SPACE RECON: The Russian Military Space force is beginning to reconstitute its dwindling space reconnaissance capability. The Cosmos 2420 reconnaissance spacecraft is undergoing initial checkout in a 200 x 100 mile orbit inclined 67 degrees following launch May 3 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on a Soyuz booster. The launch saved the Russians from an extended period with virtually no space reconnaissance capability.
Led by the House Homeland Security Committee chairman, the Republican-controlled House declined to call for a large increase in the U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater program funding next fiscal year.
The Senate on May 4 passed its roughly $109 billion fiscal 2006 supplemental spending bill, setting up a contentious congressional conference with the House while ignoring a veto threat from President Bush. The Senate passed the bill 78-20, including $65.7 billion for the Defense Department, but did not include amendments to allow the U.S. Navy to retire the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier early nor a proposal to force a spending offset to the total $70.9 billion allocated in the bill for fighting the so-called global war on terror (DAILY, May 4).
As part of the $512.9 billion fiscal 2007 defense authorization bill it marked up late May 3, the House Armed Services Committee legislated $100 million for at least 10 manned persistent surveillance aircraft to patrol Iraqi and Afghan roads and areas where insurgents' improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are most likely to be. These surveillance platforms will be tactical assets controlled by ground commanders in combination with quick reaction forces to prevent IED emplacement and secure the roadways, according to HASC staff.
The U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center has awarded General Dynamics' Robotic Systems unit an $11.3 million contract for up to four unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) for the Littoral Combat Ship antisubmarine warfare mission module program, the company said May 4. General Dynamics' teammates include Navatek Ltd., Micro-Analysis and Design, Signal Systems Corp., International Logistics Systems and Chesapeake Sciences Corp. An initial $8.5 million for two USVs already has been funded, General Dynamics said.
Angelina Galiteva has been named to the board of directors. Galiteva serves as a chairperson of the World Council for Renewable Energy and is founder and principal of New Energy Options Inc.
Boeing over the next few weeks will be naming the leadership of its new combined space shuttle/space station engineering organization - one of the first steps in the company's plan to consolidate the work force in anticipation of moving personnel onto new systems such as the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) and Crew Launch Vehicle.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is adopting a new dual-track participation scheme for its next Grand Challenge race to provide more flexibility to participants and further speed the development of technology for operating autonomous ground vehicles in urban areas.
Lexington Institute Chief Operating Officer Loren Thompson said May 3 that the Pentagon should forego the Army and Air Force's proposed Joint Cargo Aircraft. "Does it make sense to buy a specialized airlift asset to support a limited mission set at the same time budget constraints are forcing the Air Force to terminate more capable airlift programs? You could buy 80 new C-130s or two dozen C-17s for $5 billion, each of which is more versatile than the proposed Joint Cargo Aircraft."
The U.S. Air Force has completed the weighted checkout flight of Northrop Grumman's high-flying Proteus test bed, which will lead to further demonstrations this summer of a new advanced radar enabling the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle to eventually track moving ground targets.
The Pentagon would be required to maintain minimum forces of 48 attack submarines and 299 strategic lift aircraft under the fiscal 2007 Defense authorization bill being considered by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) on May 3. Much of the groundwork was laid last week by the 62-member panel's six subcommittees that voted on authorizations under their jurisdictions.
The U.S. Coast Guard's revised planning for its massive Deepwater recapitalization program change the final mix of Deepwater aircraft more significantly than changes for ships, according to the congressional Government Accountability Office.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that the Defense Department delay the Milestone C production decision for the U.S. Marine Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) in light of the program's ballooning costs and risks. Milestone C for the EFV, when the first low-rate initial production (LRIP) lots will be approved, is scheduled for September. That date slipped from December 2005 as a result of a $1.5 billion budget cut levied against the program in the Pentagon's December 2004 program budget decision (DAILY, Nov. 16).
