Bengaluru, India – Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) Chief Dr. VK Saraswat said May 26 that “self-reliance in critical defense technologies cannot be achieved by DRDO alone unless the three services (Army, Navy and Air Force) overcome the temptation to induct [the] latest weaponry from abroad.”
BACK TO FLIGHT: The first mission-system test F-35, aircraft BF-4, returned to flight on May 25 having been on the ground since its first flight in early April. The hiatus was due in part to a display anomaly on the first flight that required a software fix. BF-4 is the first F-35 equipped with L-3 Communications’ liquid-crystal panoramic cockpit display. The fourth short takeoff and vertical landing F-35B, BF-4 is due to be ferried to the U.S. Navy’s NAS Patuxent River, Md., test center by the end of May to join the first three aircraft.
NASA is embracing a more inclusive, technology-driven approach to the development of a heavy lift rocket for the deep-space exploration agenda outlined by President Barack Obama, including a more affordable rocket engine also suited to national security, science and potential commercial needs, one of the architects of the initiative told the opening session of the agency’s Exploration Enterprise Workshop in Galveston, Texas, on May 25.
The Army needs to revamp some of its contracting procedures for vessel maintenance in Southwest Asia, a recent Pentagon Inspector report says. “MICC-EU (Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Eustis) contracts did not have adequate contract competition, price reasonableness determinations, and funding,” said the IG report, “Army Vessels Maintenance Contracts in Southwest Asia,” released May 21. The IG reviewed 15 contracts worth about $51.8 million for Army vessels repair maintenance in Kuwait.
LONDON – The German government expects further delays in fielding its Tiger reconnaissance and attack helicopter, owing to production and delivery problems from manufacturer Eurocopter. Because of quality shortfalls, the German defense ministry says it has not taken delivery of any Tiger helicopters from Eurocopter since December. Of the 67 Tigers that should have been delivered to date, only 11 have been handed over and none of those are in a production configuration, a Germany defense ministry official laments.
A Raytheon/Boeing team has completed the second test firing of its Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) design in preparation for a duel against Lockheed Martin. The U.S. Army is to announce a winner for the program, which aims to replace Maverick, Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) and Hellfire missiles with the new JAGM, by year’s end.
NASA managers on May 25 said shuttle Atlantis’ heat shield was in good shape for re-entry into the atmosphere, while a checkout of the orbiter’s landing systems showed no problems for the crew’s first landing opportunity at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., scheduled for early May 26.
BRISBANE, Australia – Boeing says it has “turned the corner” in Australia after a series of high-profile defense program missteps two years ago, and forecasts a rebound with defense-related revenues mushrooming from around AUS$350 million ($285.5 million) in 2009 to around $1.5 billion within the next decade.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. announced its X2 Technology demonstrator helicopter reached 181 knots during a test flight on May 25. The company hopes to break the world speed record for rotorcraft, reaching 250 knots, next month. The recent test was a welcome return to flight for the company. Earlier this year, the aircraft suffered a transmission failure that was not due to an X-2 technology process, according to Steven Weiner, director of engineering sciences. Instead, a manufacturing process error occurred, he said (Aerospace DAILY, Feb. 1).
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – Launch of a Delta 4 rocket carrying the first in a new series of U.S. GPS spacecraft was aborted seconds before liftoff late May 24 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., just prior to main engine ignition. The problem was due to “an anomalous data signature” with the thrust vector control system on one of the two solid rocket motors mounted alongside the 206-foot tall rocket, United Launch Alliance (ULA) said in a statement.
Invective over the competition to power F-35 Joint Strike Fighters is rising as the U.S. House of Representatives nears a floor vote on whether to strike funding for the F136 second engine from a key committee’s mark-up of the Fiscal 2011 defense budget. The General Electric/Rolls-Royce team is accusing opponents of the F136 of spreading “misinformation” about the engine as it faces the 11th-hour task of getting its arguments in favor of competition across to the full 435-member House.
By backpedaling on a campaign promise to move a U.S. Marine Corps airbase from Okinawa, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama may have nonetheless secured additional airborne cruise missile and tactical ballistic missile defenses for Japan.
Langley AFB, Va. – USAF Air Combat Command chief Gen. William Fraser says he does not agree with the Navy’s projections that the F-35 will cost more to maintain than previously expected.
India’s Vice President Hamid Ansari, chief of naval staff and other officials have welcomed back the Indian Naval Sailing Ship (INSV) Mhadei after its historic 277-day world tour. Mhadei returned to Mumbai harbor on May 22 after completing the first solo circumnavigation by an Indian Navy officer. Mhadei left the naval dockyard on Aug. 19, 2009, and during the circumnavigation, the ship made only four stops: Fremantle (Australia) Christchurch (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falkland Islands) and Cape Town (South Africa). Cmdr.
AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $325,485,969 contract which will provide for the development, integration and delivery of 35 midlife upgrade kits for the Foreign Military Sales Pakistan Block 15 F-16A/B aircraft, and 18 retrofit kits for the Block 52 F-16C/D aircraft. At this time, $121,209,418 has been obligated. 312 AESG/SYK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8615-07-C-6032). NAVY
AEHF DELIVERY: After years of delays and multibillion-dollar cost overruns, the first Lockheed Martin Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellite has been delivered to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., in preparation for a July 30 launch on an Atlas V rocket. AEHF will eventually replace the Milstar constellation in providing high-speed, jam-proof communications for commanders; this is the system that provides connectivity between the president and strategic forces in the event of a nuclear attack.
JOINT CHIEF: President Obama has nominated U.S. Army Gen. Raymond Odierno, currently head of U.S. and allied forces in Iraq since September 2008, to head the U.S. Joint Forces Command, which often serves to voice counterpoints to institutional thinking in the armed services. As one of the key architects of the U.S. military and diplomatic surge there, Odierno carried out counterinsurgency strategy that helped lead to a substantial decrease in violence in Iraq in 2007 and 2008.
Imagine trying to stage an entire U.S. Marine Corps expeditionary brigade from a country that does not want it there. Consider the logistical and security issues associated with operating, maintaining and protecting all the equipment and forces. Now imagine taking the whole operation offshore.
AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Integrated Systems Air Combat Systems, San Diego, Calif., was awarded a $303,337,052 contract which will provide production of two Global Hawk Block 30 air vehicles, two Global Hawk Block 40 air vehicles, and related program sustaining support efforts. At this time, $17,681,554 has been obligated. 303 AESG/SYK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-09-C-4001 P0004).
