SEATTLE – Boeing plans to put “power-on” the first P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol variant of the 737-800 at its Renton, Wash, factory this week in preparation for roll-out, which is expected in early July, slightly ahead of the original plan. Two-thirds of the systems had been installed on the first aircraft, T-1, on June 5 and roll-out is expected to take place just ahead of delivery of the second P-8 fuselage from Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kan.
AUTHORIZING NASA: The U.S. House will consider legislation reauthorizing NASA this week, according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). The House Science Committee approved the bill last week. Democratic leadership in that chamber also expects to consider the supplemental appropriations for warfighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as several domestic desires (Aerospace DAILY, May 23).
UAV APPROVED: The French armed forces have cleared the SIDM interim medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE UAV) to enter the inventory. The SIDM, which has an autonomy of 20 hours and can carry optical infrared and radar sensors, had initially been expected to be ready in 2006 but was delayed by various problems, including issues related to the Israel Aircraft Industries flying vehicle. France has an urgent requirement to deploy the system, notably in Afghanistan.
SEATTLE – Boeing, Insitu and the U.S. Navy are studying a variant of the ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that could be air-dropped from a P-8A or other aircraft to detect and stealthily track submarines over many hours.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicated new calendar listing.) June 9 - 10 Cyber Security, “Missions, Initiatives, Opportunities & Risks,” Hilton Arlington & Towers, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.technologytraining.com
ARIANE RESCHEDULED: Arianespace says it has set June 12 as the new launch date for the U.K.’s Skynet 5C military communications satellite. The launch, which will also orbit the Turksat 3A commercial spacecraft, has been delayed twice because of launch vehicle problems. It had initially been scheduled for May 23.
WIDE LOAD: With the recent signing of a $120 million modification contract for the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) A4 vehicles, Oshkosh will continue production of its Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV). The contract, awarded by the U.S. Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command, brings the total FHTV contract total value to over $2 billion. The latest contract modification adds 233 HEMTT A4 vehicles to the fleet, including such variants as the recovery vehicle, fuel service vehicle and load handling system vehicle.
Embraer says it is close to starting develop of its first cargo aircraft with a launch contract from the Brazilian air force. Fernando Ikedo, vice president of marketing intelligence for defense and government markets, said June 6 that the company expects a go-ahead for a 22-aircraft purchase of the aircraft, the C390, in the second half, pending finalization of financing and partnering details and aircraft specifications.
Special Briefing: Strategic Communications in Aerospace & Defense Shaping the Future August 11, 2008 | 4:30PM to 6:30PM Embassy Suites (next to the Von Braun Center) Huntsville, Alabama
NO SURPRISE: The Defense Science Board’s 2008 Summer Study on Capability Surprise will meet in closed sessions June 10-12, 25-27, and July 10-12 in Arlington, Va. The board, which advises the U.S. defense secretary and acquisition chief on scientific and technical matters, will discuss interim results from an ongoing task force “on the whats and whys of capability surprise and the measures to ensure that [the Defense Department] and its interested partners are best positioned to prevent, or mitigate, capability surprise against itself.”
FIGHTERS WANTED: Whatever their generation, fighter aircraft are in demand. The United Arab Emirates has confirmed preliminary discussions with France on the potential purchase of Dassault Rafales to replace its 63 French-supplied Mirage 2000-9s beginning in 2013. The Rafale lost to the F-16 in Morocco last year, and Lockheed Martin has just received a $233.6 million contract to begin production of 24 Advanced Block 52 F-16C/Ds for delivery to the North African country beginning in 2011. Separately, the U.S.
SOLID STATE: Boeing achieved the highest known simultaneous power, beam quality and run time for any solid-state laser when it fired its new thin-disk laser system repeatedly in recent tests, the company said June 3. In each firing, the high-energy laser achieved power levels of more than 25 kilowatts for multisecond durations, with a measured beam quality suitable for a tactical weapon system. According to Boeing, the tests prove the concept of scalability to a 100-kilowatt-class system based on the same architecture and technology.
