Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Saab Aerostructures has completed the first three forward fuselages of the NH90 helicopter for Eurocopter, the company said Dec. 3. Saab is to deliver 270 forward fuselages for the program over 15 years. They will be incorporated into the NH90s at final assembly locations in Finland, Italy, Germany and France.

NAVY

Northrop Grumman Corp. and United Defense Industries Inc. are teaming to provide the U.S. Army with ground-based laser defense systems to protect soldiers, the companies said Dec. 6. The agreement combines Northrop Grumman's experience in high-energy laser systems with United Defense's capability in combat vehicle and armament systems integration, rapid prototyping, and manufacturing, the companies said.

A recent report by a European Union (EU) technology committee urges western EU countries to actively support efforts to develop unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs), and warns that unless Europe begins cooperating with the United States on such programs, joint operations will become increasingly difficult in the future.

The U.S. Air Force-launched C-130 avionics modernization program (AMP) is close to attracting other military agencies as participants, according to program officials. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have been studying using AMP on the Navy's C-130 transports and the Marines' KC-130 tankers and are expected to commit in early 2005 to join the program, said Air Force Col. Kevin Harms, the C-130 development system manager, and Air Force Lt. Col. Bill Graham, the AMP program manager.

AIR FORCE

General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products will produce 1,393 30mm cannon barrels to equip A-10 aircraft for close-air support, the company said Dec. 6. The work will be done under a $6 million contract from the Defense Logistics Agency's Defense Supply Center Columbus. The contract's value could reach $13 million if all options are exercised, the company said Dec. 6. The A-10's GAU-8 seven-barrel cannon fires 30mm rounds capable of piercing tank armor, making it effective against armored targets, General Dynamics said.

ARMY General Electric Aircraft Engines, Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded on Dec. 2, 2004, a $162,339,024 modification to a firm fixed price contract for overhaul and repair for the entire T700 Family of Engines. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2005. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Aug. 22, 2000. 2 The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (DAAH23-00-C-0347).

NVG SOFTWARE: MultiGen-Paradigm Inc. of San Jose, Calif., has delivered prototype night vision goggle simulation software for F-16 Mission Training Centers to Lockheed Martin in Akron, Ohio, the company said Dec. 6. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Lockheed Martin said last week that it has added night-vision goggle capability to the F-16 MTCs (DAILY, Dec. 6). MultiGen-Paradigm is in the production phase of the NVG simulation software.

POSTPONED: Arianespace is postponing its planned Dec. 10 launch of the Helios IIA spacecraft to replace a component on its Ariane 5 rocket, the company announced Dec. 6. The company is replacing the part after a ground test revealed an anomaly with a similar piece of equipment. The replacement will take several days. A new launch date will be announced shortly, Arianespace said.

The Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va., has signed a Milestone C Decision worth up to $121.5 million for full-rate production of the M1A1 Tank Firepower Enhancement Program (FEP), the Marines Corps said Dec. 3. The FEP will provide fast, accurate, thermal targeting day or night and in all weather, the Marine Corps said. The tanks' range will be extended with a new Far Target Locate function that will allow tank crews to accurately locate targets up to 8,000 meters (8,748 yards) away and strike them within 35 meters (38.2 yards).

APPROVED: FlightSafety International's new full-flight simulator for Sikorsky's S-92 helicopter has been approved by the FAA, the company said Dec. 6. The simulator is the first for Sikorsky's new S-92, and is located at FlightSafety's West Palm Beach, Fla., learning center.

The U.S. Army is seeking proposals for Future Combat Systems (FCS) technology that is lighter, smaller and more durable for several key applications, said Richard Lawhern, systems engineer for FCS spiral technology integration for Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC). Boeing and SAIC are the lead systems integrators for FCS.

NASA is preparing to submit its responses to the remaining 10 return-to-flight (RTF) recommendations made by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board to the Stafford-Covey Task Group in time for its plenary meeting later this month, according to shuttle managers.

United Defense Industries Inc. has won a contract worth up to $104.3 million to renew, upgrade and produce Mk 14 Mod 2 Tomahawk canisters, the company said Dec. 6. The canisters will be compatible with the U.S. Navy's Tactical Tomahawk missile fired from the Vertical Launching System (VLS) Mk 41.

BAE Systems of Walton Beach, Fla., will provide instrumentation to support precision-guided munitions testing, the Canadian defense department said Dec. 3. The company will provide the equipment, including cameras and optical tracking mounts, to the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment Primrose Lake Evaluation Range at Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake, Alberta.

Herndon, Va.-based Trusted Computer Solutions Inc. has won a $1.8 million contract to use the Distributed Training Network Guard to allow the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command to have secure communications between simulators during training exercises, the company said Dec. 6.

Aerojet recently conducted wind tunnel tests of its hypersonic engine for the HyFly program, the company announced Dec. 2. The tests simulated speeds of Mach 4, 5 and 6.5, the company said. Aerojet is designing and building the hypersonic engine for Boeing Phantom Works, which will integrate the engines into the HyFly vehicles. A joint effort between the Navy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a hypersonic strike missile, HyFly is expected to begin flight-tests in 2006 (DAILY, April 2, 2003).

PRV SCHEDULE: The U.S. Air Force remains on track to release a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV) in January 2005 and a final RFP in May or June, a service spokesman says. The selection of a prime contractor is slated for the October-December quarter of 2005. Competitors are expected to include the Bell-Boeing CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, the EADS North America-Northrop Grumman NH-90 helicopter, the Lockheed Martin-AgustaWestland-Bell Helicopter Textron US101 helicopter and Sikorsky's S-92 helicopter (DAILY, Aug. 27).

JIMO STUDY: NASA and Northrop Grumman are conducting a study of alternate missions that could be performed by nuclear fission-powered spacecraft such as Prometheus One, which is being developed for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) mission. "It's really looking at it as a set of spirals, and what are the different possible spirals that one could do - JIMO being a mission within a spiral set," says Peggy Nelson, vice president and project manager for Prometheus One at Northrop Grumman.

STUDENT SAT: European students are putting the finishing touches on SSETI Express, an experimental satellite that largely has been designed and built by students collaborating over the Internet. SSETI Express - SSETI stands for Student Space Education and Technology Initiative - is scheduled to launch in May, says the European Space Agency, the program's main sponsor. The dishwasher-sized spacecraft carries three smaller "cubesats" built by universities in Germany, Japan and Norway.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Airborne Laser (ABL) program achieved a key goal Dec. 3 by conducting the "first flight" of the Lockheed Martin beam control/fire control system. The beam control/fire control system, designed to guide the kill laser to its target, took off from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., aboard YAL-1, a heavily modified Boeing 747-400F. The aircraft flew about 22 minutes before returning to the base.

The German Bundestag's budget committee has approved low-rate production of the Puma infantry fighting vehicle, Puma maker Rheinmetall DeTec said Dec. 2. The LRIP contract, valued at 350 million euros ($455 million), is to be awarded to Projekt System und Management of Kassel, Germany, a joint venture of Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.

NOMINATED: Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, President Bush's nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security, will "build on the historic accomplishments of Secretary Tom Ridge," the president says. Bush announced Kerik's nomination Dec. 3 at a White House press conference. Ridge announced his resignation last week (DAILY, Dec. 1).