Jan. 9 - 12, 2006 -- American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics' Aerospace Sciences 44th Annual Meeting & Exhibit, Reno Hilton, Nev. Call 1-703-264-7500 or go to www.aiaa.org. Jan. 11 - 13 -- Aviation Symposium and Exhibition: "Army Aviation, Enabling Transformation Through Modernization," Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, Washington. Call +1 (800) 336-4570 or +1 (703) 841-4300 or go to www.ausa.org.
Sweden's defense ministry said Dec. 23 that it has awarded an SEK 4 billion (USD $500 million) contract to Saab Bofors Dynamics to provide its military with the Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon (NLAW) system. The system was developed in Sweden and the United Kingdom, which will both be involved in production. Final assembly will take place at Thales Air Defence in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Boeing and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are looking to conduct the next flight of the X-50A Dragonfly unmanned aerial vehicle in January, according to a company spokesman. Following a 30-second "pop-up" flight in early November to build confidence, the X-50A completed a four-minute hover flight Dec. 2 in which it reached an altitude of 15 feet at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. They were the first flights for the aircraft since March 2004, when a crash ruined the first prototype.
PRAISE: After hard-fought battles over language affecting the treatment of military detainees and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Congress finally passed the fiscal 2006 defense appropriations bill. President Bush, who initially opposed the detainee language and supports ANWR -- a provision that was removed -- now says the bill "will help us continue to hunt down the terrorists, pursue our strategy for victory in Iraq, and make America safer."
General Dynamics Electric Boat will perform a variety of work on the USS Virginia (SSN-774) attack submarine under a $15.5 million contract modification, the company said Dec. 22. The work, called a post-shakedown availability, consists of maintenance, repairs, alterations, testing and other activities. Most of the work will be done at Electric Boat's shipyard in Groton, Conn. The rest will take place in Quonset Point, R.I.
FLYBYS: NASA's Cassini spacecraft is gearing up for two more flybys of Saturn's mysterious moon Titan on Dec. 26 and Jan. 15. At 10,500 kilometers (6,524 miles) from the surface, the Dec. 26 flyby will be too distant for Cassini's radar instruments, so the spacecraft instead will focus on the cloud-covered moon using its array of optical remote sensing instruments. Cassini has conducted eight flybys of Titan so far out of a total of 45 planned. The closest will bring the spacecraft 950 kilometers (590 miles) from the surface.
T&E PAUSE: Following delivery of the U.S. Coast Guard's first-in-class, 140-foot Fast Response Cutter in 2008, current plans call for it to undergo "extensive" operational testing and evaluation before follow-on composite hulls are constructed, according to the Northrop Grumman-Lockheed Martin joint venture running the service's Deepwater recapitalization program. A critical design review for the cutter -- a program whose plans were accelerated by a decade under the revised Deepwater budget plan -- is projected for late this year or early in 2006 (DAILY, Oct. 13).
ISS LINK UP: An unpiloted Russian Progress cargo craft linked up automatically with the International Space Station on Dec. 23, NASA said. The Progress was launched Dec. 21 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev were to open the Progress hatch later Dec. 23 and begin unloading cargo Dec. 25-26. The cargo includes propellant for the station's Russian thrusters, back up oxygen and air for the Russian Elektron system, water, spare parts, experiment hardware, life support components, and holiday gifts.
ABOVE AVERAGE: Real, inflation-adjusted defense spending over the past 20 years has averaged about $406 billion annually in 2005 dollars, ranging from $485 billion in 1986 and 1987 to $322 billion in 1998 and 1999, the Congressional Budget Office says. Over the past three years, however, defense-related outlays have exceeded their 20-year average, and are likely to remain above it for a number of years because of the United States' involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
V-22 ENGINES: Rolls-Royce will provide 22 engines for MV-22 and CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft under a $59 million contract modification, the Department of Defense said Dec. 22. The company will provide AE 1107C engines. The work will be done in Indianapolis and is to be finished in December 2007.
SPACE-BASED HELP: Europe's Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program is continuing to support the work of rebuilding in the wake of the Dec. 26, 2004 Asian tsunami. One GMES service, Respond, is working with industry and humanitarian aid groups to improve access to maps, satellite images and geographical information, says the European Space Agency, which is partnered on GMES with the European Union.
C-141s RETIRING: The U.S. Air Force is preparing for the retirement of its four remaining C-141 airlifters in early to mid 2006. The last of the four to be retired will be the "Hanoi Taxi," so named for its distinction as the first aircraft to begin transporting freed U.S. prisoners of war back to America from Hanoi in February 1973 following the end of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War.
The U.S. Coast Guard has activated a new communications system that will help it locate distressed boats and ships and provide improved command-and-control, the system's producer, General Dynamics C4 Systems, said Dec. 23.
NASA is considering a two-year extension to the Cassini mission that would extend the probe's exploration of Saturn and its moons through 2010. "NASA has given us some additional funding to study what the options would be" for the extra two years, said Bob Mitchell, Cassini program manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "About a year from now, I'm expecting that NASA will give us an [answer] one way or the other."
A recent report from the National Research Council recommends a number of changes to the way NASA manages programs that are led by principal investigators, including less burdensome proposal requirements and increased funding for concept studies.
MINEHUNTERS: Estonia's defense ministry said Dec. 21 that it was cleared to buy used Sandown Class underwater minehunters from the United Kingdom under an 800 million crown (USD $60.5 million) budget. The number of vessels and other details will be determined during negotiations. The Estonia navy's current minehunters are more than 40 years old and fall short of a plan to upgrade the country's military by 2010. The new minehunters will provide for domestic needs and be able to take part in NATO activities.
NEW CENTER: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. recently cut the ribbon on its new Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Test Center of Excellence in Graford, Texas. The new center is an extension of Bell Helicopter's XWorX facility and will serve as the test field for all of the company's unmanned systems, according to the Northrop Grumman-Lockheed Martin joint venture running the Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization program.
DEFENSE OUTLAYS: Under the Bush administration's 2006 Future Years Defense Program plan, defense outlays would gradually decline from 4 percent of gross domestic product in 2005 to 3.4 percent in 2015, eventually reaching 2 percent by 2050, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This includes allowances for cost risks and continued additional spending for military operations overseas.
TORPEDO DEFENSE: The U.S. Navy has decided to further support Systems Engineering Associates Corp.'s development and production of a surface ship torpedo defense (SSTD) launch canister. The Defense Department on Dec. 21 announced a $9.4 million contract for engineering and technical services for what was originally a Small Business Innovative Research Phase III effort.
The Senate passed a House bill that imposes criminal penalties against people who shine commonly available laser devices into cockpits of aircraft in U.S. airspace, although it amended it to provide exceptions for FAA research, Defense Department activities and the use of signaling devices in emergencies. More information was not immediately available as the Senate took its action late Dec. 21. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), means Senate and House negotiators will have to go to a congressional conference.
Saudi Arabia will replace its air force's Tornado aircraft with Eurofighter Typhoons under a military modernization agreement with the United Kingdom, the U.K. defense ministry said Dec. 22. The number of aircraft and financial terms were not disclosed. Details of the accord are confidential, the defense ministry said in a statement. The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia could buy at least 48 of the aircraft.
Congressional negotiators have allocated more than $340 million in appropriations for Army research on combat vehicle and automotive technologies for fiscal 2006, even though other lawmakers agreed to authorize only $260 million, according to the offices of Michigan's two Democratic senators.
