WALKING PAPERS: Three senators have sent a letter to President Obama asking for the removal of NASA Inspector General (IG) Robert Cobb, “following years of complaints and investigations into Cobb’s work as the government’s watchdog at NASA,” according to a statement from the lawmakers’ offices. “We respectfully ask that you take immediate action to put an end to conflict of interest and cronyism in the IG process by replacing Mr. Cobb and nominating a qualified candidate,” wrote Sens.
The combatant commander in charge of U.S. Strategic Command told House defense authorizers March 17 that the United States remains vulnerable across a swath of cyber threats, but he asserts that the military is indeed making progress on the issue.
The American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is making its annual trek to Capitol Hill, armed with two new issues touching on energy independence and efficiency in aerospace. “These are things that, if we [don’t] figure out how to mitigate the underlying problems, could have a significant impact on aerospace in the long term,” AIAA President George Muellner told reporters March 17. “We decided it was time to focus the technical expertise of this institute to deal with these problems.”
Despite news accounts that numerous big ticket Pentagon programs may be coming under the budget knife, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made no decisions yet, the Department’s comptroller said March 18. Anxious members of the House Budget Committee peppered Comptroller Robert Hale with questions about the continued funding viability of the F-22 Raptor, the Air Force replacement refueling tanker, the proposed long-range strike bomber and missile defense projects.
LONDON British officials March 18 signed a deal to purchase three Lockheed Martin F-35Bs that will allow the United Kingdom to participate fully in the operational test and evaluation phase of the program. British Defense Secretary John Hutton announced the decision during a visit to Washington. “By purchasing three aircraft for testing, we will secure access to the development of the program. Working alongside their U.S. colleagues, our pilots will gain an unrivaled understanding of this awesome aircraft and its capabilities.”
As Pentagon programs continue to run over budget and behind schedule, a number of watchdog groups are leaning hard on the Defense Department to clean up its act and increase its focus on managing those programs better from cradle to grave. The DOD, the watchdog groups say, must regain expertise in the lost art of program management. And the Pentagon is taking heed. Program management expenses have increased by about threefold over the course of this decade, according to a recent analysis of contracting data by Aerospace DAILY.
Alliant Techsystems has completed long-duration ground runs of a new ramjet engine and is preparing to combine the combustor with the inlet and nozzle for the proposed X-51B hypersonic demonstrator and conduct integrated engine testing later this year. The ALRJ-51-4 Thermally Throated Ramjet (TTRJ) is a dual-mode subsonic/supersonic-combustion ramjet that burns readily available JP-10 jet fuel, used in missiles such as Tomahawk and Harpoon. Long-duration testing at ATK’s Ronkonkoma, N.Y., facility was funded by the U.S. Air Force.
Northrop Grumman said March 17 it received a contract to developmentally and operationally test the Multi-Role Tactical Common Data Link (MR-TCDL) for the U.S. Army’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC).
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has signed a science and technology research agreement with the German Ministry of Education and Research. The pact, signed March 16 in Berlin, is similar to collaboration arrangements the U.S. already has with the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Sweden, Mexico, Israel and France.
IRANIAN DRONE: Coalition aircraft over Iraq shot down an Iranian-made Ababil 3 model unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, according to U.S. military officials. The Feb. 25 incident was announced March 16. “This was not an accident on the part of the Iranians,” officials said. “The UAV was in Iraqi airspace for nearly one hour and 10 minutes and well inside Iraqi territory before it was engaged.” Two coalition aircraft were directed to visually identify the UAV after it was detected hovering inside the Iraqi border.
In 2008 there were 6,000 cartel-related murders in Mexico, which is more than twice the previous record, says Mark Koumans, deputy assistant secretary of the office of international affairs for the Homeland Security Department. Even more alarming is that in January 2009 alone, there were 1,000 such murders.
The head of North American Aerospace Defense Command told Congress March 17 that the military unit charged with defending U.S. and Canadian airspace could have trouble maintaining sovereignty of the skies without aircraft recapitalization. In his written testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Air Force Gen. Victor Renuart Jr. noted that legacy F-16 fighters are aging and “will be stressed to maintain reliability and capability as we move into the 2013-2025 time frame.”
Members of the U.S. submarine industrial base are seeking and winning visible support in Congress for protecting the military’s underwater programs – namely the Virginia-class submarine – as the Pentagon undergoes expected budget tightening.
A state-of-the-art instrument to measure the effects of atmospheric aerosols – both natural and manmade – on the Earth’s climate is ready for installation on the NASA satellite that will take it to orbit next fall.
UAV SUMMIT: U.S. Northern Command will host a national summit for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) stakeholders March 23-24. U.S. Air Force Gen. Victor Renuart Jr., NORTHCOM’s commander, told the Senate Armed Services Committee March 17 that the gathering was being called to help determine “the best way forward on employing UAS capabilities in the National Air Space.” He added that NORTHCOM was eager to team with the Homeland Security Department as it expands UAS operational capabilities “to achieve synergy with our homeland defense and homeland security efforts.”
ST. LOUIS – Boeing unveiled the prototype of a new variant of the F-15 Strike Eagle aimed at the Asian and Middle East markets that will incorporate stealthy coatings and structure here on March 17.
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Houston – The space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station March 17, delivering power and life support hardware needed to support a full-size crew of six later this year. Mission Commander Lee Archambault and pilot Tony Antonelli maneuvered the orbiter to a soft dock at the front of the station’s Harmony node at 5:19 p.m. EDT.
The U.S. Navy’s Ship Self-Defense System (SSDS) Mark 2 sensor and weapons package is still far from being shipshape, says a recent report by the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). Indeed, the Navy has failed to make the SSDS meet the DOT&E grade for the past two years, according to the organization’s 2008 annual report, released last month. “The Navy has not completed any of the (fiscal year) 2006 or FY07 recommendations,” the DOT&E said.
The European Space Agency’s Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite was launched March 17 aboard a Russian Rockot launch vehicle from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, following a 24-hour hold. The hold on the previous day – with seven seconds left on the clock – was due to an issue with an element of the launch platform. The overall GOCE program is well behind the original schedule.
