FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — As the U.S. Navy redoubles its efforts to make maintenance a major priority across the fleet, the service is taking great pains to clean up the tanks and voids in its surface vessels — with special focus on destroyers and cruisers, which have often had to defer shipboard work because of smaller crews.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) plans to load “late cargo” into its Dragon capsule around April 20 after passing NASA’s final flight readiness review in advance of the first private space mission expected to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).
TRADE NOT TRIM: Conferees for a potential Arms Trade Treaty should know how the U.S. sees the effort championed by President Barack Obama, one diplomat says. First, it “is not a disarmament negotiation; it is an arms trade regulation negotiation,” says Thomas Countryman, assistant secretary of State for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation.
PARIS — Aerospace supplier Honeywell says it has signed an exclusive agreement with Inmarsat to provide global in-flight connectivity services to business, commercial and government aviation customers. The services will be provided through London-based Inmarsat’s Global Xpress network, the first Ka-band constellation designed to provide global inflight broadband to the aeronautical, maritime and land-mobile markets.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Several next-generation satellite systems built by the U.S. Air Force could rely on smaller, simpler and cheaper designs, says Gen. William Shelton, Air Force Space Command chief. Shelton says he continues to push for “disaggregation” of U.S. military satellites, which calls for separating payloads once hosted on large satellites and placing them on more numerous, smaller systems with an eye toward distributing capability and controlling costs.
The Pentagon is nearly finished renegotiating contract for troubled airborne satcom terminals, USAF is establishing alternate program path in case the company fails to perform.
PARIS — France’s defense procurement agency DGA announced the first tranche of a multibillion-euro program to equip French armed forces with next-generation tactical radios starting in 2018. The initial €263 million ($345 million) award to Thales Communications under the Contact program would initiate development work this year in an effort to outfit the army, air force and navy with software-defined tactical communications devices that allow simultaneous transmission and highly secure voice/data for operationally deployed forces.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Engineers at Lockheed Martin are edging ahead of schedule to complete assembly of the Maven spacecraft, which is designed to investigate why most of the atmosphere of Mars has largely disappeared. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (Maven) vehicle is being put together at Lockheed Martin’s Space Systems Waterton site near Denver. Due to be launched in November 2013, Maven will travel through the upper reaches of the Martian atmosphere, gathering data that should help scientists reconstruct a climatic history of the planet.
NEW DELHI — India has ordered its defense forces and all other security agencies to remain prepared to tackle an entire range of challenges along its borders in the wake of the situation in the neighboring Afghanistan/Pakistan region. Taliban militants on April 15 mounted a synchronized attack at key establishments in Kabul. The assault ended after 18 hr. on April 16, by which time all but one attacker had been killed.
COLORADO SPRINGS — The main stage of NASA’s planned heavy-lift Space Launch System exploration rocket will carry four surplus RD-25D space shuttle main engines, as NASA and main-stage prime contractor Boeing move toward preliminary design review (PDR) on the big new rocket by the end of the year.
LONDON — Problems found during inspection of RTM322 engines on AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin helicopters have forced the Danish armed forces to ground part of the fleet that is used for search-and-rescue and transport missions. Because of cracks founds in different elements of 11 RTM322 engines, the Danish military says it only has enough spares available to operate 10 of 14 EH101s. The flaws were found during “routine” inspections.
Desire to allow domestic companies to be more competitive in the global marketplace, but allowing for stricter restrictions against countries including China, Iran, North Korea and Syria.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Worldwide space spending grew by more than $31 billion in 2011, but the laggard global economy continues to exert downward pressure on the industry, according to the latest report of the National Space Foundation.
NEW NAME: Finmeccanica’s Alenia North America publicly changed its name to Alenia Aermacchi North America on April 17. The move follows a merger of Finmeccanica’s Alenia Aeronautica and Alenia Aermacchi aeronautics brands and comes on the heels of a massive overhaul of the flagship Italian aerospace and defense company back home. Based in Washington, Alenia Aermacchi North America also maintains offices and facilities in Seattle, Wash., Smyrna, Ga., Fort Worth and Madison, Minn., as well as Canada.
FMV MARKET: Consulting company Visiongain says the global military video surveillance systems market will reach $8.81 billion this year, thanks in part to growing adoption of full-motion video (FMV) technology proven by U.S. and allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
ABU DHABI — The former head of the New Mexico spaceport effort, Steve Landeene, will now work as chief adviser to the proposed spaceport in Abu Dhabi with an eye on clearing the way for potential Virgin Galactic operations. Landeene’s initial focus will be on the regulatory environment. The focus would then shift to determining the right location for the spaceport, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said during the Global Aerospace Summit here.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Now that Ingalls Shipbuilding has tackled production problems with the U.S. Navy’s LPD-17 San Antonio Class Amphibious Transport Dock ship, the company is researching the possibility of using the ship for additional missions or technology upgrades, says Irwin Edenzon, Ingalls president and vice president at parent company Huntington Ingalls Industries. Remarking that the ship now has a “stable design,” Edenzon says the company is looking to see if the vessels can be “applied to other missions.
Click here to view the pdf World Military Spending:Expenditure By Region2002-2011 ($ in U.S. Billions) World Military Spending: Expenditure By Region2002-2011 ($ in U.S.
LONDON — The U.K. will likely delay addressing its maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) gap until 2015, military officials tell Parliament’s defense committee. The decision will likely be part of the 2015 Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR), says Air Vice Marshal Mark Green, the Defense Ministry’s director of joint and air capability transformation. Legislators are worried about the MPA capability gap in the aftermath of the 2010 decision not to field the Nimrod MRA4.
Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Click here to view the pdf World Military Spending:Key World Military Expenditure StatisticsBy Region World Military Spending: Key World Military Expenditure Statistics By Region Region/Subregion Military expenditure 2011 (US$B)
COLORADO SPRINGS — The Pentagon has declared that the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) project has exceeded its original projected per-unit cost by 58.4%, triggering a rigorous review under the Nunn-McCurdy program oversight law. Through the EELV program, the government procures Atlas V and Delta IV rockets from United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The cost growth was reported April 13 to Congress.
CYBER GAME: A U.S. Air Force cyber and outer space wargame starting April 20 at Nellis AFB, Nev., will for the first time include representatives from NATO members Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. Australia, Canada and Britain already are partners of the Schriever Wargame 2012 International Game. The wargame scenario depicts NATO counter-piracy operations around the Horn of Africa.
