The U.S. Marine Corps' MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft marked the completion of its first transatlantic round trip on July 29 when it returned to Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., following its participation in the Farnborough Air Show in the U.K. Three Ospreys originally departed New River on July 8 - two destined for Farnborough and one flying as a backup - accompanied by three KC-130J tanker aircraft. After making a stop in Newfoundland, the backup Osprey turned back and returned to North Carolina as planned.
The formal merger of Boeing's space shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) engineering workforces is set to go through Oct. 1, marking a major step in the company's effort to begin shifting personnel from legacy human spaceflight programs over to new efforts such as the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) and Ares Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV).
AIRCRAFT GUN: General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products has been awarded a $12.4 million contract modification for the procurement of 38 M61A2 20 mm automatic gun systems for F/A-18E/F aircraft, the Defense Department said Aug. 2. The work will be done in Burlington, Vt., and is expected to be completed in September 2007. The contract was awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md.
Airborne laser jammers to protect airliners from shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles still need some refinements, although "initial performance assessments" indicate they can protect test aircraft, according to a recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report. The laser-based technology, known as directed infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) and derived from proven military technology, still has some limitations before it can be adapted for commercial use, the report found. "However, all testing is not yet complete," the report concluded.
The head of the Boeing Co., W. James McNerney Jr., assured Senate defense authorizers Aug. 1 that the second-largest defense contractor deserves taxpayers' trust for future business despite paying a record $615 million settlement with the federal government for the Darleen Druyun scandal and other improper acquisition behavior.
RAIDER: Lockheed Martin said Aug. 1 that it has been awarded a $7.8 million contract to test, produce and design its Real-time Active Imaging in 3-D at Extended Range (RAIDER) multisensor system. RAIDER includes a TV camera, an upgraded Laser Detection and Ranging (LADAR) capability and an enhanced Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) system. The system gives military and civilian users three-dimensional, high-resolution target imaging. The contract was awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Static electricity generated on the dry surface of Mars by the periodic dust storms that blanket the planet may have built up corrosive oxidants in the soil over time to concentrations that would kill off "life as we know it," according to one member of a research team that reached the stark conclusion. If true, the finding could reshape goals and strategies for exploring the Red Planet, and pose previously unexpected hazards for eventual human explorers.
FIRST HELO: Sikorsky Aircraft delivered the U.S. Army's first production UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter on July 31 during a ceremony in Stratford, Conn. The UH-60M has a new airframe, avionics and propulsion system.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A military exercise slated for next month in South Korea will help take the U.S. Army a step closer to making space capabilities fully available to warfighters, according to Col. Timothy R. Coffin, new commander of the Army's 1st Space Brigade.
L-3 Communications Holding Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Co. are set to benefit from special rules in the House's recently passed pension bill, Wall Street analysts say. The so-called Pension Protection Act of 2006 would grant those companies a reprieve from having to fund pension deficits over seven years until 2011, as well as exclude them from a new three-segment pension discount rate curve during 2008-2010, Merrill Lynch analysts told clients Aug. 1.
The Euro-Russian Rockot light launcher is back in service after a prolonged shutdown following the failed launch of the European Space Agency's CryoSat Earth Explorer mission late last year
The U.S. Army Tank-automotive Command (TACOM) has awarded General Dynamics a $129 million contract to produce additional reactive armor tile sets for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the company announced July 31. The contract has a total potential value of $245 million if all options are exercised, the company said. Half of the production work will be done by Rafael Armament Development Authority Ordnance Systems of Haifa, Israel. Domestic production will take place at General Dynamics' reactive armor facility in McHenry, Miss.
The planned prototype demonstration flight for the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) High Altitude Airship (HAA) has slipped at least another year to 2010, while prime contractor Lockheed Martin lobbies Congress to stave off planned fiscal 2007 budget cuts that are likely to push the demo back even further.
The Justice Department is still looking into a retired Air Force or Air National Guard general-level officer who negotiated employment with the Boeing Co., possibly while still in uniform, despite the resolution of the record $615 million deal between the government and the second-largest defense contractor, according to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has narrowed the focus of its counter-IED work to technologies that stop the devices before they are even placed in the ground, according to Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. William Landay. Last year ONR embarked on a broad effort to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which remain the number one cause of U.S. casualties overseas. Navy officials likened the effort to the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bomb (DAILY, July 29, 2005).
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command is funding an $18.63 million effort for Northrop Grumman Corp. to try to fix its Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS), which was stopped after the first mini-submarine was produced because of reliability concerns. The Defense Department announced late July 31 that Navsea awarded Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems (NGES) unit the cost-plus-award-fee delivery order for the ASDS reliability improvement program.
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command awarded Raytheon Systems Co.'s Integrated Defense Systems unit a $954 million contract modification for consolidated MK48 and MK54 torpedo kit hardware, with engineering and repair services, for the U.S. Navy and Australia. The contract, which was not competitively procured, is to purchase the necessary quantities of torpedoes and support services necessary for fleet operational requirements for the various torpedo product lines, the Defense Department said July 31. The modification runs through June 2009.
KNIGHT VEHICLE: DRS Sustainment Systems Inc. of St. Louis has been awarded an $8.3 million contract modification for engineering and logistics systems technical support work for the M707 Knight Vehicle system, the Defense Department said Aug. 1. The work will be done in St. Louis and is expected to be finished by July 20, 2007. The contract was awarded by the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich.
The U.S. Navy is looking to create special operations and humanitarian mission modules next for its pending Littoral Combat Ship class after the first three mission packages, according to the service's research, development and acquisition chief, Delores Etter.
General Dynamics Land Systems of Sterling Heights, Mich., has been awarded a $45.7 million contract to provide long lead material for reset of M1A2 Abrams tanks, the Defense Department said Aug. 1 The work will be done in Anniston, Ala.; Lima, Ohio; Sterling Heights, Mich.; and Scranton, Pa. It is expected to be finished by June 30, 2007. The contract was awarded by the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich.
Military aviation analysts say the additional month-plus delay in awarding the U.S. Air Force contract for its replacements of combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopters shows a mismatch between the service's requirements for the aircraft and the Air Force's strategy for buying the new fleet.
