The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is examining whether the recent test failure of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system was caused by a computer-related glitch in the interceptor booster, sources said Jan. 11.
The high-profile competition to provide the next fleet of presidential helicopters is close to peaking as the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) meets for a milestone decision review on Jan. 13, and a source-selection decision announcement is expected by Jan. 28 at the latest.
Germany has assumed the 2005 chairmanship of the European arms agency OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation en Matiere d'Armement), and Spain has become the sixth country to join the organization, the German ministry of defense said Jan. 7. Spain joined OCCAR on Jan. 1 and will take part in the A400M military transport aircraft and Tiger combat helicopter programs, the ministry said.
PROFIT UP: Profit after taxes for Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) Group jumped 10% in 2004, the company said Jan. 7. The company's 2004 PAT was $358.4 million. Profit before taxes was $450.4 million, 9% better than in 2003. Earnings per share grew 10% to 12.4 cents. Investment, interest and other income was up 8%. The company credited the growth to its marine, aerospace and electronics sectors.
TRAINERS: Lockheed Martin Corp. will provide KC-130J Weapon System Trainers to the U.S. Marine Corps under a $24.5 million contract from the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense said Jan. 10. The work will be done by subcontractor CAE USA and is to be completed by March 2007.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has demonstrated a new technology that will allow weapons and vehicles to be released from submarines even if they were not originally designed for undersea use, the company said Jan. 10.
TEST FIRE: Testing shows the European Fire Control System (EFCS) is capable of firing Lockheed Martin's new Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) munitions, EADS said Jan. 10. The German office of defense technology and procurement conducted the test in Greding, Germany, in late 2004, EADS said. The EFCS will now be integrated into the GMLRS missile launcher, EADS said. Field tests are set for early 2005. Production of EFCS-equipped missile launchers is scheduled to begin in 2006.
Thales Corporate Ventures and ACE Management, both of France, have teamed to launch a venture capital fund specializing in security, Thales said Jan. 10. One segment of the fund will manage Thales Corporate Venture's current portfolio, with Thales as its sole investor, and the other is open to industrial and financial partners interested in developing security innovations, the company said.
Electric Boat, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, has won a $6.3 million contract option to provide on-board repair parts for the Virginia-class submarine North Carolina (SSN-777), the company said Jan. 10. Fifty-five percent of the work will be performed at Electric Boat in Groton, Conn. Northrop Grumman's Newport News, Electric Boat's Virginia-class teammate, will perform 45 percent of the work at its shipyard in Virginia.
NASA has awarded four new contracts for extra vehicular activity (EVA) equipment and other astronaut-related systems for the space shuttle, space station, and other "future human spaceflight programs," the agency announced Jan. 7.
The next-generation air traffic management (ATM) system being developed by the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) will allow for greater independence on the part of pilots and more "strategic" thinking by controllers, according to JPDO Deputy Director Robert Pearce.
Alenia Marconi Systems (AMS) will update the Nautis combat management system for the United Kingdom Royal Navy's Sandown-class minehunter vessels, the company said Jan. 7. The ships' existing Nautis systems will be updated to Nautis 3, which the company said is the most up-to-date mine countermeasure vessel command and control system. Nautis 3 also is being fitted to the U.K.'s Hunt-class vehicles as part of their mid-life upgrade program, and "the commonality will result in cost-savings in support and training through the life of the system," AMS said.
The U.S. Defense Department has decided to stick with the current management structure for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter after conducting a congressionally mandated review of how the program is run. Some lawmakers had expressed concern that DOD's practice of rotating JSF's management between the Air Force and Navy was creating program instability. But DOD insisted in a recent report to Congress that the existing approach is working.
AIR FORCE United Technologies Corp., East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $733,952,106 firm fixed price contract to provide for Undefinitized Contractual Action to convert F119 Lot 5 advanced buy activities to long lead procurement. At this time, $128,382,831 of the funds has been obligated. This work will be complete by February 2007. Solicitation began December 2003. The Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-04-C-2852). ARMY
Air-to-air missiles will generate $13.8 billion in revenues over the next decade for the world's top defense companies, according to a new study from Forecast International, released Jan. 10.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is still trying to determine how to implement a $5 billion, six-year cut that the Defense Department approved for the agency in late December, sources said Jan. 10. Program Budget Decision (PBD) No. 753, approved by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz on Dec. 23, reduces MDA's funding by $1 billion in fiscal 2006 and $800 million a year from FY '07 to FY '11, but it does not specify which program or programs should be affected (DAILY, Jan. 4). The PBD leaves it up to MDA to come up with a plan for carrying out the cut.
The successful demonstration last month in Nevada of an unmanned aerial vehicle in the role of route reconnaissance for truck convoys will lead to a more challenging demo in February or March in Florida, according to Air Force officials. A Boeing Scan Eagle UAV showed in a Dec. 18 demonstration at Indian Springs Auxiliary Air Field, Nev., that its sensors could use change detection software to determine the location of improvised explosive devices, or IEDS, the officials said. Insurgents are using IEDS to attack Army supply convoys in Iraq.
The Sensor-fuzed Munition for Artillery (SMArt(R) 155), developed jointly in the U.S. by Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems (ATK) and German firm Gesellschaft fur Intelligente Wirksysteme (GIWS), recently underwent successful testing for United Arab Emirates officials, ATK said Jan. 10. Fired from a UAE G6 self-propelled howitzer, the SMArt(R) 155 rated perfectly in functional reliability, ATK said. Sixty-seven percent of armored targets struck by the munition were scored as kills. The tests were conducted in the UAE desert.
Craig Field Airport, near Selma, Ala., would be Lockheed Martin's preferred pilot-candidate training site if it wins a U.S. Air Force Introductory Flight Training Program contract, the company said Jan. 10. The Air Force is expected to award the contract in the first half of this year, Lockheed Martin said. The program, headed by the Air Force Air Education and Training Command, would provide flight screening and support services for 1,300-1,700 students a year.
