A plasma rocket engine that may one day get a test on the International Space Station has reached a power milestone in one of the radio-frequency (RF) systems used to heat the electrically charged fluid that serves as a propellant. The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) under development by Houston-based Ad Astra Rocket Company reached its target rating of 30 kilowatts in a test at its laboratory of the RF device that generates the core plasma. In the Oct. 22 test, the helicon first stage used argon as its propellant.
PARIS - Lockheed Martin is contemplating big changes to its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) design to appeal to export customers, as the first LCS – USS Freedom – gets ready for its commissioning in Milwaukee on Nov. 8. A model of a modified ship is on display here at Euronaval. The leading export prospect for the LCS, Israel, is already planning such changes. If Israel follows through with its plans, its LCS ships will be heavily armed with the Barak 8 anti-air warfare system and land-attack missiles.
The first U.S. Air Force E-8C Joint STARS is about to be fitted with Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219s in Melbourne, Fla. The upgrade will give the 707-based aircraft better performance, greater range and endurance, and improved environmental characteristics.
China’s two aircraft-making conglomerates, Avic 1 and 2, have been merged back together as a prelude to further reorganization, including a dedicated helicopter subsidiary. The combined organization, foreshadowed earlier this year, is called Avic, or China Aviation Industry Corp., as it was before it was split into Avic 1 and 2 in 1999. It encompasses almost the whole Chinese aircraft industry, with plants and research institutes spread across the country.
The French government has agreed to reach out to see if other governments are willing to grant industry’s appeal for some relief on the much-delayed Airbus A400M military transport aircraft project. French Defense Minister Herve Morin says he has asked his air force chief and the defense armaments agency, DGA, to lead the talks. The air force will see if there is room for some marginal relief on program specifications, with Morin suggesting he may be supportive.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – If the U.S. Army’s Apache AH-64D Longbow aircraft is to keep pace with its own manned-unmanned common architecture program, it will require extensive technological upgrades to the cockpit, according to the Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD), a driving force behind the technology.
The conviction of a University of Tennessee professor on charges he passed military technical data on unmanned aerial vehicles to China was one of 95 export-related cases handled by the Justice Department over a two-year period. China was involved in 22 cases; Iran more than 30.
TRIAL BALLOON: BAE Systems has carried out the first remotely piloted test flight of the GA-22 airship with the air vehicle being examined for a range of surveillance and endurance roles. The aim is to eventually make the GA-22 fully autonomous, with systems developed initially for the BAE Systems Herti tactical unmanned aerial vehicle to be integrated on the airship. The next stage of the program is to gain type certification. Lindstrand Technologies was picked by BAE Systems to develop the GA-22 in July of this year.
The first U.K. aircraft carrier is all but certain to be fielded in a configuration to support only short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (STOVL) aircraft operations, despite persistent rumors the country may yet pull out of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
The Pentagon is adding another layer of review meant to better protest-proof its major acquisitions, and the first programs set for greater scrutiny are the U.S. Air Force’s $15 billion combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter replacement plan and the $35 billion tanker fleet contract award. As part of the new review, Army and Navy officials will conduct peer reviews of the Air Force acquisition programs before, during and after contract decisions, the Pentagon confirmed Oct. 28.
Britain’s senior defense minister attended his first National Defense Industries Council meeting Oct. 27, signing a charter on sustainable procurement. While the charter is aimed at bolstering the ministry’s “green” credentials, senior industry executives in attendance also were keen to hear John Hutton’s views about more near-term sustainability issues.
The U.S. Coast Guard will be able to keep all of its capital projects on track with $9.36 billion in newly provided appropriated funds, according to the armed service’s chief financial officer. Rear Adm. Keith Taylor, assistant commandant for resources, said recently that the funding level “allows us to provide all the services we provide,” and added that certain additions to the fiscal 2009 budget were “critical,” including for marine safety and so-called stewardship issues.
The war in Afghanistan is not going well although there is still a chance to fix things – but time is running out, a British military expert says. “We’re not losing but we’re not winning. The next year is absolutely critical,” Michael Clarke, director of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI), said Oct. 27.
PARIS - The Spanish government faces an end-of-month deadline on whether to proceed with its planned acquisition of the Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile. Spain and the U.S. government had been in talks over the sale of the Raytheon missile for some time, in part because Washington had to wave Missile Technology Control Regime export restrictions. In June, the Pentagon notified Congress of the possible foreign military sale, which came after at least two years of talks.
Paradise Point Resort & Spa San Diego, CA November 12-14, 2008 A new U.S. President – what it means to the A&D industry Just one week after the 2008 Presidential Election, AVIATION WEEK will provide insight into the new administration and what it means to the A&D industry – from impact on research programs to shifts in priorities. Learn more at www.aviationweek.com/conferences or call +1.212.904.4483.
SUPPORT SERVICES: Sikorsky Aerospace Services signed $687,000 in contracts to provide the U.S. Coast Guard with scheduled maintenance help for their HH-60J medium-range Jayhawk helicopters. Sikorsky will conduct the work under two separate contracts: one for $486,368 to repair 18 spindle assemblies and another for $200,851 to repair five main rotor blades and two tail rotor blades.
SASSA SELECTEES: The U.S. Air Force has selected Lockheed Martin and Assurance Technologies to continue developing threat-warning devices potentially for use on the service’s satellite fleet. The Self-Awareness Space Situational Awareness (SASSA) program grew out of concerns that in-orbit threats to satellites are virtually undetectable and ground commanders want to be able to attribute in-orbit attacks to those who initiate them.
Armadillo Aerospace is developing a suborbital space-tourism vehicle based on the vertical takeoff/landing techniques it used to win the $350,000 Level One prize in the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, proposing a $100,000 flight to the edge of space for well-heeled adventurers.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Boeing is joining the new PlanetSpace venture with Lockheed Martin and Alliant Techsystems (ATK) to develop the 2.8-million-pound-thrust shuttle-derived Athena III space station resupply booster. The critical factor in the program’s ability to proceed, in the face of the global financial crisis, is Boeing’s decision just this month to join the venture, according to PlanetSpace CEO Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria.
German industry is squabbling over what direction the country should take in developing an early warning satellite system, with OHB pushing a low-Earth orbit approach and rival EADS Astrium advocating a constellation in a medium or geosynchronous orbit.
ARMY AM General LLC, South Bend, Ind., was awarded on Oct. 22, 2008, a $6,878,864 firm fixed price contract for theses kits and kits parts to provide for essential improvement of the Frag 5 kit, resulting in overall survivability enhancements from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The work will be performed in Mishawaka, Ind., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 20009. One bid was solicited and one bid was received. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (DAAE07-01-C-S0001).
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Officials at U.S. Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) are prioritizing gaps in their space situational awareness (SSA) architecture and trying to outline a plan for better understanding objects circling Earth and whether they are a threat to friendly satellites. As a result, officials here are considering partnerships with other agencies and even nongovernmental groups to see how AFSPC could boost U.S. SSA, including telescopes or missile defense sensors.
