U.S. and European guided-weapons manufacturers are lining up to slug it out over a slew of anti-ship missile requirements for the Indian military. India has requirements for additional maritime patrol aircraft and for a naval multirole helicopter. Part of the weapons package for both will be an anti-ship missile. There is also a requirement to replace the Sea Eagle for the maritime strike role for the Jaguar aircraft.
The top two U.S. Air Force officials made a forceful presentation to House defense appropriators Feb. 12, citing a possible reversal in plans to cut personnel, as well as reiterating longstanding requests to retire aging aircraft to free up $1.7 billion annually. In turn, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Gen. T. Michael Moseley, chief of staff, largely received a sympathetic reception during the public hearing over Air Force budget requests.
The Pentagon, the FAA and the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) community have regrouped since the cancellation of a NASA-funded program to improve the access of unmanned aircraft to civil airspace, and a key report on how to facilitate these operations will soon be delivered to the FAA.
The U.S. Navy hopes to finally release its master plan for unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) within the next two months, according to service officials. The document's expected completion slipped from last year while the service wrestled with its overall USV strategy (DAILY, Aug. 20, 2006). Once the final draft undergoes internal review, the plan will be posted on the Internet.
NAVY Kollsman Co., Merrimack, N.H., is being awarded a $33,777,350 modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-06-C-6001) for the production of an additional 400 U.S. Marine Corps Laser Target Designators. The work will be performed in Merrimack, N.H. (70 percent), and Rehovot, Israel (30 percent), and is expected to be completed by June 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
SCIENCE CHIEF: NASA has named S. Alan Stern the new head of the agency's Science Mission Directorate, effective April 2. Stern will succeed Mary Cleave, who is retiring. Stern joins NASA from the Southwest Research Institute's Space Science and Engineering Division in Boulder, Colo., where he has been serving as executive director. A planetary scientist, Stern served as the principal investigator on a number of NASA missions, including the New Horizons Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission.
AIR FORCE Boeing Co., Seattle Wash., is being awarded a $23,533,000 firm-fixed-price contract modification. This delivery order provides funding for CY07 Communication Equipment Subscription Services for the C-32A and C-40B aircraft. At this time, total funds have been obligated. This work will be complete by January 2008. Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-01-D-0013/No modification number at this time).
A recent Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) report said the EA-18G Growler program is risky, but prime contractor Boeing says the risks are being addressed and the program remains on schedule and in some areas ahead of its development timetable. DOT&E called the Growler program "aggressive," but said testing is adequate to support low-rate production decisions. "Primary EA-18G risks center on integrating the AEA (Airborne Electronic Attack) weapons onto the F/A-18F platform," the report said.
With Boeing's Feb. 12 announcement that offers the KC-767 aircraft as the Air Force's next tanker, the company set the stage for a stark and distinct competition. Boeing's medium-sized tanker entry will take on the Northrop Grumman team's large Airbus 330 derivative, the KC-30. Boeing's KC-767 focuses on runway access to smaller airstrips - 8,000 feet or possibly even smaller - and the ability to put "more booms in the air," said John Sams, Boeing Air Force programs vice president, during a briefing.
PLEDGELESS: Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he is not aware of any efforts to formalize an agreement with Russia to underline the Bush administration's claim that an Eastern European-based element to the U.S. ballistic missile defense system would not be a threat to the former Cold War adversary. "We've made quite clear to them that it's not directed at them, and in fact, in India, the deputy prime minister acknowledged that it posed no threat to Russia or to its strategic deterrent," Gates maintains. "This was a few weeks ago.
PRESSURE POINT: Top Northrop Grumman and EADS officials struggled until the last minute last week to create a competitive KC-30 tanker bid that trims airframe costs and highlights the design's greater cargo, passenger and fuel capacity. They now expect a strong showing against Boeing's smaller, less expensive KC-767 for the Air Force tanker contract. But experienced Air Force acquisition officials say there is a deeper game afoot.
HLR CENTER: The U.S. Marine Corps Heavy Lift Replacement helicopter, the CH-53K under contractor Sikorsky Aircraft, will cut operating and support costs by 50 percent compared with the legacy CH-53E, program leaders assert. Total lifecycle costs reach almost $71 billion, they said early last year (DAILY, Jan. 6, 2006). Sikorsky and the Marines will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the $18.8 billion project's development center on Feb. 12 in Stratford, Conn.
NOT A HOBBY: FAA plans to publish a notice in the Federal Register next week reiterating that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can't be flown commercially in the national airspace (NAS) using the guidelines developed for remotely controlled model aircraft.
GREEN EYESHADE OPTIONAL: One of the new members of the Senate Armed Services Committee is putting Defense Secretary Robert Gates on notice that moving contract numbers around is no longer a good way to avoid scrutiny. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) says she will delve into numerous defense contracts that were issued through other agencies without competition.
SCIENCE ADVISORS: The next head of the U.S. Central Command promises to task his science advisor to work "closely" with the broader scientific community, particularly the military services' laboratories and the Pentagon's head office for defense research and engineering, to make sure CentCom benefits from the best technical advice available.
The U.S. Air Force is hoping to resume flights of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., on Feb. 13, nearly three months after the November communications loss incident that prompted the suspension of Global Hawk flights at the base.
SUPER HORNET DEAL: The Pentagon has spelled out details of Australia's proposed purchase of 24 F/A-18E/Fs. The deal would include six spare engines and 12 joint mission planning systems. The aircraft would feature the APG-79 radar, Multifunction Information Distribution System data terminals, 30 ALR-67(V)3 radar warning receivers and an equal number of night-vision goggles. Australia also is looking to buy ALE-47 expendable dispensers and the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System.
