NEW DELHI — Airbus Military and Boeing remain undecided about participating in India’s program to buy six midair refuelers, which has a proposal deadline of Dec. 15. “On the basis of our [past] experience, we are thoroughly analyzing and reviewing the situation,” says Barbara Kracht, vice president of communications at Airbus Military.
Bangalore, india — India has flown the homegrown Rustom-1 unmanned aerial vehicle for the first time. Developed by the Defense Research Development Organization’s (DRDO) Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the 30-min. flight took place Oct. 16 from a Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Ltd. airfield at Housr, near Bangalore.
GUARD ACT: The new U.S. Coast Guard authorization law enacted Oct. 15 by President Barack Obama allows the president to designate up to four positions of importance and responsibility to be held by vice admirals, in addition to the existing vice commandant. It also removes language linking the rank of these vice admirals to specific positions, “creating more flexibility in how senior leadership is organized within the service,” according to a service statement.
LONDON — Despite looming budget cuts, the U.K.’s new national security strategy reiterates the need to remain engaged globally and puts a new level of attention on areas such as defending against cyberattack, terrorism and natural disasters. Those defense areas are mentioned, alongside more traditional threats of becoming embroiled in military crises, in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government’s 39-page “National Security Strategy: A Strong Britain in an Age of Uncertainty.”
BEIJING — Chinese manufacturer Casic will set up a factory to manufacture composite parts, including some for the C919 airliner, underlining the ambitions of the space and missile specialist to build up a civil aeronautics business. The factory, to be built at Zhejiang in eastern China, will focus on the development and manufacturing of composites, international aeronautics subcontracting, and military-civil dual-use production, says the local government.
TEL AVIV and LONDON — Long-range ballistic missiles are a new threat to Europe, but Israeli defense planners are more concerned about the rapid growth in lower-end rocket threats.
PARIS — The U.K. has awarded a £770,000-($1.2-million) contract to Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) to define a new orbiting technology demonstrator. The award will enable planners to identify innovative payloads that could be demonstrated on the small satellite, dubbed TechDemoSat-1, and define the mission.
Pratt & Whitney has completed tests of the durability and robustness of the F135 short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) propulsion system for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and is preparing for final performance and operability testing to qualify the engine.
LUTON, England — Having already sold some preproduction versions of its new Sage electronic support measures (ESM) system, Selex Galileo expects full production to begin soon.
ARMY GM GDLS Defense Group, LLC, Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded on Sept. 29 a $73,452,747 firm-fixed-price contract action. Will call up an additional quantity of 45 Stryker vehicles. Work is to be performed in London, Canada (50%), and Anniston, Ala. (50%), with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM, CCTA-AIP, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-07 -D-M112).
MOROCCAN F-16s: The Moroccan air force’s initial Block 52 F-16C made its first two flights last week at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, facility. It is one of 24 C- and D-model aircraft that will be delivered in 2010-11 as part of a $2.4 billion Foreign Military Sales contract. The fighters come with the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engine and Sniper advanced targeting pod and video downlink to battlefield troops.
UNMANNED COOPERATION: Plans by Russia to start building Israel Aerospace Industries unmanned aircraft have advanced with an industrial agreement between IAI and Oboronprom. The deal, signed last week, has been in the works for most of the year, but was at risk over Russian arms sales to Israel’s adversaries. The core element of the deal is the Searcher Mk. III.
MOON DATA: The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc. is among six companies to win Innovative Lunar Demonstrations Data contracts from NASA. Under the awards, which have a potential aggregate value up to $30 million, NASA will receive technical data resulting from the companies’ efforts to demonstrate lunar vehicle technology and end-to-end robotic lunar lander missions. “The data from these contracts will inform the development of future human and robotic lander vehicles and exploration systems,” NASA says. The full list of winners can be found at www.nasa.gov.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 18 - 21 — Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology’s 26th Space Simulation Conference, Doubletree Hotel, Annapolis, Md. For more information go to www.iest.org OCT. 18 - 21 — White Eagle Aerospace’s Short Courses: “Fundamentals of Hypersonics,” Aero Institute, Palmdale, Calif. For more information call (520) 219-0526 or go to www.whiteeagleaerospace.com
European and Japanese space agencies are awaiting further developments as the U.S. puts the finishing touches on its new policy for exploration, adopting a wait-and-see attitude until Congress funds a compromise space plan and NASA fills in the details. Speaking at a Washington conference organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, representatives of the European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), France’s CNES and Germany’s DLR all expressed caution in the face of continued U.S. uncertainty.
LONDON — As Airbus Military builds its training center in Seville, Spain, the company is looking to add the first simulator for its flagship A400M transport in 2012. On Oct. 15, Airbus formally began operations at the center. The site has infrastructure for six simulators but is starting with only half the slots occupied. To date, Seville has two full-flight simulators for the C295 tactical transport and one for the smaller CN235. The center also has facilities for training crews to use mission equipment.
Nov. 30 - Dec. 1, 2010 Munich, Germany Gain cost-effective best practices and strategies for engine MRO planning, new technology implementation, navigating maintenance contracts, green processes and compliance issues. Register now - http://www.aviationweek.com/events/current/mroeng/index.htm Click here to view the pdf
The Obama administration will stand firm in its plans for European missile defense, even if Russia once again ramps up objections to U.S. capabilities being deployed to Eastern Europe, a U.S. State Department official says.
SUB WORK: The U.S. Navy has awarded two contract modifications worth a combined $72.6 million to General Dynamics Electric Boat for nuclear and non–nuclear submarine and related work at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Conn. Electric Boat received a $27 million contract modification to continue operating the Nuclear Regional Maintenance Department (NRMD) at the base to repair submarines. The initial contract was awarded in October 2009 and has a potential value of $78 million over three years.
HOUSTON — Regional aerospace leaders counseled patience at an Oct. 15 Space Economy Career Summit attended by about 400 displaced mid-career NASA contractor professionals. The laid-off employees are wondering where and when they will work next as the agency responds to the retirement of the space shuttle program and the road map outlined in the 2010 NASA authorization bill signed by President Barack Obama on Oct. 11.
LONDON — AgustaWestland expects to add a third AW159 Lynx Wildcat helicopter to the program’s flight test program before the end of the month. The company on Oct. 14 added the second AW159, TI2, to the flight trials phase following first flight at AgustaWestland’s Yeovil, England, facility. TI1 began flight trials in November 2009, with TI3 expected to fly in the coming weeks as part of the 600-hr. flight test program.
POWERPLANT: Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine will power the initial purchase of Israeli air force F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, the company says, noting that “the F135 is the only engine currently powering the F-35 aircraft and is in production today.” Pratt is trying to fight off a team of General Electric and Rolls-Royce that is pitching the F136 for U.S. Joint Strike Fighters, even though the White House and Pentagon leadership do not want it.
