Boeing will dip further into its commercial satellite toolkit to offer enhancements for its seventh contract in the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) series. The U.S. Air Force’s initial award of $182 million for preproduction work for WGS-7 is likely to put Boeing and the U.S. Air Force back on a yearly acquisition cycle for WGS, which has become the Defense Department’s workhorse satellite communications network for everything from secure data transmissions from the battlefield to the daily support of worldwide U.S. forces.
AWACS UPGRADE: Major mission-system upgrades completed in December 2008 on 17 NATO E-3A AWACS aircraft are set to be cleared for full operational capability, potentially opening the way for the fleet to take part in missions over Afghanistan, probably by year’s end. The aircraft were modified by a Boeing-led team under a $1.32 billion mid-term modernization program that included industry partner and subcontractor EADS.
LOS ANGELES — The Aug. 19 runway incident that damaged the Virgin Galactic WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) mothership will undoubtedly delay the test program, which appeared to be building up rapidly toward the first glide flights of the eight-seat suborbital SpaceShipTwo (SS2). WK2 was damaged when its left main landing gear collapsed on the runway at Mojave, Calif. Fortunately for the test effort, the Scaled Composites-designed SS2 was not suspended beneath the WK2 at the time. Scaled says WK2 was on its 37th test flight when the gear collapsed.
CODE MAKERS: Northrop Grumman is already under contract to develop the next generation of its Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2)-Blue Force Tracking (BFT) program for faster, more reliable communications amid ground forces, sailors and airmen. Still, with more than 85,000 devices already deployed worldwide in the last decade, and mostly since the 2003 Iraq invasion, U.S. defense officials apparently are increasingly concerned with better encrypting the current version of the major allied combat tool. Northrop said Aug. 18 that a new five-year U.S.
WGS AWARD: The U.S. Air Force has awarded a seventh contract to Boeing in the U.S. Air Force’s Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite series. The Defense Department’s “Blue Top” listing of contract awards says Boeing is to receive $182 million for pre-production work on WGS-7. Three of the spacecraft have been launched since 2007. WGS-3, launched on a Delta IV last December, was accepted into service in early March. Three more, all in a Block II configuration that includes enhanced communications capabilities, are to be launched in 2011 and 2012.
NAS PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The U.S. Navy is slipping first flight of the Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator at least six months to December, says Capt. Jeff Penfield, Navy UCAS program manager. Navy officials say they still expect to meet the goal set by the chief of naval operations for UCAS to operate from an aircraft carrier in Fiscal 2013, but they need more time to work on the air vehicle/ship interface.
HOUSTON — While the debate over the future of human space exploration simmers in Washington, dozens of NASA engineers, scientists and astronauts will gather on the lunar-like terrain of northern Arizona to field-test planetary rovers, a portable habitat, charging stations and geological tools under development for missions to a range of potential destinations, including near-Earth objects (NEOs) and Mars as well as the Moon.
GOOD SIGNS: AsiaSat Executive Chairman Peter Jackson says the Hong Kong-based satellite operator had “encouraging” first-half results. “The recent global economic downturn had relatively low impact on our industry and on AsiaSat in particular,” he says. Revenues were up 27% year over year to HK$690 million ($89 million) with profit attributable to equity holders up 21% to HK$305 million.
A North Korean MiG-21 made a flat, level, wheels-up landing in China, but the aircraft’s momentum carried it through a farmer’s house, crushing the nose of the aircraft and killing the pilot. Apart from the nose, the rest of the aircraft was intact. Rumors that the crash came during an attempted defection to Russia or China have been largely dismissed by U.S.-based analysts.
Unmanned Launch: This week, AVIATION WEEK introduces Unmanned Horizons, a new section of our website that focuses on all things unmanned, from aerial to undersea systems and everything in between. Chat with AVIATION WEEK senior writers Amy Butler, Graham Warwick, Bill Sweetman, Robert Wall and others. Check out articles, documents, videos and photos while interacting with other aficionados. Go to AviationWeek.com/unmanned.
