U.S. lawmakers will allow the Pentagon to enter a multilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) authorizing acquisition of Boeing C-17s with NATO allies under the Strategic Airlift Capability Partnership, but stress that the shared airlifters should support alliance missions over national uses.
The first transcontinental flight powered by synthetic fuel will take place Dec. 17 on a C-17 from McChord Air Force Base, Wash., according to Secretary William Anderson, the U.S. Air Force's senior energy executive. The flight is part of the Air Force's initiative to certify its fleet to fly on a 50-50 combination of synthetic fuel (liquid derived from coal) and petroleum-based fuel by 2011 (DAILY, Oct. 29).
Lawmakers, now led by Democrats, are continuing their reluctance to allow the U.S. Air Force to retire several aircraft - which the service wants to do to help buy new equipment - because of concerns in awaiting replacements. Under the House-Senate compromise over the fiscal 2008 defense authorization, which the Senate is expected to bless soon after the House did as much Dec. 12, conferees also hammered out restrictions to keep the Defense Department from grounding bombers and other military aircraft linked to local jobs, among other reasons.
One of Boeing's biggest fans on Wall Street is having second thoughts. Morgan Stanley research analyst Heidi Wood lowered her rating on the company's stock to "equal-weight" - the equivalent of neutral - a day after a year-end briefing on the 787 aircraft's development status. Mike Shanahan, the new 787 program manager, maintained that a recovery plan is on track to deliver the first 787 by the end of next year. But Wood, in a research note issued Dec. 12, says the hurdles are too risky to tell her clients to keep buying Boeing stock.
Ladish Co. has unveiled plans to open a new investment casting foundry in Mexico, a move the company says will help it meet soaring demand for aircraft titanium components and capitalize on a growing base of aerospace manufacturers in Mexico. The Cudahy, Wis.-based company says it will invest $16 million-$20 million in the project. It is considering several locations in Mexico for the 55,000-60,000-square-foot plant and expects it to be operational in 2009 or 2010.
BAE EXPANDS: BAE Systems announced Dec. 12 the opening of a new, 30,000-square-foot facility in South Nashua, N.H., to support 1,400 of BAE's 4,500 employees working there on the F-22A Raptor and F-35 Lightning II electronic warfare programs. According to company officials, the facility will enable assembly and testing of microwave products and reduce the costs involved in assembly, integration and acceptance testing. The electronic warfare suites BAE provides to the F-22 and F-35 detect, analyze, evaluate and react to possible electronic threats.
Exploration systems managers at NASA have picked Boeing to build the Instrument Unit Avionics (IUA) on the next-generation Ares I crew launch vehicle that will carry the planned Orion crew exploration vehicle to orbit. The total value of the contract if all options are exercised is roughly $799.5 million. The base contract covers one IUA ground test article, three flight-test units and six production flight units supporting flight-tests and missions through 2016.
iRobot has developed a new payload for its PackBot ground robot that will allow it to create and relay to its operator a real-time two-dimensional structural map of the environment it is moving through. Known as Mapping Kit, the payload also will allow PackBot to detect and avoid obstacles in its path autonomously, while still leaving overall control to the operator, iRobot says. The company says this level of autonomy should allow operators to navigate more efficiently through unknown areas.
JCA BLOCK: Under the House-Senate compromise over the fiscal 2008 defense authorization (see story p. 1), lawmakers are moving to block funds for the nascent Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) until 30 days after the Fleet Mix Analysis is delivered to Congress and DOD provides certification that a validated operational requirement exists for the aircraft. But conferees agreed to withhold judgment on moving the program to a single service until a review of roles and missions within DOD is completed and a recommendation is provided by the defense secretary.
Israel wants to keep its air force dominant by buying Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, making it operational quickly and packing it with equipment designed exclusively for its own needs. Senior Israeli Air Force (IAF) officials say they have an "understanding" with U.S. officials. Washington's representatives say there is no official change to Israel's program. Israel's plan is to get more than 100 F-35s the minute they are available. Determinations on what's inside may be a battleground.
