LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. - The U.S. Air Force is starting to get a clearer picture of how best to use its stealthy aircraft and advanced radar systems, said Gen. Ronald Keys, commander of Air Combat Command. Using lessons learned from missions and exercises, the service is developing tactics, techniques and procedures on how to employ stealth and the Active Electronically Steered Array (AESA) radars. The service is also reshaping plans for how to mix retrofitted AESA aircraft like the F-15 Eagles with the next-generation F-22 Raptors.
U2 AWARD: The Air Force has awarded Raytheon Co. a $113 million contract to provide field support for ground systems, sensors, and data related to the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft program, the company said Nov. 13. The program includes pre-flight system checks, mission support during flight and post-mission problem analysis. New system installations and upgrades will also be provided. The contract was awarded by Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
Sen. Carl Levin (Mich.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and its future chairman, said Nov. 13 that he would press for integrated testing of the nation's missile defense system and even suggested blocking further interceptor purchases until end-to-end evaluation is carried out.
ARMY The Boeing Co., Ridley Park, Pa., was awarded on Nov. 1, 2006, a $163,323,224 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for CH-47F New Build Production Helicopters. The work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pa., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 29, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Dec. 31, 2003. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-04-C-0012).
The Australian military has decided to fit the Raytheon ALR-67(v)3 Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) to its entire F/A-18 fleet instead of BAE Systems Australia's ALR 2002B, according to a Nov. 13 announcement. The Australian-developed technology cannot be delivered under the desired timeframe, officials said. "Ensuring the success of the extensive Hornet upgrade and Australia's regional superiority is the most important priority and requires us to progress with another, proven option," they said.
Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wasn't exactly Mr. Popularity at the Pentagon, and the brass is looking forward to the arrival of former CIA Director Robert Gates to replace him.
HAZE OF TITAN: Astrobiologists have simulated the chemistry that formed organic material in the atmospheres of Saturn's moon Titan and the early Earth, gaining insights into the processes that may have produced the organic material that fed early life here.
NASA may have the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) try to photograph the silent Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft later this week to determine what configuration it's in and give mission controllers a better idea of how to regain contact.
SHIPBUILDING FAVORABLE: Defense shipbuilding increasingly looks favorable as changes in control of the Pentagon and Capitol Hill align with a growing consensus across Washington that the Navy's and Coast Guard's fleets should be built up and modernized. Top Northrop Grumman Corp. executives pointed investors last week to growing agreement in Congress to spend more each year under the Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan. Meanwhile, Congress has repeatedly boosted funding toward the Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization program.
Claims that ground-based radars have discredited the theory that water ice is hidden in cold traps at the moon's poles are "overwrought," says noted lunar scientist Paul Spudis, and not borne out by the "preponderance of evidence."
BALLISTIC COSTS: According to an annual October report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that looks at military spending between now and 2024, total investment costs for missile defense are expected to hit their highest point in 2016: $15 billion ($18 billion, if cost risks are included). The spending peak is three years later than the CBO had anticipated a year ago, largely due to delays in a few of the programs.
The House Armed Services Committee, for now under Republican control and led by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), will host a Nov. 14 hearing to receive testimony on the national security implications of the proposed Lucent/Alcatel merger.
FIXED PRICE: The Defense Department is proposing to amend Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations to add an exception to the requirement for a written determination before using a fixed-price type contract for a development program, according to a Nov. 9 announcement in the Federal Register. The exception would apply to contracts for systems integration of commercial, off-the-shelf information technology under the DOD Enterprise Software Initiative. Comments on the proposed rule should be submitted by Jan. 8, ahead of an expected final rule.
BUOYING BOEING: Boeing may get a shot in the arm as ascendant Democrats play musical committee chairs in the weeks ahead. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) was expected to take over the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee, but he has decided to seek the House majority leader's post. Even though Murtha is an outspoken defense advocate, his decision isn't necessarily bad news for defense contractors -- and especially not Boeing. Next in seniority among Democrats on the subcommittee is Rep.
MEET THE NEW BOSS: Buried in the consensus belief that defense appropriations won't change much is the notion that a few old school, earmark-friendly Democratic appropriators are set to take the reins. Rep. John Murtha (Pa.), already the top Democratic defense appropriator, wants to become House majority leader. But some Capitol Hill observers think Democratic whip Steny Hoyer (Md.) will win, leaving Murtha to appropriations. And if Murtha did win, defense spending hawk Rep. Norm Dicks (Wash.) likely would lead defense appropriations.
The departure of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and new Democratic control of the House and Senate could change the acquisition and makeup of the tactical air fleet for the U.S. military, analysts say. The key change, they say, will be the Air Force's attempt "and probable success" in securing more stealthy F-22 Raptors beyond the 181 ceiling set by Rumsfeld's Pentagon.
The Indian Space Research Organization hopes to develop a human-rated spacecraft that can be orbited by upgrades of one of its existing launch vehicles, and is rounding up the necessary paperwork for government clearance of a $2.2-billion manned orbital mission in 2014.
MORE FOR ARMY: The Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) is calling on Congress to provide "full, timely and predictable funding" for the Army, and boost the service's share of the defense budget from 24 percent to 28 percent. AUSA's 2007 resolutions also recommend increasing overall defense spending from its current level of less than 4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.
RUMSFELD RUMINATIONS: Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the realities of the so-called global war on terror do not correspond to the yearly federal budgetary process. It takes a year to craft a budget, another to get it approved by Congress and a third to execute that then somewhat stale program, he said. "The department is currently drawing up proposed legislation to reform existing regulations and authorities ... that still hamper effective U.S. action," he said.
