FIRST IMAGES: France's Corot planet-finding mission has sent back initial images from its high-precision afocal photometric telescope, intended to identify terrestrial planets in other stars of our galaxy that previous space- and ground-based instruments have been unable to see. The operation, which followed removal of the telescope's protective cover on Jan. 17, produced views "equal in quality to simulated imagery," said Michel Auvergne, an astrophysicist at the Observatory of Paris-Meudon who is lead scientist for the mission.
The vast majority of required equipment purchases to outfit the U.S. Marine Corps in coming years will be additional, existing weapons systems, but the Corps will also buy so-called next-generation equipment to keep up with technological advances "when it makes sense," according to Gen. James Conway, Marine commandant.
The U.S. Navy will fund at least $140 million worth of Hurricane Katrina-related shipyard repair and improvement projects, including to Northrop Grumman Corp. and Textron Inc., according to a Defense Department announcement. Winning projects were submitted by Atlantic Marine and Austal USA, both in Mobile, Ala.; Northrop Grumman Ship Systems' yards in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss., and New Orleans; Seemanns Composites in Gulfport, Swiftships in Morgan City, La.; and Textron Marine and Land Systems in New Orleans.
RADIO SYSTEM CONTRACT: Israel's Ministry of Defense has awarded a $20.5 million contract to Tadiran Communications for a radio system with next generation wireless capability. Several Israeli military organizations will use the equipment. The contract is an add on to a previous one of about equal value. The company says this is its flagship project.
Eurocopter hopes to firm up its order with Belgium for 10 NH90s no later than May, adding to the growing backlog for the military transport rotorcraft. The deal is only one of several that the NH Industries consortium, in which Eurocopter is the leading member, believes is in store this year. The group also is in talks through the French government to finalize a deal for Saudi Arabia to buy the helicopter, and other deals are in the works, says Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling.
NEW INTELSAT BIRD: Intelsat has picked Space Systems/Loral to build Intelsat 14, a high power C- and Ku-band communications link intended to begin serving the Western Hemisphere, Europe and Africa after 2009. Based on the Palo Alto, Calif.-based manufacturer's 1300 spacecraft bus, Intelsat 14 will be sent to the orbital slot at 45 degrees west longitude now occupied by the PAS-1R satellite, which it will replace. The new satellite will carry 40 C-band and 22 Ku-band transponders feeding four different beams for its trans-Atlantic service area.
GROUND BUSINESS: General Dynamics Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Chabraja says spending on Iraq, Afghanistan and other U.S. military combat operations abroad have diverted possible spending for the company's Information Systems and Technology defense electronics unit, yet other lines of revenue for large defense contractor have grown. He also said Jan. 24 that precise financial forecasting has become more difficult under supplemental appropriations, which provide less advance time and insight into the Defense Department's plans.
British troops in Afghanistan are the first in the world to be using the new steel-armored Viking amphibious all terrain vehicle, the U.K. defense ministry says. Royal Marines have received 108 of the vehicles following a two-year trial and development program. The 10-ton Viking boasts a 5.9-liter turbo diesel engine and can reach speeds of 50 mph. The vehicle's four tracks allow excellent mobility on soft terrain, and with less than two minutes preparation the Viking is also fully amphibious, traveling 3.1 miles per hour in water.
Good times lie ahead for the aircraft industry - even excluding unmanned aerial vehicles - according to a recent report by the industry analyst Teal Group. Teal Group forecast production of 41,107 aircraft worth $1.16 trillion between 2006 and 2015 in its December World Military & Civil Aircraft Briefing. The military component of the market is worth $321.1 billion, the report said.
The Bush administration's choice to take command in Iraq told a Senate panel Jan. 23 that the deployment of 21,500 additional U.S. troops could help decrease attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus needs a fourth star to take over as commander of Multi-National Forces-Iraq. His promotion is subject to Senate confirmation.
The Defense Department's total information technology (IT) budget for fiscal 2007 is $30.9 billion, down from $31.9 billion in FY '06, according to John Grimes, assistant secretary of defense for Networks and Information Integration (NII). Forty-seven percent, or $14.3 billion, of the FY '07 total is for communications and computing infrastructure. Warfighting systems account for 28 percent, or $8.8 billion. Business systems account for $4.5 billion, or 15 percent, and information assurance represents $2.3 billion, or 7 percent.
An announcement to expand the Saudi Arabian air force's fighter fleet by 50 percent raises questions as to where the new pilots will come from since the Saudis reportedly have had problems in training enough of them, according to Tom Baranauskas, Forecast International's Middle East analyst. He said doubts remain about such an expansion of the fighter fleet, especially because of the advanced nature of the new aircraft to enter service.
Funding a U.S. Army boost of 65,000 new permanent troops will cost $70 billion alone over the fiscal 2009-2013 budget years, while increasing Iraq combat equipment will boost reset costs and further exacerbate the difficulty of restoring the Army and Marine Corps to their full capability, military leaders and lawmakers said Jan. 23.
SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT: The Joint Strike Fighter Cooperative Avionics Test Bed, a 737-300 aircraft extensively modified by BAE Systems, successfully completed its maiden flight Jan. 23 at Mojave, Calif. The 737 aircraft, also known as the "CAT-Bird," is a flying test bed that replicates the F-35 avionics suite. The CATB will develop and verify the F-35's capability to collect data from multiple sensors and fuse it into a coherent situational awareness display in a dynamic airborne environment.
The Pentagon needs to get better acquisition managers and pay more attention to contract performance, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports. "DOD does not know how well its services acquisition processes are working, which part of its mission can best be met through buying services, and whether it is obtaining the services it needs while protecting DOD's and the taxpayer's interests," the GAO reported Jan. 17 in its report, "DOD Needs to Exert Management and Oversight to Better Control Acquisition of Services."
MERGER ON HOLD: Safran Chairman/CEO Jean-Paul Bechat says talks to merge the company's Snecma liquid and ion propulsion engine businesses with those of EADS Astrium remain frozen because of continuing disagreement over valuation and EADS's problems at Airbus, which have relegated the matter to secondary status. However, Bechat continues to think that the merger, which would rationalize and consolidate the European space engine industry, is a good idea.
While the Pentagon has been working on improving its logistics networks, the Defense Department needs a better way of defining and measuring its efforts, says the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The DOD must define its logistics strategy and develop and implement outcome-focused performance metrics and cost metrics for supply chain management, the GAO said in its mid-January report, "Progress Made Implementing Supply Chain Management Recommendations, but Full Extent of Improvement Unknown."
