The F-35B conducted its first flight out of Eglin AFB, Fla., May 22, marking one of several steps needed to officially stand up pilot training for the Lockheed Martin stealthy jet there. The first F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing aircraft arrived at Eglin in July 2011 and the first B variant, optimized for the Marine Corps’ short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing requirement, arrived in January. Twelve F-35s are now at the base.
Mankind’s next objective in space exploration should be the establishment of a permanent international base on the Moon, in the “professional opinion” of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
Airbus Military expects to receive the A400M type certification in July, with the start of a key test phase needed for that approval merely “a question of days.”
LOS ANGELES — Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) tested three separate engines over three consecutive days last week as negotiations near completion for the sale of the rocket maker from United Technologies Corp. (UTC) to an unidentified investor group.
REMOTE VIEWING: Consultancy Forecast International (FI) projects the worldwide civil and commercial remote sensing satellite market will reach $17 billion over 2012-2021, during which 108 remote sensing satellites will be produced. “Demand for remote sensing satellite data continues to increase,” FI says.
Regardless of whether the U.S. Navy has to deal with the impact of sequestration, the service will certainly have to plan for a smaller fleet and fleet ship trade-offs to accommodate the economic climate, defense analysts say. “We’re heading for smaller fleet,” says Eric Labs, senior Congressional Budget Office analyst for naval weapons and forces. “This should be the question—how small will be too small?”
Aircraft Composite Repair Management Forum October 9, 2012 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Repair in New Generation Aircraft: Challenges and Opportunities Lightweight composites will soon rival metals as the primary material for airframes. Are you prepared?
The core crew size for the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) will be increasing, confirms Robert Work, undersecretary for the service. The increase is significant because the addition of crew members calls into question the low manning requirements envisioned for the ship. More sailors means higher lifecycle costs; the projected, relatively cheap long-term costs of operating the vessel have been a major selling point for the ship in Congress.
HOUSTON — SpaceX, after replacing a faulty first-stage check valve, readied the Falcon 9/Dragon combination for a second attempt to launch the first U.S. commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in the early morning hours of May 22. U.S. Air Force weather forecasters offered an 80% chance of favorable weather for a 3:44 a.m. EDT liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. There has been a slight concern about isolated rain showers in the region. SpaceX has a backup launch opportunity on May 25 at 2:33 a.m. EDT.
MADRID — Airbus Military and Cobham are modifying the hose-and-drogue refueling system for the U.K.’s A330-based Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA), to mitigate fuel-venting when working with Royal Air Force Tornado and Typhoon fighters.
U.S. AIR FORCE United Launch Services, L.L.C., Littleton, Colo., is being awarded a $398,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Atlas V EELV launch service in support of a Mobile User Objective System-4 mission and Delta IV EELV launch service in support of a Global Positioning System mission. The location of the performance is Decatur, Ala. Work is to be completed by Nov. 30, 2014. SMC/LRK, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8811-11-C-0001 P00018). U.S. NAVY
Northrop Grumman is adjusting its schedule to support installation of the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (Canes) system on U.S. Navy ships following a delay caused by a contract-award objection from Lockheed Martin, which later withdrew the protest.
U.S. NAVY Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $133,751,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee not-to-exceed modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-06-C-2222) for advance procurement of long-lead-time materials and pre-construction activities in support of Landing Platform Dock 27. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to complete by June 2017. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
TOKYO — The Japanese defense ministry will decide on an engine for the UH-X utility helicopter within two or three months so manufacturer Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) can begin the detail design phase. The likely engine is the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) XTS2, a 940-kw (1,260-hp) derivative of the 660-kw TS1 turboshaft, itself an adaptation of MHI’s MG5 family, which was developed in 1987.
LONDON — After almost two decades in the making, NATO has finally awarded a contract to field an Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system. The alliance has signed a $1.7 billion contract to acquire five Northrop Grumman Global Hawk Block 40s to address an operational shortfall first identified during the 1991 Persian Gulf war and validated during last year’s Libya air campaign. An initial operational capability is due to be reached in 2016. The deal was signed during the meeting of NATO members’ heads of government in Chicago.
U.S. Navy officials are downplaying the recent failure of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) USS Freedom to pass a special pre-ship-trial inspection, saying, among other things, that these types of reviews are more rigorous than before. But the Freedom has a checkered past when being subjected to tests and inspections, resulting in truncated sea trials and even a delayed entry into the Panama Canal.
UAV APPETITE: The U.S. Department of Defense spent $5.25 billion on unmanned aerial systems in 2010, with the U.S. Air Force taking the largest piece of the pie, according to consultancy Frost & Sullivan. “Most of the $2.42 billion the Air Force has earmarked for UAS spending in 2012 is for the procurement of the MQ-9 Predator,” the group reports. Fiscal 2011 government contracts awarded specifically for the U.S. military UAS market amounted to $3.78 billion. The biggest program winners included the ER/MP MQ-1 Gray Eagle, MQ-9, and RQ-4, Frost states.
MADRID — Airbus Military is working on a series of upgrades for the C-295 military airlifter, with winglets to undergo flight trials next year and flight testing with the Marte anti-ship missile to take place this year. For the winglets, “the design is already done,” with everything to be ready to fly by year-end, says Miguel Angel Morell, Airbus Military senior vice president and head of engineering. The concept was first developed for the airborne early warning version, but the company sees broader applications.
U.S. ARMY Alliant Techsystems, Inc., Plymouth, Minn., was awarded a $58,272,447 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the modification of an existing contract to procure Spider XM-7 networked munitions systems. Work will be performed in Plymouth, Minn.; Wilmington, Mass.; and Rocket Center, W.Va., with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2013. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15QKN-11-C-0126).
MADRID — Airbus Military is selling eight C-295s to Oman and expects to sign more deals in the coming months, as it anticipates booking potentially more than 30 new orders this year. After signing deals for only five light transports last year, Airbus Military has already secured more than 20 orders so far in 2012, notes Antonio Rodriguez Barberan, the company’s senior commercial vice president.
