The German army next year is due to receive its first EADS Tactical Radar Ground Surveillance (TRGS) system to assess the technology in the run up to a competition expected around 2011-2012.
PARIS — After years of false starts, the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a Bangalore-based Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) laboratory, is homing in on its choice for a partner to jointly develop and produce the indigenous engine for India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). With NPO Saturn and Snecma short-listed and technical evaluations on, a decision may be made soon.
Recent tests for advanced monitors by the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fail to ensure the new technology would properly identify smuggled nuclear material as it’s supposed to, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). “Preventing a nuclear weapon or radiological dispersal device (a “dirty bomb”) from being smuggled into the United States is a key national security priority,” GAO says in its report.
The routine launch of the Flight 18 Defense Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft will not take place this month as planned, because it isn’t needed. The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base says the current DMSP F16 spacecraft is continuing to provide good weather data for warfighters despite being a year past its four-year design life. So the Air Force will hold off on the F18 launch as long as F16 continues to perform.
ARMY HAWKS: As the Pentagon turns its attention to Afghanistan, the U.S. Army is speeding ahead to buy roughly 20 more Constant Hawk intelligence collection aircraft to support operations there. Constant Hawk consists of several electro-optical cameras on a single platform that provide a 360-degree view of the space around it. High-resolution streaming video is collected and stored, and the system is used for forensics after an event, such as an improvised-explosive-device detonation. Col.
SUSTAINMENT: The acquisition of Tapestry Solutions, a San Diego-based company that specializes in services and software for tracking and distributing equipment, will bolster Boeing’s desire to more deeply penetrate the logistics and sustainment market. Logistics support is seen as an area ripe for a boom, especially for the military, as legacy systems increasingly experience challenges with aging equipment, according to Tim Noonan, director of advanced global services and support for Boeing.
SABER RATTLING: President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will place Iskander short-range missile systems in Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave that borders NATO members Lithuania and Poland. The U.S. has announced it would place in Poland a Patriot missile battery capable of shooting down short-range missiles. Medvedev said in a Nov. 5 speech that Russia plans to jam U.S. missile-defense systems, parts of which are to be deployed in Poland and the Czech Republic, and that Moscow was scrapping plans to stand down three Cold War-era missile regiments.
NASA has picked Lockheed Martin to support agency systems at Johnson Space Center and elsewhere that are used for training astronauts and conducting human spaceflight missions, awarding the company a contract with a potential total value close to $1 billion. The new Facilities Development and Operations Contract (FDOC) replaces the Mission Support Operations Contract and incorporates portions of the work performed under the Space Program Operations Contract currently held by United Space Alliance.
SDB II: More flight testing is to come later this year and early next year as a Boeing/Lockheed Martin team refines its design for the U.S. Air Force’s Small Diameter Bomb II competition, according to Dan Jaspering, director of direct attack weapons at Boeing. To date, the team has executed two subsystem flight tests, including checks on the airframe. The team also has tested the seeker, which is being provided by Lockheed Martin. The Air Force is expected to downselect between this design and Raytheon’s proposal next October.
RESEARCH INVESTMENTS: The Defense Department will invest an additional $400 million over the next five years to support basic research at academic institutions. Defense Secretary Robert Gates secured the additional funding in the fiscal 2009 President’s budget request to Congress to expand research into new and emerging scientific areas and foster fundamental discoveries.
The availability of Canada’s CH-149 Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopters is less than 50 percent, and minimum operational requirements can only be met by buying more aircraft or reducing maintenance inspections, says an official report. Canada purchased 15 of the AgustaWestland EH101 helicopters in 1998 on the assumption of 75 percent availability, but a study by Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) found actual figures vary from 37 to 50 percent.
JLTV PROTEST: Northrop Grumman is protesting the U.S. Army and Marine Corps’ choice of winner for three technology development contracts for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program. Northrop said late Nov. 7 that it wants the congressional Government Accountability Office to examine the evaluation process, which Northrop “believes is marred by unstated requirement changes and arbitrary maturity ratings.” Defense officials announced the winners and losers — including Northrop — on Oct.
SUSTAINING DETERRENCE: British financial watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) is cautioning that the U.K. faces schedule risks in securing the country’s future submarine-based strategic nuclear deterrent. The first of the Vanguard class of submarines will need to be replaced by around 2024. In a statement released by the ministry commenting on the report, John Hutton, the Defense Minister, said, ”We are fully aware of the timetabling risks identified by the NAO and the need to manage them.
