PROPPED UP: The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command said Hawker Beechcraft has won a $48 million Marine Corps program for six new UC-12 aircraft contract. The new C-12 will be the military version of the Hawker Beechcraft King Air, a twin turboprop aircraft that can carry a mix of passengers, cargo or transport medical patients. Certified by FAA, it has a range up to 1,500 nautical miles, a maximum speed of 312 knots and a payload of up to 2,650 pounds. It will replace existing UC-12 Huron twin-engine utility aircraft, whose fleet is more than 25 years old.
FARNBOROUGH – In a long-anticipated management shake-up, Boeing has shifted some of the key players who will lead the company’s charge to win the U.S. Air Force’s aerial refueling contract. Dave Bowman, the company’s C-17 program manager, will now take over as vice president of the Boeing tanker enterprise. As an entirely new and separate business unit, the tanker program will report directly to Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) President Jim Albaugh and to John Lockard, chief operating officer for IDS.
LAYING FAVORITES: Several Wall Street analysts appear to favor Northrop Grumman and EADS over Boeing under the expedited, high-level Pentagon decision-making process recently announced over the U.S. Air Force’s KC-X aerial refueling tanker (Aerospace DAILY, July 10). “Given the accelerated timeframe outlined by DOD (hoping to re-award by 12/08), we think [Boeing] will be challenged to materially change its offer much beyond price,” Credit Suisse analysts say.
FARNBOROUGH – Raytheon is planning to display its new Laser Phalanx, a U.S. Navy ship defense gun modified for an anti-mortar role for ground troops, here at this week’s Farnborough air show outside London.
NASA is working to improve cooperation with the Defense Dept. on aeronautics research and has made good progress on increasing collaboration with the U.S. Air Force, a senior official says. “We have not been a very good partner with DOD in some areas,” says Jaiwon Shin, NASA associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “We would work with DOD for two to three years, hold coordination meetings and draw up roadmaps and wiring diagrams, then it would fizzle out.”
BIG SMALL DEAL: The U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have agreed to try to improve federal contracting opportunities for more than 240 small or disadvantaged businesses. Under the deal, Naval Sea Systems Command will use its SeaPort-e services acquisition vehicle to “expedite the process of awarding federal contracts directly to firms participating in the 8(a) program without SBA as an intermediary,” officials announced July 14.
TRACKING REVENUE: Canada awarded a $367 million contract to General Dynamics (GD) Land Systems-Canada for lifecycle support services for the Canadian Forces fleet of wheeled light armored vehicles. The five-year award, which could include further options, is the second phase of a lifecycle support contract originally awarded in April 2004. Services provided under this contract include fleet management, supply support, repair and overhaul, major vehicle repair, obsolescence management, and engineering and technical services.
India’s Sarang Helicopter demonstration team will participate at the Farnborough Air Show for the first time this year, flying the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).
FARNBOROUGH – A high-level meeting is being convened of senior European government officials to break a logjam in negotiations for the third Tranche of Eurofighter Typhoon production.
FARNBOROUGH – Israel Aerospace Industries for the first time is bringing the Gulfstream G550-based Conformal Airborne Early Warning and Control (CAEW) aircraft to Farnborough. Two of the aircraft are fielded with the Israel Air Force, the first having been delivered into operational service in February with the second following in May.
FARNBOROUGH – The U.K. intends to fly its Mantis long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) advanced concept technology demonstrator in early 2009. The Defense Ministry and BAE Systems are jointly funding the Mantis program, formally unveiled here at the Farnborough Air Show July 14 (Aerospace DAILY, July 8).
FARNBOROUGH – Lockheed Martin, ATK and Northrop Grumman are in talks to form a team to develop air-launched dual-role weapons, according to industry officials. For the partnership, Northrop Grumman would provide some seeker technology, with ATK contributing its motor and Lockheed Martin potentially handling integration and possibly some seeker work for the group, industry officials say. The market for weapons capable of destroying aerial and ground targets is expected to mature in the coming decade.
Industry Canada has awarded Ciel Satellite and Telesat 11 new orbital slots to expand Canadian telecom and broadcasting coverage. The awards followed preliminary okays issued in June 2007. Ciel, which is majority owned by SES, received six slots – a pair of Ka-band positions at 91 deg. and 109.2 deg. W. Long., three 17-GHz. BSS slots at 91, 103 and 107.3 deg. W.; and a 17-GHz. BSS position at 138 deg. W.
