MAJOR REASSESSMENT: Hybrid warfare and ditching the two-war construct increasingly appear to be cornerstones of the pending U.S. Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the Pentagon’s chief indicates. The idea of counterinsurgency and conventional capabilities being discrete types of warfare is obsolete, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says, and the paradigm of remaining capable of fighting two major theater wars simultaneously no longer represents a realistic view of the world.
Less than a half-year into the Obama administration, the Japanese government has made it clear that it is “extremely happy with the Obama administration” and in particular with the appointments it has made in the State and Defense Departments, according to one senior U.S. observer who analyzes and monitors Japan’s political pulse on a daily basis.
Japan’s new space law, which took effect earlier this month, illuminates what some see as a power struggle between the country’s government and industry. The new law establishes a space secretariat, charged with creating a “space basic plan” — a five-year strategy for commercial and military development of space, says Shigeki Kamigaichi, manager of JAXA’s program management and integration department. Seiko Noda, formerly minister of Consumer Affairs, was named to the cabinet-level post.
KINETIC CYBER: Despite admissions from senior Pentagon officials that cyberattack is a toothless threat for the moment, a senior U.S. warfighting commander says he already has an arsenal of cyber weapons that don’t intrude into the murky ethical and legal quicksand of cascading computer network attacks. “I can do a lot with cyberspace, but about 99 percent of it is classified,” the senior aviator says. However, “there are many effects that I can do today kinetically and non-kinetically that affects cyber.
MADDENING MISSILEER: North Korea could be aiming at Hawaii or Guam or Okinawa — or not. A Tokyo Defense Ministry study says Pyongyang’s next Taepodong 2 test — or perhaps that of a slightly enlarged and upgraded variant — may be launched as early as next month. Dates for the launch could include July 4, or July 8, the anniversary of the death of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. “We’re obviously watching the situation in the north, with respect to missile launches, very closely,” U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates tells Pentagon reporters.
ROCKET MERGERS: A provision of a new five-year French spending bill, approved by the National Assembly last week, will permit the privatization of state-owned rocket propulsion and chemical maker SNPE, paving the way for a long-planned merger of SNPE’s propulsion business with that of Safran’s SME and setting the stage for consolidation with other European solid propulsion specialists, notably Italy’s Avio. A propulsion system merger proposal is said to be ready and a deal could be concluded by year’s end, industry sources say.
PARIS AIR SHOW — Northrop Grumman’s E-2D aircraft, the successor to the E-2 surveillance plane, has reached Milestone C certification and been awarded a fixed-price, incentive-free contract from the U.S. Navy for $432 million.
MOONBOUND: NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and its piggyback Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) are en route to the moon following launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 5:32 p.m. EDT June 18 on an Atlas V rocket. LCROSS and the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas will crash into the lunar surface so that Earth- and space-based telescopes can scan the debris plume for signs of water ice and hydrogen (Aerospace DAILY, June 18).
Japanese defense officials appear increasingly wobbly about an early decision on their F-X fighter program because the U.S. F-22 could stay in production, and moves are under way to determine what’s needed — or not needed — for an export version of the Lockheed Martin Raptor.
TACTICAL COMMS: The U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va., awarded Iridium Satellite a $21.7 million contract to support development and delivery of the Distributed Tactical Communications System (DTCS). DTCS is an extension of “Netted Iridium,” the company’s push-to-talk communications capability. The system is intended to provide over-the-horizon, on-the-move, beyond line-of-sight netted voice and data communications over the Iridium network for the tactical warfighter.
PARIS AIR SHOW — EADS Astrium has confirmed that it will build two new medium-high resolution wide swath Spot satellites to replace the existing Spot 5 — the first time a private investor has agreed to fully finance a major imaging satellite.
PARIS AIR SHOW — The bulk of Eurofighter Tranche 3A aircraft will likely initially be fitted with the Captor M mechanically-scanned array radar, as the four partner nations try to agree on a common road map for integrating future radar technology.
DEFENDING FRANCE: The French National Assembly has approved a 186 billion euro ($257 billion) five-year defense spending bill, ensuring France with sustained funding for modernization of its armed forces. The vote, with 313 voices in favor and 173 against, was never in doubt, but had been delayed for months by the government’s heavy reform agenda. The bill includes 108 billion euros for procurement of new hardware, with a strong emphasis on force projection, protection, space systems, reconnaissance and other capabilities needed to meet contemporary military threats.
Embattled exploration-program managers at NASA say a decision to cancel the Ares I crew launch vehicle development now in favor of a potentially lower-cost effort to human rate the Delta IV heavy would add $14.1 billion - $16.6 billion to the cost of developing the Ares V moon rocket.
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — South Korea is getting serious about buying tankers, but planning officials are faced with conflicting priorities. Tankers would offer the South Korean air force’s combat fleet more mobility and endurance during war and during peacetime when Red Flag and other exercises provide the opportunity to hone air-to-air and air-to-ground skills.
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) is expressing its disappointment in the U.S. Navy’s management of the VH-71 presidential helicopter program and recommending DOD continue with procurement of Increment 1 helicopters. The HASC is in the midst of marking up the defense budget request for fiscal 2010. Lawmakers noted the $85.2 million included in the budget for a presidential helicopter recapitalization program as well as the recent cancellation of the Lockheed Martin-led VH-71 program.
PARIS AIR SHOW — A central issue for ongoing termination negotiations between the U.S. Air Force and the Northrop Grumman/EADS North America tanker team is what to do with the A330-200 test aircraft partially owned by the service. The government notified the team it was terminating the contract for convenience late last year, and negotiations are under way on the terms.
PARIS AIR SHOW — Canada is working to bring forward a decision on its new fighter to later this year, with the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter facing ostensible competition from the Boeing F/A-18E/F, Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen NG. “We are trying to advance the decision to 2009,” says a Canadian Department of National Defense (DND) official. The intent, assuming the F-35 is selected, is to allow Canada to participate in a potential “consortium buy” with other national buyers, promising better pricing and industrial rewards.
Earmarked funding for more unrequested U.S. military airlifters this fiscal year is in the final stage of getting congressional approval, as the House has agreed to a compromise supplemental spending bill with the Senate. In addition to $79.9 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the measure would appropriate $2.7 billion to buy eight more Boeing C-17 Globemaster cargo jets — even though the Defense Department said it had enough cargo aircraft — and seven Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules turboprop transports.
The $550.4 billion fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill approved by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) directs the Pentagon to report to Congress on plans to deal with a predicted “fighter gap” in the next decade and explain changes to the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) program. The HASC approved the measure, which also authorizes $130 billion to support overseas contingency operations during FY ’10, by a 61-0 vote June 17.
NAVY AIRCRAFT: The fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill approved June 17 by the House Armed Services Committee urges the Navy to enter into a multiyear procurement contract for more F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers. The bill, which now goes to the House floor, includes $108 million for advance procurement of items used to build new aircraft beyond FY ’10 and $56 million for support items associated with the Growlers. The committee said buying new aircraft made more sense than trying to extend the life of the legacy fleet.
Airborne Laser (ABL) industry executives are suggesting even more money in the FY ’10 Pentagon budget request and beyond is needed to fully prove their program’s military effectiveness, despite high-level Defense Department actions lately downgrading the embattled missile defense effort.
