The Australian government has kicked off the competition to buy either the Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin MH-60R or NH Industries NH90 as its new maritime combat helicopter as it looks to replace its aging Seahawks and meet a requirement left open with the cancellation of the Seasprite program two years ago.
NO SMALL CHANGE: Consultancy Forecast International says the market for U.S. defense electronics shows a steady decline over the next 10 years, from a high of $8.4 billion this year to $4.08 billion in 2019. Still, even with the 52 percent drop in annual value, the market will be worth at least $55 billion altogether from 2010-2019. Senior Analyst Richard Sterk says small-ticket items such as electro-optical (EO) night vision and thermal-imaging weapon sights have leapt in demand as the U.S. fights two counterinsurgencies overseas.
TARGET MAINTENANCE: The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a follow-on Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract to support the Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (TADS/PNVS) and Modernized TADS/PNVS systems on the AH-64 Apache helicopter. The contract has a potential value of $90 million in 2010. This is the third option on a PBL contract awarded in early 2007.
LONDON — A 12-month funding hiatus may be about to end for a key U.K. project intended to help clear the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles into nonmilitary airspace. The second phase of London’s Autonomous System Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment (Astraea) program was due to have begun in the first quarter of 2009, but government funding for the continuation of the program was not secured.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The U.S. Army has slipped the release of a request for proposals (RFP) for its new Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) program, a replacement for BAE Systems’ beleaguered Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures (Atircm) system. An industry source said here Feb. 25 that the Army pushed the draft RFP release date slightly, into mid-March. CIRCM would provide AH-64 Apaches, UH-60 Black Hawks and other, smaller helicopters with a laser-based jamming system.
NEW DELHI — Indian officials say they are cooperating with international agencies to ensure security at the Commonwealth Games due to be held here from Oct. 3-14. The comments come as U.S. FBI Director Robert Mueller and Indian government officials conduct talks — evidence of the robust and active counterterrorism cooperation between the U.S. and India.
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Months before the U.S. Army is scheduled to formally reveal its Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Strategy, which stretches out to 2035, leadership is talking about the elements that will comprise the road map.
DRUG STOP: The USS Freedom, the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), conducted its first drug seizure Feb. 22, the U.S. Navy announced, recovering more than a quarter of a ton of cocaine. The Lockheed Martin-designed ship, which is competing against General Dynamics’ hull for a long-term LCS contract, was deployed to the Western Caribbean two years ahead of schedule.
PARIS — French space agency CNES has selected Thales Alenia Space to build and integrate the Jason-3 altimetry satellite. The go-ahead for Jason-3 was given early this month when Eumetsat, which together with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will operate the satellite, agreed to increase its financial contribution.
German aerospace center DLR has issued awards for the detailed Phase B definition of a technology demonstrator intended to validate the ability of robotic systems to perform in-orbit inspection and maintenance of orbital payloads as well as to control orbital maneuvers and dispose of decommissioned satellites.
PARIS — Astrium says it has completed the test campaign intended to qualify a new dispenser for Globalstar’s second-generation satphone and data constellation. Qualification of the dispenser, which will be able to accommodate six Globalstar 2 spacecraft on their intended Soyuz launch vehicle, clears the way for production of flight units needed for the first four launch missions. The first mission is set for July-September, the second for December, and the final two for March and June 2011.
The new management at NASA hopes to turn the agency’s old policy on its head with a broad-brush search for new technology to enable deep-space exploration, rather than the canceled Constellation Program’s focused “technology pull” shaped by a return to the moon. Budget documents made available this week indicate the Obama administration wants to spend $4.9 billion over the next five years on a wide range of projects designed to raise the technology readiness level (TRL) of promising exploration technologies.
Italian aerospace research and development agency CIRA is poised once again to attempt a second transonic drop test with its recoverable Unmanned Space Vehicle (USV), intended to investigate hypersonic re-entry and transatmospheric flight.
Having exceeded 100kW in the laboratory, the next step for Textron Defense Systems in developing its high-power solid-state laser technology is to demonstrate the building block for a 150kW laser weapon system under the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (Darpa’s) Hellads program.
A Web-based control system allowing individual soldiers to request imagery from any of multiple surveillance aircraft patrolling overhead is to be deployed to Afghanistan by year’s end. Northrop Grumman has received a $46.2 million contract to prepare its Heterogeneous Airborne Reconnaissance Team (HART) system for deployment with a single U.S. Army brigade combat team.
Some changes designed to reduce the financial risk for bidders are included in the U.S. Air Force’s KC-X final request for proposals (RFP), but they are not dramatic and could, therefore, lead to a decision from Northrop Grumman/EADS not to bid.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has denied a protest by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) over NASA’s choice to orbit its Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft using rival Orbital Sciences’ Minotaur V rocket.
U.S. cyberwarfare and electronic attack combat capabilities — the heart of next generation warfare — will see small amounts of budget growth, but evidence of the Pentagon’s growing interest will be more obvious in personnel and organizational changes.
As Pentagon officials renegotiate the award fee structure of the F-35 development contract with Lockheed Martin, one aspect yet to be reconsidered is the use of a specialized contracting mechanism called “total system performance responsibility” (TSPR), according to Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program officials.
PARIS — European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain has asked for clarification on the bid selection for Europe’s Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) weather constellation. The agency’s tender evaluation board recently issued a recommendation for prime contractor, and ESA is expected to announce the winning bidder after a special March 15 council meeting at which Eumetsat, which will operate MTG, is to approve the program proposal. ESA did not name the contractor or elaborate on the reasons for the clarification.
