JIGSAW LASER RADAR: Harris Corp. has been awarded a $6.6 million contract to develop and demonstrate the Jigsaw Laser Radar 3D-imaging test bed system for use on a DP-5X Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, the company said June 2. Melbourne, Fla.-based Harris is providing systems integration services in cooperation with LADAR sensor developer MIT-LL and DP-5X platform developer Dragonfly Pictures Inc.
The Boeing Co. plans to change the wingtip design of the P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) to improve the jet's performance in harsh weather, especially icy conditions, company officials said June 2. Instead of upward-pointing blended winglets, MMA will have raked or backswept wingtips. Because the raked wingtip will be even with the rest of the wing, it will be easier to melt away ice, a key hazard in some of the low-altitude environments that the P-8A will have to operate in, said Tim Norgart, Boeing's director of business development for MMA.
Northrop Grumman Corp. announced June 2 that its team has begun building the first of three X-47B air vehicles it is supposed to assemble for the U.S. Defense Department's Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program. Several significant pieces already have been completed, including a fuel cell floor. Northrop Grumman hopes to finish building the first aircraft in early 2007 and begin flying it by late 2007.
The Lockheed Martin Corp.-led VXX presidential helicopter replacement program industry team has signed Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Defensive Systems Division to support a bid for the U.S. Air Force's Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV) competition.
RAPTOR LEAD WORK: Lockheed Martin Corp. was awarded a $134.2 million contract modification to extend the period of performance of the F/A-22 Raptor Lot 5 long-lead activities through June 2005, the Defense Department said June 2. The work is to be completed by November 2007.
REPLENISHING OILER: United Defense Industries Inc. announced June 1 that the U.S. Military Sealift Command awarded it a $1.6 million contract for work on the USNS Laramie (T-AO 203). If all options are exercised, the award could total slightly more than $2 million. The work is scheduled to complete on July 15. The Laramie is one of MSC's 14 Fleet Replenishment Oilers and is part of the 37-ship Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, which provides fuel, food, ammunition, spare parts and other supplies and services to ships at sea.
Raytheon Co. will be the leading supplier of air defense missiles over the next decade, according to a new report from Forecast International, heading a market that will reach revenue of $22.8 billion between 2005 and 2014. More than 88,000 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) will be produced around the world in that time.
By the end of 2006, Sikorsky Aircraft plans to build and fly a demonstrator for a new class of co-axial helicopters capable of cruising at 250 knots, the company announced June 1. Coaxial helicopters feature two counter-rotating sets of helicopter blades on the same vertical axis. Known as the X2 Technology demonstrator, the helicopter will be flown at Sikorsky's Schweizer Aircraft subsidiary in Elmira, N.Y. Preliminary design work is finished and parts are being built, according to the company.
Lockheed Martin and Aerojet conducted the second test firing of the Atlas V's upgraded Block B solid rocket booster (SRB) on May 24 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., the companies announced. It was the second test of the Aerojet-built Block B SRB at the company's new SRB test stand at Edwards. A third test is planned for this fall.
By June 6 the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to release a request for proposals for the Oblique Flying Wing (OFW) advanced technology demonstration program. "The goal of the OFW program is to expand the design space for future aircraft concepts, particularly for those missions that demand both supersonic speed and long endurance," DARPA said. The program will build a supersonic, tailless X-plane demonstrator.
The Air Force has released a request for proposals for the Transformational Satellite Communications (TSAT) Mission Operations System (TMOS), and has scheduled a bidders' conference for June 2. Responses to the RFP, released May 27, are due July 25. A single TMOS contractor is slated to be chosen by the end of fiscal year 2005, or Oct. 1.
TANKER REPORT: Top Defense Department officials said June 1 that the department's inspector general's report on the now-failed Boeing 767 tanker lease-buy contract has been sent to Congress. The IG probe is a response to a letter sent to the Pentagon late last year by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), ranking member Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). The senators complained about what they said was an atmosphere devoid of accountability or oversight that led to the deal.
ATV PURCHASE: The Netherlands has agreed to buy 74 BvS10 All Terrain Vehicles worth 43 million pounds ($77.8 million) for its marines from BAE Systems Land Systems Hagglunds, the company said June 1. The ATVs will come in four variants: troop carrier, command, repair and recovery, and ambulance. They will be used as logistics vehicles to carry troops and equipment. Deliveries of the ATVs will begin in January 2006 and be finished by April 2007. The British Royal Marines currently are using the vehicles, and they are being tested by the French and Finnish militaries.
JUNO: NASA announced June 1 that the proposed Juno mission to Jupiter will proceed to a preliminary design. The second mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program, Juno would place a spacecraft in polar orbit around Jupiter to investigate the existence of an ice-rock core and study the planet's atmosphere and magnetic field. To launch before mid-1020, the mission will be capped at $700 million.
JSOW CABLES, HARNESSES: Raytheon Missile Systems has awarded LaBarge Inc. of St. Louis a seven-year contract worth up to $24 million to provide cables and harnesses for Raytheon's Joint Standoff Weapon system, LaBarge said June 1. About $1.65 million will be released under the contract for 2005. The cables send electronic data signals throughout the weapon, which uses Global Positioning System data to find its target and can change its path during flight. The cable assemblies are used to perform tests for JSOW functionality.
Defense electronics and support company Engineered Support Systems Inc. overcame a financial hit suffered by a key military program by posting revenues from other business segments and recently acquired subsidiaries. The St. Louis-based company reported record net revenues of $263.8 million for the quarter ended April 30, a 25% increase compared with the same period last year, the company said June 1.
Ron Genova has been appointed to the scientific and commercialization board of advisers. Genova is a former executive with JDS Uniphase of San Jose, Calif.
TARGETING: BAE Systems announced June 1 that it would provide geopositioning software for Defense Department applications under the U.S. Navy's Common Geopositioning Services Project (CGSP). The contract, awarded by the Naval Air Warfare Center, is valued at $4.6 million and includes options through 2008. Specifically, BAE Systems will develop a modular set of software geopositioning services capable of calculating accurate, three-dimensional geographic coordinates for weapons targeting.
