On Oct. 13 a dual-manifested Ariane 5 rocket placed the French Ministry of Defense's Syracuse 3A communications satellite and PanAmSat's Galaxy 15 high-definition TV satellite in geostationary transfer orbit. Liftoff took place from Arianespace's launch facility in Kourou, French Guiana. Syracuse 3A is the first satellite in France's new third-generation Syracuse III secure military communication system. The 3,700-kilogram (8,157-pound) spacecraft was designed by Alcatel Alenia Space, with Thales Communications in charge of the ground segment.
U.S. Navy officials will craft plans by mid-December to organize and equip a Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, and hope to work closer with the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies, according to Adm. Mike Mullen, the new chief of naval operations.
A high-profile federal prosecutor has suggested that lawmakers and regulators consider new requirements for contractors who support defense agencies and military branches in making acquisition decisions. U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty says no criminal law exists holding those contractors responsible for conflicts of interest that snared former Boeing Co. executive and Air Force official Darleen Druyun and former Boeing CFO Michael Sears, who he prosecuted.
As the U.S. Army moves ahead in its Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle program, the Coast Guard is initiating an SUAV program of its own. A request for information from the Coast Guard's Research and Development Center, Groton, Conn., published in the Oct. 14 issue of FedBizOpps, seeks input on "a small, unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) platform to support a 14-day evaluation which shall consist, at a minimum, of one six-hour [mission] each day."
THAAD MISSILE: The first flight-test missile for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is scheduled to be shipped the week of Oct. 17 from its Lockheed Martin assembly plant in Troy, Ala., to the test site at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The test is slated to occur around Thanksgiving. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is developing THAAD mainly to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles as they transition from the midcourse phase of flight to the terminal phase.
MOBILITY STUDY: The U.S. Defense Department expects to complete a review of its mobility needs within the next few weeks. It is unclear what DOD will be able to say publicly about the Mobility Capability Study, which is classified. The study is expected to guide Air Force purchase decisions for the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft.
EXPORT CONTROL: The defense and space industries are fighting a proposed internal Defense Department rule that would require defense contracting officers to ensure that DOD contracts identify and note export-controlled information and technology, as well as contractor deference to existing regulations. The Council of Defense and Space Industry Associations says the State and Commerce departments already provide export-control oversight, and the DOD can suspend or debar contractors now.
The first new production MH-60R helicopter to be purchased by the U.S. Navy has arrived at Lockheed Martin in Owego, N.Y., where it will spend the next five months having mission systems installed and integrated, the company announced. The MH-60R was flown from Stratford, Conn., where it was built and put through initial flight-tests by Sikorsky.
Taurus Systems GmbH of Unterschleissheim, Germany, said Oct. 12 that it has been awarded a contract to provide KEPD 350 air-to-ground missiles for the Spanish air force. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the contract, Taurus Systems will produce 43 missiles and provide mission planning and support. The weapons will arm Spanish F-18 and Eurofighter aircraft. The Spanish Council of Ministers approved the purchase in June. Taurus Systems is a joint venture between EADS/LFK-Lenkflugkorpersysteme and SAAB Bofors Dynamics.
Lockheed Martin has awarded Esterline Technologies' Palomar Products subsidiary a $6.8 million contract to provide aircraft intercommunication systems for the new VH-71 Presidential Helicopter program. Work conducted under the contract will begin immediately and continue through December 2007 at Palomar's facility in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
Raytheon Co. said Oct. 13 that its Joint Standoff Weapon Block II successfully flew its first captive test flight this week at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The test of the precision glide weapon took place Oct. 11 on a U.S. Air Force F-16 aircraft.
MULTI-BAND RADIOS: Harris Corp.'s RF Communications Division has been awarded a $77.7 million contract to provide Multi-Band Multi-Mission Radios to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, the Defense Department said Oct. 13. The work will be performed in Rochester, N.Y., and is expected to be finished in September 2010. The contract was awarded by the Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va.
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have reached an out-of-court settlement agreement concerning litigation involving the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) program, according to Raytheon officials.
South African naval officers have successfully completed several months of basic submarine training on the India navy's INS Satavahana training school vessel, the India Press Information Bureau said Oct. 11. The training began on Jan. 31. The school trains combat and technical officers from 25 countries for periods of 37 to 53 weeks. A valedictory function for the South African officers was attended by Vice Adm. SCS Bangara, the flag officer commander in chief for the Southern Naval Command; and Capt. TS Ramanujam, the INS Satavahana's commanding officer.
South Korea's army plans to deploy a modernized main battle tank equipped with advanced weapons systems by 2010, the Korea Overseas Information Service said. The Korea Next-Generation Main Battle Tank was displayed by the country's Agency for Defense Development on Oct. 11 during the Korea Ground Forces Festival 2005. The five-day event was being held in Seoul and Chungcheong and Gyeonggi provinces.
The U.S. Navy is embedding criminal investigators in its top 29 procurement commands to try to ward off future acquisition misdeeds, and FBI agents may work alongside them soon, according to a federal prosecutor leading a government wide anti-procurement fraud group and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
A growing number of aerospace supply chain companies are embracing environmental best practices, a British university's survey shows. The survey said 91 percent of aerospace supply chain companies now consider environmental issues in their product design, 73 percent regularly monitor and have implemented waste minimization procedures, and 70 percent provide new employee training on environmental matters.
DRUG RADAR: The Raytheon Co. said Oct. 13 that it was awarded a five-year, $52 million U.S. Navy contract to continue engineering services for the Relocatable Over-the-Horizon Radar program, which provides long-range surveillance for U.S. counter-drug missions in the Caribbean Sea and South America. The Raytheon radar, operational with the U.S. government for more than 15 years and now its primary drug interdiction radar, sweeps 4 million square miles of coverage area, tracking 4.5 million aircraft per year, according to the company.
Remote sensing imagery analysts with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency still are on the ground in New Orleans providing tailored maps and other products in support of the ongoing efforts to recover from Hurricane Katrina, according to NGA. The agency first sent field analysts to the region in advance of the storm on Aug. 26, marking the first time NGA personnel were deployed to an area in advance of a disaster. At the height of relief operations there were nearly 40 NGA analysts in the area.
Northrop Grumman Corp. said Oct. 13 that it is making final arrangements to provide temporary housing for more than 1,000 shipyard workers returning to New Orleans and Pascagoula, Miss., following Hurricane Katrina.
The U.S. Army has briefly extended the deadline for contractors to submit proposals for the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) program, following a request for more time from one of the competitors. The Army originally asked for all contractors proposals to be turned in by Oct. 12, but it recently agreed to delay the cutoff by eight days, to Oct. 20, after MD Helicopters requested an extension. MD Helicopters revealed Oct. 6 that it was parting ways with its major teammate, Lockheed Martin, for economic reasons.
A major Pentagon review of the B-52 Stand-Off Jammer (SOJ) program has been delayed more than a month to give the Air Force more time to prepare for the high-level meeting. The Defense Department had planned to convene a Defense Acquisition Board session in late September to determine whether the B-52 SOJ program is ready to begin its technology development (TD) phase. But an Air Force spokesman said late Oct. 12 that the Air Force and DOD are trying to reschedule the DAB meeting for sometime in November.
