Saying Congress cannot afford to spend money where it is not immediately needed, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) successfully led that panel’s approval Sept. 16 of Fiscal 2011 defense appropriations that would significantly trim the F-35, Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and other Pentagon programs.
BENGALURU, India — The India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime exercise (Ibsamar) is underway in the Indian Ocean, off Durban, with as many as 11 ships participating. The exercise began on Sept. 13 and is expected to end Sept. 27. This is the second edition of Ibsamar. An Indian navy spokesperson says that Ibsamar is a multidimensional exercise in which various naval scenarios are being explored. “The exercises are structured with the aim of sharing best practices in various facets of naval operations.”
MINUTEMAN TEST: U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command has rescheduled a routine test of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., to Sept. 17, between 3-9 a.m. PDT. The test, which had been set for Sept. 15, was rescheduled “to ensure data collection equipment in the impact area is fully ready,” officials said. The missile’s single unarmed re-entry vehicle is set to splash down in a target area southwest of Guam.
NATIONAL AEROSPACE WEEK Sept. 12-18, 2010 From Takeoff To Liftoff and Beyond, The Aerospace and Defense Industry is powered by people. Aerospace And Defense: The Strength Of Lift America. www.NationalAerospaceWeek.org Aerospace Industries Association Click here to view the pdf
SAN FRANCISCO — GE Aviation expects to begin ground tests in October in Peebles, Ohio, on a unique GEF414 F/A-18 fighter jet engine featuring a ceramic matrix composite low-pressure turbine blade that offers weight-savings and fuel-efficiency potential for military and commercial engines.
The short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) F-35B Joint Strike Fighter is unlikely to conduct initial at-sea testing on schedule in March 2011 because of delays in clearing the vertical-landing envelope. The next opportunity to deploy two test F-35Bs to the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp will be in mid-2011, and if that date is missed the LHD-class vessel will not be available again until October.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) has chosen Boeing’s concept for the second phase of the Vulture long-endurance unmanned aerial system (UAS) program over an offer from Lockheed Martin. The $89 million contract calls for Boeing, which is teamed with Qinetiq, to develop a heavier-than-air platform capable of keeping 1,000 lb. of payload with 5 kw. of power aloft for five years. Work on this capability, which is described as a “pseudo satellite” system, will run through February 2014.
The U.S. Navy plans to resume flight testing of the MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned rotorcraft on Sept. 20 following a stand down since early August. The trials on the Northrop Grumman aircraft will begin first in Yuma, Ariz., “since the area is sparsely populated and range is large,” says Capt. Tim Dunigan, who manages the Navy’s multi-mission UAV programs.
CAPE CANAVERAL — The Boeing Co. has stepped up its public profile on commercial spaceflight, announcing a marketing agreement with Space Adventures Ltd. to sell seats on the company’s seven-person CST-100 capsule, which is being developed with support from NASA.
Sikorsky achieved its 250-kt. target speed for the X2 Technology coaxial-rotor compound helicopter demonstrator on a 1.1-hr. test flight from West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 15. The 250-kt. target was achieved in level flight at 5,500 ft. with the engine at maximum power. The helicopter then accelerated to 260 kt. in a shallow dive and looked like it could have gone faster, says Steve Weiner, X2 chief engineer.
TREATY TRIAL: The Obama administration’s prized New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia made it through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sept. 16, but the harder challenge lies ahead on the Senate floor, where lawmakers will have to own up to a highly visible ratification vote. Three Republicans joined 11 Democrats on the panel in endorsing the April treaty, while four Republicans voted against committee approval. Some Republicans wary of doing Russia any apparent favors are expected to oppose ratification.
PARIS — Barely days after ordering a new spacecraft for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA) EnhancedView initiative, DigitalGlobe says it will lower the altitude of its WorldView-2 spacecraft, launched in 2009, to enhance spacecraft performance.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is planning a shootdown attempt by the 747-400F-based Airborne Laser against a solid-fuel target by the end of this month, according to MDA spokesman Rick Lehner. Officials close to the program say that flight testing will shift back to solid-fueled targets for the time being. The likely target in the upcoming test is a Terrier Black Brant unguided sounding rocket, which was the first target engaged in February by ABL and mimics the early flight phases of a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM).
LONDON — Eurofighter Typhoon operations are being partly suspended as a result of information coming to light from the investigation into the Aug. 24 crash of a two-seat fighter. The crash occurred during a training mission from Moron air base in Spain that killed one of the pilots. Spanish officials have alerted other partner countries about some of their findings, prompting other operators to ground at least parts of their fleets.
BENGALURU, India — India’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft is currently undergoing sea trials at NAS Hansa, at Dabolim in Goa. This is part of Tejas’s out-of-station flight-test plan, with pilots from the Bengaluru-based National Flight Test Center performing high angle-of-attack (AOA) maneuvers. A source tells AVIATION WEEK that Tejas will undergo parameter identification (PID) and sea-level flutter vibration tests, with an all-external stores (bombs, fuel tanks, missiles) configuration.
The value of worldwide arms transfer agreements in 2009 totaled $57.5 billion, the U.S. Congressional Research Service says in a recent report. This figure, which includes sales to both developed and developing nations, represents an 8.5% decrease from 2008 and the lowest annual total since 2005.
FORT WORTH – Former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin is proposing a fundamental rethinking of approaches to systems engineering, a process which is coming in for increased criticism in the wake of a long list of abandoned, delayed and underperforming aerospace programs.
Boeing is pushing back first flights of its two premier unmanned aerial system (UAS) demonstrators, the Phantom Ray combat aircraft and the high-flying Phantom Eye hydrogen-powered system.
LONDON — Chemring has launched an investigation into the cause of a Sept. 14 industrial incident at its Kilgore Flares facility that occurred less than a week after a fire at its Mecar facility. Three employees sustained “flash burns” and two more were treated for stress-related conditions , the company said in disclosing the incident at the Toone, Tenn.-based facility where MJU-7 expendables are assembled.
As Defense Secretary Robert Gates continues his call for efficiencies in Pentagon spending, Gen. Norton Schwartz, U.S. Air Force chief of staff, is asking industry to take the “long view” on profit and not focus merely on short-term gains. In his speech to the annual Air Force Association conference Sept. 14, Schwartz cited an ancient parable.
LONDON — The French navy now projects the NFH90 maritime helicopter will reach its operational capability in the fall of 2011. The expectation comes after having recently taken delivery of its second of the type. The helo will undergo trials at the Hyeres naval air station. The first operational base will be at Lanveoc. The service plans to take delivery of 27 NFH90s through 2021 to replace its Super Frelons and the Lynx helicopter.
AWAITING LAUNCH: The Boeing/Ball Space-Based Space Surveillance satellite and its Orbital Sciences Minotaur IV launcher have moved to space launch complex 8 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., for final preparations prior to its Sept. 25 night launch. The satellite mating was completed last week. The launch was expected July 8, but a software sequencing issue arose on the Minotaur that forced a rewrite and verification tests of the code.
LONDON — British lawmakers are concerned that the government’s Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) may jeopardize the industrial base and overemphasize short-term needs. In a report issued in advance of the document’s completion, Parliament’s defense select committee notes that the speed with which the review is being conducted “could end up with only short-term priorities, misaligned resources, a barely reformed acquisition process, and a structure short of manpower to deliver good performance and improperly configured for tasks.”
