HOUSTON — After Russia’s Mission Control turned up the heat aboard the Progress 47 resupply craft, warming the erratic upgraded KURS-NA rendezvous system, the unpiloted freighter successfully re-docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on July 28. With a trouble free re-docking at 9:01 p.m. EDT, Russia’s federal space agency, Roscosmos, and contractor RSC Energia will aim for operational use of the KURS-NA on Soyuz crew transport as well as Progress cargo missions as soon as 2014.
AIR FORCE Boeing Satellite Systems Inc., El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a $317,700,000 contract modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract for WGS Satellite Vehicle 10 (SV10) production, processing, launch, and on-orbit activation. The modification adds an additional satellite to the existing requirements for WGS 7-10. The location of the work is El Segundo. The work is to be completed by March 31, 2018. Los Angeles AFB, El Segundo, is the contracting activity (FA8808-10-C-0001, Modification PZ0026).
While the U.S. Navy shipbuilding plan still falls short in meeting the need for combat ships, the service is ensuring its carrier fleet requirements will be mostly satisfied, a recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report says. However, CBO highlights concerns about some carrier funding that the Navy omits from its shipbuilding plans, leading to low-balled funding estimates.
UAV PAYLOADS: The global UAV payload and subsystems market will reach $2.96 billion in 2012, according to a new report from consultancy Visiongain. With UAVs in demand by more nations, payloads have now become the main focus of UAV development, driven largely by U.S. demand, the report says. Consumers want smaller and lighter payloads that offer more capability and value for the money, the report says, while projecting that video and data-link payloads as well as weapons will become a main focus in the coming years.
LPD-27: The U.S. Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries a $1.5 billion fixed-price-incentive contract modification for the detail design and construction of the LPD-27 Landing Platform Dock ship. The modification incorporates the previously purchased long lead-time material efforts and the necessary labor and remaining material to efficiently construct the ship. Work under this sole-source award is expected to be completed by June 2017.
FAA’s outdated risk-calculation methods for commercial space launch insurance could cost launch companies and the government, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Added expense could come in the form of companies buying too much coverage, or actual losses resulting from current caps on government coverage, auditors warn. GAO’s report says FAA has used the same method since 1988 and has not updated crucial factors, nor has it had the method reviewed by insurance and risk modeling experts, who have called it outdated.
The U.S. House of Representatives has mostly protected the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) environmental satellite programs in its fiscal 2013 markup this year. The House spending bill for NOAA, passed in May, made significant cuts to three programs, including Jason-3, which will provide precise measurements of ocean surface heights. Jason-3 is one of four programs that Senate appropriators, impatient with delays and overruns, took away from NOAA and gave to NASA. (See chart below.)
THE PENTAGON — The U.S. Army plans to issue a request for proposals by the end of 2013 for a battle management and planning tool for electronic warfare (EW). The service will be seeking plans or initial operational capability in fiscal 2015 for a software-and-equipment package that will provide the proper tools for EW battle management and planning, says Col. Jim Ekvall, Army Electronic Warfare Div. chief. Developing that type of tool and accompanying EW training is vital for future Army success, he notes.
While U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board findings have pinpointed specific equipment problems that led to F-22 Raptor pilots suffering hypoxia, the board also identified gaps and issues with service policies and procedures that exacerbated the issues.
PALMACHIM AB, Israel — Israel is a small country and its skies are periodically packed with fighters, airliners, helicopters, unmanned aircraft, missiles and rockets. The increasing technical and geographic complexity is driving planners to seek greater coordination and synchronization of air, space, land and sea operations.
PAC-3 FOR KUWAIT: The White House is asking Congress to approve the $4.2 billion sale of up to 60 Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missiles to Kuwait, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The sale, which would include related parts, components, training and logistical support, adds to a record-setting year of foreign military sales. Buoyed by the $30 billion sale of Boeing F-15s to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. already anticipates more than $50 billion in weapons sales for fiscal 2012.
NEW DELHI — A request for proposals for a wargaming center for the Indian air force (IAF) is expected in the last quarter of this year, according to Boeing, one of the likely competitors. Boeing responded to India’s request for information (RFI) issued late last year, says Eugene Beckles, senior managing director for international strategic development and experimentation at Boeing Phantom Works. According to the RFI, the center should be capable of simulations at the strategic and operational levels in collaboration with other security agencies.
In the wake of two miscues involving nuclear weapons in the latter half of the previous decade, the U.S. Air Force has taken steps to bolster its organization to prevent similar incidents, according to the Pentagon Inspector General (IG). The IG made the determination following an investigation of changes at Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC); U.S. Strategic Command; and the 8th Air Force (8 AF) and 20th Air Force (20 AF) bases, which the IG refers to as the Numbered Air Forces (NAF).
While the latest U.S. Navy shipbuilding plan provides for a bigger destroyer fleet than what the service had previously proposed, there remains a risk of a significant shortfall in the vessels when measured against U.S. needs, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
TEL AVIV — Israeli military and defense officials are boasting that their new trainer-and-sensor aircraft deal with Italy provides the Middle Eastern country with a high-grade capability and, just as importantly, opens up Italy and possibly other European markets for Israeli foreign military sales.
SUPPORTING ISRAEL: President Barack Obama signed into law July 27 a bill to reiterate U.S. support for Israel. The United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 is less a binding document and more of a public declaration of the two nations’ military ties. But the signing ceremony gave the president the chance to highlight the continuation of $3 billion in foreign military aid to Israel during tight financial times — just days before his campaign rival Mitt Romney (R) will visit the longstanding U.S. ally.
The U.S. Navy raised some eyebrows recently when it proposed Afloat Forward Staging Bases (AFSBs) from which it could conduct a variety of operations, including irregular warfare (IW) missions. Now, a Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports says Congress may have some questions about the vessels and program procurement.
BIG DEAL: The U.S. Justice Department and the European Commission gave final approvals to United Technologies Corp.’s (UTC) acquisition of Goodrich, clearing the way for UTC to close on its $18.4 billion mega-merger July 26. Hartford, Conn.-based UTC expects to see $8 billion in synergies from the deal this year, according to CEO Louis Chenevert.
OSHKOSH, Wis. — Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) is hoping for a quick resolution of a lawsuit it filed last spring seeking reinstatement of its $355 million U.S. Air Force Light Air Support (LAS) contract, according to Taco Gilbert, the company’s vice president of ISR business development. SNC filed the lawsuit after the Air Force set aside the original award for 20 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano aircraft after the losing bidder, Hawker Beechcraft, filed its own lawsuit in protest.
