Iran’s threat earlier this year to close the Strait of Hormuz highlighted what many experts view as a longstanding fundamental weakness in U.S. naval strategy: the inability to effectively and economically spot and neutralize naval mines. Such mines can cost as little as $1,000 each and are relatively easy for Iran to put in place. Finding and neutralizing them might take U.S. naval forces a month or more, essentially allowing Iran to achieve its strategic goal of blocking trade in the narrow body of water.
PARIS — German unmanned aircraft maker EMT is working on an upgraded version of its Luna tactical unmanned aircraft and a replacement for its hand-launched Aladin system. The Luna NG (next generation) is still in the development and concept phase, but targets an emerging German army requirement to replace the current-generation Luna and KZO unmanned aircraft. A vehicle mock-up is making its debut at the Eurosatory arms exhibition in Paris.
NUSTAR: NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuStar) high-energy X-ray observatory is on track for an 11:30 a.m. EDT launch June 13 by an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket dropped from a converted L-1011 commercial jet south of the Kwajalein atoll. During a teleconference from Kwajalein, NASA Launch Director Omar Baez said the drop, at 3:30 a.m. local time, will take place in a 120-mi. square “box” south of Kwajalein from an altitude of 41,000 ft.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) june 11 - 15 — AUSA's USA Pavilion Eurosatory 2012, Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, Paris, France. For more information call Amy Frankenstein at (703) 907-2413 or go to www.ausa.org
Lawmakers are pursuing an investigation of leaks in the White House after a set of news stories detailing the Obama administration’s clandestine national security successes. The most recent story by David Sanger in The New York Times has drawn the most attention. The piece — a part of his book “Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power” — describes how President Barack Obama accelerated the use of cyberattacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The U.S. Defense Department needs to better analyze the effects of repositioning its force structure, especially in Europe, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says. “Although the Department of Defense (DOD) has conducted some analysis to support two recent global posture decisions, the full cost implications of these decisions are unknown,” GAO says in its report, “Force Structure, Improved Cost Information and Analysis Needed to Guide Overseas Military Posture Decisions.”
The first Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed scout helicopter upgraded from an OH-58A under the U.S. Army’s wartime replacement aircraft (WRA) program has been delivered by the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD). The rollout comes as the Army prepares to release a request for proposals for the flight evaluation of potential off-the-shelf replacements for the OH-58D to meet the Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) requirement.
The Pentagon, FAA and NASA need to cooperate more fully to free up U.S. airspace to UAVs to nurture the market, says the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC).
LONDON — Australia’s order of 10 C-27s will help sustain production of the airlifter through 2015, with additional deals in the making that could keep the line alive until 2018-19, Alenia Aermacchi CEO Giuseppe Giordo says.
UNMANNED RESUPPLY: The U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Lab is seeking information on available unmanned aircraft that could deliver at least 500 lb. of cargo to geographically distributed ground units from ships. Vertical-takeoff-and-landing capability is likely, but not mandatory, and the lab is interested in vehicles that could autonomously deliver at least two 250-lb.-plus packages to different locations from vessels up to 50 nm from shore.
October 9, 2012 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Repair in New Generation Aircraft: Challenges and OpportunitiesLightweight composites will soon rival metals as the primary material for airframes. Are you prepared? This event will highlight the latest developments, challenges and best practices in aircraft composite repair and maintenance technology. It will allow all of the key industry players to discuss best practices and share experiences. Register now! www.aviationweek.com/events/
Surveillance aircraft and systems are receiving big funding boosts from Congress to pay for advanced sensors, thanks to a one-item unfunded requirements list from U.S. Special Operations Command (Socom). House appropriators did it first: Big pluses for three aircraft that are platforms for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR): U-28, MQ-1 and MQ-9. Five supporting ground systems are also all on the receiving end. All the increases are for adding high-definition video sensors (Aerospace DAILY, June 1).
TEL AVIV — The increased use of UAVs and light aircraft is spurring development of smaller precision-attack weapons, designed to better meet payload limitations of the manned, light-strike aircraft and UAVs.
SINGAPORE — Japan intends to buy two ScanEagle UAVs for its army, a further sign the government recognizes the growing importance of unmanned aircraft. The funds for the purchase are part of the country’s third supplemental budget for post-tsunami disaster relief, according to a Boeing spokeswoman in Japan. Boeing subsidiary Insitu makes ScanEagle, which is launched via catapult. This is the first time Japan has ordered ScanEagle, the spokeswoman says, adding that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is Insitu’s partner in this deal.
T-6 SUPPORT: U.S. Air Force Materiel Command has awarded DynCorp International a contract worth up to $432 million to provide support services for T-6A and T-6B trainer aircraft at various Air Force and Navy bases throughout the U.S. The contract has a base period of one year with four one-year options. The company will establish, operate and manage Contractor Operated and Maintained Base Supply facilities to provide spare parts and equipment to support the training aircraft.
Few attributes are more important to a U.S. Navy submarine than stealth. But U.S. Navy Seals also need to get to their job site from the subs undetected as well. And that is an increasingly difficult task as technology improves for active sonar, making good systems affordable in areas where Seals are likely to try to conduct missions.
The miniature hit-to-kill interceptor is being developed under the U.S. Army’s Extended Area Protection and Survivability (EAPS) integrated demonstration.
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) USS Freedom moved a step closer toward the U.S. Navy’s 2013 goal of a Singapore deployment by passing special operational tests that are atypical for a Navy warship. The Freedom — the first of the class for the new LCS fleet — in May passed a special trial (ST), which the Navy says is “basically a modified version of the final contract trials (FCT) that a ship undergoes prior to the end of the builder’s guarantee period.”
