LOCKHEED LEADERSHIP: Larry Lawson is retiring from his position as executive vice president for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics — which oversees the F-35, F-22 and C-130J programs — after only a year in the slot since his predecessor, Ralph Heath, left the company last April. Orlando Carvalho, who has led the F-35 program for the past year, will ascend to overseeing Lockheed’s aircraft manufacturing unit effective April 5. Carvalho’s deputy, Lorraine Martin, will take over as vice president overseeing the $400 billion, tri-service, multinational F-35 effort.
India has maintained its position as the world’s leading arms importer for the third year in a row, ahead of China, which moved up a spot as one of the world’s five largest weapons exporters, a Swedish-based research institute says. India replaced China as the world’s leading importer of weapons in 2011 and has retained the spot ever since, accounting for 12% of global arms imports, almost twice as much as China, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) says.
The second U.S. Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV-2), USNS Choctaw County, is progressing at a better pace than the lead ship of its class, the USNS Spearhead (JHSV-1), program officials say. “At this stage, JHSV-2 is more complete than the lead ship, and we are benefitting from JHSV-1’s lessons learned,” says Strategic and Theater Sealift Program Manager Capt. Henry Stevens.
There are growing concerns about how continuing resolutions (CRs) and sequestration will affect the proposed Pacific Pivot plans for the U.S. Navy. Program cuts and delays could disrupt Navy shipbuilding plans to a point that the service will be unable to support its strategy, according to officials in and out of the service. The result, some analysts say, could be a weaker Pacific stance that could embolden the Chinese in the region.
Federal law enforcement authorities arrested a former NASA contract employee as he attempted to leave the U.S. for his native China on March 16, charging him with lying about electronic media he was attempting to take with him. Bo Jiang, a computer imagery-enhancement expert who has been the target of whistleblower charges that he has taken “volumes” of sensitive NASA data back to China, was arrested at Dulles International Airport outside Washington.
TEL AVIV — Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is looking to Poland as a potential next customer for its new 767 Multi Mission Tanker Transport (MMTT), after making its first sale of the version to Brazil.
ARMY BAE Systems Inc., Nashua, N.H., was awarded a $66,000,015 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of AN/AAR-57 common missile warning systems. The contract is in support of Foreign Military Sales for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The work will be performed in Nashua, with an estimated completion date of March 6, 2015. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-13-C-C108).
AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., (FA8810-13-C-0002) is being awarded a $105,868,182 cost-plus incentive-fee and fixed-price incentive-firm contract for contractor logistics support, legacy sustainment and combined task force support for the Space Based Infrared Systems. The location of the performance is Colorado Springs. The work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2016. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2013. The contracting activity is SMC/ISK, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
Under pressure from a powerful member of Congress, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin is launching an audit of how the U.S. space agency handles access by foreign nationals to its facilities. Martin told Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) about the new audit after a face-to-face drubbing the day before, in which Wolf — chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA — told Martin he was “disappointed” in the way the Office of the Inspector General has enforced laws and regulations designed to protect sensitive technology.
Citing an increased threat in North Korea and Iran, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the United States now plans to purchase 14 additional Ground-based Interceptors and eliminate a developmental missile defense system that the U.S. had planned to deploy in Europe. The Pentagon also will deploy a second TPY-2 radar in Japan and begin conducting environmental impact studies for a third Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system site in the continental U.S. to counter the threat.
STOP START: Kansas lawmakers late March 15 called on the Department of Defense to reinstate the stop-work order on the U.S. Air Force’s Light Air Support Program (See related story). In a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Sen. Pat Roberts (R), Sen. Jerry Moran (R) and Rep.
The U.S. Air Force instructed Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) to restart work to deliver 20 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano Light Air Support (LAS) aircraft to the Afghan air force early in 2014, overriding the stop-work order it was required by law to issue after losing bidder Beechcraft protested the award of the $427 million contract.
LONDON — The German government and Eurocopter have come to an agreement on the number of Tiger and NH90 helicopters to be purchased for the German armed forces. Months of negotiations between the two parties came to an end March 15, with the signing of an agreement to purchase a reduced number of helicopters. As part of the deal, Germany will now buy 82 NH90s rather than 122 originally planned, while the number of EC665 Tiger UHT attack helicopters will fall to 57 from 80.
The Brazilian government has selected Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to convert two Boeing 767-300ERs into multi-role tanker transports for the country’s air arm. Brazilian air force (FAB) commanders announced the decision March 14. The two aircraft will be used to conduct refueling, strategic transport of troops and cargo as well as aero-medical evacuation, according to the requirements set down by the FAB. The will replace the 1960s vintage Boeing KC-137s currently in use.
LONDON — China’s defense spending is on course to be in parity with the United States in as soon as a decade, according to analysts with the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The IISS says that if China’s defense spending continues at its current 15% annual rise, including the military’s research and development efforts, China could be on parity with the U.S. as early as 2023, although this could be pushed back to as 2032 based on projections about the country’s economic growth.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Mar. 18 - 21 — 2013 29th National Logistics Conference and Exhibition, "Optimizing Support Capabilities in a Resource Constrained Future," Hyatt Regency Miami, Miami, Fla. For more information go to http://exhibits.ndia.org/ndia/public/MainHall.aspx?eventid=683
Civil servants and contractors at NASA will have their wings clipped for the rest of the fiscal year by the automatic sequestration budget cuts that went into effect March 1, with sharp restrictions on travel to conferences and on training not considered essential to doing their jobs.
