Two versions of an ultra-quiet, vertical-takeoff-and-landing unmanned surveillance aircraft built and tested in Israel will be rolled out for the public this month. The Panther family UAVs, a product of Israel Aerospace Industries’ Malat division, can be built with a varying number of engines and wingspans.
LONDON — Britain’s large Unite union is warning the U.K. could lose more than 16% of its defense workforce as a result of planned spending cuts due to emerge as part of the government’s far-reaching spending review scheduled to be revealed on Oct. 20. The union cites an Oxford Economics study that suggests “cuts of 26% would lead to potentially over 55,000 job cuts in the U.K.”
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recommends an aggressive and sustained campaign to recruit and support the training of America’s minorities as part of a sustained strategy to strengthen the nation’s science and engineering talent pool. The effort’s two highest priorities are the retention of African Americans, American Indians and Hispanics through high school and college as well as improved training in the two fields for teachers assigned to K through 12 classrooms, according to the NAS panel’s Sept. 30 report.
ROBOTIC GUARDS: The recently renamed Nevada National Security Site has brought the first of three autonomous Mobile Detection Assessment Response System (Mdars) robots online to provide random security patrols at remote portions of historic testing grounds. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said the robot will save about $6 million versus traditional equipment such as cameras, towers, lights, trenching and motion detection units to support protection of remote, sensitive areas.
HOUSTON — NASA has awarded Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International a 10-year contract for spacesuit and extravehicular activity support aboard the shuttle and International Space Station worth up to $728.9 million. The Extravehicular Space Operations Contract, which takes effect Oct. 1, includes a $315.5-million base amount for work performed through Sept. 30, 2015.
COMMERCIAL BOOST: FAA has made the first awards in a new grant program to fund projects that develop and expand commercial space transportation infrastructure. New Mexico Spaceport Authority is receiving $43,000 for an Automated Weather Observing System; Alaska Aerospace Corp. is receiving $227,195 for a Rocket Motor Storage Facility; East Kern Airport District in Mojave, Calif., is getting $125,000 for an emergency response vehicle; and Jacksonville Airport Authority in Florida will receive $104,805 to develop a Spaceport Master Plan for Cecil Field.
The first Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs) geosynchronous (GEO) satellite is completing final integrated system testing in preparation for an April 2011 launch, U.S. Air Force officials say.
BEIJING — China will validate a range of technologies with its recently launched second lunar probe, including the landing of a camera on the surface of the Moon and control of a spacecraft by X-band communications.
PORT BLAIR, India — The Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Car Nicobar soon will have a full-fledged flight detachment, and a medium power radar (MPR) will be commissioned by 2012. “The MPR will further add teeth to the base,” Wing Cdr. M.S. Sridhar, officiating station commander, tells AVIATION WEEK. “We have a Rohini radar now with limited ground control interception. We will also have an air defense weapons squadron.”
The U.S. Marine Corps plans to deploy its first Harvest Hawk armament kit for use on the KC-130J by the end of the month, according to Capt. Brian Block, a Corps spokesman. The Marines plan to procure nine of the palletized kits, each containing an AN/AAQ-30 targeting sight system mounted on the aft portion of the left external fuel tank. The kits also include Hellf ire missiles and the Special Operations Precision Guided Munition (Sopgm). Sopgms are Raytheon’s small Griffin and Northrop Grumman’s Viper Strike. Eventually, a 30-mm. cannon will be added.
Despite the impending arrival next year of its Gripen fighters, Thailand is considering upgrading its existing fleet of F-16A/Bs. The Pentagon says talks are underway for a three-phase project to put 18 fighters through a mid-life upgrade (MLU) program. Each phase would include six aircraft. The $700 million deal would cover a range of subsystem improvements to the Block 15 aircraft, including the APG-68(V)9 radar, ALQ-213 electronic-warfare management system, ALE-47 countermeasures dispenser and PX-113 interrogator/transponder.
