General Electric and a Honeywell/Pratt & Whitney team are preparing to test full-engine demonstrators as they get ready for the U.S. Army to launch development of a 3,000-shp-class turboshaft to replace the GE T700 powering its AH-64D attack and UH-60M utility helicopters.
Blue Origin, one of the winners in the second round of NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev-2) seed-money effort, is planning to develop a reusable launch vehicle to carry its biconic seven-seat capsule to low Earth orbit, following an interim step when the company will offer suborbital tourist and scientific flights in a three-seat version.
Lockheed Martin plans to select the supplier of an alternate helmet-mounted display (HMD) for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter by the end of this quarter. Development issues with the primary Vision Systems International (VSI) visor-projected helmet-mounted display have led to the decision to pursue an alternate HMD to provide a night-vision capability. The F-35 does not have a head-up display (HUD), and an HMD capable of day and night operation is a critical requirement (Aerospace DAILY, March 4).
The U.S. Navy has completed its initial operational assessment of Insitu’s Integrator small tactical unmanned aircraft system (Stuas), paving the way for a decision on early deployment of commercially available systems while development continues. The Boeing subsidiary is developing Stuas for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps under a contract awarded in July 2010 that includes an option to deploy contractor-operated commercial versions of the Integrator to provide an early operational capability (EOC).
The deployment of U.S. Navy Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) ships will provide more defensive layers but will make the assessment of BMD options much more complex, according to missile defense analysts.
SPECIAL DELIVERY: Space Systems/Loral has delivered the Telstar 14R/Estrela do Sul 2 satellite in anticipation of its late May launch aboard an International Launch Services Proton Breeze M rocket from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan. Telstar 14R/Estrela do Sul 2 is a Ku-band satellite that will deliver services to growing markets including Brazil, the Continental U.S., the North Atlantic Ocean Region, and the Andean and Southern Cone region of South America. The satellite has 46 Ku-band transponders and five antenna beams with on-orbit switching capability.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Raytheon has tested a new warhead for its Small Tactical Munition (STM), a 12-lb. guided weapon that is being developed with company funds to meet a U.S. Marine Corps requirement to arm the RQ-7 Shadow tactical unmanned aircraft. Developed by NammoTalley, the 5-lb. warhead is lighter and has improved blast-fragmentation capability compared with the previous design based on the warhead from the Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon.
PAKISTANI MISSILES: Pakistan continues to step up its missile capacities, announcing the first flight test of the Hatf-IX (or Nasr) surface-to-surface missile. The Pakistani military says the weapon is capable of delivering nuclear warheads. The 60-km (100-mi.) range missile “has been developed to add deterrence value to Pakistan’s Strategic Weapons Development program at shorter ranges,” the government says. “This quick-response system addresses the need to deter evolving threats,” it adds.
Congress is finding new ways to put its stamp on the budget process now that earmarks are a relic of the past. The latest invention is a series of “innovation” accounts included in the fiscal 2011 appropriations bill. Each of the military services and special operations forces will receive $105 million for research and development. Production innovation accounts are just $15 million per service, and there’s one defense-wide industrial base innovation fund for $24 million.
BENGALURU, India — The Indian defense ministry’s Center for Airborne Systems (CABS) has engaged EADS defense unit Cassidian to help with the system integration and flight testing of India’s Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) platform. The AEW&C is scheduled to be integrated on a modified Embraer EMB-145 aircraft later this year. The Indian air force is set to commission three AEW&C platforms by 2013, with the first flight expected this May.
The Pentagon decision to cancel the U.S. Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) has created a greater opportunity for the proposed Ship to Shore Connector (SSC) as a more vital means of landing Marines from vessels. Textron Marine & Land Systems, based in Slidell, La., is banking on its experience as the contractor for the current landing hovercraft — the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) — as one of the main selling points in its bid to win the Marine contract for the SSC.
SINGAPORE — Japan has issued its much-anticipated request for proposals (RFP) for FX fighters and three aircraft are in contention: the Boeing F/A-18E/F, Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin F-35. The defense ministry disclosed last year that it also would be interested in receiving proposals on the Lockheed Martin F-22 and Dassault Rafale. But the U.S. government has banned F-22 exports. Dassault’s spokeswoman in France was unavailable for comment.
SHIP SHIPPED: The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of DDG-11 — the future USS Spruance — from General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard April 15. Accepting DDG 111 represents the official transfer from the shipbuilder to the Navy. The Spruance is the first Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to have a modernized machinery control system, which leverages open architecture to reduce total ownership costs. Spruance is a multi-mission guided-missile destroyer designed to operate in multi-threat air, surface and subsurface environments.
Priorities on Technology, Procedures and Benefits May 10-12, 2011 Washington, D.C. Washington Marriott at Metro Center -- Understand the FAA’s priorities, commitments and current status -- Gather information from the Hill including updates on White House and Congressional policy, funding and timeline -- Examine the economics of NextGen, and discover what financial metrics are driving the business decisions
HOUSTON — Shuttle Endeavour’s final flight — the STS-134 mission to equip the International Space Station with the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) and stage external spare parts — is now formally set for an April 29 liftoff following a Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy Space Center on April 19.
Professional and amateur astronomers are likely to spend decades poring over a massive data-dump from NASA that represents 57% of the take from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission, which imaged the entire sky from polar orbit.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Boeing’s A160T Hummingbird unmanned helicopter could be flying again soon. It has been grounded since September after an aircraft crashed in Belize during a demonstration deployment with U.S. Special Operations Command (Socom). The cause of the crash has not been released but was related to the tail rotor, says Ernie Wattam, Boeing A160T program manager. A fix has been tested in the wind tunnel. Demonstrator and production aircraft will be retrofitted.
DENVER — Lockheed Martin has cut out an entire test article from the Orion crew exploration vehicle that it is recasting in a new role as deep-space Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), combining test objectives for the remaining articles in an effort to keep the vehicle within the tight schedule set by Congress.
