COUNTER WASTE: The U.S. military’s sprawling complex built up over the last decade to address improvised explosive devices (IEDs) could be centralized if Washington follows the advice of non-partisan congressional auditors. In a March 1 report, the U.S.
ROME — Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, Finmeccanica’s chairman and CEO, warned that 2010 was to be a difficult year for the Italian aerospace and defense giant and indeed that was the case, even if year-end results beat early financial guidelines. Finmeccanica’s revenues grew 2.9% to €18.7 billion ($26 billion) compared to 2009, with a stable adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITA) of €1.59 billion. Net profits plummeted 22.4% to €557 million due to restructuring costs.
PASSING GRADE: After a high-profile Washington debate last year on the future of U.S. nuclear forces and missile defenses, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, said March 2 that the Obama administration is making “solid progress” in implementing its European Phased Adaptive Approach and appears to keeping its promise to fund upgrades to the U.S. nuclear weapons infrastructure.
ISR AUDITED: The U.S. Defense Department’s myriad collection of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems could see significant reductions in duplicative efforts if leaders and lawmakers follow the recommendations of a sweeping new congressional audit.
EGLIN AFB, Fla. — Lockheed Martin, prime contractor for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, has begun looking for an alternative helmet system for the stealthy aircraft, as problems with the current Vision Systems International helmet continue to plague the program.
Avalon, Australia — Lockheed Martin is working on some new product features to fulfill specific requirements for some F-35 overseas customers. Australia has asked that the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) F-35s be capable of using both the “probe and drogue” and “boom and receptacle” aerial refueling systems, says Tom Burbage, Lockheed executive vice president in charge of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
NEW DELHI — Another update to India’s new Defense Procurement Procedures (DPP 2011) is expected in the first week of April. Major changes will involve the technology-transfer clause. The policy will include technologies listed by the Defense Research and Development Organization that will be accepted as offsets. Currently, technology transfer from foreign vendors doing business with India is mandatory and cannot be charged for in India’s biggest defense procurement — the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program to buy 126 fighters.
HOUSTON — NASA’s Mission Management Team approved a second one-day extension of shuttle Discovery’s trouble-free final mission on March 3, while astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) upgraded and repaired U.S. and Russian carbon dioxide removal systems and supervised an altitude-raising maneuver that sets up the departures and arrivals of future Soyuz and shuttle crews.
BREAKING THE ICE: Part of the U.S. Coast Guard’s fiscal 2012 budget request includes a plan to reactivate heavy icebreaker CGC Polar Star for a 2013 deployment and to transition the crew to the ship from the icebreaker CGC Polar Sea, which has been plagued by engine failures for nearly the past two years and is being proposed for decommissioning in the coming fiscal year. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp acknowledged to Congress the transition time would leave a gap in the service’s ice-breaking operations.
While all eyes and most future aircraft carrier hopes rested on December’s first successful Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (Emals) launch of an F/A-18E Super Hornet, the real test is about to begin — making sure the Emals equipment can be produced in time to ensure the CVN-78 can be delivered on schedule. “The real risk here has always been in the production phase,” says Scott Forney, vice president of electromagnetic systems for Emals contractor General Atomics.
AVALON, Australia — Australia anticipates that it will achieve initial operational capability (IOC) for the Lockheed Martin F-35 in late 2018, about 18 months after the U.S. Air Force achieves its IOC for the stealthy fighter. Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Air Vice Marshal Kym Osley, who is leading the introduction of F-35s into the RAAF, says the service had originally planned for a four-year gap between the U.S. Air Force IOC and the RAAF IOC, but delays in the F-35 program have whittled that margin down.
With the cancellation of its amphibious Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), the U.S. Marine Corps has released several requests for information (RFIs) looking for industry proposals to meet its future amphibious needs.
URGENT CONSOLIDATION: Congressional auditors recommend the Pentagon consolidate all of the military’s urgent needs processes into one part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, while keeping the development of weapons and systems at the armed services’ respective program offices. In a March 1 report on federal waste and duplication, the U.S.
BEIJING — China will launch the unmanned target for its first space docking in the second half of this year, having slipped a schedule that previously called for the module to be sent to orbit no later than 2010.
Use of the Economy Act to justify the U.S. Air Force’s sole-source purchase of helicopters for nuclear ICBM support and executive lift is only one of a number of options under consideration, says David Van Buren, the service’s senior acquisition official.
The U.S. Air Force’s debriefing for losing KC-X bidder EADS North America spanned two days to allow the service to follow up on some items with the contractor, according to a program official. The company’s debriefing on its loss wrapped up with a session March 1, the official says. It began with a 90-min. session Feb. 28.
HOUSTON — Discovery astronauts Steve Bowen and Al Drew safely vented a failed thermal control system pump and whipped through a list of maintenance tasks outside the International Space Station on March 2, foreshadowing a successful final mission for NASA’s fleet leader.
AVALON, Australia — The chief of staff of the Japanese air force says it is important for Japan to issue a request for proposals (RFP) in March for FX fighters. Japan’s program for 50 FXs to replace its fleet of McDonnell Douglas F-4s has dragged on for years and been delayed due to budget constraints. But industry executives say the Japanese defense ministry is now working to issue the RFP in March.
May 24-25, 2011 Washington Marriott - Washington, D.C. Managing Cybersecurity – from Policy to Protocol Find out where opportunities exist for the industry and how to effectively thwart potential cyber threats. www.aviationweek.com/events Click here to view the pdf
UNAUTHORIZED: Some House Science Committee members are critical of NASA’s fiscal 2012 budget request, which they say “flips” congressional priorities embodied in the 2010 NASA Authorization Act, giving more emphasis to evolving commercial cargo services into a commercial crew-delivery capability and less to the heavy-lift crew launcher and Orion-based crew capsule that Congress wants. “Commercial crew was not ignored, but to be perfectly clear, it was not — and is not — Congress’ first priority,” says Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas), the committee chairman.
LONDON — The U.K. will retire two Tornado squadrons effective June 1 as part of decisions made in last year’s Strategic Defense and Security Review. The affected units, 13 Sqdn. at RAF Marham and 14 Sqdn. at RAF Lossiemouth, are only the start of a process that will see the Royal Air Force (RAF) trim its assets to 136 Tornado GR4s spread over five squadrons. The Air Force Board Standing Committee selected the Tornado squadrons that would be shuttered.
