EUROFIGHTER SALES: A new production pact among the Eurofighter Typhoon's four partner nations will have a "tremendous effect" on the aircraft's potential for sales to other countries, according to Eurofighter GmbH, the industry consortium that serves as the Typhoon's prime contractor. Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom signed an agreement Dec. 14 to buy 236 more aircraft for themselves.
PROPOSALS DUE: Proposals from five information technology systems integrators for the Marine Corps' logistics modernization program are due Jan. 10, says a Marine Corps official. The invitation for bids went out Dec. 8. The systems integration work is for the Global Combat Support System (GCSS), the modernization's key technology enabler. The Marine Corps plans to pare down its 240-plus logistics systems to fewer than 100 systems (DAILY, Dec. 1).
Textron Systems Corp. of Wilmington, Mass., has been awarded a $115.7 million contract by the Headquarters Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to provide 341 Sensor Fuzed Weapons to the United States and Oman, the Defense Department said Dec. 16. The work will be finished by March 2007.
ICBM WORK: Northrop Grumman Mission Systems of Clearfield, Utah, will do engineering and refurbishment work on 96 Minuteman III stages, as well as test fire missiles, the U.S. Department of Defense said Dec. 16. The work will be done under a $248.8 million contract awarded by the Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The work is to be finished by April 2007.
COOPERATION: The visit of Chinese Prime Minister Jiabao Wen to the European Space Agency's research and technology center in the Netherlands helped emphasize "the importance of China as a partner in space," ESA says. ESA and China have cooperated on space ventures for more than 25 years, including last year's establishment of a joint research program using data from ESA's Envisat satellite. China also will work closely with ESA on Europe's Galileo satellite navigation program, ESA says.
Metal Storm CEO Charles Vehlow has resigned following recent major surgery, the electronic ballistics company said Dec. 17. Ian Gillespie, the company's general manager, has been appointed CEO pending the outcome of a selection process to appoint a new CEO, the company said.
DOD CONCEPTS: The U.S. Defense Department is developing a series of "concepts" to guide its military transformation efforts, according to the Government Accountability Office. Documents are being drafted to address those concepts, which include seven "integrating" concepts: joint command and control, joint logistics, joint forcible-entry operations, integrating air and missile defense, global strike, sea-basing and undersea superiority. At least some of the documents could be finished in time to influence the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review.
The Pentagon has decided to wait a few more weeks to disclose the results of a study on U.S. Air Force tanker modernization options. The Defense Department had been scheduled to brief Capitol Hill the week of Dec. 20 on the results of the analysis of alternatives (AOA), which RAND Corp. conducted for DOD. But congressional and defense sources said Dec. 17 that the briefings have been moved to mid- or late January. A Pentagon spokeswoman attributed the delay to unspecified "scheduling conflicts."
REFUELING AIRCRAFT: India's air force recently received the fifth of six IL-78 tanker aircraft purchased from Uzbekistan, India's Ministry of Defence said Dec. 15. The sixth aircraft is expected to be delivered this month. The delivery of the third and fourth aircraft was delayed by eight months. India signed a memorandum of understanding for the aircraft purchase in 1997. In December 2001, India's Defence Ministry signed a $150 million contract with Uzbekistan's Chkalov aviation plant to build the aircraft (DAILY, Sept. 5, 2002).
The Stafford-Covey Return to Flight Task Group closed out three more Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) recommendations during a meeting in Huntsville, Ala., Dec. 16, satisfied that NASA has taken sufficient steps to fulfill them. Before the meeting, the group had "conditionally closed" five of the CAIB's 15 return to flight recommendations, meaning that it required additional information for a final approval. NASA last week submitted to the Task Group "closure packages" describing its efforts on the remaining 10 recommendations.
Parker Hannifin Corp. has acquired the operations of Houston-based Trilogy Systems, which builds linear motors, for an undisclosed amount, the company said Dec. 16. Trilogy will become part of Parker Automation Group's Electromechanical Automation Division, based in Rohnert Park, Calif. This division manufactures motion control products including controllers, servo and stepper drives and servo motors, and produces products involving robotics and automation.
