SNEAKY REAPERS: The U.S. Navy is only now acknowledging its purchase of four General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial systems built by General Atomics. The Navy purchased the MQ-9s between November 2005 and March 2007. They are being used for a “sensor testing and integration project,” service officials say. Few details were provided, though the reason behind the secrecy is unclear.
ALGAL BOOM: A team led by General Atomics will try to demonstrate that a drop-in replacement for JP-8 jet fuel can be produced affordably from algae, under a $20-million U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract. DARPA’s biofuels program has demonstrated the ability to produce a surrogate JP-8 from plant oil sources.
AVIATION CHIEF: Brig. Gen. Tim Crosby took the reins as the U.S. Army’s new program executive officer (PEO) for aviation in a ceremony at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., Dec. 12. Crosby takes over from Paul Bogosian, who retired after 35 years of Army service. The office is responsible for the development, procurement, and life cycle management of the Army’s helicopter fleet, as well as its fixed-wing aircraft and unmanned systems. Crosby previously served as deputy PEO for aviation.
MORE MRAPs: Four hundred more of Navistar’s MaxxPro Dash Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles (See story p. 5) will head to Afghanistan under a $362 million contract recently awarded to the company. Navistar is already prepping to deliver 822 MaxxPro Dash vehicles a month ahead of schedule at the end of January, from a previous September award. Work on the next batch of 400 is expected to be complete by the end of May 2009.
TOUGH TALK: Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) has harsh words to say about Pentagon acquisition strategy. A House Armed Services member and retired vice admiral, Sestak has been mentioned as possible Navy secretary in the Obama administration. Between 2006-2008, Sestak says, the Pentagon’s various development programs had over 30 breaches of Nunn-McCurdy cost triggers, but there’s been little attempt at reform.
JAM TOMORROW: The U.S. Navy is looking for bidders to provide and operate a pair of “electronic aggressor” aircraft than can flying jamming missions against its ships for electronic warfare (EW) training and testing. The aircraft will replace a pair of twin-turboprop Gulfstream Is now used for the task. They must be able to screen an inboard pair of strike aircraft at a minimum of 100 nautical miles from the target vessel’s search radar. The Navy wants one EW aggressor based on each coast and is guaranteeing a combined minimum 490 hours of flying.
A Pentagon representative defended the U.S. Defense Department’s history with Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles as an educational “evolution” after the DOD Inspector General (IG) released critical findings recently. “We’ve seen the enemy adapt to us, and we’ve had to adapt to them,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters Dec. 9. “As the threat has evolved, so have our force-protection measures.”
NUCLEAR POSTURE: A congressionally-appointed, bipartisan commission is set to release an interim report soon on U.S. strategic posture and the appropriate role of nuclear weapons (Aerospace DAILY, March 24). The commission, headed by former defense secretaries William Perry and James Schlesinger, also will assess the role of nonproliferation programs and missile defenses in U.S. strategic policies. The first report is due to be delivered in the next couple of weeks, with a final report to Congress due in April.
LOGISTICS SUPPORT: Northrop Grumman will provide the U.S. Army Fort Polk Directorate of Logistics with materiel maintenance, base supply, transportation and deployment/redeployment logistical support under a five-year, $90 million contract. The task order was awarded under the Army’s Field and Installation Readiness Support Team (FIRST) contract to provide logistical support to Ft. Polk, La., and the Joint Readiness Training Center.
The Netherlands is hoping to award a contract in January to increase its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capacity in Afghanistan. The objective is to have the new unmanned aircraft operational in March 2009, which requires a January contract award, the state secretary for defense, Jack de Vries, told the Dutch parliament. The timeline is “very tight,” he warned and any delays would affect operational availability in the combat area.
Eco-Aviation and Fuel Management Viable strategies to drive meaningful cost reduction and improve operating efficiencies January 27-28, 2009 Sofitel Miami Miami, FL FEATURED SPEAKER: Pierre Girault VP QSE & Sustainable Development Air France Industries KLM Royal Dutch Airlines An exciting discussion on one of today’s most topical issues!
A comprehensive review of the Pentagon budget is necessary in light of a discouraging lack of cost control in many DOD programs, according to U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
PAID UP: L-3 Vertex Aerospace paid the U.S. government $4 million to settle allegations that it submitted false and inflated claims to the U.S. Army for hours worked by the firm’s employees on a contract supporting military operations by the United States in Iraq, the Justice Department announced earlier this week. The L-3 Communications unit continues to work an ongoing contract with the Army to provide helicopter maintenance at Camp Taji, Iraq.
LONDON – Britain is further delaying its replacement aircraft carrier program – likely by two years – and will almost return to the drawing board on a key armored fighting vehicle program as the result of a short-term review of its equipment program. The review was prompted by severe budget pressure on the nation’s near-term spending plan, as well as the demands of supporting combat operations in Afghanistan and the United Kingdom’s soon-to-end major deployment in Iraq.
The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) should not become the lead combatant of bomb-making insurgent networks for the rest of the Pentagon, cautioned JIEDDO’s director, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz.
WIND TUNNEL: Frontline Aerospace’s V-STAR vertical unmanned aircraft recently completed wind tunnel tests at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. The V-STAR takes off vertically, then transitions to fixed-wing flight, which could enable it to reach targets three times faster than helicopters, the company claims. Subscale flight-tests are scheduled for 2009.
Over the course of seven years, DOD has reaped $89.1 billion in financial benefits from implementing recommendations made by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), according to a newly released status report by GAO.
BENGALURU, India – Flush with the ongoing success of its Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is looking for international partners as a way to fast-forward some of its ambitious space plans.
The U.S. Army soon is fielding 50 new digital datalinks for the RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft. A typo in a Dec. 10 Aerospace DAILY article misidentified the type as RQ-1B.
GLASS ACT: Canada’s CMC Electronics has received its first production order for Cockpit 400 integrated avionics systems for the Hawker Beechcraft T-6B turboprop trainer. The contract is for 35 shipsets, with deliveries to begin in late 2009. The U.S. Navy has switched procurement under the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System program from the T-6A to the glass-cockpit T-6B, which has also been offered to several international operators.
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps accident investigators continue looking into why both engines failed on a Marine F/A-18D, causing it to crash into a residential area near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., on Dec. 8. A Miramar spokesman said no new information on what caused the engine failure has surfaced yet, but analysis is still going on.
