EMS Technologies of Atlanta said it will sell the assets and operating liabilities of its Space & Technology/Montreal division to Canadian robotics company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA). The companies hope to close the deal by the end of the year, pending approval from Canadian antitrust authorities, EMS said Oct. 31. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but EMS said it expects to get enough cash at closing to allow it to "reduce its existing bank indebtedness by approximately $20 million."
NASA will begin engaging in "more serious discussions" with prospective international and commercial partners on how they can contribute to America's plans to return to and explore the lunar surface, Administrator Michael Griffin said during a speech in Washington Nov. 1. "The United States, working alone, cannot fulfill the sweeping goals of the vision for space exploration," Griffin said in his prepared remarks during the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Workshop on Space Exploration and International Cooperation in Washington.
The U.S. Navy has kicked off a key design review for its P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program. The preliminary design review (PDR), which is taking place in Seattle, Wash., began Oct. 31 and is expected to conclude in meeting form on Nov. 4, government and industry representatives said Nov. 1. The PDR will not officially be over until follow-up "actions" requested during the week-long session are completed, Navy spokeswoman Stephanie Vendrasco said.
The new National Plan to Achieve Maritime Domain Awareness calls for seeding the oceans and waterways leading to the United States with sensor packages, using existing commercial-sector systems to help fix ship locations, and providing U.S. boarding teams with a portable ability to identify potential terrorists or criminals using biometric information.
General Dynamics Land Systems will produce spare parts for the U.S. Army's M1A2 Abrams tank continuous electronics evolution program, the company said Nov. 1. The contract fits with the overall M1A2 Systems Enhancement Package tank upgrade program to add new information technologies and enhanced command and control features, including color maps and networked communications, the company said. Work will begin immediately and be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., Tallahassee, Fla., and Eynon, Pa. It is to be completed by July 31, 2007.
Northrop Grumman Corp. will subcontract to Smiths Aerospace to provide the flight management and integrated standby instrument systems for the U.S. Navy's E-2D Hawkeye, the first E-2 variant to have a flight management system (FMS) capability. Smiths said the system design and development contract is valued at more than $4 million, with a program potential of at least $30 million. Deliveries of the systems will continue through 2006, with production starting in mid-2009.
DELIVERED: Raytheon has delivered the first full production Integrated Sensor Suite for the Air Force's RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle, the company announced Nov. 1. The full production configuration includes synthetic aperture radar and electro-optical/infrared high resolution imaging in a single integrated system, Raytheon said. Northrop Grumman is the Global Hawk prime contractor.
The White House is calling for Congress to take back $155 million in unobligated balances for various Defense Department operation and maintenance activities, as well as Army research, development, test and evaluation funds for the Joint Common Missile (JCM).
Engineered products supplier Hawk Corp. said Nov. 1 that higher than anticipated restructuring costs were to blame for a loss in net income and income from operations in the third quarter of 2005. But the Cleveland-based company, which supplies friction materials for brakes, clutches and transmissions used in airplanes, trucks, construction equipment and other vehicles, said it posted a 5.7 percent increase in net sales for the period.
Senate Democrats forced their chamber Nov. 1 to go into a rare closed-door session to highlight a stalled Senate Select Intelligence Committee investigation into the CIA-Valerie Plame leak issue, angering Republican counterparts who were caught off guard. The procedural move could temporarily, at least, further poison feelings between Democrats and Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), speaking in unusually harsh terms outside the chamber to reporters, said he had been "slapped in the face."
The leadership of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee vowed at a Nov. 1 hearing to speed the confirmation of Shana Dale as NASA's deputy administrator, which should allow her to assume her duties within a week. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has made several calls to Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to expedite Dale's confirmation, Stevens said. Dale's nomination and several others likely will be voted on at a committee markup hearing Nov. 2.
The Pentagon has delayed a key review of the Marine Corps' Heavy Lift Replacement (HLR) program by more than a month, citing the need for more information about the helicopter acquisition effort.
U.S. military helicopters, airplanes, and ships are continuing to deliver relief supplies to Pakistan in response to the country's devastating earthquake, the Defense Department said. Two dozen Army and Navy helicopters are operating in the region, with nine more expected to begin soon. On Oct. 30, choppers flew 52 sorties, airlifted more than 310,000 pounds of supplies and carried 583 passengers. They also evacuated 64 people.
Insurgents in Iraq are benefiting from an "astonishing" amount of commercially available ingredients and technology to make their improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the roadside bombs and land mines responsible for more coalition casualties there than any other weapon, a Senate lawmaker said Nov. 1.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. said Nov. 1 that it has agreed to purchase Keystone Ranger Holdings Inc., which provides engineering and technical support for commercial helicopters and air medical flight operations. Financial terms were not disclosed. The purchase is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005.
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE: Goodrich Corp. said Oct. 31 that it will furnish military aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul and other services for France's defense ministry under a five-year, $141 million contract. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company's Actuation Systems unit will work on the French military's Mirage 2000 and Transall C160 aircraft, as well as Fennec, Puma, Super Puma, and Cougar helicopters.
An engine flameout problem that occurred on two separate Air Force-owned Global Hawks over the summer has contributed to a delay with the Navy's Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration program, according to the Navy. The Air Force still is investigating the problem with the Rolls-Royce-built engine and has yet to comment on the cause. One flameout occurred on an advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) Global Hawk flying overseas in theater, the other on a production aircraft in the U.S. Both managed to glide autonomously to a safe landing.
NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., is gearing up to begin flight-tests next summer using a small scaled model of an airliner to evaluate "refuse-to-crash" technology. With more and more aircraft moving to digital controls and fly-by-wire technology, NASA aviation safety engineers decided the time was ripe to put more "smarts" into onboard flight controls, according to George Finelli, manager of NASA Langley's Aviation Safety and Security Program.
PRAGUE -- Czech aerospace company Aero Vodochody was worth CZK 814 million (USD $33.1 million) at the end of 2004, according to an assessment by financial advisor Deloitte Czech Republic. The figure, published by the daily financial newspaper Hospodarske Noviny on Oct. 26, suggests that the forthcoming privatization of Aero may attract much less than the CZK 10 billion (USD $406.5 million) originally expected by analysts. Czech industry and trade ministry spokesman Ivo Mravinac told The DAILY that the Deloitte assessment represented a basic valuation.
