TRACER FLIES: Flight tests of Lockheed Martin’s Tactical Reconnaissance and Counter-Concealment-Enabled Radar (Tracer) have begun using the Ikhana unmanned aircraft, a NASA-operated Predator B, which is being used as a surrogate for the U.S. Army’s MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAV. The Ikhana is collecting high-resolution synthetic-aperture radar imagery with the sensor mounted in an unpressurized pod under the wing.
CLIP ON: Initial operational test and evaluation of the Common Link Integration Processing (CLIP) system on B-1B Lancers and B-52 Stratofortresses should be achieved by spring 2011, with initial operating capability declared by next September, U.S. Air Force officials say. CLIP translates and formats messages for crews onboard the bombers and allows them to send messages to any authorized recipient. The so-called middleware allows for real-time unit and tracking information on the Link 16 network and the Joint Range Extension satellite network.
EGYPTIAN AIRLIFT: Airbus Military is adding the Egyptian air force to its customer base with the sale of three C295 tactical transports. All three aircraft are to be delivered in 2011, the manufacturer says. The deal brings to 85 the total order book for the C295, with a backlog of 21 units. The customer base is 13 operators.
BEIJING — China is studying a rocket engine with thrust of 300-500 tons (660,000-1.1 million lb.), up to four times as powerful as its current equipment, while also working on reusable space launchers, senior leaders have told a U.S. industry delegation.
LONDON — Diehl BGT Defense may adapt its IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile for a ship-based air-defense application. Although the concept so far remains on the drawing board, the evolution would mark the second mission expansion for IRIS-T. Diehl is already working on a ground-launched version, the IRIS-T SL (Surface Launch), which Germany wants to field as a low-end interceptor as part of the Medium Extended Air Defense System.
Two well-informed analysts on U.S. export reforms caution that bureaucratic support for Obama administration export licensing reforms could be too tepid for near-term results, and the world business climate is changing faster than the recently ratified bilateral treaties with the U.K. and Australia can adequately address.
SRM READY: ATK’s five-segment Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) is ready for flight testing, according to Charlie Precourt, vice president and general manager of ATK space launch systems. ATK announced Oct. 27 that data from the second successful Development Motor (DM-2) test Aug. 31 showed that it performed “precisely as designed.” Researchers took another month to fully digest the results. Meanwhile, company technicians have installed new insulation materials on the aft segment of the DM-3 SRM in preparation for casting. DM-3 is scheduled to take place next fall.
DEPLOYMENT CHALLENGE: The U.S. Army is increasingly challenged by a growing number of “non-deployable” soldiers who, for various reasons like injuries, cannot deploy with their units, according to an Association of the U.S. Army summary of speeches by Army leaders Oct. 26. In an average brigade combat team in 2007, about 390 of its soldiers were not deployable, said Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, deputy chief of staff of the army, G-1. “It’s a huge issue across the army that we’ve got to fix,” the general said at the AUSA conference in Washington.
BENGALURU, India — India’s fifth limited-series production (LSP-5) Tejas Light Combat Aircraft is ready for its first flight. Indian sources confirm to AVIATION WEEK that a flight readiness review meeting was held recently and the LSP-5 will fly “soon,” weather permitting. LSP-4 had its first flight in June.
BENGALURU, India — Indian defense scientists and engineers working with the Aeronautical Development Agency for the Rustom UAV project have now turned to flying the next prototype, R1-4. Though the exact time schedule has not been revealed, R1-4 is expected to have an “identical configuration” to its predecessor, R1-3. The Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) successfully test-flew R1-3 Oct. 16 from a private runway near Bengaluru.
The U.S. Air Force is getting ready to integrate an airborne signals intelligence payload on the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft. The ASIP-2C is a derivative of the U-2 and Global Hawk signals intelligence payload and related to the ASIP-1C designed for the MQ-1 Predator. The U.S. Air Force is now starting to plan for the integration of the Northrop Grumman-developed sensors on the MQ-9 for an end-to-end test.
