The first practice deployment of the F/A-22 Raptor has given U.S. Air Force crews increased confidence in the stealthy fighter, an Air Force spokeswoman said Oct. 31.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's giant ocean-going radar is about to get set for its first long journey. MDA tentatively plans to load the 282-foot-high Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX) on the Blue Marlin, an open-deck, heavy transport vessel, during the week of Nov. 7-11 in Corpus Christi, Texas, agency spokeswoman Pam Rogers said Oct. 31. The Blue Marlin will lower itself in the water so SBX can be moved on top of the vessel.
The delivery of electronic force protection systems, antenna products and battlefield communications systems helped push EDO Corp.'s revenue up 35.4 percent in the third quarter of 2005, the company said last week. Net earnings also soared 43.2 percent. Revenue was $175.9 million in the third quarter of 2005, compared with $129.9 for the same period a year earlier. Net earnings climbed from $6.9 million in the third quarter of 2004 to $9.8 million in 2005.
Negotiators from the House and Senate this week could move closer to meeting officially to work out differences between their spending bills funding NASA and the Defense Department for fiscal 2006. The House could consider motions to instruct its conferees for both appropriations bills, which were passed over the summer, according to its legislative agenda. The Senate -- whose bills were passed later -- usually includes the motions as part of passing its bills.
Congressional supporters of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, and the USS John F. Kennedy in particular, still are pushing for maintaining or even increasing the fleet size while facing the renewed prospect of the JFK's possible early retirement. With an 11th-hour agreement with Japan clearing the way for the JFK to be mothballed, as the Navy proposed in February, the lawmakers face potential near-term fleet reduction as appropriators prepare to work out the final fiscal 2006 defense spending bill.
Poway, Calif.-based SpaceDev will buy Boulder, Colo.-based Starsys Research Corp. in a deal worth $9 million, the companies said Oct. 31. Starsys, which has 130 employees, designs, engineers and builds mechanical systems and mechanisms that operate spacecraft components. It has provided equipment to NASA's Mars Rover, Cassini and Deep Impact missions. SpaceDev, with 50 employees, builds micro- and nano-satellites and hybrid propulsion systems, including the ones that powered SpaceShipOne, the first private space vehicle.
Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo, Calif., has joined the Alliance for Earth Observations, an initiative of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies to aid private-sector participation in planning for Earth observations. The initiative particularly is aimed at the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), which involves nearly 60 countries and more than 40 international organizations, CSC said Oct. 31. GEOSS intends to link observations from satellites, aircraft, weather stations, ocean buoys and other systems.
Visual Systems International (VSI), which makes helmet-mounted displays, said it has received $100 million worth of Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems contracts, including one from Boeing for more than 500 systems. The San Jose, Calif.-based company also has received contracts from the U.S. Navy and Air Force for spares and test equipment for the JHMCS program, it said.
The Government Accountability Office has denied the contract protest of Testek, which said the Defense Logistics Agency improperly rejected its alternative bid for aircraft generator test stand work. Livonia, Mich.-based Testek protested the sole-source award to Avtron Manufacturing for upgrading and modernizing the test stands, which measure the performance of generators that provide power for aircraft systems and components.
Sailors from the United States and four other countries are practicing seamanship and battle skills during a 17-day exercise off the coast of Brazil, the Defense Department said. The Atlantic Ocean phase of the annual UNITAS 47-06 exercise began Oct. 16 and continues through Nov. 1. Sailors from Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, and host nation Brazil are also taking part. The Pacific Ocean portion of the exercise was held off South American's west coast last summer.
Australia's navy, army, and air force began a pair of military exercises on Oct. 31, the country's defense ministry said. Exercise Dugong, which focuses on mine warfare, will continue until Nov. 18. Exercise Sea Eagle, which stresses amphibious training, will be held until Nov. 11. Exercise Dugong involves four coastal mine hunters, two auxiliary minesweepers, clearance diving units and other mine warfare experts from Australia's navy, as well as explosive ordnance specialists from the country's air force.
COMPLETED: Goodrich Corp. has completed its acquisition of Sensors Unlimited, the company said Oct. 31. The $60 million cash deal includes a 39,000-square-foot leased facility in Princeton, N.J. Sensors Unlimited produces short-wave infrared technology and indium gallium arsenide imaging technology for the military, telecommunications and other markets.
BOEING DIVIDEND: Boeing's board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share, the company said Oct. 31. The dividend is payable Dec. 2 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 11.
The student-built SSETI Express satellite has suffered an electrical power failure that has rendered it inoperable and cut short its mission. Before going dead, SSETI (Student Space Exploration and Technology Initiative) Express deployed three microsatellites, two of which are confirmed to be alive and well. Had its mission continued, SSETI Express would have taken pictures of the Earth, functioned as a radio transponder and served as a test bed for various designs, including a cold-gas attitude control system (DAILY, Oct. 31).
The Government Accountability Office last week denied protests filed by CherryRoad Technologies and EDS against the U.S. Army for awarding its Army Knowledge Online (AKO) portal contract to a team led by Lockheed Martin.
GOES-R: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded program definition and risk reduction contracts for the Geostationary Operational Enviro- nmental Satellite (GOES) system, GOES-R, to Boeing Satellite Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems and a team consisting of Northrop Grumman and Raytheon. The six-month contracts are worth $10 million each.
BOEING TANKERS: Although the U.S. Air Force's tanker modernization plans remain up in the air, Boeing officials say they are making progress meeting foreign orders for their KC-767 tanker, a modified version of the 767 commercial aircraft. The second of four KC-767s for the Italian air force is receiving its tanker modifications near Naples, Italy, and the first of four KC-767s for Japan's air self-defense force is getting its tanker modifications in Wichita, Kan., Boeing officials say. The first KC-767 for Italy is in flight tests.
The U.S. Navy announced late Oct. 27 that Japan has agreed to base a nuclear U.S. aircraft carrier, allowing the USS Kitty Hawk to come stateside and possibly clearing the way for the USS John F. Kennedy's retirement. Japan has long opposed basing a nuclear carrier in its ports, but a rising China, and the dwindling number of conventionally powered U.S. aircraft carriers, apparently helped change Japanese leaders' minds.
