The Turkish Coast Guard has taken delivery of the first three Airbus Military C235 maritime patrol aircraft ordered under the Meltem II program. The aircraft were handed over by Thales on Jan. 28 during a ceremony in Ankara. Thales fitted the aircraft with the company’s Airborne Maritime Situation & Control System (AMASCOS) mission kit, with work carried out in conjunction with Turkish companies Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Havelsan, Aselsan and Milsoft.
The deck chairs on the Senate Appropriations Committee are settling into place, as Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) formally acknowledges that he will replace Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) as the chairman of the defense subcommittee.
NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) constellation is scheduled to receive its first on-orbit update in a decade on Jan. 30, sustaining the workhorse fleet as demands for its services continue to grow. TDRS-K, the first of three third-generation TDRSS birds, is scheduled to lift off at 8:52 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral on an Atlas V 401 with a 4-meter-dia. (13-ft.) fairing to contain the large, folded single-access antennas that deliver two-way high-data-rate service.
FRANKFURT — EADS is slowly preparing the composition of its administrative board, to be confirmed at an extraordinary general meeting likely to be held before the end of March. Anne Lauvergeon, ex-CEO of French nuclear energy group Areva, has received strong endorsement to become the next EADS chairman, succeeding Arnaud Lagardere. Jean-Claude Trichet, a board member since 2012, is expected to be re-elected.
The U.S. Navy awarded three contracts late this month worth a combined total of about $298.5 million for work related to training development for the service’s new fleet of Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) now being built. Properly training the crew and support-service personnel for the LCS fleet is considered key to its successful operation.
To prepare for funding shortfalls – and even greater potential budgetary woes – Adm. Jonathan Greenert, U.S. chief of naval operations (CNO), issued guidance Jan. 25 for extensive operational and expense cuts across the board, with particular emphasis on aviation and surface-ship accounts.
The FAA is defining noise regulations in readiness for the introduction of civilian tiltrotor aircraft. While the first civilian tiltrotor, the AgustaWestland AW609, is not expected to be certified until the end of 2016, the FAA’s rules aim to establish noise limits for the new aircraft type and harmonize U.S. rules in line with those of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
LONDON — AgustaWestland has flown the first production Wildcat maritime helicopter for the U.K. Royal Navy for the first time. The aircraft, designated Wildcat HMA2, was flown from AgustaWestland’s facility in Yeovil, Somerset on Jan. 17 and will be delivered to the Royal Navy’s 700W (W for Wildcat) Naval Air Squadron, the U.K.’s fielding unit for the naval version of the aircraft.
As climatic changes spark greater U.S. interest and concern about the strategic importance of the Arctic, the U.S. Coast Guard is getting ready for increased ice-breaking work in the area with refurbished or—hopefully—newly acquired ships. “The challenges in the Arctic are growing,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp said during a briefing at the recent Surface Navy Association National Symposium. “We’ll be back in business next year.”
BEIJING — China’s Y-20 heavy airlifter, long known to be in development, made its first flight on Jan. 26. Official photographs showed the aircraft powered by four medium-bypass turbojets and adopting the familiar configuration of a high-wing, T-tail and short fuselage-mounted undercarriage now almost universally used for military transports. The undercarriage had three axles on each side, with two wheels mounted on each axle. The aircraft has therefore not differed markedly from the design previously revealed in low-resolution pictures.
AIR FORCE Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, (FA8504-07-D-0001, P00017), is being awarded a $97,328,243 firm-fixed price, requirements contract modification for sustaining services including logistics support, program management support, engineering services, spares and technical data support of the C-130J Propulsion systems. The location of the performance is Indianapolis. The work is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2014. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WLKCA, Robins AFB, Ga. U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
In its first flight since late 2010, the Pentagon’s Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system finally achieved a much-awaited flyout demonstration, seemingly without problems. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) says the GMD program, managed by Boeing, achieved its first flight test in two years using the Raytheon Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) Capability Enhancement 2 (CE 2) upgrade. The booster was launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., at 2 p.m. local time Jan. 26.
ARMY Alliant Techsystems Operations L.L.C., Plymouth, Minn., was awarded a $41,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of high explosive incendiary with trace linked cartridges. The work location will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2018. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-13-D-0021). NAVY
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The Defense Department needs to better monitor contracts for the transportation of supplies, mail, and passengers in Afghanistan via helicopters, according to a recent report by the Pentagon Inspector General (IG). Some $3.5 billion worth of transactions could be at risk, the IG says.
LONDON — The U.K. Royal Air Force has appointed a helicopter pilot as chief of the air staff for the first time in its 95-year history. Air Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford will head the RAF starting in July 2012, taking over from Sir Stephen Dalton. Dalton had led the air arm since July 2009, taking it through one of its most challenging periods, including the Strategic Defense and Security Review and the conflict in Libya as well as ongoing operations in Afghanistan.
HUTCHISON HONORED: The Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation has selected Kay Bailey Hutchison, who influenced U.S. space policy as a member of the U.S. Senate from Texas for two decades, as the 2013 recipient of the National Space Trophy. Hutchison, who retired in January, led efforts to designate U.S. elements of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory, opening access to non-NASA researchers.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Jan. 28 - 30 — 24th Annual SO/LIC Symposium & Exhibition, "Persistent Engagement in the New Strategic Environment," Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C. For more information go to http://exhibits.ndia.org/ndia/public/MainHall.aspx?eventid=684 Feb. 6 - 7 — FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference, National Housing Center, Washington, DC. For more information go to www.ast.faa.gov
PARIS — European Space Agency Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain says the agency will have a lot on its plate in the year ahead, with plans to loft 12 spacecraft atop eight rockets on a launch manifest that includes four fully operational Galileo navigation satellites and the European Union’s first Sentinel Earth-monitoring mission. “We’ve got a lot to launch and it is going to be difficult to get everything up,” Dordain said Jan. 24 at a press conference detailing ESA’s €4.28 billion ($5.7 billion) spending plan for 2013.
