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).
With a Pentagon procurement slump expected in coming years, the U.S. Air Force is turning to its allies with a strategy to build up capacity, including materiel, training and support, around the world. One area seeing a lot of attention through this strategy is airlift. Among continued efforts with Europe is a push for NATO to procure a C-17 from USAF, on top of the two already on contract from Boeing. The partner nations will also stand up a homebase for the small strategic airlift fleet at Papa, Hungary, and led initially by a USAF colonel.
Russian experts will get a look at a pyrotechnic bolt they hope will aid their investigation of separation anomalies on the past two Soyuz reentries after a touch-and-go extravehicular activity (EVA) at the International Space Station (ISS) July 10.
FAST RESPONSE: The U.S. Coast Guard will not make a decision on the selection of its Fast Response Cutter (FRC) until September or early October of 2008 according to a memorandum sent to service members by Commandant Adm. Gary Blore. “While the Coast Guard is interested in obtaining a patrol boat as soon as possible, it is even more important that we acquire the FRC that represents the best value, one intended to serve the public for over 20 years,” Blore says.
THINK POSITIVE: British Defense Secretary Des Browne says it might be more productive to praise the NATO members doing yeoman’s work in Afghanistan rather than criticize the ones that haven’t been pulling their weight. Bush administration officials – as well as many members of Congress – have criticized several NATO members for not contributing enough money and manpower in Afghanistan.
LITTLE BIRD: Boeing thinks the Nunn-McCurdy cost-growth breach on the U.S. Army’s Bell ARH-70A Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (Aerospace DAILY, July 10) could provide another chance for its A/MH-6X Little Bird. The company dusted off its losing ARH contender a couple of years ago, when Bell first got into trouble, and flew two helicopters built for the original competition, but has been using them to develop its optionally piloted Unmanned Little Bird (ULB).
The combat effectiveness of Danish F-16 fighter pilots is set to receive a boost from a new low-cost, digital 3D-Audio and active-noise-reduction (ANR) technology designed to reduce their workload significantly. The technology provides 360-degree, three-dimensional audio threat warnings to the pilot and may eventually end up in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and other fixed- and rotary-wing platforms.
Singapore’s defense establishment has been dedicated to in-house development of “cutting edge technologies that will never be for sale” since the 1970s, says Singapore Minister of Defense Teo Chee Hean.
The U.S. Senate needs to approve a defense trade cooperation treaty between the U.S. and Britain to achieve common goals of interoperability and coalition effectiveness, Britain’s defense minister says. Des Browne, the British secretary of state for defense, says the U.S.-U.K. defense trade cooperation treaty, already approved by Parliament, would help companies on both sides of the Atlantic design and create new capabilities and improve interoperability.
CENTRAL COMMAND: U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus was confirmed by the U.S. Senate July 10 to lead U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Petraeus was nominated for the position after Adm. William Fallon’s March resignation following press coverage that portrayed a schism between Fallon and the White House (Aerospace DAILY, March 13). Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno will be taking Petraeus’ place in Iraq. Odierno received his fourth star and was confirmed as Chief of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq July 10 as well.
