The Pentagon must do more to promote the interoperability of unmanned aerial vehicle systems by developing appropriate joint standards and performance measures, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office. Although UAVs have proven operationally valuable, the Defense Department "has encountered challenges which have hampered joint operations at times," the report says.
Raytheon said Dec. 12 that the U.S. Navy approved its systems requirements review for the futuristic CVN-21 aircraft carrier's warfighting information technology systems. Those systems include all government furnished combat systems, C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) and aviation support systems.
Citing progress on projects related to the Increased Capability III jamming system, E/A-18G aircraft and Trident D5 missile, Herley Industries Inc. said Dec. 13 that net sales rose 24.9 percent and net income climbed 11.1 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2006. The Lancaster, Pa., company, which designs and builds microwave technology products for the defense, aerospace and medical industries, said first-quarter 2006 net sales jumped to $41.9 million, compared with $33.5 million for the same period the year before. The first quarter ended on Oct. 30.
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ron Kadish says he is "optimistic but skeptical" that the sweeping changes to Pentagon acquisition being recommended by his reform panel will be implemented. Formally called the Defense Acquisition Performance Assessment Project, the panel was charged by Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England with performing an "integrated acquisition assessment." England has made the panel's recommendations part of the ongoing Quadrennial Defense Review, Kadish said. The group will release its final report Dec. 14.
S-92: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a United Technologies Corp. unit, has signed a five-year contract to provide four S-92 helicopters to CHC Helicopter Corp. to perform commercial search-and-rescue missions for the United Kingdom Maritime and Coastguard Agency starting in July 2007. Sikorsky said it is the first time that its medium-lift helicopter has been selected for a dedicated search-and-rescue mission.
A top aide to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) told reporters Dec. 13 that negotiations are continuing over Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain's amendment governing the treatment of military detainees, although about 90 percent of the fiscal 2006 defense authorization compromise with the House is complete. The day before, Frist said on the chamber floor that the defense measure was complete and the conference agreement could be brought up for Senate approval on Dec. 14 (DAILY, Dec. 13).
Federal officials appeared on Capitol Hill Dec. 13 to offer the first glimpse into the Bush administration's Maritime Operational Threat Response Plan (MOTR), including apparently the potential for the U.S. Navy to initially get involved in more traditional law enforcement acts on the high seas.
Greece and the United States have signed a letter of offer and acceptance for the sale of 30 additional Lockheed Martin-built F-16 Block 52+ aircraft, with an option for 10 more. The F-16s will supplement Greece's existing F-16s and continue the modernization of the country's air force, Lockheed Martin said Dec. 13. The deal is worth about $2 billion, with Lockheed Martin's share being about $1.2 billion, the company said.
The U.S. Army has extended the stop-work order issued to Lockheed Martin's Aerial Common Sensor program by an additional 30 days while it ponders the way forward for the troubled program. The Army issued the original 90-day order in September after learning that Lockheed Martin's chosen platform for ACS, the Embraer ERJ-145 business jet, was too small to carry the multiple intelligence-gathering payloads intended for it.
A General Dynamics Corp. ship company received a seven-year, $200 million U.S. Navy contract for maintenance and repair of four LSD-41/49 and four LPD-4-class ships. The amphibious ships carry Marines and their combat equipment worldwide, as well as launch and support landing craft and helicopters during amphibious assault and other military operations. General Dynamics' Steel and Shipbuilding Co. has provided maintenance and repair services on five LHA-class and LHD-class ships for the U.S. Navy under a nine-year contract that ends in 2006.
DIVIDEND: HEICO Corp.'s board of directors declared a cash dividend of four cents per share, the company said Dec. 13. The dividend is payable on Jan. 18, 2006, to shareholders of record on Jan. 6.
Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) called on the Bush administration Dec. 13 to create a plan for addressing the dissemination of improvised explosive device (IED) tactics by anti-U.S. insurgents using the Internet. Feingold said plans for improved IEDs and practices are increasingly being transferred from Iraq to Afghanistan. Insurgents, whose IEDs are responsible for half of coalition casualties in Iraq, are able to rely on the Web to buy many of the IED components they use, officials have said (DAILY, Nov. 2).
The Senate Dec. 12 formally requested a conference with the House over their different fiscal 2006 authorization measures affecting NASA. The Senate appointed Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). The House on Nov. 18 formally appointed its conferees from its Government Reform and Science panels (DAILY, Nov. 22).
Israel's long-range, Green Pine radar - used to find targets for the country's Arrow 2 air defense missile - is being upgraded and doubled in power, which might make it a candidate for further modifications as a directed energy weapon.
The U.S. Navy's Strategic Systems Programs has awarded the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory $101.1 million more to design and develop the program to extend the service life of the Trident II (D5) missile's MK6 guidance system.
An effort by House conservatives to essentially blacklist Western companies whose defense offerings make it to China is being opposed by two House Democrats on that chamber's Armed Services Committee. Reps. Ellen Tauscher (Calif.) and Adam Smith (Wash.) wrote the chairmen and ranking Democrats of the House and Senate Armed Services committees Dec. 9 to lobby against the provision.
Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are removing and replacing roughly 100 gapfillers each day on the underbelly of shuttle Discovery to avoid any of them coming loose as they did during the shuttle's last mission. New installation procedures are being developed to ensure the gapfillers stay in place and do not pose any hazard during the shuttle's re-entry, according to NASA.
