U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Vane, deputy chief of the Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC), says that there is more work to be done in developing the concepts behind the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), hailed as the successor to the iconic Humvee for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — U.S. Army decision makers openly expressed their lack of enthusiasm for the Joint Tactical Radio Systems Ground Mobile Radio (JTRS GMR) at the winter symposium of the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) here last week, while Boeing and Rockwell Collins enthusiastically announced program advancements.
Component issues have pushed the launch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite P (GOES P) weather satellite back to Thursday, March 4, during a window lasting from 6:17-7:17 p.m. EST. Originally scheduled for March 2, the launch was pushed back a day after mission managers decided on Feb. 26 that a steering control valve on one of the Delta IV’s solid rocket motors was faulty and had to be replaced. That fix has already taken place and is being verified.
ARMY Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., was awarded a $640,122,400 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 1460 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles and 1460 basic issue items. The work is to be performed in Oshkosh, with an estimated completion date of May 2012. Five bids were solicited with five bids received. TACOM, AMSCC-TAC-ADCA, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0111).
GENOA, Italy — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has accelerated its naval buildup by ordering two stealth missile corvettes from Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard, and taking an option on two more. In a program dubbed Falaj 2, delivery of the first vessel will be in 2012, only 30 months after the contract signing — a tight schedule considering the magnitude of the electronics and weapon systems integration involved.
Embraer’s efforts to develop the KC-390 tanker transport will get increased focus this year, with the manufacturer looking to secure key suppliers and, potentially, program partners before detailed definition of the new aircraft starts next year.
AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Defense Mission Systems Inc., San Diego, Calif., was awarded a $77,915,492 contract which will provide the maintenance and support of the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node system in support of overseas contingency operations through fiscal year 2010. At this time, $71,181,700 has been obligated. 653 ELSG/PK, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (FA8726-09-C-0010).
TEL AVIV — The Israel Defense Force’s medical corps is looking at procuring an innovative unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that will evacuate critical casualties directly from the battlefield to the hospital. Such a capability would get more wounded to the hospital within the “golden hour” — the critical time in which a medical evacuation has the best chance of saving a wounded soldier’s life.
CENTER OF ATTENTION: The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) last week dedicated the National Security Computing Center at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. The new center is designed to be an Energy Dept. user facility for government-wide top-secret level applications that require high performance computing, such as for cyber operations, vulnerability assessments, network discovery (informatics), and space situational awareness and threats.
LONDON — Russia’s helicopter industry reports an increase in output for last year, with Mi-8s and their derivatives dominating the delivery total. What’s more, Russian Helicopters, which consolidated the country’s helicopter manufacturers, says that more than 50 percent of deliveries in the past year went to customers outside Russia. Overall, the rotorcraft producing companies — Ulan-Ude, Kazan, Kumertau, Rostvertol, and Progress — delivered 183 units last year, 14 more than the year before. The figure includes Russian military handovers.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Air Force is hoping to have close involvement early in the planning for the Precision Tracking and Surveillance System (PTSS), which is a new ballistic missile midcourse tracking spacecraft program being devised by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA).
The Swiss military is suffering logistics problems as it tries to introduce a new electronic system that is supposed to make the support of forces more efficient. The defense ministry says that the new information system, called Logistic@V, was introduced at the start of the year to improve logistics flow within the armed forces. However, the introduction has not been seamless, forcing the defense ministry to acknowledge that some units will have to expect gaps in supply or late deliveries as teething problems are ironed out.
BRIGADE AND BELOW: The U.S. Army has completed formal evaluation of the newest software version of Northrop Grumman’s Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) in preparation for a possible fielding late this summer. Field testing of the new software, called Joint Capabilities Release (JCR), was conducted at Fort Hood, Texas, between September and November 2009.
ARMY AAI Corp., Hunt Valley, Md., was awarded on Feb. 22, 2010, a $23,698,842 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System performance based logistics incremental funding. The work is to be performed in Hunt Valley, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2010. One bid was solicited with one bid received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aviation & Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-10-C-0006).
Pratt & Whitney has informed one of its unions that it will be laying off 163 of its members at the same time it appeals a court ruling that prevented it from closing its Connecticut plants and moving those jobs and others to Georgia and overseas. The company informed the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Feb. 23 that it will be dropping 119 IAM-represented positions at its Cheshire overhaul facility and 44 in East Hartford, with 34 of those coming from its Connecticut Airfoil Repair Operations (CARO).
Boeing officials plan to begin taxi tests on the company’s Phantom Ray demonstrator in July, a slight delay from earlier plans, but first flight is still targeted for December 2010, according Darryl Davis, Boeing Phantom Works president.
ARMY AMTEC Corp., Janesville, Wis., was awarded a $33,676,800 firm-fixed-price contract for 40mm grenade family systems contract for fiscal 2010 through 2014. Work is to be performed in Janesville, with an estimated completion date of September 2014. Bids were solicited on the Web with two received. Rock Island Contracting Center, Army Contracting Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-10-C-0013). NAVY
While China has worked with the United States in stopping terrorism, the Chinese have not gone all-out in working with their U.S. counterparts to battle terrorists, a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report says. Still, the aid has helped solidify U.S.-Sino relationships, according to CRS. “The extent of U.S.-China counterterrorism cooperation has been limited, but the tone and context of counterterrorism helped to stabilize — even if it did not transform — the closer bilateral relationship,” CRS says in its January report.
FRENCH FCS: France is kicking off definition of a system of systems to tie future air- and ground-based army units into a network-based combat capability — the French equivalent of the U.S. Army’s canceled Future Combat Systems. The 4-5 billion euro ($5.6 billion - $7 billion) project aims to equip 18 battle groups with new infantry fighting vehicles and light tanks, upgraded main battle tanks and other gear — but so far no aerial hardware — connected by a single communications system.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) March 3 - 4 — ADTS Aerospace & Defence Training Show, Airport Expo, Dubai, UAE. For more information go to www.adts.aero/ March 8 - 11 — 8th Responsive Space Conference, LAX Westin Hotel, Los Angeles, Calif. For more information go to www.responsivespace.com
The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base has awarded the Next Generation GPS Control Segment (OCX) program to Raytheon Intelligence & Information Systems of Aurora, Colo. Raytheon beat a rival Northrop Grumman team for the $886 million, 73-month development contract, which represents the first two OSX development blocks.
LONDON — Senior British and French government officials met in Paris recently to carry on discussions over potential collaboration in meeting the two countries’ respective medium altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle needs. Quentin Davies, U.K. minister for defense equipment and support, told Parliament he had met with “my French counterpart, the head of the DGA [Laurent Collet-Billon],” to discuss options for working together in this area. He added that he had held similar talks “with my Italian opposite number.”