NATO RAID-LITE: Raytheon said it received a $5.3 million contract from NATO to provide tower-based, elevated persistent surveillance systems for alliance forces in Afghanistan. The company's Enhanced Surveillance System is similar to its Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) system, currently deployed by the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan (DAILY, July 10). Raytheon will also provide all logistics support services required to keep the systems operational.
OPEN AEGIS: The cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) will receive a fully-open architecture Aegis weapon system, the first for a major surface warship, during its depot modernization period starting in February 2008, according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin. Bunker Hill is the first of 22 cruisers scheduled for modernization with Aegis Open Architecture over the next 10 years. In 2012, the Navy will begin a similar modernization program for the 62-ship class of Aegis-equipped Arleigh Burke destroyers.
Although certainly not what high-technology industry officials would have crafted themselves, the emerging fiscal 2008 defense authorization measure appears to leave out what they would consider the most offensive acquisition reform proposals. "We are still analyzing the legislation, but it seems that the worst ideas are where they belong - on the cutting room floor," said Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) chief Phil Bond.
Officials at Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems are looking forward to an "unprecedented" slew of satellite competitions in 2008 worth up to $17 billion total. Among those eyed by the executives are the U.S. Air Force's GPS III and Transformational Satellite (TSAT) deals, the latter of which is being considered for termination in the fiscal 2009 budget proposal.
The fiscal 2008 defense authorization measure lined up for final congressional ratification includes several measures that boost the National Guard's prominence, from its leadership to its equipment. According to House and Senate Armed Services committee aides and lawmakers, the compromise bill elevates the chief of the National Guard Bureau to a four-star general, reinforces many of the recommendations of the Commission on National Guard and Reserve Corps, and requires at least one deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command be a Guard officer.
BRADLEY RESET: BAE Systems Land and Armaments of York, Pa., has been awarded a $709.3 million contract for the reset of U.S. Army Bradley Fighting Vehicles, the Defense Department said Dec. 11. The work will be performed in York and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2009. The Tank, Automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity.
NASA has approved a hydrogen fuel "tanking test" with the space shuttle Atlantis external tank on the launch pad no earlier than Dec. 18 to help solve engine cutoff (ECO) sensor problems that have grounded the next International Space Station assembly mission until early January (DAILY, Dec. 10).
In its most recent evaluation of the global market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), consulting firm Teal Group predicts the U.S. will account for 73 percent of worldwide UAV research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) spending and 59 percent of procurement over the next decade. "The most significant catalyst to this market has been the enormous growth of interest in UAVs by the U.S. military," says the Nov. 29 report. "UAVs are a key element in the [net-centric and information warfare] revolution."
Congress is authorizing additional, officially unrequested Boeing C-17 cargo aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, but is also calling for another independent assessment of what the U.S. military needs regarding airlifters. The moves, prescribed months ago, come amidst a fierce debate on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon over C-17s versus Lockheed Martin C-5s, as well as a contentious program for aerial refueling tankers and new plans expected early next year for intratheater airlift.
LANDING SYSTEM: BAE Systems has completed the first test of an autonomous landing system intended for large mobility and transport aircraft. The Dec. 6 test demonstrated the system's ability to enhance pilot vision in a simulated zero-visibility landing scenario. The Autonomous Approach and Landing Capability (AALC) system was tested at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on a C-130H aircraft. AALC technology fuses millimeter-wave radar and infrared imaging, enabling pilots to see the runway and detect obstacles in a variety of low-visibility conditions.
A Boeing A160T Hummingbird unmanned rotorcraft crashed Dec. 10 during flight-tests near Victorville, Calif. The crash, which is the first for the autonomous vertical takeoff and landing unmanned air system (VUAS) program, is believed to have happened in an area of rough desert terrain to the north of the former George Air Force Base, which Boeing is using for A160T flight-test operations.
Due to a lack of fiscal controls and oversight, the Iraq Security Forces were shortchanged of services and equipment, a recent Pentagon Inspector General (IG) report says. Part of the reason for the oversight problems was because violence in Iraq made it difficult, military officials reported, the IG said.
