Recent Lockheed Martin Aegis combat system upgrades—the Advanced Capability Build (ACB)-12 and its accompanying multi-mission signal processor (MMSP) for ballistic mission defense (BMD) enhancements—are running behind schedule and over cost projections, a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says.
NEW DELHI — India has approved new guidelines to enable state-run defense firms to form joint ventures (JVs) with local and overseas companies, as the country engages in modernizing its armed forces. “The objective is to have better risk-management, greater efficiency, shorter timeframes for delivery to meet the increasing demands of the armed forces, and for enhancing self-reliance in the defense sector as a whole,” a government official said Feb. 9.
With looming slowdowns to the development of a new generation of U.S. ballistic missile submarines and a nuclear bomb life-extension program, the House of Representatives is set to become the battlefield for a growing fight over potential reductions to what the Obama administration had pledged to spend on nuclear modernization over the next 10 years.
Global Aviation Holdings, a casualty of the ends of wars and some poor planning, plans to jettison 16 of its 30 aircraft leases as part of its restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Proponents of civil space exploration are likely to be disappointed by the details of the NASA fiscal 2013 budget plan to be released Feb. 13, particularly when it comes to Mars. It is already known from previous plans that NASA’s overall budget will be flat and tight, with no major new initiates and a lot of backfill from previous spending shortfalls.
The U.S. Air Force is preparing to flight test “alcohol-to-jet” (ATJ) biofuel in a Fairchild A-10 as a prelude to certifying the fuel across its aircraft fleets to help achieve the target of meeting half its domestic fuel needs with alternative sources by 2016. Biofuels startup Gevo is supplying the fuel for the feasibility demonstration, says Jeff Braun, director of the Air Force Alternative Fuels Certification Office. The company won a contract in September to deliver 7,000 gal. of fuel for the tests, with an option for another 4,000 gal.
LONDON — The British parliament’s defense committee plans to start a review of the country’s future maritime surveillance needs following the government’s decision not to field the Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft. The decision to cancel future Nimrod MRA4s and dismantle ones already built was made in 2010 as part of the Strategic Defense and Security Review, but has remained controversial. Legislators have repeatedly expressed concern over the capability gap, in part because the government has not said how it will be addressed.
NEW BLOOD: The U.S. State Department is looking for a few new members of a private-sector advisory panel to advise Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, on defense trade regulations and export reforms for the next two years. The panel’s changeover comes as the Obama administration is in the process of overhauling the U.S. munitions list. Forty-five people served on the Defense Trade Advisory Group from 2010 to 2012, and it has been led by George Sevier of MK Technology and Joyce Remington of BAE Systems.
The U.S. Air Force is concerned about cyber-theft and sympathetic to industries that are victimized by digital attack, but the service is not going to pick up the bill by adding cost to its acquisition programs.
Andrew Mellon Auditorium Washington, D.C. March 7, 2012 The Aviation Week Laureate Awards recognize individuals and teams for their extraordinary accomplishments. Their achievements embody the spirit of exploration, innovation and vision that inspire others to strive for significant broad-reaching progress in aviation and aerospace. Join us at this black tie dinner and celebrate the best of the industry’s best! www.aviationweek.com/events/current/lau/index.htm
ABOARD THE USS KEARSArGE — High up in the “Vultures Row” flight-observation deck aboard the LHD-3 amphibious landing helicopter dock ship Kearsarge, the February wind cuts through even the warmest of leather jackets as the vessel steams through the Atlantic Ocean to participate in Bold Alligator, the East Coast’s largest joint and multinational amphibious assault exercise in the past 10 years.
NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions Program is looking for “green” alternatives to toxic hydrazine as a storable propellant for spacecraft, offering contracts worth as much as $50 million each to researchers with promising ideas.
The U.S. Transportation Department wants to develop new spectrum interference standards to protect GPS signals from transmissions in adjacent bands as the battle between broadband-wireless hopeful LightSquared and the GPS industry enters a new phase.
TURKISH UPGRADES: Turkish Aerospace Industries has kicked off deliveries of F-16s it has upgraded for the Pakistan air force under a program that is to run until September 2014. The project, called Peace Drive II, involves the upgrade of 41 older F-16s under a contract inked in 2009. The first handover took place Feb. 8, TAI says. The program is largely an avionics and structural update of older F-16s to bring them near the capability of the F-16 Block 52s that Pakistan has received from Lockheed Martin.
NEW DELHI — Pakistan has received the last batch of three sophisticated F-16 Block 52 fighter jets from the U.S. The three Lockheed Martin fighters delivered Feb. 6 at the Shahbaz Air Base in Jacobabad were the last of the 18 jets Pakistan had ordered. The deal’s cost is $1.4 billion for the aircraft and $1.3 billion for technical costs, including upgrades and maintenance.
The traffic jam in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley caused by the heavy volume of Syrian missiles, launchers and transporters going into temporary storage there is sparking concern in Jerusalem and Washington.
March 7, 2012 Andrew Mellon Auditorium Washington, D.C. Aviation Week’s 54th annual Laureate Awards will recognize individuals and teams for their extraordinary accomplishments. Their achievements embody the spirit of exploration, innovation and vision. Join us when we celebrate their significant contributions and the inspiration they provide. Reserve your place today.
ASIA SATS: Hong Kong-based AsiaSat has selected Space Exploration Technologies’ (SpaceX) Falcon 9 to launch AsiaSat 6 and AsiaSat 8 from Cape Canaveral in the first half of 2014. The two spacecraft vary slightly in design, but both are based on the Space Systems/Loral 1300 series. They are to be launched separately. AsiaSat 6 will have 28 high-powered C-band transponders, while AsiaSat 8 will carry 24 Ku-band transponders and a Ka-band beam. They will serve Asia, the Middle East and Australasia.
