The Defense Department will cancel the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program but accelerate the acquisition of a new long-range strike platform, fielding a new manned or unmanned bomber by 2018 instead of the mid-2030s, according to outside analysts at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) says it does not recommend eliminating any current statute dealing with conflicts of interest for executive-branch hiring, but Congress may want to update some laws while maintaining the practice of officially criticizing improper conduct. "We recommend either that Congress maintain the status quo, or modernize the statute to more accurately reflect the needs of today's executive branch, while continuing to proscribe conduct that remains improper," the office said in a January report.
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has issued a $19.1 million contract modification to Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems for the Littoral Warfare Weapon (LWW) system demonstration. The award, announced Jan. 30, provides for a 23-month research and development effort, including a series of at-sea LWW tests and demonstrations. It comes after the initial contract was awarded last May for $2.9 million for land-launch demonstrations.
Martin Euler has been named CEO. Lyman Smith has been named president of the group telematics business unit. Trevor Venter has been appointed president of the geomatics operation and managing director for South Africa.
House Science Committee leaders have endorsed President Bush's State of the Union call to boost math and science teaching, and they are expected to push his proposal for a permanent extension of a basic research and development (R&D) tax credit. But Democrats want to see details.
RETIRING: Loral Space & Communications Chairman and CEO Bernard L. Schwartz plans to retire on March 1, the company said Feb. 1. Schwartz has been chairman and CEO since the company was formed in 1996. Before that, he served as chairman and CEO of the firm's predecessor company, Loral Corp., beginning in 1972. "...I have concluded that now is the right time to activate our succession plans and pass the reins of the company on to our extremely talented team of executives..," Schwartz said in a letter to the company's board of directors.
Jon C. Jones has been named president of Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. Jack R. Kelble is being replaced by Jones. Kelble will assist in the transition and retire in February 2006.
Bruce Chudoba has been named principal director in the Electronic Programs Division of the National Systems Group in Chantilly, Va. Christopher T. Knapp has been appointed a principal engineer in the Electronic Programs Division.
The Defense Department's management approach for the Global Information Grid, in which no one entity is clearly in charge or accountable for results, is not optimized to enforce investment decisions across the department, congressional auditors told lawmakers Jan. 30. Meanwhile, DOD officials estimate that the GIG infrastructure will cost around $34 billion through 2011, according to the Government Accountability Office.
William E. Carty has been appointed vice president and controller. John J. Chino has been appointed deputy of the Electronic Systems sector and vice president and general manager of enterprise excellence. David S. Harvey has been named vice president of business management and chief financial officer. George B. Hull has been appointed to the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. Elizabeth D. Iversen has been named sector vice president of mission assurance for the company's Electronic Systems sector.
Tom Darcy has been appointed executive vice president of strategic projects. Mark Sopp has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Boeing on Feb. 1 reported strong revenue performance from its Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) business for both the December quarter and full year, and the healthy IDS order backlog is expected to offset tighter government defense spending in coming years.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) set up an investigation team on Jan. 30 to examine data transmission failures in the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) that was launched on Jan. 24. The problem appears to be in the direct X-band synchronization process between the satellite and the receiving/demodulation system in Saitama, Japan. Once fully operational, the satellite would mainly relay its data through another satellite named Kodama.
Army and Marine Corps leaders defended their services' commitment to soldier protection at a hearing on Capitol Hill Feb. 1, responding to recent press reports on the effectiveness of vehicle and body armor. "Force protection is the Army's number one priority," Maj. Gen. Stephen Speakes, director of force development for the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, told lawmakers during a hearing of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces. "We will continue to improve force protection relentlessly."
The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command has exercised a contract option for the P-3C Sustainment, Modification and Installation program (SMIP) with L-3 Communications Integrated Systems for $104.2 million, the Defense Department announced Jan. 30.
