Germany, Israel and Taiwan top the list of countries interested in Sikorsky’s new CH-53K, now scheduled for first flight in 2013. The heavy lifter, which is headed for service with the U.S. Marine Corps, has suffered from delays, including a slip in initial operational capability of three years, to 2018. The delays seem not to faze the Marines and the CH-53K program office at Naval Air Systems Command (Navair). The extra time “buys [foreign countries] time to make an informed decision,” says Capt. Rick Muldoon, program manager.
Canadian scientists and engineers will use funds from the Canadian Space Agency to work on three different proposals for the next NASA New Frontiers mission to another body in the Solar System. Under separate $500,000 contracts from the CSA, Canada’s MDA and the University of Calgary will work with science teams developing the finalist proposals.
BENGALURU, India — India’s minister of state for defence, Pallam Raju, reviewed a series of helicopter projects underway at Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) on July 1. “He was given an update on Dhruv, Light Combat Helicopter [LCH], Light Utility Helicopter, Chetak, Chetal and Cheetah,” a defense ministry official tells AVIATION WEEK. “The minister was keen to know about the serviceability and operational requirements of all the choppers.”
NEW DELHI — A contract awarded by India’s Home Affairs Ministry to MKU, an India-based supplier of body armor, will include Honeywell’s Gold Shield and Spectra Shield composite materials for ballistics protection. Modernizing India’s police forces has been a top priority following the Mumbai terrorist attacks. The Indian homeland security budget is set to grow by 25% this year, making India one of the fastest-growing markets for homeland security equipment in the world.
Logistical delays and poor use of air support and intelligence contributed to a bloody battle at a remote outpost in Afghanistan eventually abandoned by U.S. forces, a recent Pentagon Inspector General (IG) investigation confirmed.
Virginia Sen. Jim Webb (D), long opposed to homeporting a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Mayport, Fla., has latched onto a recent Pentagon cost-cutting initiative as justification against using the Florida base.
ORBITAL AWARD: NASA has picked Orbital Sciences Corp. to launch the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spacecraft in December 2012 aboard a Pegasus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. IRIS is a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission to measure the flow of solar energy through the dynamic region in the Sun’s corona and heliosphere to help scientists better understand the effects of solar energy release on Earth.
NEW DELHI — The U.S. is expected to receive a letter of request from the Indian government for a proposed Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of the Javelin man-portable anti-tank missile system. Built by a joint venture of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, the Javelin has been demonstrated to the Indian army and was brought last October to a joint Indo-U.S. training exercise aimed at sharing experience in peacekeeping, humanitarian/disaster relief and counter-insurgency/counter-terrorism operations.
In observance of the U.S. Independence Day holiday, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish an issue on July 4. The next issue will be dated July 5.
Northrop Grumman hopes to demonstrate a week-long flight by a Global Hawk unmanned aircraft using autonomous aerial refueling at high altitude from another Global Hawk acting as a tanker. The week-long flight is an option under Northrop’s 24-month, $33 million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency for the KQ-X unmanned tanker demonstration. This is a follow-on to an autonomous aerial refueling demonstration conducted by Darpa in 2006 using a NASA F/A-18 and a 707 tanker.
LONDON — The Luftwaffe’s efforts to renew its airborne signals intelligence capability have moved one step closer to realization with the first flight of the Euro Hawk unmanned aircraft. The Euro Hawk, a derivative of the Global Hawk Block 20 the U.S. Air Force is buying, flew on June 29 from 10:32 a.m. to 12:24 p.m. local time from Palmdale to Edwards AFB, Calif., where the initial checkouts are taking place. The air vehicle reached 32,000 ft.
As expected, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that some launch aid subsidies Airbus received from European governments for its aircraft programs are “actionable”—a ruling the European Union (EU) says it may appeal.
STATUS QUO: Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments President Andrew Krepinevich warns that one unintended consequence of fiscal pressures on national security could be even less inherent technology development. With no other superpowers like the former U.S.S.R. jockeying with the U.S. for military supremacy, and financial restraints pushing down on the Pentagon, the U.S. military is increasingly looking toward recapitalizing existing forces rather than modernizing them. For example, Krepinevich says, the Navy looks to build more DDG-51s than costlier DDG-1000s.
The U.S. Army Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) will be one of the first test cases for Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ acquisition reform push. Contractor teams recently submitted bids for the GCV, which the Army plans to use to replace the stalwart Bradley. But the Army wants more than just an upgraded Bradley. Thanks to lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan, the service wants a vehicle designed from the ground up to withstand blasts from improvised explosive devices.
LONDON — The U.S. Joint Strike Fighter program office is developing options to allow the Netherlands to withdraw from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter initial operational test and evaluation phase. A Dutch delegation recently met with U.S. officials to discuss the issue. The Dutch participation in the IOT&E phase is in limbo as a result of a combination of factors: a parliamentary move prior to recent general elections and the uncertainty over the country’s leadership owing to no clear election outcome.
The Obama administration plans to create a single, independent licensing agency as part of its drive to modernize and streamline U.S. export controls. The move would merge the licensing activities of the State, Commerce and other departments. “The administration supports the creation of an independent entity,” National Security Advisor James Jones told a Senate Aerospace Caucus lunch in Washington June 30.
PARIS — Eutelsat has selected EADS Astrium to supply a new satellite to replace W5. The new spacecraft, known as W5A, will be launched to 70.5 deg. E. Long. to renew and expand capacity for government services, broadband, cellphone backhauling and video in Europe, Africa and central and southeast Asia. To be orbited in the last quarter of 2012 by a yet-to-be-named launch provider, the 48-tranponder Ku-band satellite will supply more than double the capacity of W5, which was launched in 2002.
BENGALURU, India — India’s coastal security apparatus has once again been put on high alert. This follows a high-level meeting last week chaired by Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony, who stressed the need for increased vigilance to counter any threats from the sea. Coastal surveillance measures have come under scrutiny following the terrorist attack in Mumbai on Nov. 26, 2008.
HOUSTON — A Russian Progress cargo capsule began a two-day journey to the International Space Station on June 30, following a liftoff from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft with its 4,900 lb. of supplies is scheduled to reach the orbiting science laboratory on July 2 at 12:58 p.m. EDT. The cargo includes propellant, water, oxygen, research gear, spare parts and other equipment.
HEAVY LIFTING: NASA is seeking proposals and industry input on heavy-lift rocket concepts and propulsion technology. Total funding for the study effort will be $8 million, with individual awards up to $625,000. The proposal deadline is July 29. The information gathered “may help lay the groundwork for humans to safely reach multiple potential destinations, including asteroids, Lagrange points, the Moon and Mars,” NASA says. The agency suggests that “in-space architectural elements” like propellant depots and space transfer stages can be included.
BENGALURU, India — The Indian navy has commissioned two more water jet-propelled fast attack craft (WJFAC) in Visakhapatnam. Built by Kolkotta-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, the INS Cankarso and INS Kondul are the fifth and sixth in a series of WJFACS to join the Indian navy. The remaining four fast-attack craft (FAC) from the Car Nicobar class are due to join the services by December.
