Congressional Democrats say the U.S. military will need $50 billion just to recapitalize its current forces once the United States ends combat operations in Iraq. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the top Democrat in the Senate, told reporters that figure Dec. 6 while discussing Democratic efforts to pressure the Bush administration over its Iraq strategy. Reid said he got the amount from Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee's defense panel.
A group of 16 Democratic senators and House members has written President Bush to protest a Defense Department nuclear posture document that they believe advocates keeping nuclear weapons on high alert and which they say could authorize pre-emptive nuclear strikes.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is planning a follow-on program to its Grand Challenge robotic ground vehicle race in which the top performing teams will be asked to tackle the challenge of negotiating moving traffic.
The cost of flying the aging HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter is rising about 16 percent a year, outpacing the growth rate for all other U.S. Air Force aircraft, according to service officials. Only about four or five other Air Force aircraft have growth rates above 10 percent, underscoring the severity of the Pave Hawk's problem, said Air Force Lt. Col. Tim Healy, who is involved in writing requirements for the Combat Search and Rescue-X (CSAR-X) aircraft, the Pave Hawk's planned replacement.
With two hover flights under its belt since recovering from a 2004 crash, the X-50A Dragonfly unmanned aerial vehicle team hopes to conduct its next flight before the holidays, according to Boeing Program Manager Clark Mitchell. Following a 30-second "pop-up" flight in early November, the X-50A completed a four-minute hover Dec. 2 in which it reached an altitude of 15 feet at Yuma, Ariz. (DAILY, Nov. 6). For the next flight the vehicle will hover at 30 feet and then perform "some very basic directional movements" including pedal turns, Mitchell said.
American Technology Corp. of San Diego says its Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs), which gained attention recently after one was used to repel pirates who attacked a cruise ship off Somalia, are being used by U.S. forces in Iraq.
Dayton, Ohio-based MTC Technologies Inc. said Dec. 6 that it has won a $13.8 million task order to provide Visual Threat Recognition and Avoidance Trainer devices for aircrews to recognize and respond to anti-aircraft threats. The devices will be used by Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard crewmembers.
Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. of Haifa, Israel, will supply intelligence and reconnaissance systems for the Dutch air force's F-16 fleet under a $40 million contract, the company said Dec. 5. The self-contained, self-cooled, multisensor RecceLite provides real-time intelligence and reconnaissance and can handle multiple moving targets over large areas in all types of weather, the company said.
France's Thales has opened a second manufacturing facility in the United States to support its military communications work, the company said Dec. 5. The new facility, in Germantown, Md., is near the Clarksburg, Md., headquarters of subsidiary Thales Communications Inc. Thales opened a manufacturing plant there in 2001.
RADAR SYSTEMS: ITT Industries' Gilfillan Division of Van Nuys, Calif., will upgrade and refurbish seven AN/SPS-48E radar systems and provide other services and equipment for the LPD 22/23 amphibious transport dock ships, the Defense Department said Dec. 6. The work will be done under a $31.4 million Navy contract modification.
The U.S. Navy has succeeded in launching an underwater "glider" from the dry deck shelter aboard a submarine, a first for the service and a necessary demonstration before the Navy employs the unmanned vehicles for anti-submarine warfare. With the help of Navy divers, the glider was deployed from the USS Buffalo, the Navy said. The platform will be used to paint a three-dimensional picture of ocean conditions for tactical decisions, as well as determining sonar performance.
The U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command has tacked on another $5.3 million to Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Advanced Deployable System (ADS) contract, bringing the total so far to $243.3 million. Spawar awarded the option last week for design and system engineering for a critical design, development and demonstration of a fully integrated system, system development and demonstration phase, and delivery for technical and operational evaluations.
Bell Helicopter's Eagle Eye unmanned aerial vehicle has received its experimental airworthiness certificate from FAA, which the company says is the first such certificate ever granted to a vertical takeoff and landing UAV. Flight-testing of the full-scale Eagle Eye prototype will take place at the recently opened Bell "XworX" facility in west Texas. The only previous prototype was a 7/8-scale demonstrator that hasn't flown since 2000.
Pemco Aviation Group said its Pemco Aeroplex facility in Birmingham, Ala., is preparing to begin phased depot maintenance work on the first U.S. Navy P-3 Orion aircraft covered under a teaming arrangement with L-3 Communications Integrated Systems. "The P-3 program significantly expands our relationship with the U.S. Navy and supports our objectives to diversify and grow our military services business," Glenn Hess, president of Pemco Aeroplex, said in a statement.
NUCLEAR FLATTOP: The U.S. Navy announced Dec. 2 that the nuclear-powered USS George Washington will replace the USS Kitty Hawk as the forward deployed aircraft carrier in the western Pacific and will arrive in Yokosuka, Japan, in 2008. Ending its nuclear resistance, Japan agreed to base a nuclear U.S. flattop, allowing the Kitty Hawk to come stateside and possibly clearing the way for the USS John F. Kennedy's retirement (DAILY, Oct. 31).
Logistical Support Inc. will provide repair and overhaul services on the main damper assemblies for U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters under a $600,000 delivery order under an existing five-year contract. The main damper assembly mounts to the main rotor assembly of the UH-60 and reduces vibrations and oscillations of the main rotor blades that occur during flight. This is the second order placed under the contract, the Chatsworth, Calif.-based company said.
The Defense Logistics Agency will search for alternatives to military Meals, Ready to Eat to feed natural disaster victims after discovering that MREs are too high in calories for some civilians, the DLA's director says.
WEIGHING IN: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has weighed in on a year-long Senate debate over potential oil and gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, saying new drilling east of the so-called Military Mission Line would be "incompatible with military activities, such as missile flights, low-flying drone aircraft, weapons testing and training." Rumsfeld's opinion was issued Nov. 30 at the request of Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who has been fighting efforts by other senators to extend Outer Continental Shelf drilling closer to Florida.
The unique X-50A Dragonfly unmanned aerial vehicle has returned to flight-testing in Yuma, Ariz., roughly 19 months after the crash that ruined the first Dragonfly demonstrator. 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 roughly 20 feet.
The U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center has awarded Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Naval and Marine Systems Division a potentially three-year, $44.7 million contract to develop "collaborative and networked autonomous vehicles demonstrating transformational, scalable and persistent anti-submarine warfare barriers" using large numbers of autonomous underwater vehicles.