RAREFIED AIR: NASA’s Ames Research Center and the Mavericks Civilian Space Foundation, both of Moffett Field, Calif., are collaborating on developing a high-altitude, high-velocity air-sampling system for biological experiments. Mavericks is to collaborate with NASA scientists on development and operation of airborne science platforms to carry biological sampling devices that can retrieve microbes, algal spores, viruses, fungi and other life forms.
BENGALURU, India — India’s combined might in designing, developing, integrating and test flying micro air vehicles was put on display near Hostoke lakebed outside Bengaluru Aug. 20, when five MAVs from government and industry were test flown. Top scientists, engineers, designers and specialists from the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Aeronautical Development Agency (ADE), private aerospace industries and academic institutions shared their expertise during the event.
NEW DELHI — Following the Indian air force’s flight evaluation of six Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) candidates, the Indian government is now considering technical offset proposals and beginning discussions with the prospective vendors. The Lockheed Martin F-16IN, Boeing F/A-18, Dassault Rafale, EADS Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab Gripen and Russian MiG-35 are in the running for the 126-aircraft program.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Aug. 24 - 27 — AUVSI’S Unmanned Systems North America 2010, Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colo. For more information go to www.auvsi.org AUG. 30 - Sept. 2 — AIAA Space 2010 and 28th Annual International Communications Satellite Systems Conference, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif. For more information call (703) 264-7500, or go to www.aiaa.org
JAGM SCORES: Lockheed Martin has to conduct two more test flights under the competitive technology-demonstration phase of the U.S. Army-led Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) program. The Raytheon/Boeing team made its first flight in April. JAGM is planned to replace the Hellfire, Maverick and TOW missiles, with a downselect by year’s end. The first launch resulted in a direct hit on a static target at 16 km. (10 mi.) away, using semi-active laser guidance.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The FAA has selected a team led by New Mexico State University in Las Cruces to develop a research center on commercial space transportation. Partners in the project include Stanford University, the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion at Florida State University in Tallahassee, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Though the U.S. Missile Defense Agency wants its future SM-3 IIB ICBM-killer to be “compliant” with the Aegis system, the weapon could expand beyond the confines of the Aegis MK41 vertical launcher. MDA is now in the early stages of planning for a procurement of its new interceptor, which is dubbed SM-3 IIB to emphasize the need to integrate with existing SM-3 systems. But it is not assumed that SM-3 manufacturer Raytheon will necessarily win the contract to do this work.
NEW DELHI and LONDON — The Royal Thai Air Force is slated to receive its Saab 340-based Erieye airborne early warning system in December. The aircraft, along with a regular Saab 340 due to be handed over at the same time, are part of a larger Thai acquisition of an air defense system that has six Gripen C/D fighters at its core. Delivery of the fighters and a command and control system, with three ground-based radio controller sites, are to take place in March to Squadron 701 of the 7th Wing.
LASER HOLD: A flight trial designed to test the 747-400F-based Airborne Laser against a target at twice its previous range has slipped from Aug. 17 to Aug. 21, according to Missile Defense Agency officials. A problem with the tracking camera cooling system on the aircraft, which houses the multi-megawatt chemical oxygen iodine laser, is the culprit. MDA Director Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly says target missiles are his “most precious asset,” and he does not want to fire one for the flight test if there is any chance the aircraft will not perform.
SOLUTIONS NEEDED: A leading U.S. diplomat tells the strategic weapons community that Washington is looking for several nonproliferation-related capabilities. “We are looking for new capabilities to support initiatives to further reduce nuclear arms, to secure fissile materials worldwide, and to reliably detect attempts to conduct covert nuclear tests,” says Rose Gottemoeller, assistant secretary of state for the bureau of verification, compliance and implementation. “We are also looking to explore the full potential of the Open Skies Treaty ...
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — In its efforts to develop an unmanned aerial system capable of detecting boosting ballistic missiles, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency is focusing on a sensor pod that could fly on existing UAVs, rather than a new, integrated UAV design, according to MDA Director Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly.
