NEW DELHI — India launched into orbit its first indigenous reconnaissance satellite Risat-1 on April 26, thereby joining a select group of nations that have access to microwave radar imaging from orbit. The 1,858-kg (4,100-lb.) satellite was put into a polar circular orbit at an altitude of 480 km (300 mi.) and an orbital inclination of 97.552 deg. early in the day by India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C19 (PSLV-C19) from Sriharikota spaceport in south India.
The rigorous electromagnetic interference testing standards of the U.S. Navy’s planned carrier-based unmanned combat air system indicate the service wants the aircraft to be capable of firing a permanently installed, rechargeable anti-electronics weapon.
The Swiss government plans to delay fielding the Gripen NG to enable closer cooperation with Sweden. Switzerland last year chose the Gripen NG for its F-5 Tiger replacement program, with the goal of fielding the first of 22 aircraft in 2015. The government now says it has agreed to slip the in-service date by two years to work more closely with Sweden on the aircraft’s development and production phase. The total program cost should not change, according to Swiss government officials.
Boeing is turning to the Mission Operations Directorate at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to support the training for and early flight operations of the company’s seven-person CST-100 entrant in NASA’s Commercial Crew Development initiative.
NEW DELHI — Barely a week after India tested its long-range Agni-V missile, neighbor Pakistan successfully test-fired the Hatf-IV Shaheen-1A intermediate-range, nuclear-capable ballistic missile. According to Pakistan’s military, the Hatf-IV Shaheen-1A — the most powerful missile in the country’s weapon stock — is capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads.
LOS ANGELES — Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) has confirmed its long-expected PW210 as the initial powerplant for Eurocopter’s next-generation X4 helicopter. The X4 is aimed at the AS365 Dauphin/EC155 replacement market in the medium twin, 9,000 lb. to 11,000 lb. category and is due to enter service in 2017. Eurocopter says this version, powered by the PW210, will be followed by a more advanced variant in 2020 that will be offered with the choice of Turbomeca’s upcoming TM800 turboshaft.
VIRTUALLY INFILTRATED: Since 2006, the number of cyber probes and incidents reported by federal agencies has increased by nearly 680%, congressional auditors said this week. Incidents include unauthorized access to systems, improper use of computing resources and the installation of malicious software, among others, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says.
In a long-running U.S. Army-Air Force airlift feud, Congress is finally asking both sides to show their cards. The Air Force is recommending mothballing newly manufactured C-27J airlifters that were initially requested by the Army as a replacement for the C-23 Sherpa to provide intratheater airlift. It’s a mission that never sat well with the Air Force, and was sidelined in President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget request.
When designs for the U.S. Navy’s next generation of aircraft and airborne weapons programs are compared, a common element stands out—the search for more and better electronic warfare (EW) systems. But those goals are being complicated by what Navy planners worry is a diminution of the industrial base that can produce strike-fighter designs. By 2030, planners worry that there may be no competition. Boeing, for example, has already bought the last long-lead items for its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet production line.
Platinum and other valuables — including water — are driving space prospectors vying for the $20 million Google Lunar X Prize to design their vehicles to search the Moon’s surface for resources that could be sold in space or on Earth. Moon Express, a Lunar X Prize team spearheaded by Internet entrepreneurs Naveen Jain and Barney Pell, is working with NASA’s Ames Research Center on ways to seek and retrieve valuables like platinum, building on the California field center’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (Ladee).
A 30% increase in first-quarter revenues and a 58% jump in net income for Boeing is coming mainly from its commercial airplane programs, but Chief Executive Jim McNerney says the company’s Defense Space and Security (BDS) unit is holding up well because of foreign sales.
The question of whether the Defense Department’s wartime spending account is affected or immune from sequestration was raised during a House Budget Committee hearing April 25, with some Republican lawmakers saying the Obama administration should already know the answer. White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Controller Daniel Werfel said the effects of sequestration on the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account “warrant further examination.” OMB will have to make the same sort of determination for many Treasury Department accounts, he said.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The U.S. faces a dilemma over the possible sale of attack helicopters to Indonesia. Industry executives say Indonesia has issued a letter of request to buy Boeing AH-64 Apaches. This comes after the country’s deputy defense minister, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, told state-run news agency Antara in February that Indonesia planned to order eight Apaches.
SpaceX and NASA have agreed to delay the launch the first U.S. commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by one week from its original target of April 30, providing the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program participant more time to complete and follow up on hardware-in-the-loop software testing.
KUALA LUMPUR — The Europeans, and in particular Britain, have made a concerted effort to woo Malaysia. Their charm offensive has been so successful recently that they now appear to be in a strong position to eclipse the U.S. and win the competition to sell both fighters and airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft to Malaysia.
HOUSTON — Planetary Resources Inc., a high-powered investor group with deep roots in the Internet, software and aerospace industries, plans a long-term commercial effort to profit from robotically identifying and prospecting for water, precious metals and other raw materials on near-Earth asteroids (NEAs).
The European Defense Agency (EDA) is exploring whether the commercial airlines’ airport hub concept could be adapted to more efficiently employ military transport aircraft.
The Pentagon’s decision to give some ground to state advocates in the ongoing fight over reductions to the Air National Guard is being met with a mixed reaction on Capitol Hill. The military is now proposing to retain 24 C-130s in the Air National Guard, after the Obama administration proposed cuts in the Guard appropriation in February in its fiscal 2013 budget request. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta outlined the change in an April 23 letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.).
TORNADO HELMETS: The U.K. will have a dozen Tornado GR4s permanently ready to operate with the Helmet-Mounted Cueing System, although the fleet modification program will be larger. A total of 25 of the aircraft are to be modified to handle the equipment. Nine aircraft have already undergone the process, the Ministry of Defense says. The program’s cost is £11.5 million ($18.5 million). The helmet upgrade was developed by BAE Systems under an urgent operational requirement, with the order placed in April 2011. The system made its combat debut recently in Afghanistan.
