SPACE SCHISM: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden blames dissension within the aerospace community for much of NASA’s legislative difficulties in attempting to shift away from the Constellation program. During recent remarks, he described two “extreme” camps — one committed to the belief that only NASA can safely and effectively launch astronauts and a second that believes the space agency has conspired to keep the commercial sector out of the human spaceflight arena. Both camps have engaged the news media in a destructive campaign to prevail, he charged.
U.S. Coast Guard management of its major Deepwater fleet replacement program is still cause for congressional concern, according to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
REVVED UP: Republican House defense authorizers expressed concern April 27 over whether there is enough specialized rotorcraft capacity for U.S. special operations forces. “What we’re talking about is a shortfall,” said Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.). “We’re looking for more helicopters.” Rep.
The Australian government on April 28 formally kicked of the competition to buy a new maritime helicopter, with a decision due next year. The government in February already said the bidding would be limited to the NH90 and MH-60R. Now, the solicitation has been formally released to Australian Aerospace, the Eurocopter subsidiary that is the lead for the NFH90’s bid in Australia, and the U.S. Navy, which is leading the foreign military sale offer of the Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky MH-60.
HOUSTON — NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on April 28 asked for solidarity from the agency’s workforce in carrying out President Obama’s strategy for canceling the Constellation Program in favor of new investments in commercial space transportation and advanced technologies to support human deep space exploration.
TAKING CONTROL: A June 2010 announcement is expected over MQ-1/9 ground control station candidate bases. Candidates are Ellsworth AFB, S.D.; Langley AFB, Va.; Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; and Whiteman AFB, Mo. Separately, preferred locations for MC-12W aircraft will be announced late this summer, with a final determination anticipated in spring 2011. Candidates are Altus AFB, Okla.; Beale AFB, Calif.; Key Field Air Guard Station, Miss.; Langley; Robins AFB, Ga.; and Whiteman.
LONDON — Better — rather than more — will be a core aim of NATO’s new strategic concept, as top officials recognize there is no economic headroom for increased defense spending, especially with the ongoing challenge of sustaining current levels. “All allies face a severe financial crisis,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says. “It would therefore be foolish to expect defense budgets to increase.” Instead, “making more effective and efficient use of the resources we currently have” is key.
LONDON — As expected, EADS and Finmeccanica have proposed the latter’s M-346 to meet Europe’s long-running Advanced European Jet Pilot Training (AEJPT) program. The two European manufacturers submitted the offer to the European Defense Agency (EDA). A request for information was issued in July 2009, with an M-346 proposal submitted March 15. EADS and Finmeccanica have in the past been rivals for the European jet trainer program. The longstanding project was one of the targets for the EADS Mako design, since shelved.
General Electric and Rolls-Royce have extended their fixed-price offer on early F136s in a bid to offset projected cost figures used by the Pentagon to justify cancellation of the second engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
LOADING BASES: The U.S. Air Force expects to announce candidate bases for C-27J formal training units May 10, and bases for operations June 10. Meanwhile, a list of additional C-17 candidate bases was approved by Air Force leadership: Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport, Memphis International Airport, and Stewart International Airport, N.Y. Officials expect to announce their preferred locations in November, and final basing decisions in June 2011
NEW DELHI — The Indian Ministry of Defense has extended by a year — up to April 28, 2011 — the commercial validity of bids on India’s 126-aircraft Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). A letter from the ministry to the bidders — MiG-35, Dassault’s Rafale, Eurofighter, the Saab Gripen, Boeing’s F/A-18E/F and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 — states that vendors can extend or revise their bids, which must be resubmitted by June (Aerospace DAILY, March 26).
In a move that surprised almost nobody, Northrop Grumman has selected Northern Virginia as the location for its new corporate headquarters, passing over Maryland and the District of Columbia.
MOSCOW — Russian Space Forces on April 27 successfully launched a military communications satellite from Plesetsk Cosmodrome aboard a Kosmos-3M light booster. Designated Kosmos 2463, the satellite is believed to be of the Parus type, intended for navigation and communication. Only one or two Kosmos-3M boosters remain in the inventory. Since 1968, manufacturer Polyot has produced 768 Kosmos-3M type launchers, based on the R-14U ballistic missile design. Despite the launcher’s 97% reliability record, manufacturing of the vehicle was shut down.
BENGALURU, India — For the first time, Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) is integrating various systems for the Rs 10,000 crore ($2.6 billion) Akash surface-to-air missile (SAM) project. BEL Chairman and Managing Director A.K. Datt told Aviation Week that the first phase of deliveries to the Indian air force (IAF) would begin this year. The IAF has placed orders for two squadrons, and BEL is expecting to provide for four more squadrons soon after the initial delivery schedule is complete.
Russia’s United Engine Corp. (UEC) is restarting NK-32 jet engine production after about 16 years. The Samara-based Motorostroitel company shut down production of NK-32s for long-range Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack bombers in 1994. Since that time the plant was involved in NK-32 overhaul only and some key manufacturing technologies, as well as ties with suppliers, were lost. Due to low Tu-160 training activity since then, only 28 engine repairs were ordered.
PEAK SEASON: Consultancy Frost & Sullivan says that after 2011, new procurement of radar systems for air and missile defense for nations in the Asian-Pacific realm will drop until 2015, even as technology insertions and upgrades continue. The Asian-Pacific land-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance radar market is at its peak spending cycle due to simultaneous adoption of programs by South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
NEW DELHI — Rolls-Royce has signed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), an IT services and outsourcing company, as its second engineering partner in India to help it expand its engineering footprint in the country. Its earlier partnership with Quest Global has been extended for another five years.
Preliminary tests of CFM International’s CFM56-7BE Evolution upgrade for the Boeing 737 and P-8A Poseidon indicate greater fuel burn savings than previously estimated, according to the General Electric-Snecma joint engine company. “We’ve tested four engines so far with the improved low-pressure [LP] turbine, and we’re seeing a better performance signature than we signed up for. We anticipate going into service with a 2.5% improvement, which is a big deal for us,” CFM Executive VP Chaker Chahrour says.
The 1st Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division has started testing and training this month at Camp Pendleton, Calif., on the military’s new “Gunslinger” system, which is meant to help U.S. ground forces identify friends and enhance their ability to detect threats, according to U.S. Marine Col. Patrick Kelleher.
LONDON — Continued weakness in the civil helicopter business is driving Eurocopter to bolster its restructuring efforts. Those efforts include boosting research and development spending, but also will lead to changes in the company’s industrial footprint and support costs.
The HTV-2 hypersonic test vehicle appears to have achieved controlled flight before telemetry contact was lost 9 min. after launch on April 22, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) says. The unmanned vehicle had been released from the third stage of its Minotaur IV Lite booster to re-enter the atmosphere and begin a hypersonic glide across the Pacific when telemetry signals were lost (Aerospace DAILY, April 27). The mission timeline called for the vehicle to re-enter and then climb to the correct altitude to begin its glide.
With U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets tied up in Southwest Asia, it is not a surprise that first on the list of worries for the U.S. in volatile Latin America is an ISR shortfall.
