SAUDI HAWKS: Sikorsky Aerospace Services announced May 3 it has signed a contract with Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Command to upgrade its fleet of Black Hawk helicopters from the UH-60A to UH-60L configuration. This is the second international modernization program under contract. The A-to-L upgrade program upgrades the T700 engine to a T701D, which increases power and reliability. Upgraded flight controls, avionics and instrument panel modifications are also included in the program.
The U.S. Army’s threat to cancel the requirement for its Non Line of Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS) has drawn the ire of lawmakers, although the service has yet to release its official determination. According to a source close to the Army program, a recent comprehensive analysis of precision fires across the service determined the requirement for NLOS-LS — to strike heavy mobile or stationary targets — is no longer there and the launch system itself is simply not cost-effective.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will co-chair a Cabinet-level task force to construct “an economic development action plan” for Florida’s Space Coast, the White House announced May 3.
LONDON — Only days before the British general election, U.K. aerospace and defense lobby group ADS has launched its “manifesto” for the space sector. Despite warnings from all three contending political parties that the public purse will face severe challenges in the coming parliament, ADS argues: “if the U.K. is to boost its share of the global space market to 10%, public investment in space needs to rise.”
KOCHI, India — The Indian navy and coast guard soon will have dedicated hangars for their current and next-generation maritime aircraft at Kochi airport. Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) sources tell Aviation Week that 10 acres of land have been given to the navy free of charge, while the coast guard has acquired 5 acres of land from the Kerala government. The Southern Naval Command, the training wing of the Indian navy, is based in Kochi.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — The Pentagon’s quandary over who conducts electronic warfare and how the U.S. Air Force plans to rebuild its offensive airborne electronic attack capability — which has been largely dormant since retirement of the EF-111 almost two decades ago — may have been resolved.
The Pentagon is looking for a better way to clear training ranges of debris and unexploded ordnance (UXO), and it wants industry to help. The Defense Department is setting up a series of tests and a competition for training-range clearance using robotic technologies. Robotic range clearance should yield significant potential for time and cost savings as well as safety improvements for the personnel doing this kind of work, according to Jose Gonzalez, the Defense Department’s acting deputy director of land warfare and munitions.
Boeing has formed an operating division combining airlift and tanker fixed-wing operations within its military aircraft business unit. Called Airlift and Tankers (A&T), the division will operate from the company’s St. Louis, Mo., military headquarters and assume program management responsibility for C-17s, international and U.S. tanker programs. Military Aircraft President Chris Chadwick says the change will “introduce efficiencies that will result in cost savings for taxpayers.”
An electrically powered nose-gear under development to save fuel during taxiing of commercial airliners is being proposed for military airlifters to improve operations and autonomy on unimproved and austere airstrips. WheelTug is developing the system for airlines, initially targeting availability on the widely used Boeing 737NG by early 2012, but says it has responded to requests for information from two airlifter manufacturers and is in discussions on the C-130.
BENGALURU, India — The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is preparing to launch StudSat, a minisatellite built by 40 engineering students from seven colleges in Hyderabad and Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore). Classified as a picosatellite, StudSat has arrived at the Sriharikota launch center for integration with the four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15). The PSLV-C15 flight, initially planned for May 9, has been rescheduled due to technical issues with the rocket’s second stage. A new launch date is pending (Aerospace DAILY, April 30).
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) announced May 3 that it will propose a new aircraft called Sea Avenger in response to U.S. Naval Air Systems Command’s (Navair’s) recent request for information for an unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike (Uclass) aircraft.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Northrop Grumman is partnering with Bell Helicopter to build a new, medium-range version of the Fire Scout, called Fire X, based on Bell’s 407 helicopter platform for an expected U.S. Navy competition next year.
AIR FORCE Aegis Technologies Group Inc., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded a $20,481,517 contract which will provide the Air Force Modeling and Simulation Training Toolkit, which is a noncommercial, government-owned simulation system used to train the Joint Force Command, Joint Force Air Component Commander, and their battle staff in multiple federation environments. At this time, $1,483,700 has been obligated. 753 ESG, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (FA8731-10-C-0003). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Lockheed Martin is progressing from prototype to engineering design model (EDM) on its offering for the U.S. Navy’s Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (Canes) program. The Navy awarded two Canes contracts in March for system development and demonstration. Northrop Grumman was awarded $14.7 million and Lockheed received $15 million to develop the common computing environment portion of Canes.
By the end of June, Lockheed Martin officials say that all 20 of the flight- and ground-test F-35s will be off of the company’s production line, and they hope these aircraft will jump-start a flight test program that has been languishing. The first two low-rate initial production aircraft, which are bound for Eglin AFB, Fla., will also roll off the line in June to begin populating the first training wing there, says Dan Crowley, executive vice president for F-35.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said May 3 the U.S. has to ask itself whether it can afford the U.S. Navy’s current plan for billion-dollar destroyers, submarines and carriers.
Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov took manual control of the approaching Progress 37 cargo carrier and docked it safely to the International Space Station May 1 after the Russian-built Kurs autonomous docking system failed.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Adm. Gary Roughead, U.S. chief of naval operations, took industry to task at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space symposium here on May 3, noting that whenever a contract is awarded, a protest usually follows, which is “extraordinarily disruptive.” He pointed the finger at industry, accusing companies of falling “into a mode of whenever there’s a contract awarded there’s an immediate protest on its heels.” Roughead said the protests are “an inhibitor to building the fleet we need.”
AUSTRALIAN JSF: Australian defense officials said $8.5 million was approved by the government there to help smaller local companies overcome early investment challenges and get into the Joint Strike Fighter industrial base. Officials in Melbourne at the fourth Australian JSF Advanced Technology and Innovation Conference said at least 28 Australian companies have already won work valued at about $200 million on the nine-nation program.
