Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter program has achieved one of five major milestones linked to the company’s ability to earn financial reward in 2011 with the recent completion of static structural testing. The goal was achieved after completion of static testing on the F-35C; earlier work was done on the A and B versions, says Tom Burbage, executive vice president for F-35 integration. This is arguably the least complex of the five goals for 2011, but it is a step in the right direction after the program struggled in 2010.
NEW BLOOD: European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Alexander Gerst of Germany will spend six months aboard the International Space Station, following a May 2014 liftoff aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The 35-year-old geophysicist will become the sixth European to carry out a long-duration spaceflight, Thomas Reiter, ESA’s director for human spaceflight and operations, announced Sept. 18. Gerst will be a flight engineer during Expeditions 40-41. He will launch with Russian Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA’s Reid Wiseman from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The U.S. Air Force plans to anchor a forthcoming government-wide set of certification criteria for companies wishing to compete for launch work in NASA’s existing framework. But the service says that it, NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) each will retain the right to “tailor” the application of this framework depending on unique mission requirements.
AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Corp., King of Prussia, Pa., is being awarded a $791,000,000 maximum firm-price-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable contract to provide a set of more than 70 reusable, common services to Air Force combat support automated information systems based on integration of commercial-off-the-shelf, free and open source software, and government-off-the-shelf software components. ESC/HIIK, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., is the contracting activity (FA8771-11-D-1006).
There is some “flexibility” in how long the U.S. Air Force can continue to operate its aging T-38C fast-jet trainers before introducing a replacement, says Gen. Edward Rice, who oversees the Air Education and Training Command. At issue as the service considers when to introduce a so-called T-X into the fleet is how much it can afford to pay for mounting maintenance costs.
HOUSTON — Hours before three International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers descended safely to Earth aboard their Soyuz 26 capsule early Sept. 16, the NASA-led Space Station Control board approved plans to resume launches of the Russian spacecraft on Nov. 14, a schedule that would prevent a temporary interruption in the staffing of the 15-nation orbiting science laboratory.
TRANSATLANTIC DIVIDE: Despite budget austerity biting both sides of the northern Atlantic, the U.S. and U.K. are taking markedly different approaches when it comes to managing inter-service combat operations. In an effort to save overhead, the U.S. has closed its Joint Forces Command (Jfcom) in Norfolk, Va. The move was codified last week when President Barack Obama signed the latest Unified Command Plan that redistributed Jfcom responsibilities to other U.S. combatant commands and the Joint Staff. By contrast, the U.K.
EXAMINING EMP: The U.K. Parliament’s defense committee is taking a hard look at the potential threats to the country’s electronic infrastructure from electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or other threats. Both deliberate attacks as well as concerns over spurious signals will be investigated. Beyond just establishing what the level of vulnerability is, the committee also expects to look at the potential consequences of damage.
LONDON — Undeterred by the difficult defense budget environment prevailing in the U.K., Elbit is making a bet it can expand its stature in the country to secure additional revenue.
TIANJIN, China — China’s Avic Engine is working on two new turboshaft powerplants, one of which is evidently intended for a very big rotorcraft that China is negotiating to build with Russia, while the other may be aimed at a domestic regional airliner.
A U.S. Senate panel’s cut to Pentagon purchasing in fiscal 2012 is one-third less than it seems. A bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee Sept. 15 cuts baseline procurement spending by $6 billion and shifts $2.9 billion to the supplemental account that funds the war in Afghanistan. The 22 budget lines include three of the Defense Department’s highest-profile UAV programs: the MQ-1A Gray Eagle, MQ-8 Fire Scout and the MQ-9 Reaper.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s next round of awards to support development of commercial systems to fly crews to the International Space Station (ISS) will be fixed-priced contracts, not the more flexible Space Act Agreements favored by industry. Managers of the Commercial Crew Program office announced the move Sept. 16 at an industry briefing in advance of next week’s release of a draft request for proposals.
With the recent $1.8 billion U.S. Navy contract award to build hulls and related components for the Zumwalt-class destroyers DDG-1001 and DDG-1002, the biggest remaining question is whether the deal represents the epilogue of the controversial shipbuilding program or just a transition chapter to a later, bigger build.
LONDON — With its data-handling work growing rapidly, Rafael has embarked on a major overhaul of its ImiLite intelligence fusion offering. The so-called Generation 2 would involve a new architecture and intelligence-processing engine called Atlas. It should be ready around the end of next year.
FREE Webinar! September 27, 2011 2 - 3 p.m. Program Excellence: Leading Virtual Teams Communicating team deliverables across companies, time zones, languages and differing cultures is a daunting challenge. A panel of program leadership experts will discuss the lessons learned on how best to meld together a virtual team that delivers - on technology, cost, impact and schedule! Register Now.
The two biggest losers in the fiscal 2012 spending bill approved Sept. 15 by the Senate Appropriations Committee may have difficulty remaining viable. The committee killed all funding for the Defense Weather Satellite System (DWSS) and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). With such a strong vote against them and additional cuts by the House, the long-term prospects probably aren’t good for either program.
BAE Systems is teaming with Northrop Grumman to propose its Hawk trainer for a forthcoming U.S. Air Force competition to replace the T-38C fast-jet trainer. The team plans to announce their partnership on Sept. 19 at the annual Air Force Association conference, according to industry officials. Competitors are likely to include Lockheed Martin/Korea Aerospace Industries’ T-50 and Alenia Aermacchi’s M346.
NEW DELHI — India and the U.K. have signed a letter of arrangement (LOA) to help pursue collaboration and cooperation in the field of defense research and development.
LONDON — The Australian Defense Ministry is about to put the NH Industries MRH-90 multi-role helicopter through another major review. The results, due in October, could determine whether the program is formally added to the government’s “Projects of Concern” watch list.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is issuing a stern warning to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program: “If its costs are not brought under control ... the program’s future could be in jeopardy.” The missive is included in the committee’s report on the fiscal 2012 spending bill that it approved Thursday.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Sept. 19 - 21 — AFA - Annual Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition 2011, Washington, D.C. For more information go to http://www.afa.org/events/conference/2011/default.asp