HARRIS TAPPED: NASA’s Kennedy Space Center has selected off-the-shelf Harris Corp. telemetry, tracking and command software for the Constellation Launch Control System that will be used to process and countdown the Ares booster and Orion spacecraft. Designated OS/Comet, the software is less complex than the highly specialized Launch Processing System software used for the space shuttle.
KAMOVS COMING: The Russian air force is due to receive its first batch of Kamov Ka-52 Hokum-B dual-seat coaxial-rotor combat helicopters in 2009, says its chief, Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin. “We are planning to acquire up to 12 Ka-52s in 2009” as long as acceptance trials are completed and performance requirements met, he says. The air force selected the Mil Mi-28N Havoc as its basic attack helicopter to eventually replace the Mi-24 Hind. The Ka-52 is to be used as a reconnaissance-attack helicopter for special missions. Full-rate production was launched in late October.
RADAR JDAM: Boeing is exploring adding a millimeter-wave radar seeker onto its Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) family of weapons, says Dan Jaspering, who oversees direct attack weapons for the company. The new seeker would add an all-weather capability to the JDAM and could be useful against maritime targets. Specifically, Jaspering says a radar JDAM could counter the “swarming boat problem.” Already, the company has met with success by funding the addition of a laser head to the weapon, and the Air Force and Navy are each buying 400 units of the laser JDAM.
UPGRADE: The Colombian air force has become the first international customer for Sikorsky’s UH-60A-to-L upgrade, with six helicopters to be converted by its Sikorsky Aerospace Services aftermarket unit at Chase Field, Texas. Two additional upgrade kits are included in the contract. The A-to-L conversion installs uprated T700-701D engines and main gearbox, new avionics, flight controls, and wiring.
SENTINEL SYSTEMS: Thales Alenia Space will supply X-band communications subsystems and S-band tracking, telemetry and control transponders for the Sentinel 1, 2 and 3 satellites, as well as the next three recurrent spacecraft, planned for Europe’s Kopernikus (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) program.
ZHUHAI, China – Air Show China kicked off Nov. 4 with Chinese political and military weight giving impetus to the event. The Chengdu J-10 fighter aircraft is in attendance after having failed to turn up in 2006. Two of the aircraft were parked, and partially covered, on the hard stand. One or more will fly during the show, which runs here until Nov. 9.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicated new calendar listing.) Nov. 11 - 14 — AIRTEC International Aerospace Supply Fair, “Runway To Tomorrow’s Supply Chain,” Exhibition Center, Frankfurt/Main, Germany. For more information go to www.airtec.aero Nov. 11 - 14 — International Symposium On GPS/GNSS 2008, Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan. For more information go http://gnss2008.jp
HORNETS STUNG: The U.S. Navy has inspected 476 of 636 F/A-18A-D Hornets, 99 percent of the deployed force, following the discovery of cracks in aileron hinges on the outer wing panel on 15 aircraft last month (Aerospace DAILY, Oct. 27). Of those inspected, 10 were grounded and 20 placed on flight restrictions. Navy officials say that with the procedures now in place and maintenance techniques under development, no further degradations of the service’s strike-fighter capability are expected.
Intelsat has ended the career of the Marisat-F2 satellite after 32 years, the last of them serving scientists at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Manufactured by Hughes Aircraft in 1976 (now part of Boeing), the 700-pound spacecraft was built for Comsat General (now part of Intelsat) to serve maritime traffic. It was given a five-year design life but is now believed to be the oldest communications satellite still operating. As such, it’s been dubbed, “the little satellite that could.”
FAST LANE: U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Nevin Carr will take over leadership of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in December. He will be the 23rd chief of ONR; his assignment was announced by Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead Nov. 6. Carr is currently head of the Navy International Programs Office.
The U.S. Army is incorporating lessons learned from Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles into its Future Combat Systems (FCS) Manned Ground Vehicles (MGVs), designing them with V-shaped hulls, blast-absorbing floors and protective seats. Maj. Gen. Charles Cartwright, departing program manager for FCS, said the Army consulted with the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) and other organizations to determine the most survivable hull shape for the MGV common chassis.
