A team of defense officials looking into how the U.S. armed services will better coordinate theater-level operational command and control of unmanned aircraft is expected to issue a report within a month, according to the Army’s chief of staff.
CROSSROADS: The U.S. nuclear weapons complex is at a “crossroads,” Defense and Energy department officials told the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee Feb. 27. Officials said they are shifting their emphasis toward nuclear counterterrorism and nonproliferation efforts, especially securing and boosting the reliability of the U.S. stockpile, as the country continues to respond to post-9/11 concerns. The leaders of U.S.
U.S. Army and Marine Corps officials have made it clear in statements and budget requests that buying the right equipment to transport troops safely in combat zones remains a major priority, and the commitment is being borne out by the Pentagon’s growing investment in ground vehicles.
ARMY BUDGET: A U.S. Army representative told Aerospace DAILY Feb. 27 that the service’s officially requested amount for fiscal 2009 remains $140.7 billion – the White House-approved regular-budget request, which does not include warfighting-supplemental requests. According to Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Army officials have told his committee and its staff that they need $260 billion-$270 billion per year to meet all of the Army’s assessed needs (DAILY, Feb. 27). Levin announced as much in a public hearing Feb.
NEW DEHLI –The planned April launch of India’s lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-I has been shifted to June-July, to allow more time for subsystem testing. The 525-kilogram (1,160-pound) lunar orbiter will carry 11 instruments, including two from the U.S. and one each from Britain, Sweden, Germany and Bulgaria. The mission is aimed at understanding the chemistry and mineralogy of the lunar surface.
The Coast Guard is “too small,” the agency’s chief of staff says, but no study has been done to determine how much it needs to grow to perform all the security tasks added to its mission since the 9/11 terror attacks. “I think we all believe we are not big enough,” Vice Adm. Robert Papp told the House Transportation Committee Feb. 26. But he conceded Coast Guard headquarters has concentrated its planning resources on each fiscal year’s budget request rather than determining the optimum size of the agency.
NEW DELHI – India has extended the technical and commercial bid deadline for the Multirole Medium Range Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) from March 3 by two months. As a result, bidders will get more time to prepare their offset proposals, which were to have been submitted in June. While the decision to extend the bid was announced to coincide with the visit of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to India, a military source told Aerospace DAILY the extension request came from the Russians (MiG-35) and French (Eurofighter Typhoon).
LOCKHEED MULE: Lockheed Martin’s Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment (MULE) vehicle program completed its System Preliminary Design Review (PDR) Feb. 27, kicking off the detailed design phase. A successful Interim Design Review in the fall will mark the final step toward the detailed design period. The MULE Critical Design Review (CDR) is scheduled for fall 2009, after which prototype vehicles will enter production.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin offered Senate lawmakers a preview of an upcoming congressionally mandated report on projected center work force levels during testimony on Capitol Hill Feb. 27.
DENVER – NASA’s planned Ares V heavy lift vehicle can’t meet its lunar-mission requirements as currently conceived, and will need beefing up. The agency is studying a variety of options to boost the lift capability of the big new rocket, currently scheduled to begin development before the end of 2010 under the fiscal 2011 federal budget.
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FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Lockheed Martin unveiled its second operational Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) prototype at the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) winter symposium here Feb. 27, while BAE Systems and Navistar showed off their JLTV prototype. Lockheed Martin’s variant is a Utility Vehicle Light (UVL) Payload Category C, and will be used to carry personnel, general cargo and ammunition. It also can be configured to carry an S250 shelter. When the shelter is removed, the UVL can be used as a utility or prime mover vehicle.
The U.S. Army will need around $265 billion annually through fiscal 2011 to get itself back in shape from prolonged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as transform its organization and update its equipment and train personnel, the land service’s top two officials told senators Feb. 26. But the armed service may only encounter growing skepticism on Capitol Hill over its budget requests in coming years– especially for the massive Future Combat Systems (FCS) program – if sentiment from members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) is any indication.
Federal information technology contracting consultancy Forecast International (FI) says Turkey has started a competition for four to five batteries of antiballistic missile systems known as the Turkish Long-Range Air and Missile Defense Systems (or T-LORAMIDS). Meanwhile, Turkey – which has had economic growth of more than 5 percent annually since 2002 – seeks to ensure its strategic superiority over regional rivals and remains a “significant” importer of sophisticated military hardware, FI said.
DENVER – The focus team studying the thrust-oscillation problem that has raised concerns over the development of NASA’s planned Ares I crew launch vehicle is set to brief senior agency managers on its findings next month, with early indications the problem won’t be a showstopper.
EADS Astrium services says it hopes to wrap up a deal to purchase French space agency CNES’ share in remote sensing specialist Spot Image this year, but acknowledges it will be a challenge.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008 Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium Washington, DC AVIATION WEEK’S Laureate Awards were conceived 51 years ago to recognize the extraordinary achievements of individuals and teams in aerospace, aviation and defense. Today, this formal dinner and Awards ceremony is the industry’s premier event — attracting scores of industry pioneers and thought leaders from around the world.
COUGAR ORDER: Force Protection announced last week that it received an order for six Cougar 6X6 troop transport vehicles and four Buffalo route clearance vehicles for the Italian Defense Ministry. Under the contract, vehicle production will occur only at the company’s Ladson, S.C., facility and is scheduled for completion by July 2008, with spare parts and field support coverage continuing through mid 2009. The heavy ground vehicles feature a V-shaped-hull popularized by the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles rushed to U.S. forces in Iraq last year.
NEW DELHI – As India gears up to modernize its military, EADS will be focusing on the Indian air force’s Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program and the army’s tactical communication system, says Stefan Zoller, CEO of the company’s defense and security division. EADS is offering the Eurofighter Typhoon for the 126-aircraft MMRCA procurement. In its bid for the tactical communication system the company has joined forces with Tata Advanced Systems.
FINAL PROPOSAL: The Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO) for the Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Station Joint Tactical Radio System (AMF JTRS) released its Final Proposal Revision (FPR) request on Feb. 25. Boeing and Lockheed Martin have only two days to submit their responses to the FPR, the award for which is anticipated in the first quarter of 2008.
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ Tactical Aircraft program, known as the Air ASW, Assault and Special Missions program executive offices, have undergone “some restructuring,” according to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). In December, Navy acquisition leadership evaluated the program executive office (PEO)/program management activity (PMA) structure and decided they wanted to achieve a “more effective distribution of the programs,” NAVAIR said Feb. 25.
PARIS – The crash last year of a Swedish air force JAS 39 Gripen has been linked to the design of the fighter’s ejection seat handle. The Gripen crashed April 19 near the Vidsel test range in Sweden at the end of a dive-bombing training flight. The pilot was coming in to land when the canopy blew off. The pilot then reached for the ejection handle, but before he could reach it the seat was activated. The pilot came down unharmed.
