NEW DELHI — India plans to conduct the first development flight of the long-range Agni-5 missile in December. “Agni-5 will take us to a level of 5,000-kilometer-plus ... missile systems, which meets all our threat requirements,” says V.K. Saraswat, chief of India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). However, Saraswat adds, “Though India has the capability of developing long-range missiles, we are not developing any intercontinental ballistic missiles. Our threat perception today doesn’t require developing any ICBMs.”
HOUSTON — NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told Johnson Space Center workers they can expect to shoulder more basic engineering and integration responsibilities as the agency develops the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion/Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, during Sept. 26 remarks in which he emphasized a post-shuttle future of lean budgets.
Canada has restarted its politically charged procurement of search-and-rescue aircraft to replace its aging fleet of de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Buffalo and Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules transports. The Fixed Wing Search and Rescue (FWSAR) project has been overhauled significantly since becoming mired in controversy over claims the Department of National Defense (DND) was limiting competition and the potential for Canadian industrial participation.
The U.S. Navy is getting ready to take delivery of prototype electromagnetic railguns from BAE Systems and General Atomics for testing to begin early next year at the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Dahlgren, Va. While operating at muzzle energies similar to the BAE-built laboratory railgun at Dahlgren, which set a record in December by firing at 33 megajoules (MJ), the “advanced containment launcher” (ACL) prototypes are more representative of railguns that could arm a warship.
NEW DELHI — India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has conducted engine tests of the naval Light Combat Aircraft prototype in the southern city of Bengaluru. The first engine ground run (EGR) of aircraft NP1 was conducted at the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) complex on Sept. 26 with the primary objective of checking aircraft-to-engine integration. In addition, flight control, hydraulics, fuel systems, electrical and avionics systems were evaluated, a DRDO official says.
LONG BEACH, Calif. — The softness of the small-satellite launch market has forced Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX) to suspend production of the Falcon 1 launch vehicle pending an upcoming market review. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell says: “We haven’t abandoned it, but we are looking to address the market in a more cost-effective way. We were really hoping the small-sat market would be really robust. However, with Falcon 1 we sold very few vehicles through 2010.”
The U.S. Navy this week awarded new DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer contracts for up to three ships for a potential total of $2 billion, including options. The Navy also publicly provided for the first time the cost for another DDG-51 vessel, bringing the possible price tag for the recent Burke buys to about $2.8 billion.
NEW PLAN: The Pentagon is streamlining and underpinning the kind of life-cycle planning now required from major U.S. defense acquisition programs, according to a Sept. 14 memo from Frank Kendall, the principal deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. The memo is the third in a series of document-streamlining memoranda following the so-called “Better Buying Power” policy outlined a year ago by Ashton Carter, the Pentagon acquisition chief who is set to become deputy defense secretary.
WRAPPING UP: The Lockheed Martin F-22 final assembly line schedule was not affected by this year’s grounding and the industry team continues to roll out Raptors on time, with final aircraft completing in December 2011, the prime contractor said Sept. 26. The U.S. Air Force lifted its four-month stand down, which was sparked by concerns about the fighter’s oxygen delivery system, on Sept. 19.
LONDON — Despite the continued lack of a firm customer, EADS is pressing ahead with work on its Talarion unmanned aircraft concept, with Saab announcing it will supply avionics. Saab says its work covers the aircraft vehicle management, communications, and mission and payload management computers. Deliveries are planned to take place in 2012-14.
Efforts to cut costs by increasing commonality between U.S. Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk and Navy MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aircraft systems are gaining momentum as manufacturer Northrop Grumman looks ahead to advanced capabilities. A joint technology-insertion road map is being developed that includes BAMS and Global Hawk variants for foreign customers, such as Germany’s Euro Hawk and NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) program, says George Guerra, vice president for high-altitude, long-endurance UAVs.
PARIS — NATO has awarded a contract worth €2.5 million ($3.36 million) to a U.S.-led industry team to define the first steps of a plan that would expand NATO’s theater missile defense system to form a broader shield over the alliance’s territory and population in Europe, as well as for deployed forces.
Boeing has completed development testing of an aerial delivery system that would enable any ramp-equipped military airlifter to be used for aerial firefighting without modification. Flight tests of the Precision Container Aerial Delivery System (Pcads) were conducted at Collidge, Ariz., during which the water-carrying cardboard containers were air-dropped from a C-130 Hercules at 500-1,000 ft.
LONDON — Delays in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and a slowdown in Eurofighter Typhoon production are among the reasons BAE Systems is shedding another 3,000 positions. The job cuts are the latest in a series of layoffs at BAE to deal with a reduction in defense spending. The bulk of the cuts hit the facilities at Brough (899 positions), Warton and Preston (843 positions), and Samlesbury (565 positions). BAE also cut jobs in 2009 and 2010.
FUSING INTEL: The U.S. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) is pursuing a multiyear research effort to produce a new capability to data-mine scientific research, with an eye toward identifying and prioritizing emerging, global technologies. The Foresight and Understanding from Scientific Exposition (FUSE) Program looks to develop automated methods for a “systematic, continuous and comprehensive” assessment of new technologies as they are written about.
Cyber 3.0: Without Borders Wednesday, October 19, 2011 10:00-11:00 am ET How do we ensure prosperity, security and openness in a networked world through international partnerships. Learn how the US is building a coalition to secure cyberspace and ensure its benefits flow uninterrupted. Hear how cybersecurity units are collaborating on a global scale to secure network defense.
LONDON — The Dutch defense ministry is asking for parliamentary approval to press ahead with developing a ship-based missile defense capability. The system would expand the air defense capabilities of the Thales Smart-L radar on Dutch frigates, to take on ballistic missile defense roles. The program is estimated at €100-250 million ($125-340 million), including logistics support and spares. Other European navies using the sensor may follow the Dutch lead.
LONDON — The U.K. may be at risk of losing 20,000-30,000 more jobs in the defense sector, according to the Aerospace, Defense and Security lobby group. ADS Chairman Ian Godden warns of “real concern in the industry that recent news of potential job losses is only the tip of the iceberg.”
BEIJING — Boeing is trumpeting industrial opportunities in its bid for Japan’s F-X combat aircraft requirement, a day before the country stops making fighters for the first time in 56 years. Coincidentally or not, proposals for the F-X program were due on Sept. 26, while the last two of 94 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-2 strike fighters are scheduled to be completed on Sept. 27.
AIR FORCE Teletronics Technology Corp., Newton, Pa., is being awarded a $60,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for commercial supplies and services in sustainment of high-speed data acquisition systems specifically designed for flight test users. The work will be performed at Newtown, Pa. The Air Force Flight Test Center Directorate of Contracting, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA9302-11-D-0004).
