The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems a $34 million modification to its Ground Standoff Mine Detection System-Future Combat Systems system development and demonstration contract, bringing the total value to $94 million, the company said Aug. 31. BAE was selected in 2004 to develop the integrated system for mine detection, marking, reporting and neutralization to be fielded on the Multipurpose Utility/Logistic Equipment (MULE) vehicle.
In-depth U.S. Navy analysis has found that aircraft wiring failures are significantly underreported and that wiring failures are a concern for the fleet, according to the Naval Air Systems Command. One major reason wiring failures are underreported is that maintenance personnel were overusing a malfunction classification code that had a generic description of why wires failed, according to detailed research on maintenance action forms and fleet surveys.
SAT SALE: Thrane & Thrane has agreed to acquire Nera Mobile Satellite Communications, a major maker of Inmarsat terminals. The move will make Thrane the largest supplier of Inmarsat equipment.
Democratic House Armed Services Committee members are seizing on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's recent remarks favoring more realistic ballistic missile defense testing, but are refuting that any comprehensive end-to-end test was slated under the Missile Defense Agency's test schedule.
Eric Barron, Jim Geringer, and Tracey Laws have been appointed to the board of directors. Barron is a geoscience school dean. Geringer is a former governor of Wyoming, and Laws is a reinsurance association vice president.
Jack Devine has been appointed vice president and general manager, France. Tony Gioffredi has been named president of the Fairbanks Morse Engine unit, effective Sept. 1. Ken Walker has been named vice president and general manager of GGB-Americas in Thorofare, N.J. Woody Woodworth has been appointed vice president and general manager of Plastomer Technologies in Houston.
The world's first female space tourist is gearing up for her launch to the International Space Station this month, after Japanese entrepreneur Daisuke Enomoto flunked his spaceflight physical.
The U.S. Army's Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) is increasingly considering converting manned helicopter platforms into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for cost and speed-of-delivery reasons, according to Raymond Wall, chief of the systems integration division.
DECOYS: Raytheon Co. said Aug. 30 that it has been awarded a $20.7 million contract to continue producing ALE-50 towed decoys for the U.S. Air Force. The contract calls for 862 decoys and was awarded by the 542nd Combat Sustainment Group, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga. The equipment will be delivered through September 2008.
The U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research has selected General Dynamics Corp.'s Land Systems to perform a "Best Technical Approach" trade study and to build a mock-up for defining a common set of requirements for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program, the company said Aug. 30. The vehicle is supposed to provide the Army and Marine Corps with a family of more-survivable vehicles and greater payload than the currently used Humvee.
Contractors working on technology to develop advanced S-band solid-state radar development say they've agreed to a partnership for such work, which they contend is key to Navy ship-borne missile defense. But while the Navy considers missile defense an important capability - the service says so in its Navy Strategic Plan in Support of Program Objective Memorandum (POM) 2008 report - a respected government analyst says radar advancements will depend on ship fleet size as well as technology.
