Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk sounded a note of caution about the company’s upcoming first operational cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station, during an online question-and-answer session Oct. 5.
FRANKFURT — Just days before the Oct. 10 deadline for merger negotiations between EADS and BAE Systems, there is still no sign that the companies and relevant European governments have developed a common strategy to proceed with the consolidation effort. An agreement by the deadline looks increasingly unlikely. BAE Systems could apply for an extension, but industry sources say the manufacturer is opposed to such a move.
CHOOSING APACHE: The Indian government has chosen the Boeing AH-64D Apache Block III in a competition for 22 new attack helicopters. As expected, the AH-64D beat out the only other contender, Russia’s Mi-28 NE, which is understood to have fallen short of requirements during field evaluation trials last year. Air Chief Marshal Norman Browne, India’s air force chief, said Oct. 5, “We have finalized our selection of the Apache. Contract negotiations and other discussions will now commence.” A final deal is expected to be worth $1.5 billion.
The six-month stopgap funding bill Congress passed before leaving town upends Pentagon planning for nearly every line of the procurement and research budgets, essentially freezing billions in fiscal 2013 money unless a defense appropriations bill is passed.
Warfighters have long desired rapid, autonomous aerial cargo delivery to the battlefield. Now the U.S. Navy is developing an app for that. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) awarded contracts to Lockheed Martin and Aurora Flight Sciences late last month to develop such technology, which would allow Navy and Marine Corps units operating under hostile conditions to call in an unmanned cargo rotorcraft via a smartphone-like device.
NEW DELHI — The Indian air force (IAF) soon will have determined the winner of its heavy-lift helicopter competition, based on lifecycle costs, and the winner should be decided within a few months, according to a senior defense ministry official. The contenders are Boeing’s CH-47F Chinook and Russia’s Mi-26. The IAF already operates four Mi-26s Meanwhile, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne on Oct. 5 said 75% of the IAF’s modernization program will be complete by 2022.
NETANYA, Israel — Cyberdefense specialists in Israel are looking for ways to protect networks that control critical infrastructure from attacks like the Stuxnet worm discovered in 2010 that infiltrated Iranian nuclear facilities. The networks that control many crucial industrial and manufacturing processes were once considered largely immune to cyberattack. But now researchers have found there are often obscure Internet connections in virtually every automated network.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) OCT. 9 — Aviation Week Aircraft Composite Repair Management Forum, Amsterdam RAI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For more information go to www.aviationweek.com/events Oct. 9 — Aviation Week MROIT Europe Conference & Exhibition, RAI Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For more information go to www.aviationweek.com/events/mroiteurope
CORRUPTION COSTS: Transparency International U.K. estimates the global cost of corruption in the defense sector now amounts to at least $20 billion annually, based on data from the World Bank and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. “This equates to the total sum pledged by the G8 in L’Aquila in 2009 to fight world hunger,” the watchdog group says.
HOUSTON — The U.S.-led International Space Station mission management team on Oct. 4 approved the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon on a three-week resupply mission to the orbiting science lab, the first delivery carried out under the terms of the company’s $1.6 billion, 12-flight Commercial Re-Supply (CRS) contract awarded in late 2008.
NEW DELHI — The Indian government is likely to conclude a multibillion contract with Dassault Aviation for 126 Rafale fighters in six months or less, with contract negotiations reaching a crucial stage and inquiries into the selection process concluded. Sources stressed that “all hurdles have been cleared,” following questions in the Indian parliament about how the commercial bids were interpreted.
NEW DELHI — The Indian air force (IAF) soon will choose a winner in a protracted bid to buy new short-range infrared homing missiles for more than 100 of its Jaguar strike jets. With the elimination of Diehl’s IRIS-T last year ahead of field evaluation trials, the competition has come down to the Rafael Python-5 and MBDA’s Advanced, Short-Range Air-To-Air Missile (Asraam). The missiles will be mounted on the Jaguar’s unique over-wing pylons, where the platform currently deploys out-of-production Matra R550 Magic short-range heat-seeking missiles.
Citing the Pentagon’s refocus on the Asia Pacific, Australian shipbuilder Austal acquired Hydraulink NT, an engineering company based in Darwin, one of the major U.S. launching points for the region. Austal is a partner for such major U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV).
The future USNS Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV-2) Choctaw County launched Oct. 1 in Mobile, Ala., marking a key milestone in the ship’s construction. JHSV-2 is a noncombatant transport ship that will be used for fast intratheater transportation of troops, military vehicles, and equipment. Austal USA built the ship, the second of a 10-ship program.
In a moment of desperation, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters recently he is ready to support “whatever the hell deal” Congress can make to avoid a nearly $1 trillion reduction in government spending, half of which could hit the Pentagon in January. But after more than a year of warnings about the devastation the budget penalty known as sequestration could wreak on the U.S. economy, it is still uncertain whether the results of the presidential election will allow for a delay to pass through Congress in the lame-duck session.
Aerospace & Defense Programs November 6-7, 2012 Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Ariz. Join top defense leaders for discussions on complexity, lessons learned, and affordability aimed at improving program performance! Themes for 2012 include: -- Complexity -- Driving improvement and the roles that innovation and technology play -- Value chain optimization
Reported incidents of counterfeit electronic component parts this year are maintaining the record pace set in 2011, according to information and analytics provider IHS. The analysis highlights the need for continued vigilance and improved detection and avoidance measures at a time when U.S. defense representatives are scheduled to update acquisition rules, IHS says.
