The integration of United Defense Industries into BAE Systems following the acquisition of the company in June 2005 is essentially complete, according to company officials. "I could not be more delighted with the progress made so far," BAE Systems Chief Operating Officer Mark Ronald said during a press luncheon in Washington Sept. 30. "We've announced a reorganization, we've got an IT structure, everybody knows what their day job is, and the integration is complete."
SDB NEWS: Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which planned to brief reporters Sept. 29 on their joint bid for the second increment of the U.S. Air Force's Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) program (DAILY, Sept. 29), are looking for a new date for the media teleconference, citing a scheduling conflict. Raytheon also plans to submit a bid for the second increment, which is designed to give the small, precision-guided bomb the ability to destroy moving targets. The Air Force is expected to release the final request for proposals for SDB II in late October.
JASSM CUTS: Proponents of the U.S. Air Force's Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program are seeking to clarify the Senate Appropriations Committee's intent for the Lockheed Martin-built stealthy cruise missile. Citing two flight-test failures in the spring, the committee's version of the fiscal 2006 defense appropriations bill cuts $50 million from the Air Force's $150 million request for JASSM procurement. But despite leaving $100 million for purchases of JASSM, the committee approved explanatory language telling the Air Force not to buy more missiles.
LCS CENTER: Lockheed Martin Corp. is opening a new Mission Systems Integration Center specifically for the first Littoral Combat Ship. The facility, to be unveiled in Moorestown, N.J., is a full-scale version of an LCS mission control center with live equipment, combat management system software and simulations of all combat systems equipment. Rear Adm. Charles Hamilton, U.S. Navy program executive officer for ships, and Fred Moosally, president of Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors, will announce the center on Oct. 6.
GMD DISPUTE: The Senate Appropriations Committee says it "disagrees emphatically" with a plan the Missile Defense Agency is apparently considering for "breaking apart" the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program. "Fragmenting the fire control loop seriously jeopardizes the functionality of the weapon system and should not be undertaken until such time as it is fully developed, spiral upgraded and in a final, stable configuration," the committee says in a report explaining its version of the fiscal 2006 defense appropriations bill.
The secretary of defense should give Congress an annual plan outlining the costs of the U.S. Army's move to modular brigade-based units, because Army plans are evolving and the price tag has "increased substantially," the Government Accountability Office says in a new report. In March, the Army estimated it will need $48 billion to fund the move through 2011, a 71% increase from the estimate given the year before. However, the latest estimate doesn't include $27.5 billion in personnel and construction costs, the GAO said.
DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT: The robotic ground vehicle teams competing for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's second Grand Challenge prize already are demonstrating "dramatic progress" from last year, DARPA says. During the first day of the semifinals on Sept. 28, seven of 16 robotic hopefuls completed a 2.2-mile trial course. In comparison, only two teams made partial runs on the first day of last year's semifinals, with six failing to get past their starting chutes. During last year's finals, the best team completed only 7 miles of the 142-mile course.
SHIPBUILDING: The new chief of naval operations, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, is "actively" reviewing shipbuilding programs and considering "several options for controlling long-term costs," Senate appropriators say in the report accompanying their fiscal 2006 defense spending bill. To help the Navy in the short term, the Senate Appropriations Committee has recommended providing the Navy financial management authorities that previously have been denied (DAILY, Sept. 27).
The House and Senate are expected soon to approve an appropriations conference agreement on the fiscal 2006 Homeland Security Department spending bill, which was hammered out Sept. 29. In addition to $933.1 million for the Coast Guard's Deepwater modernization program, the appropriators agreed to provide $400.2 million to the DHS for operations, maintenance and procurement of marine vessels, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and other related equipment of the air and marine interdiction program, according to the conference report.
NEW LEADER: A controversial effort to block the Base Closure and Realignment process could remain stalled in the House. The legislation, unfavorably reported by the House Armed Services Committee (DAILY, Sept. 29), now rests with new Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), according to a resolution that the House passed Sept. 29. Under the resolution, Blunt can decide whether the legislation is in order for the House to debate it. The conservative Republican has already expressed support for BRAC. "I think the process has worked well," the congressman said Aug.
Oct. 3 - 5 -- AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition, "Call to Duty - 230 Years of Service to our Nation," Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.ausa.org. Oct. 6 - 7 -- Information Assurance Engineering, "The Latest Requirements, Tools and Techniques," The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nev. For more information go to www.technologytraining.com.
The Bush Administration is "concerned with the numerous funding reductions, prior-year rescissions and acquisition guidelines for specific programs, particularly those affecting Navy shipbuilding, Air Force space systems and Army modernization," according to a White House statement Sept. 30 about the Senate's pending defense spending bill.
FY '06 FUNDS: Congress has approved a continuing resolution that provides temporary funding through Nov. 18 for federal departments, agencies and programs whose fiscal 2006 appropriations bills have not yet been enacted. As of Sept. 30, only the interior-environment and legislative branch spending bills have been signed into law. Under the joint resolution, federal spending through that date would be at the level set in the House-passed bill, Senate-passed bill, or current level, whichever is lowest. The House passed it Sept.
An avionics upgrade program for the U.S. Air Force's C-5 Galaxy has moved into a key test phase, an Air Force official said Sept. 29. Up to five C-5s that have gone through the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) will take part in an operational test and evaluation (OT&E) that began Sept. 7, according to Col. Kevin Keck, who oversees C-5 acquisition programs at the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. OT&E is expected to last about three months.
Brazil is seeking advanced torpedoes and related equipment and services that could total $60 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Sept. 28. Brazil has requested 30 MK 48 Mod 6 Advanced Technology Torpedoes, containers and related equipment and services, DSCA said. Raytheon Corp. would be the primary contractor for the deal. The country wants to use the torpedoes to upgrade and modernize its existing heavyweight torpedo capability, DSCA said.
Senators overseeing defense panels were still working at press time to try to craft an agreement that would attach some form of the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill onto the related appropriations bill and allow for a limited number of additional amendment proposals. Meanwhile, the Senate took up the defense appropriations bill Sept. 29 but got tied up in a proposal over bird flu medicine. Earlier in the day, the Senate approved John Roberts to head the U.S. Supreme Court, and most senators later went to see him get sworn in.
U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan could be armed with Excalibur 155mm precision-guided artillery rounds by March following successful testing this month, the Army said Sept. 28. In the Sept. 15 test at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., Excalibur was fired from a Paladin 155mm self-propelled howitzer at a target 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) away. Excalibur successfully detonated within 7 meters (7.6 yards) of the target.
VEHICLE WORK: General Dynamics Land Systems will provide technical support for U.S. Army Abrams tanks and field service repair support for Stryker vehicles under two contracts totaling $31.4 million, the company said Sept. 27. The Abrams work will be done under a $25 million contract modification and is aimed at keeping the tanks at high operational readiness rates. The Stryker work will be done under a $6.4 million contract modification. Both contract modifications were awarded by the Army's TACOM Lifecycle Management Command.
BATTLESPACE CONTRACT: General Dynamics Canada and two Australian partners have been awarded a contract worth AUD 800 million (USD $608 million) to be the preferred systems integrator for the first phase of the Australian Battlespace Communications System (Land) project, General Dynamics Canada said Sept. 29. The project will provide Australia's ground forces with a deployable, secure, integrated battlespace communications system.
