India on Aug. 28 issued the long-awaited request for proposals (RFP) for its $10.5 billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program, which will provide 126 fighters to the Indian air force. The industry contenders for the program are Russia's MiG-35, the Swedish JAS-39 Gripen, France's Rafale, Lockheed Martin's F-16, Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon.
A research satellite orbited by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in April has collected data on the plume of a rising missile that ultimately may play into boost-phase missile defense sensing and tracking. The Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) spacecraft collected images of a modified Minuteman II with a target payload launched Aug. 23 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., in what MDA described as "the successful execution of an important exercise."
PGS STUDY: Boeing said Aug. 27 that its pre-demonstration study of a Minotaur launch vehicle for a potential prompt global strike (PGS) weapon system will wrap up by June 2009. The $8.9 million study - announced in late June by the Pentagon, along with a similar Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center effort with Northrop Grumman - examines the use of land-based Minotaurs to deliver conventional warheads anywhere globally within an hour.
The U.S. Army is at risk of investing about $5 billion in business systems and still not achieving the Defense Department and the Army's goal of total asset visibility (TAV), a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported concluded.
A recent memo from Undersecretary of Defense John Young to top service leaders calls for the establishment of Configuration Steering Boards (CSBs) for major acquisition programs, pointing to the Pentagon's part in the frequent mismanagement of procurement contracts.
Technical problems that raised concerns about the longevity of the HiRise high-resolution imaging system on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have been largely cleared by revised warmup procedures for the system.
SCALED ACQUIRED: Northrop Grumman has completed its acquisition of Scaled Composites, LLC by increasing its ownership of the Mojave Calif.-based company from approximately 40 percent to 100 percent, Northrop announced Aug. 27. The financial terms have not been disclosed. The deal is not expected to affect Scaled's joint venture with Virgin Group President Richard Branson to offer space tourism rides on derivatives of the company's SpaceShipOne commercial spacecraft.
NIGHT VISION: BAE Systems announced it will design and develop a "digitally enhanced" night-vision goggle as part of the U.S. Army's Enhanced Night Vision Goggle program. The company did not provide financial details in its Aug. 27 announcement. The helmet-mounted goggle will digitally combine video imagery from a low-light-level visible sensor and an "uncooled," long-wave infrared sensor on a single-color display located in front of the soldier's eye. The microbolometer technology also is used in thermal weapon sights BAE supplies to the Army.
THALES CAMERAS: Thales has signed a contract with Rosoboronexport to provide roughly 100 Catherine FC thermal imaging cameras for the Russian Army to be integrated on T-90 armored vehicles - a first in Russia for Western equipment. The contract marks a decisive step forward in Thales' commitment to extend its position in the Russian defense market and to step up cooperation and investment with local industry, said a statement.
CSEL RADIOS: The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing $107 million to provide 15,452 Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) radios. This is the service's third order on the contract, which is expected to wrap up by August 2009. Boeing has delivered over 12,000 CSEL radios to the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The joint forces have ordered a total of 31,724 CSEL units, which provide multi-satellite, over-the-horizon communications on a handheld radio.
The Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity are driving again after surviving electrical power shortages caused by global dust storms that have swept the red planet since early July.
SUW DEVELOPMENT: The U.S. Navy says it is moving forward with development of the Surface Warfare (SUW) Mission Package, a self-contained set of remote sensors and precision attack weapons designed to combat small, fast-boat terrorist threats conceived as one of three original mission "packages" for the now-troubled Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).
Spacehab's Astrotech Space Operations subsidiary has received a task order under the recently awarded Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for the Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)/Jason-2, the company announced Aug. 27. On June 25, the Spacehab subsidiary announced the award of a $35 million IDIQ contract for payload processing support on several upcoming NASA spacecraft missions, for which each must be individually competed. OSTM is the first in the series to be awarded.
A bit past the half year mark, war costs once again rank among the leading Pentagon expenses, according to an Aerospace Daily analysis of data provided by the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR). Trucks, combat assault vehicles, guided missiles, night-vision goggles and battle needs ranked at the top of Pentagon costs, according to the analysis of more than 1 million contracts and contract modifications released by NICAR Aug. 17.
FCS FACILITY: BAE will build a 150,000 square-foot facility in Elgin, Okla., to house production integration and assembly activities for the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon (NLOS-C), the first of eight Future Combat Systems (FCS) manned ground vehicles (MGV). The facility is expected to be complete in 2009.
Despite the promised imminent release of the request for proposals (RFP) for its 126-aircraft Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program, India's defense ministry continues to tweak its offsets policy and has said it will consider alternative modes for foreign vendors to meet their offset obligations.
JSF ENGINES: U.S. Naval Air Systems Command is awarding United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney about $60 million toward F-135 million Joint Strike Fighter engines. According to the Aug. 24 announcement by the Pentagon, the advance acquisition contract is for long lead components for Lot 2 Low Rate Initial Production of 6 conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) system installs and two CTOL system spares for the Air Force. It also includes six short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) system installs and two STOVL spares for the Navy.
