As the chatter level rises on a possible restart of the F-22 Raptor production line, the U.S. Air Force says it is continuing its investigation of pilot-oxygen problems in the fighter’s cockpit. The F-22 regained some altitude earlier this month with recent comments by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney that restarting the line could be considered.
The U.S. Defense Department’s procurement of wheeled tactical vehicles (WTVs) has dropped sharply since fiscal 2008, leaving U.S. companies to seek international sales, which so far have not come close to filling the gap.
Boeing is exhausting its management reserve on the U.S. Air Force KC-46A aerial refueler program faster than expected, and the program management team is investigating the cause as it assembles a revised cost estimate for Congress, a senior Air Force official says.
While Pentagon procurement of unmanned systems is likely to shrink as the U.S. pulls back from overseas military conflicts, those programs still should be one of the few solid acquisition bets in the coming years, says Christopher Chadwick, Boeing Military Aircraft president. At the same time, the development of those systems will present some of the most difficult challenges in military acquisition, according to a recent Defense Science Board (DSB) report.
NEW DELHI — The launch of India’s GSAT-10 communications satellite has been delayed by a week due to a minor error in the European Ariane 5 rocket meant to place it on orbit, the country’s top scientist says. “While reviewing the launch preparation, Arianespace found a hole in one of the hoses connecting the spaceport and launch vehicle. It is suspected one gram of dust particles might have entered the launch vehicle through the small hole,” says K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
AIR FORCE Schafer Corp., Chelmsford, Mass. (FA7022-11-C-0009, P00012), is being awarded an $8,468,294 contract modification for particle analysis services. The contract modification provides for the exercise of the second contract option period. The location of the performance is Sunol, Calif. Work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2013. The contracting activity is AF ISR Agency/A7KRB, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.
BEIJING — South Korea’s program to indigenously develop a stealth fighter is facing severe political obstacles, with the finance ministry seeking to delay development and an influential think tank casting doubt on the project’s viability. In addition, a key program opponent may become defense minister in the next presidential term, which will begin in February.
TEL AVIV — The Israeli air force (IAF) has resumed operations with its Israel Aerospace Industries Heron TP unmanned aerial vehicle after lifting a grounding order imposed following a Jan. 29 crash. The decision came after a successful test conducted in the south, clearing the aircraft for safe operation.
The incoming director of the F-35 program says that a poor relationship between the Joint Program Office, customers and prime contractor Lockheed Martin is the biggest threat to the success of the stealthy, single-engine fighter.
The U.S. Air Force has begun flight tests of the upgraded Rolls-Royce T56 on a C-130H, which could help extend the service life of the transport to 2040. Flight tests of the T56 Series 3.5 enhancement package are taking place at Edwards AFB, Calif., using an Air National Guard-operated Lockheed Martin C-130H. Testing aims to verify a predicted fuel burn improvement of around 8%, as well as assessing flying qualities and improved payload capability.
METOP-B: Europe’s Metop-B satellite was launched into orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:28 p.m. local time Sept. 17. Roughly 1 hr. and 9 min. after liftoff, the upper stage of the Soyuz launch vehicle released the Astrium-built satellite into its designated orbit at approximately 800 km (500 mi.) altitude. Metop-B is a replacement low-altitude, polar-orbiting weather satellite for Metop-A. The spacecraft is designed to have an operational life of five years.
ST. LOUIS — As the U.S. slashes military spending and eyes even greater cuts, Boeing is starting to set its sights on overseas markets — and the company likes what it sees there. International sales, says Christopher Chadwick, Boeing Military Aircraft president, will be a major part of the company’s success in coming years. “One of the key elements is: How do we go more global?” Chadwick said during a recent briefing with reporters.
Can Congress be publicly shamed into avoiding a 10-year, $1 trillion across-the-board government spending cut before January? Not likely. But two widely respected former leaders of the Pentagon are the latest to make the attempt. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reminded the nation’s political leaders that failing to address the nation’s fiscal situation will harm the country’s security during speeches to the Center for Strategic and International Studies Sept. 17.
BEIJING — A second Chinese stealth fighter, apparently from Avic’s Shenyang plant, has appeared in seemingly genuine pictures that cropped up on Chinese web sites Sept. 15. The twin-engine, single-seat fighter, shown at an airfield, appears to approximate the Lockheed Martin F-35 in size, with a somewhat shallower body but a similar span of about 11.4 meters (37.5 ft.), as indicated by comparison with a commercial aircraft tug shown pulling it.
