"Not surprisingly, Iraq and Afghanistan dominated" recent internal Pentagon discussions over future war-fighting requirements, according to Army Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director of operations for the joint staff.
SHUTTLE HEARING: Top NASA officials will address the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Nov. 15 in Washington to discuss the space shuttle program and the agency's contingency plans in case the fleet can't fulfill all its mission requirements before its retirement deadline in 2010. Administrator Michael Griffin, Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier and Associate Administrator for Exploration Richard Gilbrech will address the panel.
DELTA IV: The most spectacular launch of an all-liquid fueled booster since the Apollo 17 Saturn V in 1972 is set for Nov. 10 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., with the planned nighttime liftoff of a two million pound thrust United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy. The triple-body 232-foot tall vehicle, flying only its second mission, is to propel the final Northrop Grumman Defense Support Program (DSP) missile warning satellite directly into geosynchronous orbit.
International Space Station crew members are scheduled to move the pressurized mating adaptor (PMA-2) where space shuttles dock on Nov. 12, following a Nov. 9 spacewalk by Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko to disconnect it from the U.S. Destiny laboratory.
MORE TROUBLE: More international cooperation is needed to keep terrorists from benefiting from a generation of advanced conventional weapons under development, Rand Corp. says. Weapons of concern include GPS-guided advanced mortar systems and sniper rifles that can strike a target from up to two kilometers away. "The good news is there is still time to rein in this threat before it fully develops," says Rand senior physical scientist James Bonomo.
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT: Under a new Defense Department strategy to boost defense program manager empowerment and accountability, DOD plans to enhance personnel development opportunities, provide more incentives and arrange knowledge-sharing opportunities, according to congressional auditors. For example, DOD will increase "just-in-time" training, establish a formal mentoring program and start program management forums, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported Nov. 9.
RADAR MARKET: Forecast International projects that the worldwide radar market will be worth $50 billion over the next 10 years, driven by new technology. "The expanding availability of technology is increasing the appeal of many radar systems that were previously available only to the largest and best equipped militaries," says William Ostrove, author of the study. Active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology is proving to be a market driver, the group says.
SATELLITE WATCHDOG: Orbital Sciences Corp. will develop a nanosatellite that can provide local space situational awareness and detection of anomalies in the area of a host satellite under a $29.5-million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate. The nanosatellite is to be capable of flight experiments by early 2010. The production design will have a three-year operational life with a one-year life in geo-synchronous orbit. The satellite will be designed to have a minimum impact on the host satellite and minimum intervention from Earth.
SKYNET POSTPONED: Arianespace is deferring the launch of the U.K.'s second new-generation Skynet 5 military communications satellite while engineers grapple with an unspecified equipment fault on the satellite's Ariane 5 booster. No new launch date has yet been set. Skynet 5B, built by EADS Astrium for EADS's Paradigm affiliate, was set to go up Nov. 9, accompanied by a Brazilian commercial telecom satellite, Star One C1. Star One C1 was built by Thales Alenia Space for Star One, a subsidiary of Brazil's Embratel.
LUNAR TECHNOLOGY: Top officials will NASA's exploration program will be on hand for the agency's first exploration technology exchange conference Nov. 14-15 in Galveston, Texas. The event will focus on transport to the moon, lunar operations and outpost technology, NASA says. It is intended to facilitate dialogue among NASA personnel, major aerospace contractors, subject experts in industry, the Defense Department, government agencies and academia about capabilities needs and potential technology solutions for space exploration.
SIMULATED AWARD: General Dynamics said its Information Technology business unit was awarded a potentially $146 million, five-year contract to support the U.S. Air Force Simulations, Training and Experimentation program. The company will support planning and conduct of the Air Force's mid-term war game, "Unified Engagement." GD has provided similar services since October 2001.
With delay-related losses mounting, EADS will likely ask core customers of the A400M military transport aircraft for relief from its fixed-price development contract. With the program running at least half a year behind schedule, the Airbus Military consortium dominated by EADS is being hit financially. EADS took a 1.37 billion euro earnings charge Nov. 7 due to the delays.
Raytheon will conduct a December test of its Net-Centric Airborne Defense Element (NCADE), an air-launched intercept system designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in boost phase within seconds after launch. Internationally, competition to develop this type of weapon is fierce. Raytheon's offering is a longer-range version of the AIM-120 advanced medium range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM), and could easily be launched from manned or unmanned aircraft and airships (DAILY, May 22, 2006).
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says the U.S. and its allies have started down the path toward the "de-nuclearization of North Korea," although they are "far from reaching" that goal. Gates and Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Kim Jang-soo briefed reporters from Seoul, Korea on Nov. 7, in a bid to reaffirm ties between the two countries and present a united front against the threat of a nuclear North Korea.
MRAP ARMOR: The first Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP) kits for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles will be built at the end of November at Rock Island Arsenal, according to John Young, acting Pentagon acquisitions chief. The first MRAP vehicles with installed EFP kits are undergoing testing--three of these have been received with EFP protection kit packages in "various stages of engineering." Add-on specialty armor material required to protect the MRAPs, called P900 or XPA, is only manufactured at a few foundries.
Supporters of exempting Buy American restrictions over specialty metals under the Defense Department's acquisition of commercial-off-the-shelf products have spoken up loudly in support of DOD's proposal and the Pentagon has issued its final rulemaking to enact it.
OHIO READY: The Ohio SSGN class of four converted submarines achieved initial operational capability (IOC) Nov. 1. IOC for the reconfigured guided missile subs, rebuilt to carry up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles and to launch and recover Special Forces units, comes after the lead ship of the class, USS Ohio (SSGN 726), was certified to re-enter the Navy's active fleet. The 2002 Milestone C cost estimate for research, development, test and evaluation and procurement was $4.052 billion, and the current estimate is $4.095 billion. Rear Adm.
ACQUIRED: Eurocopter has acquired full control of U.K.-based McAlpine Helicopters as part of a move to expand its network of wholly owned sales and support facilities. McAlpine, which was already 10 percent owned by Eurocopter, supports a fleet of 200 rotorcraft and employs 169 people.
A panel of witnesses before a House Science & Technology subcommittee urged continued support for the Arecibo observatory in Puerto Rico, citing its importance for science and its role in characterizing potentially dangerous near-Earth asteroids. "A better understanding of our skies ... is essential to understanding the dangers that may threaten our society," Rep. Luis Fortuno, a Republican from Puerto Rico, said at the hearing's outset Nov. 8.
House Armed Services strategic forces chair Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) told reporters Nov. 8 that final congressional defense authorization language for fiscal 2008 should hew to her subcommittee's drive to "NATO-ize" U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMDS) system efforts based in Europe.
AUSA RESOLUTION: The Association of the United States Army has called for an active force of at least 700,000 in its 2008 resolution, saying that although today's soldiers can "achieve success on today's battlefields...the Army...they serve is out of balance." The Army would like to see its share of the Defense Department budget increase from 24 percent to 28 percent, as well as a more consistent funding stream. The resolution also called for closing the gap between military and civilian pay and revising and enhancing the reserve component compensation package.
ONE-BUTTON TSAT: Boeing and its industry partners recently demonstrated "one-button" start-up, a feature of its U.S. ground station, which is an element of the company's Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT). The feature allows a ground station technician or remote command center operator to use a single button on a control panel to go from a full "off" condition to full communications operation within minutes, even under adverse operating conditions.
