Mindful of the tough lessons learned on the troubled NPOESS program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has restructured its acquisition strategy for the next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) system to give the government more direct oversight of the effort.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office on March 29 denied the additional protest points raised by losing bidders Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky in their effort to overturn the award of the Air Force's combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter contract to Boeing Co. The GAO's Feb. 26 sustainment of one other protest item -- for certain lifecycle costs -- still stands. Air Force officials have said they plan to rebid that particular item, as recommended by the GAO.
ADAPTIVE ENGINE: Air Force Research Laboratory engineers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, have set up a five-year schedule for designing a new, adaptive engine that will let pilots easily shift from high-speed combat maneuvering to fuel-efficient, long-range persistence flight. A broad agency announcement has challenged industry to develop and demonstrate Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology. Goals are to develop inlet, engine and exhaust technologies that optimize performance over a broad range of altitudes and speeds.
The U.S. Army Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) -- the sequel -- promises to be much different from the original program and aircraft, service intelligence and aviation officers said March 29. "A couple of years ago, ACS was pretty much a stand-alone platform," said Col. John Burke, Army deputy aviation director.
DIASTER SIMULATION: The use of unmanned aircraft during a U.S. disaster - an option that was blocked in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - will be attempted again. That critical capability will be tested during Operation Noble Resolve, April 23-26, when twin disasters will hit the East Coast simultaneously, says Air Force Gen. Lance Smith, who is also chief of U.S. Joint Forces Command.
CRYPTIC ICBMS: Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems will receive almost $90 million from the U.S. Air Force for 650 KS-60 Cryptographic devices and their fielding to intercontinental ballistic missiles. The KS-60's will perform encryption and decryption functions to support a mandate from the National Security Agency, according to the Pentagon's March 29 contract modification announcement.
In the second announcement of its kind last week, federal law enforcement officials said late March 29 that they have charged Axion Corp., a defense contracting company based in Huntsville, Ala., and its owner with illegally exporting sensitive military technology overseas, fraud involving aircraft parts and submitting false documents to the government.
Congress is poised this year to pour billions of dollars into the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program, an accelerated effort that barely existed at the start of the year but which strikes at the heart of U.S. combat casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. On March 29, the Senate unanimously tacked on $1.5 billion to its supplemental spending bill for fiscal 2007 for the V-shaped hull vehicles for the Marine Corps.
VINSON RETURNS: The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, will return to the West Coast and probably relocate its homeport to San Diego in early 2010. U.S. Navy Secretary Donald Winter selected San Diego as the preferred alternative after evaluating a number of factors, the service says, including its existing infrastructure, family support facilities, and proximity to training areas.
The Homeland Security Department has granted Safety Act certification and liability protection to three Northrop Grumman Corp. anti-terrorism technologies, the company announced March 29. The liability-limiting certification was granted to Northrop Grumman's System Engineering, Design and Integration (SEDI) services; Integrated Security Services (ISS); and Tactical Automated Security System (TASS).
THERMAL SIGHT SYSTEMS: Raytheon Co. Network Centric Systems has been awarded a $6 million delivery order for 108 Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) Thermal Sight Systems (TSS). The contract allows the purchase of up to 1,026 TSS, which would bring the total value to $34.2 million. The work will be done in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be finished by August 2007. The contract was awarded by the Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va.
JAPAN LAUNCH: EADS Astrium-Khrunichev joint venture Eurockot will launch Japan's Servis-2 technology satellite on the Rockot booster. The 900-kilogram spacecraft, intended to verify the use of commercial off-the-shelf components in space environments, is to be launched into sun-synchronous orbit in 2009 from the Rockot launch pad in Plesetsk, Russia. The next Rockot launch, late this year, is to orbit the European Space Agency's Goce Earth observation satellite.
