Pentagon acquisition chief John Young is directing the U.S. Air Force to restructure the multibillion dollar Transformational Satellite (TSAT) program. In a newly unveiled acquisition decision memorandum (ADM), he includes a stern note to “act immediately on this direction in order to make progress on TSAT and stop poorly using taxpayer dollars.”
TRADOC CHANGE: In a ceremony Dec. 8, Gen. (select) Martin E. Dempsey took command of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), replacing retiring Gen. William Wallace, who has been commander since October 2005. Dempsey has been serving as acting commander of U.S. Central Command since March 2008 at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.
Military planners responsible for finding space resources to support troops on the ground think the time may be ripe to advance the 40-year-old space solar power concept to help reduce the logistics train behind forward-deployed forces. The concept of collecting solar energy above the atmosphere and beaming it to the ground as microwaves or lasers has long been seen among military freethinkers as a way to get electricity to remote airfields, fire bases or other distant outposts without having to haul fuel for diesel generators.
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
ARMY EADS North American Defense, Arlington, Va., was awarded on Nov. 26, 2008, a $208,375,756 firm fixed price contract for funding of Program Year 04 of the Army’s Light Utility Helicopter contract for 39 Light Utility Helicopters. The work will be performed in Columbus, Miss., and Grand Prairie, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2010. USA Aviation & Missile Command, Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-06-C-0194).
Flight training of Iraqi air force helicopter pilots is slated to begin in mid-January now that the needed Bell Jet Ranger 206B rotorcraft have started arriving in country. The first five of the rotorcraft were brought to Iraq via C-17 this month to equip Iraqi air force Squadron 2 at Kirkuk, according to the Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq, which is leading the effort to rebuild the Iraqi air force. Five more Jet Rangers already operating in Taji are going to be shifted to Kirkuk to augment Squadron 2.
SCHEDULE SHUFFLE: European Space Agency officials say launch of the Herschel-Planck infrared observatory/cosmic background observer mission aboard an Ariane 5 rocket has been set for April 11. The launch had been anticipated in late 2008/early 2009 but was deferred because of satellite technical issues. Two other Ariane missions also were delayed. Launch of Hot Bird 9/W2M was delayed indefinitely from Dec. 10 because of “logistics difficulties” related to a strike.
The emerging new world order will encompass a different class of global state players facing old threats with different twists, according to the National Intelligence Council (NIC).
Strong winds at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., have slowed progress as NASA tries to attach the space shuttle Endeavour to a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), and may force further delays to the ferry flight to Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
BANGALORE, India — India is planning a lunar sample return mission in 2015, and is seeking international partners to help develop it. Designated Chandrayaan-3, the proposed new mission for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be a follow-on to the Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter and the Chandrayaan-2 mission set for launch in 2012.
FRENCH CARRIER: France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, is preparing to power up for a return to service following completion of a 15-month, 300-million euro overhaul. The overhaul, performed by naval systems specialist DCNS, included a command, control and communications system upgrade, as well as modifications to allow the carrier to handle new Rafale F3 multirole fighters, ASMP-A nuclear strike missiles and Scalp cruise missiles due to be integrated next year.
NO GAP FLAP: Gary Payton, deputy under secretary of the U.S. Air Force for space programs, says the U.S. missile warning satellite constellation is “nice and healthy and it is doing its job.” Despite reports that the most recent addition to the Defense Support Program fleet, DSP-23 launched late last year, has been faltering in orbit since September (Aerospace DAILY, Dec. 1), Payton says, “There are no gaps.” DSP is responsible for signaling officials on the ground when a ballistic missile is launched.
RAPTOR RUCKUS: Regarding additional F-22 Raptor production, “John [Young, Pentagon acquisition chief] and Gordon [England, current deputy defense secretary] are still in sync with each other, but maybe no one else” in Congress or in the Pentagon, a senior Air Force acquisition official says. Gates could be distancing himself from opposition to more Raptors above the 183 cap that his office — namely England and Young — previously set.
Heavy turbulence thwarted the second attempt to fly the first General Atomics Predator B unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., Dec. 5 for duty patrolling the U.S.-Canadian border. The 64-foot wingspan UAV turned back before noon because of rough air about 300 miles north of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Air & Marine’s UAV base in Sierra Vista, Ariz., said Juan Munoz Torres, a CBP spokesman. Better weather conditions were forecast for a third attempt on Dec. 6, he said.
CSAR RFP: U.S. Air Force officials have sent out the new request for proposals (RFP) — technically Amendment 7 to the original RFP — for the $15 billion Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter replacement program. The amendment contains minor changes intended to further clarify how the Air Force will make its award decision, the service said. The contract is expected in the spring, but an exact date has not been established. The Air Force initially awarded the contract to Boeing for a Chinook variant, but the award was halted by sustained bid protests.
BANGALORE, India — India is planning a lunar sample return mission in 2015, and is seeking international partners to help develop it. Designated Chandrayaan-3, the proposed new mission for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be a follow-on to the Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter and the Chandrayaan-2 mission set for launch in 2012.
BRITISH UNION: The Defense Manufacturers Association on Dec. 3 followed its prospective British lobby group partner in approving a membership ballot on the proposed merger with the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC). The SBAC gave the go-ahead for a ballot of its members at the end of November. The ballots are expected to be acted on early in 2009. Some trade groups around Washington similarly have been merging as industry looks to bolster its voice in governments facing economic and budgetary pressures (Aerospace DAILY, Dec. 27, 2007).
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicated new calendar listing.) Dec. 8 - 10 — Military Vehicle Maintenance Summit, “Closing the Loop for the Entire Family of Military Vehicles.” For more information go to www.idga.org/us/vehiclemaintenance Dec. 8 - 10 — 8th Annual NGMD ‘08 - Next Generation Materials for Defense, Hilton Arlington, Arlington, Va. For more information go to www.idga.org/us/NGMD
Northrop Grumman will modify the second X-47B naval unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D) to allow autonomous aerial refuelling (AAR) using both U.S. Navy probe-and-drogue and U.S. Air Force boom-and-receptacle methods. The U.S. Navy has announced plans to award the company a sole-source contract to support the demonstration of AAR capability by 2013, saying the X-47B is the only carrier-suitable unmanned aircraft capable of the task.
PICKING OUT: Superconductivity could be coming to aerospace. The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory plans to award Mountain View, Calif.-based Out of the Fog Research a contract to build a prototype low-noise, ultra-fast tunable filter that would allow signals-intelligence and communications receivers to pick out weak emissions within a dense radio-frequency background. The receivers will use cryogenically-cooled high-temperature superconductor filters than can be tuned in less than a millisecond.
