FRANKFURT — China’s AVIC International has bought German aircraft engine manufacturer Thielert in a move that further broadens the group’s general aviation portfolio. Thielert’s insolvency administrator confirmed the deal on July 23, saying the company would be relaunched as Technify Motors, with operations remaining in Germany. Neither side disclosed details about the acquisition cost.
NASA will expand its probe into the water leak that prompted an abrupt end to a July 16 spacewalk outside the International Space Station with the creation of a five-member mishap investigation board.
RNAS CULDROSE, U.K. — The U.K. defense ministry is set to make a decision on marinizing the Royal Air Force’s fleet of AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin Mk. 3 transport helicopters by year’s end. An assessment phase for the program, known as the Merlin Life Sustainment Program (MLSP), was completed in April and officials will reach the main gate funding decision at the end of the year to get the program moving in time for the retirement of the Westland Sea King fleet in 2016.
FIZZY COMET: Observations using NASA’s Spitzer space telescope have revealed what most likely are strong carbon dioxide emissions from Comet ISON ahead of its anticipated pass through the inner solar system later this year, the agency announced. Images captured last month with Spitzer’s Infrared Array Camera indicate carbon dioxide is “fizzing” away from what has now been dubbed the “soda-pop comet,” along with dust, forming a tail 186,400 mi. long. Scientists estimate the comet is emitting about 2.2 million lb. [1 million kg] of gas and about 120 million lb.
RAF FAIRFORD, U.K. — Alenia Aermacchi and ATK have begun work on the fire control system envisioned for the gunship variant of the C-27J Spartan tactical airlifter.
NEW DELHI — The Indian air force (IAF) has taken delivery of its second C-17 military transport aircraft, a month after the first arrived in India. Boeing is on schedule to deliver three more C-17s this year and five in 2014, giving India 10 aircraft and making it the largest C-17 operator outside the U.S. IAF chief Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne took delivery of the second C-17 from Boeing in Long Beach, Calif., on June 22.
Large commercial engine spares orders at Pratt & Whitney (P&W) jumped 15% organically in the second quarter, reversing five straight quarters of decline and helping parent company United Technologies Corp. (UTC) offset weakness in the defense market, company executives said on July 23.
LONDON — BAE Systems is set to deliver the first of 25 Cirrus SR22 single engine light aircraft to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) next month. The purchase of the Cirrus SR22 for the primary training role is part of a £1.9 billion ($3 billion) training package deal signed by the Saudi government in May 2012.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has outlined a series of messy and costly options for U.S. military intervention in Syria. Patriot batteries have currently been deployed to Turkey and Jordan to defend against potential missile attacks, and F-16s are based to defend Jordan. But going beyond that to establish a no-fly zone or targeting Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile could cost the U.S. more than $1 billion per month, according to Gen. Martin Dempsey.
BRAC BENEFITS: U.S. lawmakers looking to protect defense facilities in their districts and states may take little solace from a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit on how the Pentagon measures excess base capacity. The reason: the Defense Department’s methods for estimating excess capacity outside of a congressionally authorized base realignment and closure (BRAC) process have limitations — in other words, the only way to know how much to cut is to start the surgery.
ARMY Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum, Md., was awarded a $38,353,781 modification (P00029) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, option-filled contract (W15P7T-11-C-H267) for services in support of the vehicle and dismount exploitation radar system. The cumulative total face value of this contract is $178,122,493. The work will be performed in Afghanistan. Fiscal 2013 operations and maintenance funds are being obligated on this award. The Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity.
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) USS Freedom’s ship service diesel generators (SSDG) continue to give the vessel fits, recently causing the LCS to lose propulsion briefly while heading out to participate in at-sea exercises off the coast of Singapore and forcing it to return to port, the U.S. Navy says.
By cutting into training and readiness funding, sequestration could force the U.S. Navy to be more selective about what missions its aircraft and ships can perform at any given time, says Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations. “If you take an air wing, they do air-to-air, they do air-to-ground, they do a whole series of missions that the pilots are qualified to do, typically measured in how many cockpit hours you have in the air, how much you fly,” Greenert said July 19 during a media briefing.
Click here to view the pdf U.S. Army Procurement Funding Shifts:2013 Plan for Fiscal 2014 Compared to Actual 2014 Request (Winners) (Then-year dollars in millions) U.S.
U.S. and Chinese naval leaders continue to develop more channels for cooperation, says Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations. “With regard to China and our relations, I like the trend we’re on right now,” Greenert said July 19 during a media briefing. Some “tangible outcomes” are resulting from this cooperation, he says.
PAYING BILLS: House Republican leaders are trying to schedule consideration and passage of their appropriations panel’s version of fiscal 2014 spending for the Pentagon and related defense efforts before the sacred August recess. But since it could be the legislative vehicle of choice for some lawmakers’ hoped-for restrictions on going to war in Syria, or obliterating the National Security Agency surveillance programs making headlines, those leaders are arguing with members of their own caucus as much as Democrats.