Flight tests of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have been suspended following the discovery of issues with fuel-system software on all variants and with a door hinge on the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) version. The Defense Department says flights are suspended temporarily pending modification of software that controls the engine’s three fuel boost pumps. Incorrect signal sequencing that could trigger a shut-down of all three pumps was discovered in the laboratory.
CLOSING DOWN: F-22 production has a little over a year to go. Parts for the 195th and final aircraft will begin arriving at the Marietta, Ga., assembly line in November, after which Lockheed Martin will begin mothballing the tooling as the last aircraft moves down the line toward its delivery in early 2012. Tooling will be stored in Conex containers, some environmentally controlled, at a location to be decided.
JOINT CIVICS: In congressional testimony Sept. 28, the No. 2 Pentagon official defended Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ recommendation to close U.S. Joint Forces Command, as well as several other recently announced reforms. “This was not a business case analysis, as some have described it,” Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn III said. “This was a military decision.” But Virginia Sen. James Webb (D), who with much of the Virginia delegation is fighting the closure, disagreed at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
EFV EXTENSION: Sens. James Webb and Mark Warner are calling on Defense Secretary Robert Gates to allow the U.s. Marine Corps to complete testing of its embattled Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle before deciding on its future. “The results of this autumn’s testing should allow us to make a more informed assessment of the program’s ability to satisfy affordability and performance requirements,” the Virginia Democrats said in Sept. 27 letter to Gates. The program is expected to face an imminent make-or-break decision by Pentagon leadership (Aerospace DAILY, Sept. 28).
DAVID’S SLING: The U.S. and Israel are formalizing a commitment to continue work on the David’s Sling project, designed to field defenses against short-range missiles, rockets and cruise missiles. Senior officials from both countries signed an agreement for development of the system last week.
DATA DISCONNECT: Budget pressures may lead the U.S. Air Force to defer upgrading F-22s with the stealthy multifunction advanced data link (MADL) under development for the F-35. While Lockheed Martin has not been told to stop work on MADL under the Increment 3.2 upgrade planned for 2015, it is “leaning towards delaying implementation,” says George Schultz, F-22 program general manager. The directional MADL was chosen as the data link to tie together the USAF’s F-22, F-35 and B-2 anti-access force.
The U.S. military and the defense industry are developing cyberweapons that can be tailored for specific targets, and they also are looking at how to put such weapons on aircraft for airborne electronic attack.
FOX FIRED UP: British Defense Secretary Liam Fox is warning Prime Minister David Cameron of dire consequences from potential defense cuts, especially with forces deployed in military operations. In a strongly worded letter, Fox also expresses concerns about the conduct of the Strategic Defense and Security Review, in which some have argued fiscal rather than strategic issues are getting undo attention. Fox warns of several specific cuts, including the potential elimination of the Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol fleet.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) OCT. 4 - 8 — BCI Aerospace’s Aerospace Meetings. Guadalajara, Mexico. For more information call +33 (14) 186-4150 or go to http://www.bciaerospace.com OCT. 5 - 7 — Reed Exhibitions Aerospace and Aviation Group’s Helitech 2010, Airport Cascais, Estoril, Portugal. For more information call +44 (208) 271-2155 or go to http://www.helitechevents.com/portugal
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Space Florida, a state-backed economic development agency, has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Commerce Department to help beef up the economies of Brevard County and nearby regions affected by the shutdown of the space shuttle program.
MARIETTA, Ga. — With a program to re-engine the C-5B airlifter meeting cost and performance targets, the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin are again looking at the possibility of upgrading older C-5As. “It’s a good idea, but we are in a very fiscally constrained environment,” says Lt. Gen. Tom Owen, commander of Aerospace Systems Command and program executive officer for aircraft procurement and modernization.
ARIANE OVERRUN: European Space Agency launcher director Antonio Fabrizi says a review of the Ariane 5 ME, a planned midlife upgrade to the Ariane 5 ECA heavy launch vehicle, shows one of the main requirements — that the ME be no more costly than the ECA — may not be met. Engineers expect to know for sure by mid-October. The ME is now in detailed design and is to be proposed for full-scale development at the end of 2012.
