THIRD TEST: French armaments agency DGA has successfully test-fired the new M51 ballistic nuclear missile for the third time from an underwater silo at the ballistic test range in southwestern France. The missile, built by EADS Astrium and Snecma/SNCPE joint venture G2P, is to be deployed aboard the Terrible nuclear-powered submarine in 2010, replacing aging M45s.
The U.S Navy is borrowing a page from the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) playbook, integrating four FCS Non-Line of Sight Launch Systems (NLOS-LS) on the deck of its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. – In an old paint hangar here, NASA’s Ames Research Center has its Hover Test Vehicle (HTV) encased in web safety netting as it perfects the control software that will allow the simple spacecraft to land and hop around on the lunar surface.
NORDIC LIFTERS: The Royal Norwegian Air Force took delivery of the first of four C-130Js from Lockheed Martin Nov. 12. The Super Hercules are stretch variants of the C-130J used by the U.S. Air Force. The Norwegians join a growing list of international C-130J customers including Australia, Canada, Denmark, India, Italy, Qatar and the United Kingdom. A second C-130J will be delivered to the Norway air force in 2009 and the last two in 2010.
PRODUCT LIFE: Bell Helicopter has embarked on a multiyear upgrade of its product life cycle management and computer-aided design, engineering and manufacturing software to meet regulatory requirements and the need to standardize its business practices across aging programs. Bell declined to give an investment figure but said it will upgrade its Dassault Systemes software tools throughout the company to include Enovia version 6 within its existing Catia V5 platform.
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – The U.S. Army has already demonstrated that directed energy weapons work, according to an official within the Cruise Missile Defense System (CMDS) project office, and now the task is to build cultural acceptance and an understanding of how they can be best deployed.
In another major failure for the Chinese space program, a second DFH-4 satellite bus, this one built for Nigeria, has failed in geosynchronous orbit. China’s first DFH-4 failure in late 2006 was the worst in-space breakdown suffered by the Chinese. That satellite, designated Sinosat-2, was to provide Chinese communications services to the Pacific. The Nigerian satellite is designated NigComSat-1 and was launched last May by a Long March 3B rocket.
Doug Cooke, a longtime NASA engineer, will take over as the agency’s associate administrator for exploration systems with the departure of Rick Gilbrech later this month. In that role, Cooke will be in charge of developing the plans and hardware necessary to fulfill NASA’s goal of leaving Earth orbit to explore the moon, Mars and beyond with humans and robotic pathfinders.
Former Senate Armed Services Chairman Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) will be advising the defense transition team of President-elect Barack Obama but will not serve in a formalized, paid role, the Obama camp said Nov. 12. Nunn “will play an informal senior advisor role throughout the defense transition process,” said Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Spokesperson Stephanie Cutter. “His expertise and the respect he has earned will be invaluable to ensure a smooth transition,” she added.
UP AND RUNNING: After more than two years of testing, the U.S. Air Force has finally declared its first Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) payload operational, marking the end of a trial operations period. The payload, which flies on a classified host satellite in highly elliptical orbit, is designed to detect ballistic missile launches and alert ground commanders. It is the first of the SBIRS series, which eventually will replace the Defense Support Program satellites. Certification of the system from U.S.
PARIS – German aerospace agency DLR on Nov. 11 signed a contract with Kayser-Threde for development and production of the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP) spacecraft. The hyperspectral imaging system is supposed to be launched in 2012 and operate for five years. The spacecraft will be placed in a 650-kilometer (400-mile) high orbit. EnMAP’s sensor is designed to measure more than 200 spectral bands. The mission is expected to cost about 90 million euros ($113 million).
LONDON – Britain will go ahead with plans for two 65,000-ton class aircraft carriers, says John Hutton, the country’s recently appointed secretary of state for defense. With London revisiting equipment and budgetary priorities, there has been speculation that the carrier program, known as CVF, could be at risk. But Hutton is adamant the program will continue. “The carrier is definitely going to proceed,” Hutton told the British Parliament’s Defense Select Committee on Nov. 12. “We have done the deal on the carriers.”
SAN DIEGO – The average cost overrun on U.S. defense acquisition programs could reach 46 percent within a decade, adding more strain to a system that already is facing the end of robust budget growth, according to a study released Nov. 12. The report by Deloitte LLP predicts that a “vicious cycle of budget overruns” on Pentagon programs caused by unstable funding, overly optimistic planning, conflicting priorities and limited foresight will continue to worsen unless reforms are made in both government and industry.
Pentagon acquisition chief John Young has approved the use of $50 million in fiscal 2009 for up to four F-22 Raptor aircraft, extending the production line a bit beyond the earlier freeze at 183 of the stealthy fighter jets.
U.S. Army aviation accidents and incidents have cost the service about $16.2 billion over the past dozen years, according to an exclusive Aerospace DAILY analysis of data provided by the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center (USACRC). The average cost per an accident or incident for the more than 30,000 events was $539,281, the analysis shows, with a maximum single-event cost of about $62.4 million. (See charts pp. 6-9.) The mishaps have lead to 2,856 deaths.
NEW DELHI – India’s Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) has flight-tested a 600-kilometer (370-mile) range surface-to-surface missile system named Shourya from a 30-40 foot deep pit. The missile was fired from the Integrated Test Range Balasore in the East Indian state of Orissa on Nov. 12. The test was performed on behalf of the Indian army.
CSAR REPORT: According to Bloomberg news service, the Pentagon Inspector General’s draft report on the U.S. Air Force’s Combat, Search and Rescue helicopter (CSAR-X) replacement program says the service didn’t break rules when it changed key requirements for the $15 billion effort. The nine-page draft report says the Air Force stayed within acquisition guidelines when it changed the aircraft’s payload, cabin space, fuel range and mission readiness requirements, Bloomberg says.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending government agencies that interact with Federally Funded Research Centers (FFRDC) address potential conflicts of interest through stronger policies and improved management.
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Three Aerospace DAILY stories filed from the Helicopter Military Operations Technology Specialists’ Meeting, or HELMOT, misidentified the event’s sponsor. The American Helicopter Society sponsored the conference, with the Army Aviation Association of America (Quad-A) as co-sponsor.
