FOREIGN RAPTORS: The Pentagon is looking at "softening" the restraints on releasing some of the F-22 Raptor technology to make it easier to export, according to industry sources familiar with the aircraft and the Defense Department review. But the department also is looking at changing some of the avionics in the Raptor to make it more current and common with its newer cousin, the Joint Strike Fighter. Possible export customers mentioned as being interested and capable of buying some Raptors include Japan and Israel.
JAPAN AGREEMENT: Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) will help support Japanese users of the International Space Station (ISS) under a memorandum of understanding the company recently signed with Japan Manned Space Systems Corp. RpK is developing its K-1 launch vehicle for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, in which the company is competing with SpaceX to provide cargo and possibly crew transport to the ISS. Japan Manned Space Systems Corp. was established to provide the same services that RpK would provide to NASA if it is the low bidder for COTS.
ISR CLOUDED: U.S. Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley, chief of staff, has promised to deliver a "comprehensive plan" to optimize U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities as he jockeys his service for a lead position in unmanned aircraft. But congressional auditors say DOD's updated ISR Integration Roadmap still does not represent a comprehensive vision for DOD's ISR enterprise or define strategy to guide future investments.
ORBITAL ADAPTATION: Just as militaries use spacecraft to help fight wars, a former space-agency chief sees spaceborne assets playing a key role in helping human populations adapt to the changing climate and cope with natural disasters. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, a member of India's parliament who headed the Indian Space Research Organization, forecasts a growing role for Earth-observing and communications satellites in boosting food production and managing clean water resources in the face of climate change and population growth.
Boeing's unsolicited offer to sell 30 new C-17s to the U.S. Air Force hasn't yet changed the service's purchasing plan, though service officials are including the offer as a strong option for addressing growing transport needs for the military.
C-5 COSTS: The U.S. Air Force is still focused on C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-Engining Program - especially with the current testing of the third re-engined C-5A, program sources say. But because of cost growth in the program, service officials are keeping an open mind to providing Air Mobility Command the right mix of aircraft - including the possibility of buying more C-17s for the fleet.
FALCON 9: Before the end of the year SpaceX plans a full-stage hotfire test of the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket it is building for NASA's COTS program. SpaceX has completed the primary structure for the first-stage tank and soon will ship the tank to its test facility in Texas for integration of the propulsion system in preparation for the test. SpaceX has six Falcon 9 flights under contract, beginning with a demonstration flight for a U.S. government customer in the third quarter of next year.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] April 23 - 26 -- Gun & Missile Systems Conference & Exhibition, Charlotte, N.C. For more information go to www.ndia.org. April 24 - 25 -- Precision Strike Annual Programs Review, Theme: Precision Engagement -- Adapting Technology to Meet Emerging Warfighter Needs, Waterford Receptions of Springfield, Springfield, Va. For more information call (703) 247-2590 or email [email protected].
A SITDOWN: The Democratic leadership of the House Science and Technology Committee wants to sit down the President Bush in the "near future" to discuss what they see as a "mismatch" between NASA' budget and the ambitious slate of tasks it's been given to perform.
The U.S. Army and Air Force are under increasing pressure both inside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill to better coordinate their Predator and Warrior unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs. But the services have "repeatedly resisted collaborating," sparking the ongoing public spat over who controls military UAV development and acquisition, congressional auditors have testified.
NASA has added $385 million to Lockheed Martin's development contract for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), delaying the company's original targeted delivery date for the vehicle by two years to synchronize its arrival with other Constellation program hardware.
The new procurement and maintenance schemes agreed on by the British government and contractors for the EH101 Merlin helicopter fleet put the contractors more at risk if they fail to perform, according to Capt. Doug Whittaker, Merlin Integrated Project Team Leader for the Royal Air Force (RAF). On the procurement side of the program, the AgustaWestland-Lockheed Martin team has agreed to invest its own money in developing fly-by-wire and other technologies in upgraded Merlin aircraft, Whittaker said at an April 19 briefing.
An RTCA special committee in the U.S. has delivered its first report to FAA outlining how unmanned aerial vehicles might be allowed to fly more freely in civil airspace, and a similar European committee expects to finish its working plan next month. FAA's Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) office in turn expects to issue its Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) roadmap next month.
Lockheed Martin and Aurora Flight Sciences have been awarded U.S. Air Force contracts for an Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft, the Pentagon said April 20. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Air Vehicles Directorate is buying the demonstrator, which features advanced structural design and manufacturing techniques integrated with advanced aerodynamic design, in an effort to find structural design and manufacturing technologies that can significantly cut the weight and cost of future military air transports.
SPACE COSTS: The Defense Department is likely to continue facing cost overruns on problematic space programs, says Cristina T. Chaplain, director of acquisition and sourcing management for the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The Pentagon investment in space should increase by about 46 percent over the next three years, according to Chaplain's April 19 testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.
An astronaut crew led by veteran space repairman John Grunsfeld is on track to launch in September 2008 on a final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, following back-to back-reviews at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
DIVIDING LABOR: Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sees merit in the idea that the U.S. Air Force should have the lead in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations. If the Air Force provided the Army with UAV operators, that would "free up Army troops to do other things," he says, while avoiding the creation of a separate Army corps of UAV operators and maintainers. "It's not a bad idea to take a look at all UAV operations to see who ought to be on the control stick," he says. Pace also sees an advantage in apportioning combat airspace.
President Bush and the Democratic-run Congress are set this week for their official showdown over fiscal 2007 supplemental appropriations, with House and Senate conferees meeting April 23 to hammer out their formal proposal to the White House. Both sides spoke out April 20, repeating their arguments and allegations that the other was risking national security or failing to support military personnel on the battlefield.
BEYOND PREDATOR: The U.S. Air Force is requesting information from industry for a future hunter-killer unmanned aerial system (UAS) that eventually could replace the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator. In an April 19 request for information (RFI), the service asks not for system solutions, but for data on "synergistic technology interactions" that can exceed the intelligence gathering and engagement capabilities provided by today's UASs in a low- to moderate-threat environment.
The U.S. Air Force is expected to issue the revised request for proposals (RFPs) by early next week for the combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter replacement fleet, which will focus only on maintenance cost issues raised by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) when the agency upheld the contract award protest, according to industry sources. Protest points
China's improving networking, strike and reconnaissance capabilities, along with some specific North Korea developments, are spurring programs for advanced aircraft among their neighbors including India, Singapore, Australia, South Korea and Japan. It also has influenced the U.S. to shift its Boeing F-15Cs with advanced radars for cruise missile detection to Okinawa from Alaska and to schedule the first air expeditionary force deployment of the Lockheed Martin F-22 to Japan. The stealth fighter also has a small target detection capability.
RADAR R&D: The U.S. Army Communication-Electronics Command has awarded Lockheed Martin a $10.2 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for a research-and-development effort to design and develop the tactical reconnaissance- and counter concealment-enabled radar program, the Defense Department said April 18. The contract, awarded April 12, is expected to be finished by Dec. 15, 2009. There were two bids solicited on Dec. 1, 2006, and two bids were received, according to the DOD. Work will be performed in Goodyear, Ariz.
