The TacSat-2 microsatellite is operating smoothly in orbit following the resolution of two technical setbacks early in the mission, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced Feb. 23. The problems were an incompatible radio configuration with the ground station and an error in the spacecraft's attitude determination and control system. Both have "long since been corrected," AFRL said.
General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada Corp., Oshkosh Truck Corp. and Protected Vehicles Inc. are each receiving delivery orders under a previously awarded set of contracts for Mine Resistant and Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, the Pentagon announced late Feb. 23. The three low-rate production contracts mean that, along with Force Protection and BAE Systems, five of nine companies with prototype MRAP contracts have now obtained production orders (DAILY, Feb. 21). Deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan
The U.S. Air Force's inability to fully fund the first increment of its proposed air defense system meant to prevent more terrorist attacks using civilian jets - coupled with stern testing measures - helped stymie the system's development, a recent report said. "In BCS Spiral 1, the U.S. Air Force identified 464 requirements as its objective, said the "Battle Control System White Paper December 2006," released last week by contractor ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS).
In what some military analysts called a surprise and rare decision, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced Feb. 26 that it sustained the protests against the Air Force contract award to Boeing for more than 140 combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopters in a deal worth between $10 billion and $15 billion. GAO protest decisions are nonbinding - it's up to the Air Force to decide whether to go through with the contract anyway.
ARMY BANDWIDTH: One of U.S. Army Gen. Richard A. Cody's directives is to make the Army equally competent in electronic warfare (EW) with other armed services, so the Army plans to replace a majority of Navy "advisors" with its own soldiers by March 2008, officials say. Cody, vice chief of staff, has also outlined a goal to make EW an Army core competency, meaning every soldier will be trained. The Army will base its approach partly on the Navy model. "Everyone's got to touch it now, which is a huge sea change," Col.
The U.S. Navy incorrectly used a new military acquisition test program to speed buys of relatively inexpensive purchases in a recent contract for satellite system equipment, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) inspector general ruled.
RQ-4 PARTS: Northrop Grumman will begin buying long-lead items for the seventh low-rate initial production (LRIP) block of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle under a $5 million contract from the U.S. Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
GE'S ROWE DIES: Brian H. Rowe, the larger-than-life figure who led General Electric's aircraft-engine business through a period of tremendous growth and to eventual market dominance, died Feb. 22 following surgery. He was 75. Under Rowe's leadership, GE launched the CF34 small turbofan series, the F110 fighter engine that helped stoke the so-called "Great Engine War" between GE and rival Pratt & Whitney, the GE90 that has become the world's most powerful aircraft jet engine, and the partnership with SNECMA of France that became CFM International.
SAT LAUNCH SET: EchoStar Communications will use an International Launch Services Proton Breeze M vehicle to launch a satellite in 2008. EchoStar is not disclosing what satellite that will be. A Proton M also will launch the Ciel-2 for Canada's newest satellite operator, Ciel Satellite Group, in late 2008. Ciel-2 is an Alcatel Alenia Spacebus 4000.
The Defense Department's fiscal 2008 budget request includes just more than $1 billion in programs that could support the development of anti-satellite and space-based weapons capabilities, according to a new analysis from the Center for Defense Information (CDI). "Congress must become more aware of these efforts, and ensure that such programs do not go forward without in-depth scrutiny of their purposes and possible long-term impacts on U.S. space security," CDI Director and report co-author Theresa Hitchens said in a statement.
Silence about the key capabilities of the second-generation Super Hornet's advanced radar and integrated sensor package is being broken by U.S. Navy and aerospace industry officials just as President Bush's budget faces scrutiny by Congress. The design will give the Block II Boeing-built Navy aircraft a fifth generation capability similar to that of the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, says Capt. Donald Gaddis, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet program manager.
Feb. 26 - 27 -- 15th Annual International Conference on ISO 9000, Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, Orlando, Fla. For more information call (412) 782-3383 or go to www.iso9000conference.com. Feb. 26 - 28 -- 18th Annual NDIA SO/LIC Symposium & Exhibition, "Warfare in the Seams: Defense and Industry Partnering to Win the Long War," Hyatt Crystal City, Arlington, Va. For more information go to www.ndia.com.
OFFICIAL DENIAL: More than 20 countries have missile technologies, and in all likelihood, more will follow, says U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, director of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency. "We have been surprised in the past, and we anticipate that we will be surprised in the future," he said at a National Press Club event Feb. 22 in defense of U.S. proposals to base ballistic missile interceptors in Europe. They are not designed against Russian threats, he contends.
AEROSTATS: U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) are collaborating on the development of a 71-meter (232-foot) aerostat that could be tethered at sea and operate with a variety of payloads at 15,000 feet altitude. The two organizations plan to start by developing a sea-based 38-meter prototype featuring a weather-hardened design capable of carrying 500 pounds of surveillance equipment.
REPLACEMENT SAT: Telenor Satellite Broadcasting plans to select a supplier by the end of April to build a replacement for its Thor 3 telecom satellite. Although the Norwegian satcom operator had considered Ka- and S-band payloads for the spacecraft to enable it to expand into new services, it opted for an all-Ku-band unit to ensure critical broadcasting capacity if there is a problem with Thor 5 (formerly Thor 2R). Thor 5, built by Orbital Sciences Corp., is to be launched in the fourth quarter by International Launch Services.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been looking at aircraft capabilities in its award protest review for the planned combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) fleet of more than 140 helicopters worth between $10 billion and $15 billion, defense analysts say. Boeing last year won the contract with a variant of its H-47 Chinook. Losing contractors Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky quickly protested. Lockheed has contended that the Air Force gave different directions to the different contractors putting together the bids.
The U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization program's budget plans do not outline funds for its high-profile vertical-takeoff-and-landing unmanned aircraft, and spending would emphasize ships over aircraft in coming years, according to budget documents and official statements.
NO EASING OF ITAR: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton says he doesn't foresee any easing by Congress of the International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The aerospace industry has complained for years that stringent technology transfer rules make it hard to do business in a global marketplace. "I know the rhetoric. I do not foresee a change," Skelton tells editors from the DAILY.
With the heat on to submit its proposal for the Joint Tactical Radio System Air/Maritime/Fixed (JTRS AMF) by March 16, the Boeing team's focus is on thermal management.
RADAR RESERVATIONS: The Air Force has quietly revealed over the past couple of years that the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars in its F-22 Raptor, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and E-8 Joint-Stars aircraft (if the latter is upgraded with the now-cancelled E-10's MP-RTIP radar) can do more than find small, even stealthy missiles.
