The Air Force considered flying a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle over the Houston area to monitor the effects of Hurricane Rita, but ultimately decided the requirement wasn't justified, according to an Air Force source.
The closing of a biological lab and the termination of an office lease pushed net income down 83% for Versar Inc. in fiscal year 2005, the company said Sept. 27. Income from continuing operations also fell 13.6%, while higher contruction revenues spurred a 13% jump in gross revenues. The Springfield, Va.-based company, which provides professional consulting services in national defense, homeland defense and other areas, reported net income of $202,000, or 2 cents per share, in FY '05, compared to $1.2 million, or 16 cents per share, in FY '04.
Lead Systems Integrators Boeing and SAIC signed an undefinitized Federal Acquisition Regulation contract for the Army's Future Combat Systems program on Sept. 23, meeting their goal of switching to a more traditional contract structure by the end of the fiscal year. "We'll begin operating on the FAR-based contract as we go into FY '06," Boeing FCS Vice President and General Manager Dennis Muilenburg told The DAILY.
Top Defense Department officials on Sept. 27 offered the Senate Armed Services Committee a few possible structural responses, including strengthening the Joint Requirements Oversight Council by tying in budget and resources personnel, to what committee members have called the worst breakdown in defense acquisition integrity since the 1980s.
On Sept. 23 the U.S. Army and Boeing signed a $192.5 million contract for the company to build 13 new AH-64D Apache Longbow combat helicopters, the company announced. Production will begin in early 2006 at the Boeing facility in Mesa, Ariz. The new aircraft will be built in the current Block II configuration, and are in addition to 96 AH-64A Apaches being upgraded to the D model under a multiyear contract with the Army.
A study on the U.S. Marine Corps' future electronic attack needs is due to be finished in March, a key general said Sept. 27. The study, which the University of Pennsylvania has been hired to conduct, is expected to help the Marines refine their plans to replace their aging EA-6B Prowlers, said Lt. Gen. Michael Hough, the Marines' deputy commandant for aviation.
PRAGUE -- State-owned Czech aircraft producer Aero Vodochody will be put up for sale after the Czech defense ministry dropped its demand that the company's military aircraft servicing wing should remain in state hands.
A Boeing Delta II launched the first modernized Global Positioning System Block IIR satellite for the U.S. Air Force from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The Lockheed Martin-built satellite, named GPS IIR-14 (M), lifted off at 11:37 p.m. Sept. 25, arriving at its transfer orbit 24 minutes later, Boeing said. The satellite is the first of a series of eight upgraded IIR satellites (DAILY, Aug. 24). They feature two new military signals for better security and anti-jamming performance, and a second civilian signal.
Reinhold Industries Inc. said Sept. 26 that it has agreed to sell NP Aerospace Ltd., a United Kingdom-based subsidiary, to the Carlyle Group for GBP 30 million (USD $53.4 million). Reinhold said it would use up to $25 million of the net proceeds to repay all or most of its outstanding debt. Reinhold, of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., manufactures heat-resistant composite components for rocket propulsion. Last year, Reinhold decided not to pursue a change-in-control transaction, such as a merger or sale (DAILY, Aug. 16, 2004).
The House Armed Services Committee late Sept. 27 is scheduled to vote on forwarding legislation to the full chamber that would formally disapprove the Base Closure and Realignment list that is now before Congress.
The European Space Agency has selected two target asteroids for its Don Quijote mission, aimed at deflecting near Earth objects (NEOs) away from the planet. Don Quijote is being studied by ESA's Advanced Concepts Team, which has completed an assessment of suitable mission architectures, launch strategies and options for propulsion systems and experiments, ESA said Sept. 26.
SHIP MAINTENANCE, REPAIR: Northrop Grumman Corp. has been awarded a $9.4 million contract to perform maintenance and repair work on the military prepositioning ship M/V Pvt. Franklin J. Phillips, the company said Sept. 26. The work will include living quarters' upgrades; replacement of cargo cranes; propeller and rudder maintenance; and underwater hull painting. The work will take place over five weeks at Northrop Grumman's Newport News, Va., shipyard, where the Phillips arrived on Sept. 26.
President Bush has nominated Dorrance Smith to be assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, replacing Victoria Clarke. Smith previously served as a senior media adviser for the Coalition Provision Authority in Baghdad, Iraq, and was a senior media adviser and consultant for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the first Bush Administration. Earlier in his career, Smith was executive producer for ABC News' "This Week with David Brinkley" and "Nightline." The Senate received his nomination on Sept. 22.
The House and Senate this week are expected to speed through a continuing resolution funding the government into fiscal 2006, although it won't help the Defense Department, which is "running out of money" to cover operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, as one lawmaker said.
The Pentagon's top acquisition official said business in the Department of Defense is changing toward information technology and services as the DOD tries to transform.