ACQUISITION DECISIONS: DOD Acquisitions chief John Young says he’s in no hurry to sign Acquisition Decision Memorandums (ADMs) that cross his desk. “I can’t tell you how many programs have come to me that aren’t signable,” he says. Young wrote a memo to Defense Secretary Robert Gates telling him the last five or six programs Young reviewed weren’t properly structured or funded. “I’m making more aggressive acquisition decisions,” he adds.
NAVY EAGLE: The U.S. Navy soon will deploy a Boeing ScanEagle aboard the USS Mahan, the 16th in a series of Naval vessels operating the long-endurance, fully autonomous unmanned aircraft (See p. 3). Under a new $65 million contract with Boeing, the Navy will continue to use the ScanEagle for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The contract runs through May 2009 with options for extensions.
DOLLARS & NETCENTS: The U.S. Air Force’s pending Network-Centric Solutions (NetCents) II contract calls for four mutually exclusive small businesses contracts (one for products and three for solutions), according to federal IT consultancy Input. The breakdown means about 75 percent of total awards could go to the small business community (30-48 small business fulfilled contracts of the total anticipated 40-64 awards).
AEGIS TESTS: The next test firing of a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) will occur off a Japanese Aegis ship later in 2008, Rear Admiral Brad Hicks, the U.S. Navy’s Aegis program director said June 5. In a teleconference announcing the successful test interception of a short-range unitary ballistic missile target in its terminal phase, Hicks said the Navy would like to try to accomplish two tests before the end of the year. The second SM-3 launch would also occur while the Japanese are testing on the Pacific Missile Test Range, and would be of an older variant.
German armored vehicle manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) is teaming with General Dynamics European Land Systems (GD ELS) of Vienna, Austria, to develop and market a new, air-transportable, autonomous and remotely-operated 155mm artillery system, the companies announced June 5. Called Donar, the system features the same Rheinmetall-built 155mm/.52-caliber ordnance used in KMW’s PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer system sold to Germany, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands.
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER – Astronauts from the shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station (ISS) used the station’s robotic arm to move a Japanese pressurized logistics module into its final position, giving the Kibo laboratory the distinctive “hat” it will wear throughout its service life.
SMALL SUBS: Three small disadvantaged businesses were awarded subcontracts by Boeing under its NASA Ares I avionics contract. The avionics ring mounted between the Ares I upper stage and Orion capsule consists of onboard computers, flight controls, communications equipment, power systems, navigation and control systems and other instruments and their associated software for monitoring the rocket’s speed and position while supporting safe assembly, checkout and flight operation. Minority-owned GeoLogics Corp.
Despite indications to the contrary, the U.S. Defense Department is promising greater transparency from its Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Office (JIEDDO), claimed JIEDDO chief U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz. “Anyone with an idea [for IED defeat], we’re glad to listen to it,” Metz told a group at a June 5 Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) breakfast. “But from these lips will not come any advantage to the enemy.”
NASA is in the final stages of vetting a review on the feasibility of accelerating the crew transport portion of its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, according to Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Rick Gilbrech.
Astronauts worked to outfit Japan’s main Kibo laboratory June 5, moving racks into the spacious new module while spacewalkers worked outside on its hull. Meanwhile, spacewalker Mike Fossum found what he thought were some unusual deposits on the port-side solar alpha rotary joint (SARJ), raising concerns that both of the 10-foot-diameter mechanisms that keep the space station’s big solar array wings pointed at the Sun may have problems. The starboard SARJ is parked because one of its rotating surfaces apparently has broken down.
NASA is supporting the requirements of its Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring (IVHM) program road map by funding an effort to create a Prognostic Integration Architecture (PIA). The PIA, being developed by Sentient Corporation under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant, will act as a complete diagnostic and prognostic management architecture to monitor the health of mechanical systems. According to Sentient’s director of research and development, John Hartin, “If you look at the road map for IVHM, this type of architecture is a part of that.”
DOD acquisitions chief John Young refuses to “rubber stamp” the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) without reviewing the program’s elements individually.
