IDF UAV: Elbit Systems said it received a new Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) order. The roughly $30 million deal includes developing, manufacturing and supplying new and improved UAV systems, as well as upgrading existing UAV systems. Development and supply are scheduled to last at least three years, the company said.
Expedition 16 crewmates Dan Tani and Peggy Whitson are ready to shift the new Harmony pressurized node to its final position on the International Space Station (ISS) after moving the forward pressurized mating adaptor (PMA-2) from the spot on the Destiny laboratory it has occupied since 2001.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded Lockheed Martin a $14 million contract to demonstrate integrated airframe technologies for its Future Responsive Access to Space Technologies (FAST) program.
The Senate has approved a pro-competition federal acquisition reform bill promoted by the chamber's moderates that would fall short of stricter changes pushed by Democrats elsewhere but which congressional scorekeepers contend would nonetheless lower federal procurement costs for goods and services.
NORTH CAROLINA COMING: Sea trials for the newest Virginia-class submarine, North Carolina (SSN 777), are scheduled for later this month with delivery to the U.S. Navy in December, according to Northrop Grumman. The company's Newport News unit is teamed with General Dynamics Electric Boat to build the first 10 ships of a planned class of 30 boats. The flagship USS Virginia (SSN 774) was delivered in 2004.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has built a new large-scale, indoor antenna testing facility at the company's Linthicum, Md., plant and is set to evaluate the performance of the new Cobra Judy S-band phased array antenna there.
The final U.S. Air Force/Northrop Grumman Defense Support Program (DSP) missile warning spacecraft is undergoing initial checkout and positioning in geosynchronous orbit following a spectacular night liftoff Nov. 10 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., onboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket. The vehicle's three Pratt & Whitney RS-68 engines and single upper-stage Pratt & Whitney RL10B-2 engine performed perfectly after the 8:50 p.m. EST liftoff on nearly 2 million pounds of thrust from Launch Complex 37.
Pentagon program management - a longtime concern of groups like Rand Corp. and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) - is starting to get some attention from the Defense Department where it counts most: the checkbook. Program management/support services has broken into the top 15 products and services for Pentagon spending for the first time this decade, according to an Aerospace Daily computer analysis of DOD contracting data through August 2007.
Satellite services provider Intelsat on Nov. 9 reported a three percent increase in its third quarter 2007 revenue as compared to the same period last year, to $546 million. Last year's third quarter revenues were $528.5 million. In a teleconference to announce its third quarter results, the company also said 2007 earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $404.5 million. Net loss for the time period was $42.6 million.
NEW DELHI - India represents one of Northrop Grumman's largest potential growth markets for defense products in Asia, according to John Brooks, vice president for business development at Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems and president of Northrop Grumman International Inc. Expanding its presence in India with the recent opening of its office in New Delhi with two full-time representatives, the company has appointed Commodore (ret.) Gyanendra Sharma, managing director for India, and Joe Parsley, vice president for India and South Asia.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made the last stop of his Asian tour in Japan, where he, along with Japanese Minister of Defense Ishiba, reaffirmed the importance of the military links between the two countries.
RRW & NPR: Final fiscal 2008 defense authorization language from Congress will include a House provision calling for a blue-ribbon panel to further study the Bush administration's Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW), as well as an accelerated Senate provision demanding a new nuclear posture review by fiscal 2009, says a key congressional negotiator. Democrats, enticed by RRW's potential to shrink the nuclear arsenal and save costs, are wary of administration advocacy, as well as foreign opinions that might consider the RRW a new nuclear weapon.
Inmarsat has concluded an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) to operate an advanced L-band payload on the agency's AlphaSat telecom technology mission. The agreement, signed Nov. 8, will allow Inmarsat to offer up to 14 MHz of L-band frequency adjacent to L-band spectra already offered on the Inmarsat-4 (I-4) new-generation telecom satellite system brought into operation last year, Chairman/CEO Andrew Sukawaty said Nov. 9 in presenting third quarter results.
Avio has successfully carried out the first test firing of a liquid oxygen/methane combustor earmarked for a new upper engine that could equip Italy's Vega light launcher. The test, carried out at Avio's Collefrerro plant near Rome, lasted two seconds, but engineers ultimately hope to achieve a 20-second burn.
EADS on Nov. 8 cut its operating profit forecast for the year by 400 million euros ($590 million) to breakeven, as the company's top executive called on European governments to provide relief to help offset the impact of a rapidly sinking U.S. dollar. The dollar's swoon limited EADS' revenue growth to just 300 million euros in the third quarter compared with a year earlier, despite 10 more Airbus jet deliveries and stronger output at the company's defense units. Airbus jets are priced in U.S. dollars but most of the company's costs are in euros.
NEW DELHI - The first two of 66 Hawk advanced jet trainers to be delivered to the Indian air force as of part of a total training package required to meet the country's training needs have left the U.K. for Bidar in India. The contract for the aircraft was signed in March 2004. Twenty-four are being built in the U.K. by BAE Systems and 42 will be manufactured under license in India by Bangalore-based government defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
China's space programs are being swept up in the country's ongoing economic modernization, with the national space administration saying it will call for outside tenders for participation in its second lunar exploration mission. Bidders "could include scientific research organs, universities and also private companies," says a spokesman. He stresses the opportunities for private firms: "For sure, private companies should be qualified, especially in technological and managerial capabilities, in order to participate in the space technology development."
MISSILE REACTION: U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command chief Lt. Gen. Kevin Campbell says that regional combatant commands must standardize their processes for reacting to ballistic missile launches - a fact highlighted by the 2006 salvo of ballistic missile tests in North Korea. For example, response procedures need to be uniform for commanders in Europe, the Pacific and the Middle East, he says. Operators at U.S. Strategic Command, which has global reach as a provider of forces, need to have predictable measures in dealing with the regional combatant commanders.
PARIS - The European Space Agency (ESA) is deferring a development go-ahead for its next Mars mission and considering a German-led lunar mission as it attempts to align exploration ambitions to budget realities.
