NEW DELHI — Russia and India are moving fast on the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Oct. 7 following the 10th Meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation here. Military cooperation between the two countries is defined through an umbrella intergovernmental agreement covering 2011-2020. The document was signed during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Russia in December of last year.
NEW DELHI — India’s domestically developed airborne early warning and control system is taking a big step forward with the first of three modified Brazilian EMB-145s headed for flight trials. The preliminary testing, due to kick off in the next two months, will be carried out in Brazil by Embraer and a team from the Indian air force’s Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) in association with Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil and its Indian counterpart, the Center for Military Airthworthiness and Certification (Cemilac).
PARIS — Mexican President Felipe Calderon says Mexico is planning a $1.5-billion national dual-use communications satellite system. Speaking at the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) plenipotentiary conference, which opened in Guadalajara, Mexico on Oct. 4, Calderon said the system will serve to improve the nation’s telecommunications network, in particular by providing connectivity to remote rural areas, and reinforce national security.
ISRAELI JSF: Israeli Ministry of Defense Director Udi Shani formally signed a letter of offer and acceptance for the country’s first purchase of F-35s on Oct. 7. Israel is the first foreign military sales customer for the single-engine stealthy aircraft made by Lockheed Martin. The $2.75 billion sale includes 19 aircraft for an average cost of $144 million. There is an option for 25 more fighters. Israeli officials say there will be about $4 billion worth of offsets for the country’s industry.
LONDON — The Brazilian government is confirming that no decision will be taken on the F-X2 fighter program until November, after the country’s presidential election process is concluded. Candidate Dilma Rousseff, championed by retiring President Lula da Silva, is in a runoff against Jose Serra after failing to win an absolute majority in the first round of the elections Oct. 3. The runoff is set to be held Oct. 31.
MOSCOW — The first production Ilyushin Il-76MF military transport plane has completed its first flight. The Il-76MF is a stretched version of the four-engine Il-76MD transport plane in service with the Russian air force. Jordan is the launch customer, with an order for two units.
HOUSTON — NASA space shuttle program managers approved a Nov. 1 launch date for the 11-day STS-133 mission aboard the shuttle Discovery, following a Oct. 6 review of mission preparations. John Shannon, the shuttle program manager, received a unanimous “go” from the team members to continue with launch preparations.
Montreal-based CMC Electronics will provide its CMA-9000 flight management system (FMS) for the Boeing-led avionics upgrade of the U.S. Air Force’s 59-strong KC-10 fleet. The first tanker is scheduled to be modified and flight tested in 2012 at Boeing’s facility in San Antonio, with delivery of the final KC-10 modification expected in 2015.
LONDON — In advance of the Royal Australian Air Force’s receipt of its first Airbus A330-based Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) in the coming weeks, Spanish military authorities have provided the aircraft’s military type certificate. The RAAF is due to receive two of its five KC-30A MRTTs this year.
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The inability of the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) to provide the proper oversight of a contractor security program helped allow contractors to illegally retain security clearances at sensitive jobs in Kuwait, the Pentagon Inspector General (IG) says. “CSSC-K [Combat Support Services Contract-Kuwait] contractor employees worked in sensitive positions without the required security clearance,” the IG says in its September report.
LONDON — U.K. Defense Secretary Liam Fox reaffirmed the British government’s commitment to maintain the Trident replacement program but shed little new light on the ongoing Strategic Defense and Security Review while speaking at the Conservative Party’s congress. In his address, Fox notes that economic circumstances are constraining the ambitions he has for defense. Nevertheless, he says, “we have to be willing to invest” to field forces that can be adaptive and handle a range of scenarios.
NASA has given a thumbs-up in its mission confirmation review process for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (Maven) project, heading it toward a 2013 launch.
The Defense Department’s decision to decertify Lockheed Martin’s premier Fort Worth fighter assembly facility for poor auditing has caught company officials off guard. “We were surprised by this action,” says Joe Stout, a company spokesman. “We have a corrective action plan in place that the Defense Contract Management Agency accepted on June 30, and we have been executing tasks on schedule in accordance with the plan.”
NEW DELHI — Price negotiations will begin soon for 99 General Electric F414 fighter jet engines selected to power the Mk II version of the Indian Air Force’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). India’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) awarded the contract on Oct. 1, and it is expected to be signed in a few months (Aerospace DAILY, Oct. 1).
BENGALURU, India — Signaling the end of the monopoly enjoyed by Indian government-owned Defense Public Sector Units, Minister of State for Defense M.M. Pallam Raju has asked DPSUs to shift gears and compete for defense manufacturing work. Pallam’s comments are significant in light of increased participation of private players in the defense and aerospace sectors.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has denied a protest from U.S. Aerospace, a small California-based firm, claiming that it was inappropriately rejected from participating in the U.S. Air Force’s $35 billion KC-135 replacement competition. This clears the way for the Air Force to continue reviewing bids from Boeing and EADS North America; a downselect is expected as soon as the end of November.
KOCHI, INDIA — The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) plans to double its assets and personnel gradually, with a proportional beefing up of infrastructure. The ICG has formally commissioned a new station at Murud Janjira in Maharashtra. The station had been set up and activated in June 2010 as part of the strengthening of Joint Coastal Patrolling (JCP) off Gujarat and the Maharashtra coast.
The Stuxnet cyberworm – now claimed by Iran’s government as proof of U.S. efforts to derail its peaceful nuclear program – is a formidable piece of code, a senior U.S. Homeland Security Department official says. “The capabilities and sophistication of Stuxnet [should] not be underestimated,” says Sean McGurk, acting director of the department’s national cybersecurity and communications integration center and former director of control systems security.
ICBM SUPPORT: Northrop Grumman Corp. has awarded Lockheed Martin a $106 million contract to develop the next-generation Reentry Field Support Equipment (RFSE) for the U.S. Air Force’s Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) system. Under the 58-month contract, awarded in July but announced Oct. 6, Lockheed Martin will deliver two sets of RFSE. Production of an additional 10 sets for deployment to all operational Minuteman III wings will be performed under a follow-on contract. Northrop is the prime ICBM integrator.
LOS ANGELES — Lockheed Martin is hoping for additional U.S. Air Force funds to continue evaluating the X-55A Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA) now that the low-cost transport has completed its latest flight-test phase.
