Boeing Delta space launch missions at Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., are set to resume by about late March or April following the end of a three-month strike by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The most likely first mission of several delayed missions is launch from the Cape of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration GOES-N Geosynchronous Operational Environmental Satellite on a Delta IV.
Lockheed Martin Corp. named HR Textron, Honeywell Defense and Space Electronics Systems, EaglePicher and ITT Power Solutions as partners to compete for the second increment of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS). The Textron Inc. subsidiary would supply the control actuation system, Honeywell the inertial sensor assembly, EaglePicher the thermal battery and ITT the power supply. In addition, General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products would supply the rocket motor, warhead and fuse for the initial production APKWS II rounds.
The Defense Department has awarded National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. of San Diego $317.1 million for design and construction of the ninth ship in the Auxiliary Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ship (T-AKE) class. The award, an option on a contract, also funds system integration, testing and delivery and initial logistics support. The ship will be built in San Diego and should be delivered by May 2009, according to the DOD.
The rising tide of new commercial and business aircraft production lifted Honeywell and Rockwell Collins avionics sales in the final quarter of 2005, a trend that is expected to continue this year.
'A' TEAM: The Defense Department announced Jan. 30 that the staff functions at the Air Force headquarters, major commands and warfighting headquarters will share the same structure as the Army, Navy and Joint staff by Feb. 1. The reorganization will not create nor eliminate jobs.
CYBER SECURITY: ManTech International Corp. will provide the Army with computer forensic analysis, vulnerability assessments and cyber security support for felony criminal investigations over intrusions into Army networks. The potential five-year, $3.8 million contract is with the Army Criminal Investigation Command's Computer Crime Investigative Unit.
MORTAR WEAPONS: General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has been awarded a $19.4 million contract to produce Mortar Weapons Systems for the U.S. Army, the company said Jan. 30. The contract covers M120 120mm ground mounted mortars, M121 120mm carrier mounted mortars, M313 120mm mortar sub-caliber training inserts, M224 60mm mortar systems, and M252 81mm mortar systems. The contract, which contains four option years, was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Picatinny, N.J.
The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Corp.'s Electric Boat unit a $1.35 billion contract modification for construction of the eighth Virginia-class submarine and advance procurement for the ninth and 10th subs. But the company said Jan. 30 that the work was expected and would not alter its plan to slash its work force as the Defense Department has scaled back its submarine plans. "It is not unplanned work. For that reason, it will not affect the number of layoffs the company will make over the next two years," General Dynamics said.
EADS North America said Jan. 30 that if chosen, it would eventually produce the UH-145 rotary wing aircraft, the company's offering for the U.S. Army's Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), at the American Eurocopter plant in Columbus, Miss. Earlier in the day, EADS and Airbus executives, along with federal and state government officials, participated in a groundbreaking ceremony in Mobile, Ala., to begin construction on a new Airbus engineering center.
Since September 2001, the Congress and President Bush have provided about $323 billion in appropriations for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and for other Defense Department antiterrorism activities, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Total obligations by the end of last September reached about $254 billion. But that amount does not include obligations for classified activities or for coalition support, which are not included in DOD's obligation reports.
LONDON -- While Britain launches the first of its Type 45 destroyers, HMS Daring, on Feb. 1, industrialists are warning it will take much more planning to keep the U.K. naval sector well afloat. In the near-term, British industry's shipbuilding order book will be filled with eight Type 45 anti-air warfare destroyers and two 65,000-ton aircraft carriers. But beyond 2015, the volume of work is likely far lower.
The Army notified Congress Jan. 26 of proposed reductions to both end strength and force structure, according to Rep. Ike Skelton (Mo.), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. Plans call for cutting the Army Reserves and the Army National Guard from 205,000 and 350,000, respectively, to their current strength of about 188,000 and 333,000. The Army is also trimming the number of planned brigade combat teams from 77 in last year's estimate to 70, he said.
Pratt & Whitney and the NASA Langley Research Center are beginning test firings of the hypersonic Ground Demonstration Engine (GDE-2) at the NASA Hampton, Va., facility.
The Naval Sea Systems Command has tacked on $6.8 million more to a Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp. contract for the post-shakedown availability (PSA) of the amphibious transport dock ship LPD 17, recently commissioned the San Antonio.
The Government Accountability Office reported Jan. 27 that between 2000 and 2004, U.S. defense exports averaged $11.5 billion a year versus imports of $1.8 billion per year, while Foreign Military Sales (FMS) averaged $12.6 billion against $1.5 billion in U.S. purchases of foreign military products. During the same period, Defense Department purchases of defense articles and services from foreign companies have dropped from 2.4 percent to 1.7 percent of all such DOD purchases.
ACCORD: Boeing and officials of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers have reached a preliminary contract agreement to end a nearly three-month strike involving about 1,500 workers in three states, the company said Jan. 30. Ratification votes for IAM Locals 725, 2766 and 44 located in Alabama, Florida, and California are set for Feb. 1. If the contract is approved, workers would return to their jobs as early as Feb. 6. The strike began Nov. 2, 2005.
January 25, 2006 AIR FORCE United Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Group, Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $56,709,462 firm fixed price and cost plus fixed fee contract modification. This undefinitized contractual action will support the F119 Engine Lot 6. At this time, $42,532,095 has been obligated. The work will be complete by March 2006. The Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. (FA8611-05-C-2851/P00003). ARMY
The U.S. Air Force has chosen Lockheed Martin Corp. over Northrop Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Co. for a $2 billion award for the Transformational Satellite Communications (TSAT) Mission Operations System (TMOS), the Defense Department announced late Jan. 27. The 10-year contract for the TMOS will link the TSAT program to the Global Information Grid (GIG), the U.S. military's protected Internet-like network, and is expected to start operations in 2014, Lockheed Martin said in a statement.
