PRESSING EXPORTS: Both British and Australian defense leaders will be in Washington this week, in part to meet with U.S. lawmakers who are considering whether to ratify two groundbreaking export control treaties that President Bush has signed with former leaders of those two allies. On July 10 the liberal Brookings Institution think tank will host the British Secretary of State for Defense, Des Browne, for a discussion of British and U.S. policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond, both now and with the change in U.S. leadership in 2009.
H-46 CHIEF: U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Paul M. Riegert has taken command of the H-46 Program Office (PMA226) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. As the H-46 program manager, he will lead a team of about 150 acquisition professionals and is charged with the life-cycle management authority for a fleet of 198 helicopters. The aircraft are heavily deployed in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and are used primarily in the assault support mission for the Marine Corps.
Members of the European Defense Agency have endorsed the so-called Capability Development Plan (CDP) aimed at harmonizing modernization efforts. The document has no immediate effect on research and procurement spending, but is supposed to be used as a guide by members in setting near- and long-term requirements. The EDA hopes that the CDP will effectively drive more common European defense spending. The document looks ahead to 2025.
EMPIRE CHALLENGE: Boeing has integrated network-centric capabilities into two operational Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft for a demonstration at Empire Challenge 2008, a joint U.S. military exercise underway now at China Lake, Calif. The modifications, including the high-speed Tactical Targeting Network Technology system, allow greater use of AWACS mission data, better access to external Web services data and an enhanced suite of battle-management tools, Boeing says. Modifications on the aircraft were completed in early June.
FUTURE IT: Regardless of which senator takes over the White House in January 2009, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and other global counterterror operations will continue to dominate the federal information technology (IT) budget due to the need to refresh equipment and technology and rebuild the armed services, according to IT consultancy Input. But the Democratic and Republican candidates also appear focused on other areas that will require technology investments to bring their campaign promises to fruition.
SCOPED UP: Lockheed Martin said July 7 that the U.S. Navy awarded it a $144 million contract for system design and development of the Automatic Radar Periscope Detection and Discrimination (ARPDD) system for MH-60R helicopters. It is an upgrade to the AN/APS-147 multimode radar to automatically detect, track and discriminate submarine periscopes from floating sea debris. The helos, currently the sea service’s primary antisub aircraft, will begin deployments aboard aircraft carriers next year.
TerreStar says the reflector intended for its first hybrid high-speed mobile service satellite (MSS), TS-1, has sustained damage that may delay the spacecraft’s launch from the end of 2008 to the second quarter of 2009. The reflector, supplied by Harris Corp., is now expected to be shipped by March 15, 2009, TerreStar says. Launch had already been pushed back a year because of a number of technical issues with the satellite, currently under construction at SpaceSystems/Loral, including problems with the S-band feed array.
CHECKPOINT SCANS: X-ray detection technology company American Science and Engineering (AS&E) said July 7 that it received a $55.1 million contract from Abu Dhabi Customs. The Customs Administration at Abu Dhabi, the largest emirate of the United Arab Emirates, purchased “multiple” OmniView, Z Portal and Z Backscatter Van X-ray detection systems to scan cargo trucks, passenger vehicles and containers at border checkpoints.
Ariane 5 completed its fourth of seven scheduled missions this year – its busiest yet – with the launch of the sixth spacecraft for Arabsat and the first for ProtoStar, which has been buying up unused “hangar queens” for use in direct-to-home broadcast services for Asia-Pacific clients.
Thales Alenia Space will supply RF communications gear for Israel’s Amos-4 communications satellite under a subcontract with the satellite’s builder, Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). Ordered last August for launch in 2012, the 3.4 metric ton 4 kW satellite will have a mixed Ka-Ku-band payload enabling the operator, Spacecom, to extend telecom and broadcasting coverage to Africa and Central and Southern Asia from a new orbit slot between 64 and 76 deg. E. Long.
Senate appropriators look set to strip away fiscal 2009 funds for studying the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) come next fiscal year, although a high-profile committee member will try to reinstate the Bush administration’s request.