CHARLIE HELICOPTERS: The U.S. Coast Guard's remaining eight HH-65C helicopters are expected to be delivered ahead of schedule this summer, industry representatives said March 29. Seventy-six of 84 re-engined HH-65Cs have been delivered so far by Integrated Coast Guard Systems following the accelerated power upgrades at the Coast Guard's Aviation Repair & Supply Center in Elizabeth City, N.C., and the American Eurocopter facility in Columbus, Miss.
U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has awarded Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC a $10.7 million contract to produce missile launchers for U.S. Navy F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G aircraft. The LAU-115 and LAU-116 launchers provide the structural and electrical interfaces that allow the aircraft to carry and launch missiles such as Sparrow, Sidewinder and the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), according to Raytheon.
MRH-90 FLIGHT: Australia's first MRH-90 conducted its initial flight March 29 in Marignane, France, flying for 90 minutes and satisfying the Eurocopter test crew with its performance, Australian defense officials announced. The first four MRH-90s are on schedule for delivery to Australia by the end of this year, and the first fuselage of the 42 aircraft to be assembled in Australia arrived in Brisbane on March 27, they said.
SUPPORTING JOHNSON: NASA has awarded a $30.4 million extension of the Center Operations Support Services (COSS) contract for Johnson Space Center to Computer Sciences Corp. of Ft. Worth, Texas. The extension begins April 1 and has a base period of six months, followed by five one-month options. Exercise of all the options would bring the total potential value to $55.4 million. The contract includes operations support activities at Johnson's Sonny Carter Training Facility and Ellington Field. Major subcontractors include Anadarko Industries, LLC, of Houston and Lynx Ltd.
U.S. Naval Air Systems Command announced that the last of more than 400 T58 engine gas path modules were delivered March 28 during the 50th anniversary celebration of the T58. General Electric and the CH-46E program office delivered the upgraded modules under budget and ahead of schedule to the Marine Corps, completing a $300 million, seven-year upgrade program for the CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter, Navair said.
The Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) will be deploying soon to Iraq with U.S. Navy units to help hunt for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to sources familiar with the MAV program. The MAVs should deploy for those missions by early April, the sources said. Neither MAV contractor Honeywell nor Navy officials would comment about any proposed deployment of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). But Honeywell has been marketing the MAV as a force protection system for urban terrain scenarios - such as looking for IEDs in certain parts of Iraq.
TRIDENT MATERIALS: Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. has been awarded a $20.5 million contract to procure Trident II (D5) long lead time materials, the Defense Department said. The work will be done at various locations and is expected to be finished by September 2011. The contract was awarded by Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va.
Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) will again try to push Congress to allow and fund a Pentagon desire to refit submarine-based Trident nuclear missiles with conventional warheads, according to several expected legislative efforts announced March 29 by Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) members.
The U.S. Army Future Combat Systems (FCS) Lead Systems Integrator Boeing-SAIC has chosen Lockheed Martin to manufacture the FCS Centralized Controller Device, which will allow soldiers to command FCS unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles and unattended sensors, among other functions. The hand-held device also will be able to command manned ground vehicle functions and will "enable superior situational awareness, training, logistics and medical functions," Boeing/SAIC said in a statement.
BETTER NAVIGATION: U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) has signed a cooperative research agreement with L-3 Communications to develop improved personal navigation technology for soldiers in areas where the Global Positioning System is denied or degraded. The technology is a hybrid that "cooperates" with GPS but has its own embedded capability, allowing for navigation to be maintained in "GPS-deprived" areas like cities or underground structures, JFCOM says.
TUSKEGEE GOLDEN: Capitol Hill has awarded the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor it can bestow. "Perseverance, sacrifice, duty and an outstanding service record are part of the lasting legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said March 29. "Because of their efforts, our nation is free and we are richer as a people. Today's ceremony is long overdue, but our nation's gratitude for the Tuskegee Airmen's service is profound." Lawmakers moved to honor the World War II legends a year ago (DAILY, March 6, 2006).
