LCS PROGRESS: Manufacturer Lockheed Martin says its second Littoral Combat Ship — the USS Fort Worth, or LCS 3 — is about 40% complete and is on cost and on schedule. The ship is under construction at the Marinette Marine Shipyard in Wisconsin. “We’ve been able to bring down the cost” on the production of LCS 3 over LCS 1, says Paul Lemmo, vice president of business development for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors.
PARIS — Intelsat engineers continue to pursue efforts to disable the payload on Galaxy 15, which has been drifting away from its orbital slot at 133 deg. W. Long. since it went out of control on April 5 and is threatening to interfere with surrounding satellites.
The labor union that represents workers on Boeing’s Long Beach, Calif., manufacturing line is now on strike after rejecting a company contract offer. The strike, which went into effect at 12:01 a.m. May 11, has brought production to a standstill and “could potentially” force delays of deliveries of the massive strategic airlifter to customers, a company spokesman says.
BRITISH RULE: After days of post-election uncertainty, leaders of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats agreed to a deal May 11 that sees the conservative’s David Cameron become the British Prime Minister, replacing the Labour government that was led by Gordon Brown. The Conservatives won the largest number of seats in the May 6 election, with 306, though this fell 20 short of an overall majority. The Labour party won 258, and the Liberal Democrats 57.
ARMY AM General, LLC, South Bend, Ind., was awarded on May 5 a $54,264,735 firm-fixed-price contract to add 500 Humvees. The work is to be performed in Mishawaka, Ind., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited with one bid received. TACOM Warren, CCTA-ATA-C, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (DAAE07-01-C-S001).
The upshot of closed-door talks between top NASA officials and various congressional and academic opinion leaders will get a public airing this week, when the Senate Commerce Committee hears testimony on “the future of U.S. human space flight.” The May 12 hearing will include testimony from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden; John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan; and Norm Augustine, chair of the U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee.
NEW DELHI — Indian defense companies favor raising the maximum stake that foreign companies can hold in defense joint ventures in India, according to a recent survey. International investors continue to shy away from India’s defense manufacturing sector owing to the Indian government’s limitations on foreign direct investment (FDI), which caps the stake international companies can hold at 26%. These companies have called for raising the cap to 49%.
ABRAMS ENGINES: The U.S. Army has awarded Honeywell International, Inc. a $93.4 million contract to provide parts and support for the overhaul of 1,000 automotive gas turbines; 1,500 engines; or equivalents for Program Year 5 of the Total Integrated Engine Revitalization program for the Abrams tank, Abrams derivative vehicles, and Army stock spares. Work will be performed in Phoenix, Ariz. (66%), Greer, S.C. (19%); Anniston, Ala. (13%); and Rocky Mount, N.C. (2%), with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2011.
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Gumman have been shortlisted by the U.S. Army to build an unmanned airship that is to be deployed to Afghanistan to provide surveillance for at least three weeks at a time. The two teams submitted best and final offers last week and the contract award is expected at the end of May. The winner is expected to fly its airship in 12 months, with operational evaluation to be completed and the system ready for deployment 18 months after the award.
China could send its first female astronaut into space in as little as two years, after including two women among its new class of seven military pilots selected for spaceflight training. The women — both military transport pilots selected from among 15 female candidates — will join five male fighter pilots for two to three years of training in the Shenzhou spacecraft that already has taken six of their countrymen into orbit.
As the U.S. Army turns up the throttle on Future Combat Systems (FCS) spin-offs, the service must temper its enthusiasm for technology as it evolves its ground programs to handle current conflicts and future combat needs, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says.
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
TRUCK AWARD: Oshkosh Corp., has been awarded a $410 million firm-fixed-price contract for the production of 2,634 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, 2,230 trucks and 404 trailers. The work is to be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., and is slated to be complete by March 31, 2012.
BROUGHTON, Wales — With less than two months to go before the KC-X tanker proposal deadline, Airbus chief executive Tom Enders says the company is making good progress assembling its KC-45 industrial team. “We are in the final stages of assembling a great American team of industrial partners around us,” Enders says. The plan is to ensure everything is in place before the July 9 deadline for responses to the U.S. Air Force’s request for proposals.
AIR FORCE Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $96,744,354 contract which will provide miniature air launched decoy low rate initial production contracts for a 24-month effort to include operational test and evaluation. At this time, $89,817,202 has been obligated. 692 ARSS/PK Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8682-10-C-0007).
Analysts and observers have started to address issues raised last week by Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the necessity to curb Defense Department spending in two strongly worded speeches. National Security Network, a liberal advocacy group, noted Gates’ May 8 speech in Abilene, Kan., “comes against the backdrop of concern with the state of the American economy, mounting calls from Congress and budget experts for fiscal discipline.”
Military officials failed to properly follow Defense Department procurement rules in awarding supporting contracts for the ill-fated U.S. Air Force Combat, Search and Rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter replacement program, the Pentagon Inspector General (IG) says.
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio — A restructuring of the U.S. Air Force’s acquisition management corps is nearly complete, and should improve oversight of major service procurement programs, says Lt. Gen. Thomas Owen, commander of the Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) here.