RADAR LOCK: Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed a framework agreement July 8 that includes basing an existing U.S. midcourse missile defense tracking radar in the Central European country. The deal comes as U.S. officials struggle to find related agreement with Poland to host 10 ground-based interceptor missiles. The entire U.S. effort is vehemently opposed by Russia, although recent NATO endorsements have softened that criticism.
IRANIAN INDICTMENT: A federal grand jury in Miami returned an 11-count indictment July 3 charging Hassan Saied Keshari, Traian Bujduveanu, Kesh Air International Corp., and Orion Aviation Corp. for alleged participation in a conspiracy to export military aircraft parts to Iran. Allegations state that since October 2006, Keshari and Bujduveanu bought U.S.-made military aircraft parts in the United States for buyers in Iran and illegally shipped them to a company in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for reshipment to buyers in Iran.
Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a sharp critic of big defense contractors, says he’s not interested in being Democrat Barack Obama’s running mate. “Last week I communicated to Sen. Obama and his presidential campaign my firm intention to remain in the U.S. Senate, where I believe I am best equipped to serve the people of Virginia and this country,” Webb said in a statement issued July 7. “Under no circumstances will I be a candidate for vice president.”
NEW DELHI — The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) have signed an agreement covering the distribution of data from Megha Tropiques, an Indo-French tropical weather monitoring satellite scheduled for launch in 2009. The agreement was signed when a Joint Working Group of ISRO and CNES met on July 5-6 to review the progress of collaborative programs under the chairmanship of ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair and CNES President Yannick d`Escatha.
The two Russian members of Expedition 17 to the International Space Station (ISS) will go outside July 10 to retrieve a pyrotechnic bolt from the Soyuz crew vehicle that experts hope will aid their investigation of separation anomalies on the past two Soyuz re-entries. Commander Sergei Volkov and Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko will use a serrated knife to cut a flap in a thermal blanket over the bolt, withdraw it with a wrench and slip it into a blast-proof canister for its return to Earth, NASA officials said July 8.
REPAIR WORK: Boeing Australia Ltd. has gained FAA Part 145 certification for 737 air frame and engine repairs, both on-wing and off-wing, at Amberley and Eagle Farm in Queensland. They are the company’s first certified repair stations outside the U.S. and are expected to serve military, commercial and private executive jet customers. Amberley will specialize in heavy maintenance activity, including for 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control modification work done for Australia’s Wedgetail fleet.
In exchange for 626,002 shares of SkyTerra Communications voting stock, Boeing Satellite Services has reached a second agreement with Mobile Satellite Ventures to defer $40 million in payments on construction of the MSV-2 satellite. Earlier, Boeing extended a $76 million payment on the spacecraft. The latest agreement leaves in place a launch window extending from the fourth quarter of 2009 to the third quarter of 2010.
NEW DELHI – India will seek approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for its nuclear accord with the U.S. on July 28, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, putting many minds at rest after months of indecisiveness. India’s Left party withdrew support for the ruling Congress party following the agreement, saying the deal would restrain India’s capability to follow an independent foreign policy.
A Raytheon-led team submitted its proposal to develop the ground segment for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite series, or GOES-R, on July 8.
The Austrian military is considering buying a new jet trainer to replace Saab 105s and also offload some Eurofighter currency training to a lower-cost platform. No firm decision has been made yet, with an avionics upgrade to the Saab still a possibility. However, Austrian military officials suggest a new program is likely. Aircraft maintenance is an issue; the air force has 28 Saab 105s, but sometimes as few as six are ready to fly.
MOSCOW – The Russian air force wants to acquire two to three regiments (48-72 aircraft) of the Sukhoi Su-35 upgrade of the Su-27 Flanker until it begins to take delivery of its fifth-generation fighter, known as PAK FA. Russian air force chief Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin says the PAK FA prototype, the Sukhoi T-50, is tentatively scheduled to fly in 2009, with air force trials to begin in 2013. He is seeking government funding to field the Su-35 as an interim.
ARINC has appointed Stephen Waechter CFO and VP-business operations. Waechter joins ARINC from Arlington, Va.-based IT solutions company CACI International, where he was executive VP and CFO. “Steve [Waechter’s] career path is impressive and includes a rise through the ranks at General Electric, where he was VP-finance for GE Information Systems,” says ARINC Chairman and CEO John Belcher.
