DOD LEADS: Research and Markets, an Ireland-based consulting company, believes that U.S. government information technology spending will grow to $77.2 billion by fiscal 2010, from $60.5 billion in FY '05. The Defense, Homeland Security, Transportation, Energy, Justice and Health and Human Services departments offer the greatest opportunity for IT vendors, it says. This group accounted for 76 percent of federal business opportunity in FY '05.
President Bush on Nov. 22 signed into law bills containing NASA's fiscal 2006 budget as well as changes to the 2000 Iran Nonproliferation Act that would allow some U.S. payments to Russia in support of the International Space Station. The Senate on Nov. 8 agreed to the House's expanded version of changes to the Iran law that would allow NASA to pay to use Soyuz vehicles to reach the ISS, as well as set a hard Jan. 1, 2012, cutoff for funds flowing to Russia (DAILY, Nov. 10).
HERCULES SHOWS OFF: The nearly 8,000-mile flight of a Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules to the Dubai Air Show in the United Arab Emirates showcased the aircraft's capabilities, the company says. "The fact that this [U.S. Air Force] Reserve crew flew this 'delta to the desert' mission with payload speaks volumes about the performance capabilities of the C-130J," says Jack Crisler, the company's director for air mobility business development.
Raytheon's Complementary Low Altitude Weapon System (CLAWS) completed a successful operational test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., and is ready for initial operational capability, the company said Nov. 22. The initial results indicate that CLAWS successfully hit all six targets and achieved all its test objectives during the three-day testing, Raytheon said.
The commercial helicopter sector of the U.S. aerospace industry is "doing quite well," said David Napier, director of the Aerospace Industries Association's Aerospace Research Center. "Last year, the commercial helicopter sector shipped a 19-year high of rotorcraft. We're ahead of last year," he told The DAILY. The sector had shipped 587 helicopters in the first three quarters of last year, but 705 this year, he said. "That's a pretty good jump.
The Department of Defense's Defense Acquisition Board won't make any final decisions concerning the future of the Joint Tactical Radio Systems program until after the DOD completes its fiscal 2007 budget request, according to a defense statement. "The details on the program are still being worked and will be decided as we complete the department's portion of the president's FY '07 budget," said a statement attributed to Ken Krieg, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.
Nov. 28 - 29 -- SMi's Fifth Annual "Future of Unmanned Vehicles," the Hatton, London. For more information call +44 (207) 827-6000 or go to www.smi-online.co.uk. Nov. 29 -- National Defense Industrial Association's Missile Defense Quarterly Luncheon, Sheraton National, Arlington, Va. For more information call 703-522-1820 or go to www.ndia.org.
The Aerospace Industries Association and several member companies are providing the governors' offices of some states with a "toolkit" and briefings promoting local employment from foreign aerospace and defense work. The states also receive a draft letter to their congressional representatives urging Congress to reject any "buy American" legislation "that would restrict the nation's defense and aviation trade with key allies and commercial customers overseas."
CLOSER TIES: China's national space administration and the European Space Agency have signed an intergovernmental agreement for space cooperation. The deal will facilitate cooperation between ESA and China in several areas, including space science, Earth observation, telecommunications, navigation and microgravity research, ESA says. ESA and China already collaborate on some space missions, including the Dragon remote-sensing program, and ESA "looks forward to further cooperation with China and closer collaboration in ESA's space programs."
David C. Hurley has been named to the board of directors. Hurley is vice chairman of PrivatAir, a corporate aviation services company in Geneva, Switzerland.
THAAD CONTRACT: Lockheed Martin, prime contractor for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, expects to be awarded a U.S. government contract by the end of 2006 for an initial buy of production-version equipment, according to Tom McGrath, the company's THAAD program manager. The U.S. Army and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency are still determining how much equipment will be bought over the life of the program, McGrath says. McGrath also says that THAAD probably will be integrated with MDA's larger battle management system in 18 months to two years.
James Bell, Heidi Hammel and George Yancopoulos have been named to the board of directors. Bell is a professor of astronomy at Cornell University. Hammel is a senior research scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. Yancopoulos is president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
BULGARIA'S DEFENSE: A 2006 draft budget would allocate BGN 1.1 billion (USD $663 million) to begin modernizing Bulgaria's military and meet the full NATO membership standard of 2.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product, Bulgaria's defense ministry says. The budget plan was announced by Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev before the National Assembly. Stanishev denies that the finance and defense ministries disagreed about the plan.
Moog Inc. of East Aurora, N.Y., has completed its purchase of Orrville, Ohio-based Flo-Tork Inc. for $24 million, Moog said Nov. 22. Moog designs and manufactures precision control components for military and commercial aircraft, satellites, space vehicles, and missiles. Flo-Tork designs and builds hydraulic and pneumatic rotary actuators and specialized cylinders for the military and commercial industry.
Koor Industries Ltd. said Nov. 22 that its net income and revenue climbed for both the third quarter and first nine months of 2005. The Rosh Ha'Ayin, Israel-based investment holding company, which focuses on telecommunications, defense electronics and other areas, reported third-quarter 2005 net income of $5.2 million, compared with $3 million for the same period in 2004. Revenue jumped from $128.5 million in the third quarter of 2004 to $162.4 million in 2005.
UPDATE: The U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command is working on an update to the Fleet Response Plan based on the Navy's experiences during the first two years of the strategy. This update, known as Fleet Response Plan-Enhanced, is supposed to further define the original plan, modify terminology for readiness states to better reflect their meaning, tie in elements such as the best way to use the service's people, and expand the focus of the plan beyond carrier strike groups to the entire Navy.
Michael Martin is stepping down as president of subsidiary Aerojet-General Corp. Martin will remain an officer and vice president of GenCorp. J. Scott Neish will replace Martin and become an officer of GenCorp effective Dec. 1. Neish is currently Aerojet's executive vice president.
Lockheed Martin will open a new outer wing production line at its Marietta, Ga., facility to support service life extension work for P-3 and CP-140 aircraft around the world, the company said Nov. 22. Interest in extending the life of the aircraft has increased since the P-3 Structural Life Assessment Program, a full-scale fatigue test, has shown that the aircraft is accumulating fatigue damage faster than had previously been believed. The CP-140 is a Canadian version of the Lockheed Martin-built P-3.
BUYING MILTECH: Aerospace component company Ducommun of Los Angeles said it will buy Huntsville, Ala.-based Miltec Corp., a missile and aerospace engineering company. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close within 30 days, were not disclosed.
Small U.S. contractors operating in Iraq and Afghanistan could get a break on their security costs if an amendment sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) makes it into law as part of the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill.