RISING ORDERS: A U.S. State Department order for two upgraded S-61 utility helicopters for use in Afghanistan for drug interdiction brings the total purchased to 17. Earlier this year State signed an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with United Technologies’ Sikorsky for up to 110 upgraded S-61s aircraft for passenger and cargo transport operations worldwide.
SEVILLE, Spain — The fourth Airbus Military A400M Grizzly is expected to join the flight-test program before the end of the year as the manufacturer faces an intense flying program in 2011 to keep certification on schedule. Three of the five development A400Ms are currently flying, and have accumulated 672 hr. of the 2,700 hr. planned for the civil certification program. The fourth should be airborne before the end of the year, says Fernando Alonso, Airbus senior vice president for flight and integration testing.
PARIS — Sea Launch has successfully completed a 16-month Chapter 11 reorganization that will allow it to resume operations early next year free of debt. The reorganization, approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., followed approval of the company’s acquisition by Energia Overseas Ltd. (EOL), a unit of Russian space contractor Energia, by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment. Clearance of the acquisition, which cedes majority ownership to EOL, was obtained on Sept. 8.
PAINfUL CUTS: The U.S. Army has found it particularly difficult to meet new reduction goals in services contracting because it already was trying to pare programs for several years, according to Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff. “We felt we were already there, so a lot of these cuts were particularly difficult for us to find in the ‘tail,’” he told attendees at the Association of the U.S. Army conference Oct. 26 in Washington.
L-3 Communications reported a strong third quarter, with revenues of $3.8 million, operating income of $437 million and a strong margin of 11.4%, but the company’s guidance for next year anticipates flat sales and slightly softer margins.
BRUSSELS — Thales Alenia Space says a $2.2 billion contract for 81 Iridium second-generation satellites is now in full effect, following finalization of financing. Iridium announced last week that it had closed a credit facility backed by French export credit agency Coface that underwrites satellite design and construction of the spacecraft, including 66 operational satellites, six in-orbit spares and nine ground spares. Coface gave its final approval to the contract guarantee earlier this month.
LONDON — NATO has signed a contract with ViaSat to provide satellite groundlink capability under a deal worth around €10 million ($13.9 million). The money, put forward by the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) covers UHF Demand Assigned Multiple Access network control stations (NCS). NATO says it is buying equipment for two fixed-NCS sites in Belgium and Italy, as well as another to be deployable.
Issues with a propellant sample that did not meet specifications have prompted the launch team for the COSMO-SkyMed4 mission to postpone the launch from Oct. 29 until Oct. 31 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Built by Thales Alenia for Thailand’s space agency on behalf of the country’s ministry of defense, the spacecraft will be launched on a United Launch Alliance Delta II under a contract administered by Boeing Launch Services.
MEDIA AWARD: Frank Morring Jr., AVIATION WEEK’s senior editor for space, has received the 2010 Von Braun Memorial Dinner’s Media Award. Morring received the award Oct. 27 from the National Space Club-Huntsville, Ala., chapter during its 22nd Annual Dr. Wernher von Braun Memorial Celebration.
NEW DELHI – As President Barack Obama’s visit to India draws closer, Lockheed Martin is talking up its offering for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition.
International sales continue to fuel Raytheon’s results, rising 11% in the third quarter to comprise 24% of the company’s sales. International sales should account for between 22% and 24% of Raytheon’s sales next year, CEO William Swanson told analysts on Oct. 28. “The threat environment remains high in the Middle East and Asia,” and these countries have resources to protect themselves, he notes.
MOSCOW — The Russian air force expects to grow its fleet of Ansat-U light training helicopters to seven units by year’s end, with five helos of the type already handed over to the Syzran air force academy. The training assets were delivered Oct. 8 and Oct. 20. Russian air force commander Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin promises that the helicopters will gradually replace aging Mil Mi-2 light helicopters as the rotorcraft used for initial pilot training in the military academies.
