PITCH AND ROLL: Qinetiq has completed trials of a system to allow F-35B Joint Strike Fighters to make shipborne rolling vertical landings (SRVL) even when the deck is pitching in high seas. Qinetiq’s Harrier test bed flew some 230 SRVL approaches to HMS Illustrious last month to test the system. In a rolling vertical landing, wing lift complements engine thrust. The U.K. is developing the technique to enable the JSF to return to the carrier with heavier payloads, while the U.S. Marine Corps sees it as a way to operate its F-35Bs alongside F/A-18s on U.S. Navy carriers.
Planning considerations in day-to-day operations on the International Space Station (ISS) forced controllers to postpone an 18-hour test of a damaged power-generating mechanism, but at least a limited test probably will be conducted in the next week.
PALMDALE, Calif. – Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy are devising a series of control devices, visual aids and protocols to enable the X-47B unmanned combat air system (UCAS) demonstrator to operate seamlessly alongside manned aircraft within the confines of an aircraft carrier flight deck, as well as in its airspace.
VARIANT RESEARCH: The U.S. Army’s Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) has awarded Oshkosh Defense a $9.4 million contract modification for continuing research and development of the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) A3 variant. Oshkosh engineers will upgrade the vehicle’s engine horsepower and incorporate an Army Long-Term Armor Strategy (LTAS) compliant integral lightweight composite armor (A-kit) and add-on lightweight composite armor appliqué (B-kit) to improve crew protection.
The U.S. Navy’s secondary inventory stocks are being mismanaged to the tune of billions of dollars annually, according to congressional auditors at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Between fiscal 2004 and 2007, the Navy had about $18.7 billion of secondary inventory, of which about 40 percent exceeded the current requirements.
The European Union (EU) has issued a draft Code of Conduct governing military and civil space operations, in a measure meant to strengthen the security of activities in outer space. The basis for the Code of Conduct is to avoid “harmful interference” against space objects — i.e., offensive space weapons — and includes several provisions, including: • Freedom of access to, exploration and use of outer space, • The inherent right of the individual or collective self-defense in accordance with the United Nations Charter,
NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston released a draft request for proposals (RFP) Dec. 16 for the Altair Conceptual Design Contract, which will firm up requirements for the lunar lander the agency plans to use for its return to the moon. A pre-proposal conference will be held Dec. 18 in Houston. Prospective bidders have until Jan. 12, 2009 to comment on the draft RFP, and the final RFP will follow later that month, according to NASA.
The NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) completed a comprehensive review last month that assessed its operational readiness and progress toward launch, prime Northrop Grumman announced Dec. 16. NPP is a risk-reduction mission for NPOESS (National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System), the beleaguered $12.5 billion civil/military weather satellite program managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Air Force and NASA.
Rockwell Collins has delivered the first TacNet datalink for Raytheon’s Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW), allaying the U.S. Navy’s earlier doubts about the potential challenges involved in integrating a new datalink on an existing weapon. Raytheon recently approved final testing and accepted delivery of TacNet for integration into the JSOW C-1 variant as part of the Navy’s Strike Common Weapon Data Link Program.
Ad Astra Rocket Company will work through a series of development “gates” to build an advanced plasma-propulsion engine for in-flight testing on the International Space Station (ISS) by 2012. William Gerstenmaier, associate NASA administrator for space operations, and Franklin Chang Diaz, Ad Astra president and CEO, signed a Space Act agreement Dec. 8 that will allow the Houston-based company to place a 200-kilowatt version of its Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) on the ISS to test its performance in space.
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 new Pentagon vertical-lift study working its way around Washington appears to draw from the latest acquisition strategies for picking a new combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter for the U.S. Air Force. At the same time, Boeing’s HH-47 Chinook remains listed as the vertical-lift program of record in the “Future Vertical Lift (FVL) Capabilities Based Assessment” (Aerospace DAILY, Dec. 12).
DAMAGE CONTROL: Rockwell Collins will demonstrate its damage-tolerant flight control technology on an “operational representative unmanned aerial vehicle” under a $3.12 million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Previous demonstrations involved blowing a large part of the wing off a subscale F/A-18 model in flight and showing that the vehicle could autonomously recover its performance and land safely using the control system.
PARIS — The EADS board of directors has endorsed a push by company CEO Louis Gallois to streamline the operation. The main elements of the move are to shift EADS’s military transport aircraft division (MTAD) under Airbus, and more closely link the Astrium space operation with EADS Defense & Security.
PARIS — Transferring defense articles between European Union (EU) member states will become easier now that the European Parliament approved a reform package Dec. 16.
The two most pressing technology needs of U.S. forces in combat remain precision close-air support and counter-IED capabilities, according to Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, the new deputy commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command. Moreover, the sequence of combat involvement may be flipped on its head, with conventional forces learning how to support special operations forces (SOF), instead of the current practice of using SOF to support conventional warfare, Harward told defense reporters at a breakfast Dec. 16.
NEW DELHI — India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) took another step with the prototype vehicle (PV-3) landing in Leh airfield — one of the highest airfields in the world — in Ladakh at an altitude of 10,600 feet with temperatures falling to negative 20 degrees Celsius. The Indian Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) said the objective at Leh is to expose the onboard systems to the extreme low temperatures while making an assessment of the aircraft performance in rarefied atmospheric conditions.
RUNNING AGAIN: Ground tests of the F135 powerplant for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, halted on Dec. 2 after an engine suffered foreign-object damage, resumed on Dec. 16, manufacturer Pratt & Whitney says. Testing was halted after inspection of the engine revealed that a nut released from a bearing compartment had caused minor damage to the fan and compressor.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are considering improving defense cooperation with a particular focus on procurement. In a meeting of the three countries’ defense ministers, army development and joint procurements were high-profile issues. Initial efforts are already under way with a joint infantry battalion assigned to NATO Response Force 14.
The developers of a small, lightweight — but high-powered — laser system say it could make directed infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) technology more affordable to protect commercial airliners from surface-to-air missiles.
MAKING WAVES: The Jason defense science advisory panel has dismissed the notion that high-frequency gravitational waves (HFGW) could pose a national security threat. The group of experts was asked to evaluate the scientific, technological and national security significance of the waves. “Our main conclusions are that the proposed applications of the science of HFGW are fundamentally wrong; that there can be no security threat; and that independent scientific and technical vetting of such hypothetical threats is generally necessary,” an October report said.
