ARMY ARMOR: California-based Ceradyne announced April 1 a $41.1 million order from the U.S. Army for ceramic body armor. The Enhanced Side Ballistic Inserts (ESBI) will be delivered between June 2008 and September 2008, and is part of a contract announced in July 2006 that covers a five-year delivery period.
A congressional overturn of the Air Force’s controversial selection of an Airbus-based design for its future refueling tanker could ignite “retaliation” from allies in Europe, Northrop Grumman officials say.
April 15-17, 2008 Broward County Convention Center Fort Lauderdale, FL Efficient -- Safe -- Green NEW IN 2008 AVIATION WEEK’s MRO NORTH AMERICA is expanding with extended exhibition hours, focus on green MRO solutions and the introduction of AVIATION WEEK’s Interiors Conference & Exhibition! ONE VENUE TO FIND SOLUTIONS AND EXCHANGE IDEAS, ONE EXHIBITION HALL SHOWCASING 500+ COMPANIES INVOLVED IN ALL ASPECTS OF MRO...
NASA representatives reluctantly provided future work force estimates to reporters April 1, but emphasized that estimated reductions at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), which could reach 6,400 workers between now and fiscal 2011, are just a preliminary snapshot and could change dramatically.
Three months after Boeing assigned Orion Propulsion Inc. (OPI) to work on produceability issues for the reaction control system (RCS) for the Aries I launcher, the companies signed a NASA-sponsored Mentor-Protégé agreement March 31 at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Brian Scott, who acknowledges filing federal contract bid protests that were “essentially political protests” to challenge the government’s policy in Iraq, has lost a new protest over the U.S. military’s cancellation of a competition for Iraqi business development work that Scott looked to lead.
The F-22 could be carrying an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile, costing less than $1 million, in a few years if the military and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) decide to hone the capabilities of a new missile defense weapon from Raytheon. A derivative of the Aim-120 AMRAAM, the Pentagon’s established long-range air-to-air missile, is once again being tailored for a new mission – this time the interception of Scud-type short and medium-range ballistic missiles.
OSPREY PROCUREMENT: The first multiyear procurement contract for the V-22 Osprey, worth $10.4 billion, was awarded to the Bell Boeing Joint Program Office on March 28. The five-year contract, awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command, covers manufacture and delivery of 167 Osprey aircraft – 141 MV-22 Ospreys for the Marine Corps and 26 CV-22 Ospreys for the Air Force – to be purchased between fiscal 2008-2012.
The U.S. Army has updated its Army Readiness Assessment Program, called ARAP, to reflect recommendations from users in the field in the hopes of better addressing accidental troop losses.
BOEING GOES: Boeing announced March 31 that it submitted its proposal to NASA for production of two next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R) for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Boeing received a GOES-R risk-reduction contract in 2005, and built the current GOES N, O and P series satellites. GOES-N consists of three imaging spacecraft and ground command control elements; GOES-N, or GOES-13, was launched in May 2006 and GOES-O is scheduled for launch later this year.
LUNAR MOCKUP: NASA’s Johnson Space Center plans to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a Lunar Habitat Mockup that would be used to evaluate RF wireless and RFID technology for use on the International Space Station or other Constellation modules. The habitat must be man-rated and electrically conductive, according to NASA.
Army Burtek Inc. was awarded on March 17, 2008, a $27,336,975 firm fixed price contract for ambulance shelters to be manufactured and installed on high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle M1152 chassis. The work will be performed in Chesterfield, Mich., and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Web bids were solicited on Sept. 10, 2007, and eight bids were received. TACOM, Warren Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-D-0090).
Bolstered in no small part by the expected production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), global combat jet sales should soar to some of their greatest numbers ever recorded during the coming decade, according to the annual market preview released recently by Teal Group. While U.S. companies will be the biggest winners for fighter fortunes, European manufacturers should also expect to gain in market share, Teal says. It promises to be an expansive market, according to the report.
April 15-16, 2008 Broward County Convention Center Fort Lauderdale, FL Don’t miss this launch event featuring cutting-edge sessions that address the key issues affecting airline interiors executives, vendors, OEMs and even MRO professionals. Including: -- How new all-business class airlines are pushing the envelope in cabin design and materials!
The first Northrop Grumman/EADS North America A330 for the U.S. Air Force has been sent to Germany in preparation for a cargo modification, though work stopped on the project before it got under way. The first developmental KC-45, called D-1, was sent to Airbus’s passenger-to-cargo conversion facility in Dresden on March 4. Work on the cargo modification was to begin March 12.
The opposing sides of the recent U.S. Air Force tanker award are heating up their rhetoric and ramping up outreach efforts in Washington as they jockey for possible legislative language while Congress works up its initial fiscal 2008 defense authorization bills.
AIR FORCE McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Boeing Co., of Long Beach, Calif., is being awarded a modified contract for $13,769,216. This contract is for the procurement of 27 Aeromedical Litter Stations Augmentation System Kits. Each kit consists of nine Aeromedical Stations, one set of included replacement components and one container for storage and transport. At this time $6,196,147 has been obligated. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8614-04-C-2004, P00236).
Northrop Grumman said March 31 it has awarded a contract to General Dynamics Bath Iron Works for construction of parts for a San Antonio LPD 17-class amphibious transport dock ship. Northrop said the deal was struck “to further stabilize the shipbuilding industrial base and meet shipbuilding schedule commitments.” Bath Iron Works will build units for Northrop’s eighth LPD 17 ship, the to-be Arlington (LPD 24). The units will be barged to the Northrop’s Pascagoula, Miss., facility for integration and the completed ship will be delivered by Northrop.
The Defense Department has tweaked and instituted a new rule for its policy regarding contractor personnel authorized to accompany U.S. armed forces deployed outside the United States, according to a March 31 notice in the Federal Register. The Pentagon published an interim rule on June 16, 2006, as concern grew nationally and in Washington over burgeoning contractor support of U.S. operations in Iraq and in national security in general.
Dozens of U.S. Defense Department weapons programs – from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to the Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) – cost more and are taking longer to produce and deliver less than was promised, a new congressional report says. The problems often stem from inadequate estimates of costs, development and production time and an over reliance on contractors, according to the broad study released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) March 31.
