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.
AIR FORCE United Launch Services, Centennial, Colo., was awarded a $16,895,621 firm-fixed-price contract modification (P00092) for cost-plus, incentive-fee contract (FA8811-11-C-0002) for EELV launch capability. The contract modification pays the fiscal 2013 Atlas Capital depreciation portion of the total cost recoverable previously determined to be recovered over a 15-year period. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2013. The contracting activity is Launch and Range Systems Directorate at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
A relatively simple technology originally developed to smooth potentially dangerous vibrations in the defunct Ares I crew launch vehicle is finding its way into the wider world as a way to steady buildings, aircraft, ships and other structures reacting to winds, waves and even earthquakes.
The renowned planetary scientist who chairs the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) says he is happy with two-thirds of the agency’s proposal to capture a small asteroid and nudge it into a high lunar orbit for examination by spacewalking astronauts early in the coming decade.
The Pentagon’s proposed $10 billion arms sale package to Middle East allies is “one of the most complex and carefully orchestrated arms sale packages in American history,” a senior defense official said while briefing reporters on the deal last week.
