A U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (Navair)-sponsored program developed with Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) support is creating better computer-generated urban scenes for training systems.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) JUNE 12 - 14 — National Logistics Forum, Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Crystal City, Va. For more information go to http://exhibits.ndia.org/ndia/public/MainHall.aspx?eventid=697 JUNE 17 - 23 — 50th International Paris Air Show. "Where Aerospace Leaders Get Down to Business," Paris, Le Bourget. For more information go to www.paris-air-show.com
Dozens of U.S. Navy-approved “deviations,” or waivers from service-required manning and other associated regulations over the past six years since construction began, mark the Littoral Combat Ship as a different breed of ships, according to a 2011 Navy document justifying the waivers. The waivers deal mostly with manning issues and highlight the differences in how LCS vessels are meant to be operated, according to the service.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is assembling a variety of “pressurizable” commercial airliner fuselages to be used for live-fire testing at the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Test Center in northern Maryland. The work is part of a long-running Army and DHS program to study cabin locations or designs that will yield the least damage if a bomb found onboard an aircraft detonates.
Reauthorization of the Commercial Space Launch Act (CSLA) – and its federal indemnification coverage and potential new federal mandates over seeking informed-consent waivers from launch participants and crew — could be hot topics as U.S. lawmakers and industry prepare to update the nearly decade-old law this year.
PARIS — Thales is hoping to complete development this year of a Ku-band satellite communication antenna designed for use on helicopters. The system — known as Antares-H — is a spin-off of other Antares products designed for medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAVs and fixed-wing aircraft. The company argues there is an increasing desire from the military for more data such as full-motion video to be sent back to commanders, and this will require such antennas, despite their weight, size and complexity.
MORE NUKES: The U.S. and Russia are reducing their operational nuclear arsenals, but China expanded its nuclear arsenal in 2012, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). At the start of 2013 the eight known and suspected nuclear states — the U.S., Russia, U.K., France, China, India, Pakistan and Israel — possessed roughly 4,400 operational nuclear weapons, with 2,000 kept on high alert. Moreover, all five legally recognized states — China, France, Russia, U.K. and the U.S.
NEW DELHI — Indian authorities have filed charges against an official with anti-aircraft system manufacturer Rheinmetall Air Defense (RAD) for allegedly paying bribes to help it avoid being blacklisted in India. A spokesperson with India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) tells Aviation Week that bribery charges have been registered in a special court against Gerhard Hoy, the representative in India of Rheinmetall, along with Indian businessman Abhishek Verma and his wife, Anca Neacsu.
The Pentagon may be trying to clip the U.S. Army’s purchase of 30 additional Light Utility Helicopters, but Congress is poised to help the EADS North America program. In its draft of a fiscal 2014 policy bill, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) recommends adding $135.1 million to the president’s requested funding level- — a 196.3% boost. The proposed funding increase makes the Mississippi-manufactured UH-72A Lakota one of the big winners in the mark-up. (See charts pp. 6-9.)
LONDON — The first Bell-Boeing CV-22 Ospreys to be assigned to a squadron based outside the United States will be delivered to the U.K. later this month.
KOUROU, French Guiana — The European Space Agency’s (ESA) fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-4) launched atop an Ariane 5 ES heavy-lift rocket from the Guiana Space Center here June 5, sending more than 20,000 kg (44,000 lb.) of cargo and fuel to resupply the International Space Station (ISS).
MOSCOW — The Russian defense ministry has ordered 15 Antonov An-148 regional jets to be assembled under license in Russia at a Voronezh-based VASO facility. Although the deal was signed in May, the announcement was made June 6 during the VASO annual shareholders meeting. The first aircraft is expected to be delivered to the military this year, according to a representative of the VASO parent company, United Aircraft Corporation. The rest of the batch will be shipped at a rate of three to four aircraft per year through 2017.
MOONWARD: The Republican chairman of the House Space subcommittee is doubling down on his preference for NASA to prioritize returning astronauts to the Moon, even as the embattled agency continues promoting its asteroid-capture plans. Rep. Steven Palazzo (Miss.) told the ABA Forum on Air and Space Law in Washington June 6 that while the ultimate goal is landing humans on Mars, returning to the Moon is the logical next step. Why? “We have other countries that are aggressively pursuing space exploration programs, and the Moon is one of their specific destinations,” he says.
ARLINGTON, Va. — A program developed for the U.S. Navy with Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) support that integrates full motion video (FMV) with data intelligence feeds should be ready for full fleet exercises in summer 2014, says an executive for KAB Laboratories, the company developing the technology.
Airbus Military is to test a C295 medium transport aircraft fitted with an aerial firefighting system. The company confirmed to that it plans to modify the prototype C295 for trials due to take place in late September. The aircraft will use a tank system fitted in the main cargo hold dropping the water through openings cut into the belly of the aircraft.
ARLINGTON, Va. — The best way to access the darkest depths of the oceans may be from above. At least that is the thinking behind the station-keeping low-visibility glider (SK-Glider) being developed with U.S. Navy Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding by the LBI company of Groton, Conn. The SK-Glider can be deployed from standard launch tubes from P-3 and P-8 aircraft and transit a long distance to provide persistent surveillance in denied or hostile areas, the company says.
