EADS Space Transportation has been awarded a 10-year contract worth more than 3 billion euros ($3.95 billion) to provide the French navy with M51 ballistic missiles that carry nuclear warheads, EADS said Jan. 5. The number of missiles was not disclosed. The contract was awarded by the French arms procurement agency DGA. Four French submarines will be equipped with M51s beginning in 2010. The sub Le Terrible will be the first to be retrofitted, followed by Le Vigilant, Le Triomphant and Le Temeraire.
Canada's military is buying up to 130 high-capacity, line-of-sight radios from Ultra Electronics Tactical Communications Systems of Montreal for Cdn$12.7 million ($10.2 million), the Canadian defense department said Jan. 5. "These new line-of-sight radios will greatly improve our ability to provide situational awareness for commanders and troops in the field," Gen. Ray Henault, chief of the defense staff, said in a statement. "The new radios will also support interoperability with our allies."
The U.S. Army is planning to award a contract for the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) at the end of June, said Lt. Col. Neil Thurgood, ARH program manager, Army Aviation Program Executive Office. The accelerated program is on track for Milestone B in June 2005 with Milestone C, or low-rate initial production (LRIP), to follow in July 2006, said Thurgood, who spoke Jan. 6 at the Association of the U.S. Army's aviation symposium and exhibition in Arlington, Va.
While NASA is not rushing the space shuttle's return to flight, regaining its cargo capability will be crucial to ensuring that the International Space Station (ISS) won't have to be evacuated, according to Michael Kostelnik, deputy associate administrator for the shuttle and ISS.
NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., atop a Boeing Delta II rocket on Jan. 12 at about 1:48 p.m. EST, NASA said Jan. 5. Originally scheduled for Dec. 30, the launch was pushed back because of technical concerns over the rocket. After rendezvousing with comet Tempel 1 this coming July, the Deep Impact spacecraft is scheduled to deploy a penetrator to strike the comet's surface and expose its interior, which is thought to contain material virtually unchanged since the formation of the solar system.
A new bipartisan group of legislators is forming on Capitol Hill to try to shield U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and new shipbuilding from potential Defense Department budget cuts beginning in fiscal 2006. The effort - spurred by reductions outlined in DOD's Program Budget Decision (PBD) No. 753 (DAILY, Jan. 4) - already counts at least 18 members in its first week.
First flight of the Air Force Subscale Target (AFSAT) took place last month, according to Athena Technologies Inc., which makes the navigation suite for the vehicle. The flight took place Dec. 8 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Athena said in a Jan. 6 announcement. Composite Engineering Inc. (CEI) of Sacramento, Calif., the AFSAT prime contractor, chose Athena to supply the vehicle's integrated Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System and air data sensor suite.
The U.S. Air Force is seeking to include 15 Predator A unmanned aerial vehicles in the Bush Administration's upcoming fiscal 2005 supplemental appropriations request, according to a congressional source. It is unclear whether the Air Force proposal will be approved by the Administration, which is expected to send its supplemental request to Capitol Hill in February or March (DAILY, Jan. 6). The funding package is designed mainly to sustain military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) have been elected by their Republican colleagues to be the next chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations committees. Lewis and Cochran prevailed through steering committee elections in their individual houses, followed by ratification of the full GOP chamber memberships. They replace Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), both of whom stepped down under internal GOP six-year term limits.
BRADLEY SUPPORT: Santa Clara, Calif.-based United Defense Industries Inc. has won a $34.3 million contract modification to provide systems technical support and logistics services for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. The work will be done mostly in Santa Clara and is expected to be completed by November 2005.
ITT Industries Inc. will supply two transportable air traffic control radar systems for the Romanian air force, the company said Jan. 5. The radars, part of a package that includes Instrument Landing Systems and other navigational aids, are due to be delivered in late 2005 and will help Romania upgrade its military bases to NATO standards, ITT said. The work will be done by the company's Gilfillan Radar Group.
The Bush Administration released its long-awaited space transportation policy Jan. 6, which instructs the Department of Defense to retain its "assured access to space" strategy and continue to support Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle providers Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
The U.S. Air Force's F/A-22 Raptor returned to the air Jan. 6, ending a "stand-down" imposed on the fleet after one of the stealthy jets crashed on takeoff in December and was destroyed. The Air Force had suspended flying all 28 of its remaining F/A-22s after the Dec. 20 accident, in which the pilot ejected safely as his Lockheed Martin-built jet was leaving the runway at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. (DAILY, Dec. 22, Dec. 23).
The U.S. Air Force has stopped grounding part of its Boeing B-1B Lancer fleet, deeming the bombers safe to fly after a recent landing gear collapse on one of the aircraft, a spokesman for Air Combat Command said Jan. 5.
CONTRIBUTIONS: Gregory H. Bradford, a self-employed international defense consultant and former chief operating officer of Washington-based EADS North America, has been named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. He was cited for his contributions "to the development and enrichment of French-American industrial and commercial cooperation."
Michael Romanowski has been named vice president of Civil Aviation. J.P. Stevens has been appointed vice president of Space Systems and executive director of the Team America Rocketry Challenge.
After repeated delays late last year due to bad weather, Aurora Flight Sciences plans to conduct the first autonomous in-flight transition to forward flight for its GoldenEye-50 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in mid-January at a private airfield near Manassas, Va., a spokesman told The DAILY. A ducted-fan UAV with wings, the GoldenEye-50 uses thrust vectoring to pitch over into a horizontal orientation and achieve dash speeds up to 100 knots. It is a smaller cousin to the GoldenEye-100, which was designed for speeds up to 160 knots (DAILY, Sept. 11, 2003).
TRUCK ARMOR: Jacksonville, Fla.-based Armor Holdings Inc. has won a $53.5 million contract modification to provide add-on armor for various U.S. Army heavy trucks, the company said Jan. 5. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. The work will be done in Phoenix and is scheduled to be finished in 2005.
The Senate Republican Conference has tapped Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to serve as the next chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Organizing
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are beginning to react to $30 billion in planned cuts in the Defense Department's budget over the next six years, with several saying the cuts outlined in Program Budget Decision No. 753 could hurt the Navy. "I am vehemently opposed to any cuts to the Navy's shipbuilding budget, most especially as our nation continues to fight a multifront, global war on terror," said Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), whose state is home to a substantial shipbuilding industry.
