The secret to making sure the U.S. Navy’s restarted VXX presidential helicopter replacement effort is not canceled like its previous iteration will be setting a ceiling on requirements early, says Scott Winship, vice president of advanced programs for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. Northrop is partnered with AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, to compete for the proposed Marine One presidential helicopter. The companies will offer a U.S.-built variant of AgustaWestland’s 101.
JSC SUPPORT: S&K Global Solutions LLC, of Polson, Mont., has been selected by NASA’s Johnson Space Center to consolidate computer product support for the facility’s Engineering Directorate under a potential $50 million, five-year agreement. Effective Oct. 18, the contract includes a three-year, cost-plus, fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price agreement and a single two-year option. S&K Global Solutions’ team includes Booz Allen Hamilton, of McLean, Va., and S&K Aerospace LLC, of St. Ignatius, Mont.
LOS ANGELES — Boeing is revising the CST-100 air bag landing system for use in water landings, after tests and further analysis revealed the space capsule would encounter greater loads than expected on splashdown.
Rolls-Royce has begun testing a high pressure-ratio compressor for a future fuel-efficient engine for subsonic military transports, patrol aircraft and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms. The announcement comes after news that Rolls has not been selected for the next phase of a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) program to demonstrate adaptive engines for post-2020 combat aircraft (Aerospace DAILY, Sept. 18).
Lockheed Martin officials are creeping closer to a solution to problems with the tailhook design for the U.S. Navy F-35C. The original design failed to snag the arresting wire in early testing owing to two problems: the point of the hook was not sharp enough to scoop under the wire and securely grab it, and a dampener device was not sufficient to maintain a hold on the wire. Essentially, the hook was bouncing upon landing, reducing the likelihood of a successful arrested landing.
LCS 3: The U.S. Navy is scheduled to commission the Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship Fort Worth (LCS-3) Sept. 22, in Galveston, Texas. Fort Worth is the third LCS delivered to the Navy and the second of the steel, semi-planing monohull Freedom variant, which is produced by a Lockheed Martin-led team. LCS-3 is capable of speeds in excess of 40 kt. and can operate in water less than 20 ft. deep. The ship will be a platform for launch and recovery of manned and unmanned vehicles, according to the Navy.
Northrop Grumman and AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, recently signed a comprehensive teaming agreement to compete for the proposed U.S. Navy’s Marine One presidential helicopter. The companies will offer a U.S.-built helicopter based on AgustaWestland’s 101 platform for the so-called VXX program, Northrop says. AgustaWestland and then-partner Lockheed Martin won an earlier iteration of the VXX competition with another 101 variant. That program was canceled earlier this decade after cost overruns and schedule slips.
New Delhi – India is considering buying 20 additional Hawk advanced jet trainers (AJTs) from BAE Systems to equip the Indian air force’s aerobatics team. The aircraft, to be built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) in Bengaluru, are expected to cost more than 20 billion rupees ($340 million). “Upon successful conclusion, this would be [our] third contract for the supply of materials and equipment for the Hawk Mk. 132, building upon previous orders of 66 aircraft in 2004 and a further 57 aircraft in 2010,” says a senior BAE official. .
The U.S. and Japan have reached a deal for the Marine Corps to start flight operations with the V-22 Ospreys deployed to the Asian nation. The Corps had delayed operating the aircraft until the U.S. allayed fears about the tiltrotor’s safety because of recent accidents, including a fatal one earlier this year.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is failing to get the support he wants from fellow Republicans in his quest to cut off U.S. assistance to the governments of Pakistan, Egypt and Libya, with a key member of his own party calling the idea “ill-conceived.”
Despite earlier government reports questioning the speed and quality of some components of the latest Aegis upgrade efforts, the newest rendition — Baseline 9 — is moving along just fine, says one of the key U.S. Navy officers overseeing the program. In a report released earlier this year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said recent Aegis upgrades were proving more costly and time-consuming than the Navy had initially planned or hoped.
The U.S. Navy and elements of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) participated earlier this month in the first bilateral counter-piracy exercise ever conducted between the two global giants. The guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) and “other U.S. Navy assets” practiced fighting pirates with the Chinese frigate Yi Yang (FF 548) in waters near the Horn of Africa on Sept. 17, Navy officials say. During the exercise, the two naval forces combined for visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations.
LIMITED CONFIDENCE: Financial analysts at Lazard Capital Markets have “limited confidence” that Congress will be able to avoid the budget penalty known as sequestration, which is due to be triggered Jan. 2. “Investors should view the sequestration threat as real,” the analysts say in a research note. But they think sequestration is unlikely to be the law of the land for very long.
JUST SAY NO: Negotiators for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (Speea) are recommending that the union’s 23,000 members reject Boeing’s contract offer before the company has made its “best and final” proposal. The engineers’ contract expires Oct. 6 and negotiations on a 4-year contract are under way. “There is nothing in this offer worth accepting,” says Speea Executive Director Ray Goforth.
Australia is starting to show interest in the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) program after deciding to upgrade 12 of its 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets to the EA-18G Growler electronic-attack configuration. The NGJ is planned to replace the ALQ-99 jamming pods now carried by the Growler. Four teams are competing for the next phase of the program, with a single technology-development (TD) contract planned to be awarded in June 2013. Initial operational capability is scheduled for 2020.
