. Navy officials say the Pacific Radio Frequency Identification System will also foster more collaboration and integration across the Asia-Pacific region. Pacom, through its U.S. Army Pacific component, and the Australian defense force launched the system in April.
The U.S. Navy is looking to improve the SH-60 Sea Hawk’s ability to provide operational overwatch by gathering intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and disseminating that information to ground troops. The Sea Hawk’s utility for such work was tested this month during the biennial multinational exercise Talisman Saber 2013 in the South Pacific.
PARIS — France secured its two biggest export deals in recent memory with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week, including an agreement to purchase 17 medium-range Ground Master 200 tactical anti-aircraft radar for more than €200 million ($265 million) from Franco-American joint venture ThalesRaytheonSystems, according to industry sources.
MOVING FORWARD: The first Littoral Combat Ship, the USS Freedom, got under way to resume participation in the at-sea phase of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) Singapore the afternoon of July 24 after repairs to the ship’s electrical plant, the U.S. Navy reports. “Initial assessment on the loss of propulsion was that the number 2 and 3 ship service diesel generators (SSDGs) overheated and shut down,” the Navy says. “Since arriving in Singapore July 21, crew and maintenance technicians replaced turbochargers in (the SSDGs).
The U.S. Navy’s plan for its future ballistic missile submarine fleet meets the nation’s needs and should not be cut, says Rear Adm. Richard Breckenridge, undersea warfare director, in a recent blog.
