Defeating corrosion is one of the top priorities for the U.S. Navy waterfront community, according to a recent report obtained by the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) that was prepared by a Navy Operational Advisory Group (OAG). Corrosion control is listed as one of the leading 20 priorities identified in the Oct. 23 report prepared by the OAG, a group managed by the Navy’s Surface Warfare Enterprise to provide fleet input on surface combatant needs.
The U.S. and other nations studying changes in the Arctic should investigate using UAVs and other unmanned systems to gather data on nearly inaccessible areas of the region, says a recent report from the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies. The NRC report also highlights the need for more data on the region and a more coordinated international and technological effort to gather information about climatic changes, which the study says are significant.
The U.S. Navy took a major step toward getting one of its aircraft carriers back into the fleet earlier this month when the CVN-71 USS Theodore Roosevelt completed an overnight habitability fast cruise. The Nimitz-class carrier is now in the final stages of finishing its refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding unit, and the fast cruise is a significant step toward finishing the refueling, repairs and renovations.
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ZHUHAI, China — Avic is promoting export sales of a fighter, unofficially known as the J-31, that has been shown in three apparently staged events over the past few months, including what may have been its first flight last month.
ASHDOD, Israel — A recent bombing attack on an arms factory in Sudan may point to an Israeli electronic warfare capability that allows non-stealthy aircraft to avoid being targeted by radar.
NaVAL RADIO: The U.S. Navy has ordered an additional 53 AN/USC-61(C) four-channel Digital Modular Radios (DMR) from General Dynamics for use aboard new U.S. Navy ships, submarines and inshore sites. In addition to the new radios, existing DMR hardware will be modified to accommodate networking waveforms owned by the government, according to a company statement. The order, which has a total potential value of $35 million, exercises an option on a contract awarded in 2010. General Dynamics has delivered more than 500 DMR radios to the Navy, according to the company.
AIR FORCE Harris Corp. Government Communications Systems, Palm Bay, Fla., (FA8819-08-C-0001, P00119) is being awarded a $36,329,490.00 cost plus award fee, cost plus fixed fee and firm fixed price contract to provide upgrades for the five Counter Communication Systems (CCS) Block 10 systems to the CCS B10.1 baseline and critical and depot system spares to meet operational reliability requirements. The location of the performance is Palm Bay, Fla. The work is expected to be completed by Feb. 7, 2014. The contracting activity is SMC/SY, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
AIR FORCE General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Poway, Calif., (FA8620-10-G-3038, DO 0052) is being awarded a $125,487,106 contract for 10 MQ-9 modified Block 1 aircraft. The location of the performance is Poway. The work is expected to be completed by Nov. 28, 2014. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WIIK, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
News of a Nov. 1 Iranian attack on a U.S. UAV is adding fuel to congressional efforts to undo potential federal budget cuts due to take place in January.
UAS FOCUS: Twenty aviation associations are cautioning FAA acting Administrator Michael Huerta to protect airspace access and guard against manned-aircraft fleet modifications as unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations are introduced into the national airspace system (NAS). “For FAA to succeed, the agency must remain focused on safety rather than privacy issues, where FAA has no statutory standing or technical expertise,” say the associations, representing business and general aviation, airports, airlines, repair stations, and air traffic controllers, among others.
NASA and the European Space Agency have demonstrated the use of an experimental interplanetary internet to communicate with a small rover based in Germany, with commands issued by a U.S. astronaut aboard the International Space Station.
PARIS — Despite budget pressures at home, the U.K. plans to invest £1.2 billion ($1.9 billion) in European Space Agency (ESA) programs during the next five years, a 25% increase over current spending aimed at attracting more high-tech jobs and strengthening the U.K.’s position as a global player in satellite and telecommunications technology development.
GREENBELT, Md. — The U.S.-Japanese Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM), a complex environmental-monitoring spacecraft with the potential to improve forecasting of the trajectory and strength of hurricanes, is set to enter the thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center this week as it moves toward launch as early as February 2014.
Lockheed Martin has fired CEO-elect Christopher E. Kubasik for having “a close personal relationship with a subordinate employee.” Marillyn A. Hewson, who was to succeed Kubasik as president and COO on Jan. 1, 2013, has been named to be the new CEO. Lockheed asked for Kubasik’s resignation “effective immediately” after completing an ethics investigation sparked when an employee came forward at the end of October “with an expression of concern,” says Chairman and current CEO Robert Stevens.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s defense minister says the purchase of a long-range ground-based radar for the country’s air force remains a high priority, but he will not say when a winning contractor will be selected. “I have told my staff if they are ready to select a supplier for the ground-based radar, I am ready,” Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro told Aviation Week Nov. 6 on the eve of the IndoDefense exhibition in Jakarta.
