STEM MYTHS: The academic thorns in the side of aerospace and defense industry boosters calling for government help in promoting so-called STEM initiatives are back with more research they hope counters a drive to grow high-skill guest worker programs. Hal Salzman of Rutgers, Daniel Kuehn of American University and B. Lindsay Lowell of Georgetown University say in a new study that, contrary to many industry claims, U.S. colleges and universities provide an ample supply of highly qualified science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) graduates.
U.S. Navy officials say their Air & Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) still will provide every bit of the protection initially envisioned, even with recently proposed changes meant to help reduce cost and risk. “This price tag will get us the same radar system,” says Capt. Doug Small, AMDR program manager. “It’s not ‘lightened’ at all. It’s the same system.”
Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall says the cost-per-flying-hour estimate for the F-35A recently provided by the stealthy fighter’s program executive officer to The Netherlands is lower than the official figure that will go next month to Congress. U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan told Dutch lawmakers that the flying hour cost for the F-35A would be about 10% higher than the F-16, a sharp reduction from earlier assessments.
ATLANTA — Drawdowns and the sequester will suppress the North American military aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul market for the next 10 years, and providers will have to look at the North American market as a large but declining base from which to address growth in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, Aviation Week’s latest military MRO forecast suggests.
A three-person team has won the first challenge in a U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) crowd-design competition to accelerate the development of an amphibious combat vehicle. The Ground Systems team, comprising individuals in Ohio, Texas and California, won the $1 million mobility/drivetrain design competition launched in January under Darpa’s Fast Adaptable Next-Generation Ground Vehicle (FANG) program.
The lack of a more comprehensive U.S. plan for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) efforts and acquisitions — coupled with the effects of sequestration — is making it difficult to develop and monitor ISR programs, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). ISR issues will continue to be an area of concern for Congress, CRS says in a recent report, “Especially in light of the lack of a long-term investment strategy and the pending impact of sequestration.”
U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley says the service does not plan to adjust its purchasing plans for the F-35A to make up for the projected higher cost of maintaining the stealthy fighter compared with the F-16, one of the Air Force aircraft it is slated to replace. The Air Force has said for years it plans to buy 1,763 of the single-engine aircraft made by Lockheed Martin, despite increases in the development and production price and now a higher anticipated cost to use the aircraft.
NEW DELHI — India plans to expedite the purchase of nine new special-mission aircraft for communications jamming, signals intelligence and surveillance for its air force. The proposal, worth around $200 million, was approved over the weekend at a meeting of the Defense Acquisition Council, the top decision-making body of India’s defense ministry, an India defense ministry official says. The defense ministry will soon issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to buy the aircraft, the official says.
The U.S. Navy’s fiscal 2014 budget puts a greater emphasis on remote maintenance as the service shifts its focus to the Pacific and other areas to match the new national defense strategy. “Our focus on forward basing calls for an increased and enduring demand for remote maintenance support, which is largely provided by civilian talent,” says Rear Adm. John Kirby, chief of navy information, in a recent blog. “We require that talent now more than ever.”
PARIS — France’s aerospace & defense sector earned €42.5 billion ($55.2 billion) in revenue last year, up 16% over €38.5 billion in 2011, including €27 billion in export sales, marking a 20% boost over the previous year at €23.5 billion, according to French aerospace industry group Gifas.
The U.S. Air Force is finally getting a number two civilian procurement official after more than a year without one, though the hunt for an acquisition secretary still continues since Sue Payton vacated the spot in April 2009. William LaPlante will take over as principal deputy for acquisition on May 6, says Secretary Michael Donley. His predecessor, David Van Buren, left office in March 2012. LaPlante, an engineer by training, comes to the Air Force from Mitre, a government support contractor known for its systems engineering expertise.
END STRENGTH: If the full effects of the 2011 Budget Control Act’s sequestration cuts are allowed to occur over the next decade, the U.S. Army could wind up cutting nearly a fifth of its total 1 million-plus uniformed force, including National Guard and reserves. “To maintain balance between force structure, readiness and modernization, the Army may have to reduce at least 100,000 additional personnel across the total force,” Army leaders testified in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 23.
LONDON — Defense and aerospace giant Finmeccanica says it needs to become more streamlined and efficient to prepare for a weak 2013. Releasing its 2012 figures on April 23, the company forecasts a slowdown in defense spending in its “domestic” markets — Italy, the U.K. and the U.S. — that will “cause a drop in the Group’s revenue volumes in 2013.” Accordingly, group companies will have to adopt new structural measures “aimed at improving industrial structures.”
Rolls-Royce has sold its 50% share in the Franco-British RTM322 helicopter engine joint venture to partner Safran for €293 million ($382 million), a transaction aimed at giving the French aerospace supplier’s Turbomeca division a stronger position in the high-power helicopter engine segment.
LONDON — AgustaWestland and Embraer say they have terminated plans for a helicopter production joint venture in Brazil. On April 22, the two companies said: “Following the press release jointly issued on 21st January 2013 related to the memorandum of understanding signed by Embraer S.A. and AgustaWestland, the two companies announce today their joint decision to terminate negotiations without reaching an agreement for the establishment of a Joint Venture in Brazil.” The companies did not say why the deal was halted.
ARMY Technology Service Corp., Silver Spring, Md., was awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with a maximum value of $19,000,000 for the development of a route optimization for survivability against sensors system. The work will be performed in Fort Eustis, Va. Fiscal 2013 Research, Development, Technology and Evaluation contract funds are being obligated on this award. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The Army Contracting Command, Fort Eustis is the contracting activity (W911W6-13-D-0010).
The 2011 Budget Control Act’s sequestration cuts starting this year, if not reversed or overcome, will take an “insidious” toll on national intelligence capabilities, according to the director of national intelligence (DNI).
LEADING EUROFIGHTER: Eurofighter has appointed former Airbus Military head of operations Alberto Jose Gutierrez Moreno as its new CEO. Moreno replaces current incumbent Enzo Casolini, who has been at the consortium since May 2009. Further changes to the board will see Maurizio De Mitri, who is currently head of the Military Aircraft Sector at Alenia Aermacchi, become chairman of the Eurofighter Supervisory Board starting June 1. De Mitri replaces Berndt Wünsche, who will remain as a senior board member.
Launch of the Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares liquid-fueled rocket on April 21 gives NASA a second U.S.-owned vehicle to use in resupplying the International Space Station, vindicating a commercial approach that has been in play through two presidential administrations.
NEW DELHI — India’s defense ministry has unveiled a new set of rules aimed at boosting the country’s indigenous defense industry by making procurement from foreign vendors only a last option. The Defense Acquisition Council (DAC), the top decision-making body of India’s defense ministry, has cleared amendments to the Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP) to give priority to domestic public and private sector firms for major military procurements, thus reducing the country’s dependence on imports.
