BRUSSELS — The Australian government has finished work on the structural upgrade of older F/A-18s. Ten of the strike fighters received a center barrel replacement to stretch their service life to 2020. Although the government says the program has formally concluded, there are indications that delays in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could lead eventually to an expansion of the F/A-18 effort to bridge any capability gap.
BRUSSELS — The U.S. Army plans to expand the level of integration of unmanned vehicles with helicopters and ground personnel. One of the next steps to more closely link unmanned aircraft with combat operations will involve upgrading the Textron AAI Shadow 200 to allow payload control by ground personnel using the One System Remote Video Terminal (OSRVT), says Lt. Col. Jennifer Jensen, product manager for common systems integration at the Army’s UAV program office. The Shadow operator maintains control of the air vehicle.
PARIS — Europe’s Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) has begun yielding critical data on the Earth’s geoid and gravity field, even though the spacecraft, launched in March 2009, has only been in full operation since November and barely two months worth of data have been collated to date.
Pentagon ground-vehicle purchasing contracts and contract modifications accounted for about 10% of 2009 acquisition costs for which the Defense Department did not provide the name of the contractor, according to an Aerospace DAILY analysis of contracting data provided by the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting. In 2008-09, the Pentagon withheld contr actor names for nearly $3 billion worth of contracts, according to the analysis.
The Lockheed Martin Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system successfully intercepted and destroyed a short-range ballistic missile during a flight test in Hawaii on the evening of June 28.
LONDON — The Spanish air force is reducing its P-3 upgrade program to four aircraft, having previously planned to install the EADS CASA Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS) on five of the maritime patrol aircraft.
To reduce the risk of gaps in polar weather satellite coverage, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would seek an exception for its Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) in the event the agency is funded under a continuing resolution for Fiscal 2011.
NEW DELHI — Lockheed Martin India is offering its software expertise to help Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) of India design the country’s coastal surveillance system.
BLUEPRINTING SPACE: Officials from several national space agencies, including NASA, say they are trying to craft a road map for globally coordinated human and robotic space exploration. NASA said senior international managers met last week outside Washington to discuss the importance of early coordination, especially in robotic precursor missions, and using the space station as a testbed.
LONDON — A series of Aster 30 firings from French, Italian and British vessels apparently confirmed a fix that MBDA had to make to the air defense and ballistic missile interceptor to resolve a performance problem. The U.K. Royal Navy last year suffered two failures with the Sea Viper configuration, which forced MBDA to make design changes and also to delay further Aster 30 deliveries.
AIR FORCE Boeing Satellite Systems, Inc., El Segundo, Calif., was awarded a $6,776,720.84 contract modification of the Wideband Global Satellite Communication Block II contract in support of the Military Satellite Communications Program. This mission assurance task order will provide additional on-ground testing while the SV4 spacecraft is in thermal vacuum. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. HQ SMC/MCSW/PK, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8808-06-C-0001/P00090).
LONDON — The Swedish government — in anticipation of the Nordic Battle Group’s six-month operational readiness period starting Jan. 1 — is trying to determine how to provide satellite connectivity for the potential overseas assignment. The Swedish defense armaments agency FMV says it intends to use Ku-band tactical terminals and C-band links for backhaul communications.
AIR FORCE General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., San Diego, Calif., was awarded a $94,285,469 contract modification which will provide for the MQ-1 Predator aircraft and MD-1 ground control station retrofit kits. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 703 AESG/SYK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-05-G-3028). NAVY
The Obama White House released a new national space policy June 28 that seeks to embrace more international partnerships and focus on mission assurance in the event of a space system service disruption.
LONDON — Poland and Sweden want to become part of the Multinational Space-Based Imaging System (Musis) project, a European initiative designed to allow many countries to more closely work together on the future remote-sensing constellation.
After rejecting a contract two weeks ago because of the benefits plan, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) in St. Louis voted 1,237 to 838 on June 27 to accept a tweaked contract offer from Boeing.
BENGALURU, India — India’s Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) will enter its crucial spin test phase very soon. “The spin program for IJT will be conducted with an anti-spin parachute behind the fin,” a source tells AVIATION WEEK. “This is part of the Indian air force’s Air Staff Requirements. Spin is a very involved program and consists of different types of entries and recoveries. If the trainee pilot mishandles the aircraft, he must know how to recover.” Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. builds the IJT.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates on June 28 introduced a sweeping overhaul of the way the Pentagon does business, with the aim of saving $100 billion over five years starting in Fiscal 2012.
HOUSTON — The most recent arrivals to the International Space Station re-boarded their Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft on June 28 and manually relocated the capsule from the aft docking port on the Zvezda service module to a berthing spot on the new Rassvet mini research and docking module.
Moderate Democrats on Capitol Hill are increasingly eyeing the Pentagon’s budget for spending reductions or savings starting next year, in a move that further splinters support for such major weapons acquisitions as airlifters. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), in a widely promoted speech June 28 to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said defense spending can no longer be exempt from hard choices being pressed on the rest of the federal budget.