General Electric will provide material, technical and logistics support for the Corpus Christi Army Depot's (CCAD) T700 turboshaft engine overhaul program under a $162 million contract option, the company said Dec. 16. Under the original contract, the company supplies T700 helicopter engine parts and logistics and technical expertise to support CCAD overhaul programs for various military helicopters including the AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk.
Northrop Grumman Corp. was selected by the U.S. General Services Administration to provide system engineering and program support for the U.S. Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command and Naval Oceanographic Office. The task order is valued at $38.9 million over five years to Northrop Grumman's Information Technology (IT) sector. The contract work will be done at the John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss.
Lockheed Martin Argentina S.A. rolled out the first upgraded AT-63 Pampa jet trainer for the Argentine air force on Dec. 15, the company said. The upgraded low-cost advanced trainer and light attack aircraft is ready for ground testing and is scheduled to begin flight-testing in mid-2005, the company said. The aircraft features an upgraded crew station and modern avionics suite with advanced mission computers, Lockheed Martin said.
TESTING: The Lockheed-Martin developed Aegis Weapon System recently underwent successful testing during a three-day trial at sea aboard the U.S. Navy destroyer Halsey, the company said Dec. 16. The testing took place Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in the Gulf of Mexico and was overseen by Navy and Lockheed Martin engineers. It included gun exercises and two successful Standard Missile-2 firings. The Aegis now is 10 for 10 in missile sea test firings, the company said.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is considering buying a Northrop Grumman-built Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle to monitor missile defense tests, the agency head said Dec. 16.
U.K. Defence Minister Geoff Hoon has announced details of the "Future Army Structure" plan, which calls for development of a more deployable, agile and flexible army and involves the expenditure of "tens of billions of pounds" for new military hardware, including satellite communication systems and unmanned aerial vehicles for the army.
Thales has signed an agreement with Russia's Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. to integrate its avionics suite on the company's new Russian Regional Jet, Thales said Dec. 16. The companies have signed a contract worth about 70 million euros ($93.8 million) for the first equipment order, Thales said. France's Thales will provide its full avionics suite, including cockpit displays and communication, navigation and surveillance systems, which it said would boost the aircraft's capability.
S-92 ACCEPTED: Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (PHI) has accepted its second Sikorsky S-92, the company said Dec. 16. The aircraft was flown to PHI's Lafayette, La., facility to join the other S-92 in supporting deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Sikorsky has offered a variant of the S-92 for the presidential helicopter competition, which is expected to be decided in January.
The Czech Republic's military will receive the upgraded version of the RBS 70 Air Defence Missile System under a 204 million kronor ($30.2 million) contract awarded to Sweden-based Saab Bofors Dynamics AB, the company said Dec. 15. The system includes a night sight, aircraft identification and the new Bolide missile. Deliveries are set for 2005, 2006 and 2007.
DIVIDEND: Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Co. has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents per share, the company said Dec. 15. The dividend will be paid to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Dec. 27. The dividend rate is unchanged from the previous quarter, the company said. Raytheon's board of directors plans to increase the company's annual dividend by 10 percent, from 80 cents to 88 cents, starting with the first-quarter dividend of 2005, the company said Dec. 1. (DAILY, Dec. 2)
The U.S. Army's industrial base for armor on tactical wheeled vehicles has grown considerably since the fall of 2003, when the Defense Department began to see a need for the armor in Operation Iraqi Freedom. "In August 2003, the vehicle armor industrial base consisted of seven vendors, of which only one was a steel manufacturer," said Col. John Rooney, chief of staff of the Army Developmental Test Command. Rooney spoke Dec. 15 at a Pentagon press briefing.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. announced a $750,000 endowment to establish the Sikorsky Professorship at the Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Georgia Tech is one of only three universities in the United States to have a Rotorcraft Center of Excellence, funded by the National Rotorcraft Technology Center, the company said.
A2C2S: Raytheon Co. has delivered the first low-rate initial production Army Airborne Command and Control System, the company said Dec. 16. The A2C2S gives selected UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters a mission equipment package that transforms them into airborne command posts. Prototypes have been used in Iraq for more than a year, the company said.
