Acting Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley says the service is in talks with Northrop Grumman to proceed with termintaing its contract to build KC-45 tankers for the Pentagon. The termination follows last week’s decision by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to punt a recompete of the controversial KC-135 replacement deal to the next administration (Aerospace DAILY, Sept. 11).
LONDON – The British Army and Royal Air Force continue to face a number of problems that could affect their fighting capabilities in Iran and Afghanistan. An operational concern that affects both services resulted from political pressure from London to validate the investment in new C-130J airlifters. The RAF was obligated to deploy the new J-models with their automated airdrop systems to Afghanistan instead of the long-serving C-130Ks that had been used for high-accuracy air drops to support special operations forces (SOF) for many years.
NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston came through Hurricane Ike in fairly good order, but power, water and other issues are likely to keep it closed to normal operations until next week, with the effect on upcoming shuttle missions remaining to be seen. Commercial electrical power was restored to the campus-like field center on Sept. 14, but managers were cautious about shifting away from the diesel generators used during the storm to avoid damage to critical computer systems from power surges, an agency spokesman said Sept. 15.
NASA will spend $485 million to send an orbiter to Mars in 2013 that will investigate the atmosphere for clues to the evolution of the planet’s climate. Dubbed Maven, for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, the spacecraft will be built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colo., which also built the Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter probes, as well as the Phoenix Mars lander.
A system giving pilots approaching their target a view of any friendly forces in the area has been demonstrated by BAE Systems during U.S. Joint Forces Command’s Exercise Bold Eagle Plus at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The combat identification (CID) server allows pilots to select a point on the ground and, in less than 10 seconds, receive information on any friendly forces within a kilometer radius, according to Eric Hansen, BAE business development manager.
A provision in the House-passed 2009 National Defense Authorization Act restricting contract awards for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) has garnered push back from the Senate Airland subcommittee, which is appealing to the Senate Armed Services Committee to make changes.
The first of two reports on the U.S. Air Force’s mismanagement of its nuclear mission – as well as greater departmental issues over strategic weapons – was issued by the Defense Department on Sept. 12, recommending the realignment of all nuclear responsibilities under a new, unified command.
GREEN AVIATION FORUM • September 23, 2008 • Madrid, Spain Don’t miss the second annual AVIATION WEEK Management Forum dedicated to green initiatives in the airline industry, including: emissions treading; carbon offsets; and air traffic management improvement. Learn more at www.aviationweek.com/forums or call +1.212.904.3195.
LONDON – Disruptive technologies such as directed energy weapons and the use of electro-magnetic pulse are being identified as “emerging issues” for space security in a key U.K. industry report.
NEW DELHI – India has held flight trials of its first indigenously developed beyond-visual range air-to-air missile, called Astra. The weapons was test fired at the Balasore Integrated Test Range in the East Indian state of Orissa for the second time in two days on Sept. 14. The tests are part of the second phase of missile development flight trials, according to the Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO). The missiles were fired from a ground launcher.
FUEL PROBE: The U.S. Air Force has awarded Sikorsky Aerospace Services a $2 million contract to supply 13 aerial refueling assemblies for H-60 helicopters. The fuel probe assembly is an aftermarket option for the H-60, provided by the aftermarket division of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.
SAUDI RADAR: Boeing has been awarded a contract for the initial phase of upgrading the radar on Saudi Arabia’s fleet of five E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. The foreign military sale, not to exceed $42 million, is a first phase contract which includes a study to determine which parts are obsolete, and then the location of replacement parts for testing and modification. The next phase involves production and installation of Northrop Grumman-built Radar System Improvement Program (RSIP) kits, software integration and testing and crew training.
NEW DELHI – India intends to use the 20 Harpoon Block II missiles it plans to purchase from the U.S. to modernize its air force’s anti-surface warfare mission capabilities, as well as improve its naval operational flexibility. The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the sale of the missiles and associated equipment and services on Sept. 9. It was one in a multibillion dollar batch of 15 proposed Foreign Military Sales, mostly to customers in the Middle East (Aerospace DAILY, Sept. 11).
HEAVY TOPIC: The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Advisory Committee will meet Sept. 16 to receive classified briefings by Missile Defense Agency senior staff, program managers, senior Defense Department leaders and representatives from industry and the armed services on developing and deploying space-based sensors and interceptors, according to a Sept. 11 notice in the Federal Register.
STALL SUCCESS: The Boeing/NASA X-48B remotely piloted blended-wing research aircraft was successfully stalled at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif., for the first time on Sept. 4, going 2 degrees beyond the maximum coefficient of lift and recovering without difficulty, Phantom Works project manager Mike Kisska says. Stall testing is a key milestone for the unconventional, tailless vehicle, which made its initial stall with fixed leading-edge slats, a forward center of gravity and 23-degree angle of attack.
A low-budget test earlier this year demonstrated long-range electric power transmission at frequencies and distances that could be used in an operational space solar power (SSP) system. Longtime SSP advocate John Mankins used less than $1 million put up by Discovery Communications Inc., plus a lot of volunteer labor by students from Texas A&M and Japan’s Kobe University, to collect solar energy at high elevation on the Hawaiian island of Maui and beam it as microwaves to a receiver 148 kilometers (92 miles) away on the island of Hawaii.
SERVICING MISSIONS: Large-scale space science missions are likely to benefit from the experience NASA has gained sending humans to service the Hubble Space Telescope, and that it expects to gain servicing the International Space Station (ISS) with its new Canadian robot. NASA foresees additional human servicing missions to large space observatories after 2025, provided the planned Orion spacecraft is sufficiently capable.
NEW DELHI — The Indian navy’s recent request for proposal (RFP) for 16 multi-role helicopters may be the step toward commonality in the fleet that it has been yearning for.
SIDELINED SENATORS: U.S. Sens. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) are urging defense appropriators to back a proposal to split off and give a new intelligence subcommittee some spending oversight. They focused their comments on alleged stonewalling from intelligence officials over a “major overhead technology demonstration.” Bond at a Sept. 10 defense appropriations mark-up said it was time to put the intelligence community on a path to a “responsible” purchase of this system.