DRAC DELIVERIES: The French army has received the first batch of 25 DRAC hand-launched unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In conjunction with the June 30 handover, the French armaments agency DGA also placed another order with prime contractor EADS for 35 more of the systems – each containing two air vehicles. The-90 minute endurance, 10-kilometer range UAV is based on the Tracker UAV, provided by SurveyCopter, which also is responsible for the on-board sensors.
MP-RTIP PLANS: The Pentagon is again questioning whether to proceed with plans to develop a new ground surveillance sensor for use on the U.S. Air Force Global Hawk and, potentially, a widebody aircraft. A new cost and schedule for the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) are being drawn up. Officials now plan to have testing of the 1.5 x 4-foot active electronically scanned array radar finished on the high-flying Proteus testbed by February; the most recent restructure called for them to wrap up in the fall.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicated new calendar listing.) July 21 - 23 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 44th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit. Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford.
BAE BLIMP: BAE Systems is planning to conduct the first flight of a new airship designed for persistent surveillance by October. The system was designed with civil applications in mind, such as imagery and communications for policy and emergency responders. Eventually however, BAE is eyeing military applications, including persistent surveillance, communications relay and targeting support.
WARRIORS & PREDATORS: The U.S. Army and Air Force are expected by October to finalize a plan to settle on a common Predator/Sky Warrior unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to reduce complications and save money operating and maintaining the similar Predator, Sky Warrior and Reaper fleets simultaneously. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is conducting integration flight tests of its Block 1 U.S. Army Sky Warrior, a derivative of the U.S. Air Force Predator.
NASA and the European Space Agency have identified several areas of “significant mutual interest” to pursue as the U.S. agency and its international partners cobble together plans for developing lunar-exploration hardware. Potential areas of cooperation include Ariane V-based lunar cargo-landing systems, lunar orbital and surface infrastructure, and systems for communications and navigation on the moon. The two agencies also agreed on the importance of having two different crew vehicles able to reach the moon.
TAKEOVER BID: Inmarsat says it has received a signal from U.S. hedge fund Harbinger that it may attempt to take over the U.K.-based mobile satellite service (MSS) operator. Inmarsat cautioned that the move is “very preliminary” and “may or may not lead to an offer” for the company, the largest MSS player. However, analysts have speculated for months that Harbinger will attempt to leverage its 28.8 percent share in Inmarsat with holdings in two U.S.
GUIDANCE ANTICIPATED: The U.K. Defense Ministry is expected to sign-off on a number of key projects following the approval of the “Complex Weapons” option within the U.K. Defense Ministry’s latest planning round. Programs likely to get the nod at the Farnborough Air Show this week include the Loitering Munition assessment phase, both the light and heavy elements of the Future Anti-ship Guided Weapon, a Storm Shadow cruise missile enhancement package, and the first element of the Selective Precision Effects at Range project.
CSAR REVISITED: In the true military tradition of hurry up and wait, the U.S. Air Force seems to be revving up its acquisition and selection machinery in the $15 billion combat, search and rescue replacement helicopter (CSAR-X) competition. The service, sources say, is looking at a second interim evaluation board review with competitors in mid-August, and maybe even a final proposal request soon after. But all of this is raising some eyebrows.
SOYUZ SHIPMENT: The first shipment of Russian equipment for the new Soyuz launch complex under construction at Arianespace’s Kourou, French Guiana, spaceport is on its way from St. Petersburg aboard the container ship Flinterland. The 160 containers from the Samara Space Center, KBOM and NPO Lavotchkin are expected to arrive in Cayenne, French Guiana, in two weeks. Russian specialists are due to arrive later this month to begin installing the hardware. Two more shipments will follow. The launch pad is to become operational by mid-2009.
INSECT LIFE: BAE Systems is anticipated to this week unveil its Mantis long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) concept using the platform of the Farnborough Air Show. The UAV design is intended to meet intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance requirements, and could be a competitor to the General Atomics Predator B for future U.K. Defense Ministry procurements (Aerospace DAILY, July 8).
