GLASS ACT: Canada’s CMC Electronics has received its first production order for Cockpit 400 integrated avionics systems for the Hawker Beechcraft T-6B turboprop trainer. The contract is for 35 shipsets, with deliveries to begin in late 2009. The U.S. Navy has switched procurement under the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System program from the T-6A to the glass-cockpit T-6B, which has also been offered to several international operators.
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps accident investigators continue looking into why both engines failed on a Marine F/A-18D, causing it to crash into a residential area near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., on Dec. 8. A Miramar spokesman said no new information on what caused the engine failure has surfaced yet, but analysis is still going on.
The U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has assigned 300 agents to a counterproliferation unit that enforces laws governing export of military equipment and controlled dual-use goods having both commercial and military value, and any export to embargoed countries or terrorist groups. The heightened scrutiny comes amid growing government assertiveness in the waning weeks of the Bush administration in both curbing export violations and cutting the backlog of U.S. license applications.
Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) chief Marion Blakey said Dec. 10 that the trade group will pitch its own acquisition reform analysis to the incoming Obama administration and Congress. Speaking to an annual industry luncheon in Washington, D.C., Blakey said AIA’s proposals will include pushing for steady, thorough funding streams, as well as calling for early solidification of requirements in the program process.
WHEELED VICTORY: Consultancy Forecast International is predicting a healthy worldwide market for light-wheeled combat vehicles. The market is expected to produce more than 71,300 vehicles worth more than $21.78 billion through 2017. Dean Lockwood, a weapon systems analyst for Forecast, predicts the Humvee will account for almost 68 percent of all light-wheeled production globally through that time.
RANKING MEMBER: New York Rep. John McHugh will become the Republican leader on the House Armed Services Committee, the panel’s leaders said Dec. 10. McHugh, a committee member since joining Congress in 1993, has specialized in military personnel issues in recent years – a focus that could coincide well with President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign platform to better support service members. McHugh served as chairman of the military personnel subcommittee from 2001-2007 and chair of the former morale, welfare, and recreation panel from 1995-2000.
ATTACK SUB: The U.S. Navy will christen its newest attack submarine, the New Mexico, Dec. 13 in Newport News, Va. The submarine, designated SSN 779, began construction under a unique teaming arrangement between Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and General Dynamics Electric Boat in 2004. The New Mexico is the sixth Virginia-class submarine built, designed for anti-submarine, anti-ship and strike warfare, as well as special operations and irregular warfare, among others.
Siemens PLM Software’s Teamcenter apparently has capped the lead it already enjoyed among aero engine manufacturers with the addition of Snecma as a client. “Now we can safely say that all the major aeroengine original equipment manufacturers are relying on Teamcenter,” says Siemens Vice President Tim Nichols, head of its aerospace and defense sector.
Senior U.S. government officials independently confirm that Iran is now “on contract” for the Russian SA-20 Gargoyle strategic SAM system, irrespective of Kremlin protestations to the contrary. Tehran’s deployment of such a system would mark a step-up in capability and considerably improve the country’s ability to defend its controversial nuclear facilities, where the West remains concerned that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has delayed the planned Cape Canaveral launch next week of an advanced geosynchronous orbit Orion eavesdropping spacecraft onboard a Boeing Delta IV Heavy booster. The delay to mid-January comes as the U.S. Air Force is troubleshooting problems with its Northrop/Grumman Defense Support Program (DSP) 23 spacecraft already positioned in a stationary orbit.
The Swiss government is all but ruling out the purchase of used aircraft under its F-5 replacement program. The issue has come up in discussions recently in Switzerland, prompting the military to say it reviewed the option but didn’t consider it a good one. The idea is that used F/A-18C/Ds could be bought to augment the existing fleet.
TOP FIVE: The U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin have received a Top 5 DOD Program Award for their collaborative effort to integrate the Link 16 tactical data link system into the Navy’s new MH-60R and MH-60S multimission helicopters. The award is given annually by DOD in conjunction with the National Defense Industrial Association, and recognizes up to five defense programs that have demonstrated excellence in systems engineering.
Only a comprehensive national security strategy that embraces both the domestic and international aspects of cybersecurity will succeed in making the United States more secure, according to a Dec. 8 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
TRUCK MODS: The U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) awarded Oshkosh Defense a $250 million contract modification to manufacture and deliver an additional 825 of the next-generation Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTT) as part of the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV) contract.
Near-infrared spectroscopy of a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a star 63 light years from Earth has found carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, demonstrating a technique that may be used with the James Webb Space Telescope and other large observatories operating at near-IR wavelengths to spot the signatures of life on other extrasolar planets.
The U.S. should not base an intercontinental ballistic missile interceptor system in Eastern Europe until it has been fully tested, a key House Armed Services Committee member said Dec. 9.
SAM SPREAD: U.S. military press releases and news coverage show that since October 2006 at least 121 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) have been recovered in Iraq, along with four additional launchers and various components, according to Matt Schroeder, manager of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). These reports suggest that insurgents still have ready access to surface-to-air missiles, including Man Portable Air Defense Systems, at least some of which are reportedly still operational.
The future Congress and Obama administration should agree to a two-year “strategic pause” in committing money to new and experimental weapons systems – including a manned, long-range bomber – a national security think tank suggested in a new report Dec. 9. The Center for National Policy also suggested rebuilding and increasing the size of the Army and Marine Corps, building more submarines and increasing the Navy’s fleet to 325 vessels, and rescoping the Air Force with more reliance on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
PROXY FUNDING: Proxy Aviation Systems will use $4.4 million in recently received federal funding for Phase 2 of its cooperative flight demonstrations, slated for the summer and fall of 2009. Phase 1 was contracted by the U.S. Air Force and took place at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., in July 2007. The Germantown, Md., company claims its Universal Distributed Management System software allows one ground station to manage up to 12 unmanned aircraft at the same time.
The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin last month completed pyroshock testing of the first integrated Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellite, designed to provide missile warning data.
SEED MONEY: The Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced the 12 winners of the 2008 Chief of Naval Research (CNR) Challenge last week Each recipient will receive a $100,000 grant for continued research and development of specific technological ideas projected to improve U.S. Navy and Marine Corps capabilities. ONR originally planned to award 10 grants, but based on the high caliber of the submissions, the CNR Challenge review board added two more names to its list, the Navy said.
