EIN SHEMER AB, Israel — The German air force is sending about 35 pilots and sensor operators through a UAV training program at Ein Shemer AB as they spin up their unmanned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance unit in Afghanistan. They fly Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron 1s both in training and operations. About half of the trainees are veteran Tornado reconnaissance crews, and at least one will make his debut as a UAV operator and mission commander on his sixth tour in Afghanistan. Others come from helicopter and transport units.
SHIPMATES: Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding — which the company is considering selling — is hosting conferences with its supply chain. Northrop spends more than $2 billion annually for materials and services with the community, according to the unit’s president, Mike Petters. Of that, more than $713 million has been spent since 2008 through partnerships with nearly 400 different suppliers from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Peters met Aug. 12 with representatives of many suppliers in Philadelphia.
LONDON — Stealing a page from across the Atlantic, U.K. Defense Secretary Liam Fox has unveiled an ambitious effort to reform the operations of his ministry and the armed forces. A special review team will spell out a “blueprint for reform,” due for completion by September 2011, Fox announced on Aug. 13. The steering group, headed by Peter Levin, chairman of insurance group Lloyd’s, will comprise “internal and external experts,” Fox said in his speech to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
MRO MILITARY EUROPE 2010 ExCeL, London, UK September 29-30, 2010 Learn to maintain military assets longer; sustain aircraft beyond forecast; recover from budget cuts, delays and program cancellations, and develop new strategies required to deliver and support equipment. Learn more at www.aviationweek.com/events Click here to view the pdf
FARNBOROUGH — The Russian air force will take delivery of its first Su-35S fighter by the end of 2010, with a Libyan deal for the aircraft also anticipated to be concluded in the same time frame
Boeing is assessing whether to protest the U.S. Air Force’s $450 million contract award to Raytheon for the Small Diameter Bomb II. Deliveries of the 250-lb. GBU-53/B are slated to begin in 2013. Raytheon and a Boeing/Lockheed Martin team had been developing competing designs of the weapon, which must meet the outer mold lines and weight characteristics of Boeing’s original SDB (a weapon optimized for fixed targets) and integrate with the BRU-61 carriage system (Aerospace DAILY, Aug. 10).
Saudi Arabia wants 84 new F-15S strike-fighters to replace some of its oldest F-15s, but it also wants an advanced radar that will be similar to the radar on the F-35 that the Israelis plan to buy.
NEW DELHI — With flight trials complete, the downselect process has begun for the six candidate fighters in India’s Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program, a competition with a $10 billion-plus payday for providing 126 aircraft. Opinions vary widely among observers on how long it will take to narrow the field to two finalists from among the MiG-35, Dassault Rafale, EADS Eurofighter, Saab Gripen, Boeing F/A-18 and Lockheed Martin F-16.
Inmarsat’s decision to go with Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) for its Global Xpress deal marks a major step forward in the aerospace giant’s goal to return in force to the commercial satellite business.
Loral Space & Communications says it is exploring the possibility of beefing up or selling off its Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) satellite manufacturing unit. In a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 10Q filing made public on Aug. 9, Loral said “it is evaluating other strategic alternatives” for SS/L in addition to an initial public offering (IPO) for up to 19.9% of stock announced in the second quarter. The offering is intended to boost working capital, and for general corporate use.
SBSS SLIPS: The U.S. Air Force launch team at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., says corrective action on “certain connectors used on flight avionics components” aboard an Orbital Sciences Minotaur IV launch vehicle mean launch of the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite will take place no earlier than late September. The launch was set for July 8, but a software glitch prompted the delay. Inspection of the connectors is underway on the pad at Vandenberg. Officials said there are no issues with the Boeing/Ball SBSS spacecraft, which is in storage.
Bengaluru, India — India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) is coming to the defense of its flagship rotary-wing aircraft, the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), following a critical report from India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). A senior HAL official, part of the Dhruv project for more than two decades, says that it is “extremely unfair” to write off the Dhruv, which according to him is the best in its class (5.5 tons).
GUSSIED UP: U.S. Navy engineers based in Dahlgren, Va., completed the fourth “limited objective experiment” on the Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate (GUSS) vehicle recently during the Rim of the Pacific exercise, which ended Aug. 1. GUSS is a remotely operated vehicle that can carry up to 1,800 lb. at about 5 miles per hour, and provide an “immediate” means for evacuation of combat casualties. “We are optimistic that this technology will bring a capability to the warfighter in the very near future,” says Brent Azzarelli, GUSS project manager.
HOUSTON — The International Space Station’s mission management team is preparing two more spacewalks to restore the orbital outpost’s cooling system to full function, following a breakthrough excursion on Aug. 11 that opened a leaky ammonia valve for the removal of a failed pump motor assembly.
BENGALURU, India — Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) will have to step up Su-30MKI production at its Nasik facility following the announcement that 42 more fighters have been ordered from Russia.
September 29-30, 2010 ExCeL, London, UK Learn to maintain military assets longer; sustain aircraft beyond forecast; recover from budget cuts, delays and program cancellations, and develop new strategies required to deliver and support equipment. Learn more at www.aviationweek.com/events
Leading 2009 PentagonFuel and Liquid PropellantContractors Leading 2009 Pentagon Fuel and Liquid Propellant Contractors CONTRACTOR NUMBER OF CONTRACTS AND MODIFICATIONS TOTAL AMOUNT AMOUNT PER TRANSACTION The Bahrain Petroleum Company B.S.C.
BENGALURU, India — The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is gearing up for a unique satellite mission to study the solar corona — the outermost region of the Sun — in visible and near-infrared bands. The satellite, called Aditya, will be launched in 2012 during the solar maximum, a high solar activity period. The solar maximum occurs roughly every 11 years.
The U.S. Air Force has begun the formal process through which the service communicates with KC-X bidders about their proposals in preparation for picking a winner, according to officials familiar with the process.
LONDON — Although Germany’s Rheinmetall suffered a slight drop in sales in its defense business in the first six months of this year, the company managed to eke out a slight increase in earnings for the sector. The company reports that earnings for the first six months came in at €71 million ($92 million), up €1 million from the year before, even though sales slid to €762 million, down €27 million. Order intake for the business also improved, up €66 million to €1.1 billion.
