Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

A senior U.S. Defense Department position should be established to jumpstart the DOD's failing financial management system, the head of the Government Accountability Office told members of Congress Nov. 18. "DOD needs a chief management officer, a chief operating officer to deal with basic business challenges," U.S. Comptroller General David Walker said at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee's readiness subcommittee.

A federal advisory panel is urging the Defense Department to offer financial enticements to contractors to include more anti-corrosion technology in the weapon systems they build.

Atlanta-based Laser Atlanta has accepted an order from the U.S. Navy for the Laser Proximity Measurement System, which maintains a safe distance between ships during the transferring of fuel, munitions, supplies, and personnel, the company said Nov. 17. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. The first system will be placed on the USS Laramie. Laser Atlanta uses a laser-based distance measuring system and a large billboard display to continuously report the distance between ships to their captains, the company said.

Congress should support President Bush's vision for space exploration by approving NASA's budget without the large cut proposed by the House, Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua Bolten wrote in a letter to a key House lawmaker. The Administration "strongly urges" Congress to support the plan to return to the moon and go on to Mars, "a bold initiative for a long-term human and robotic program to explore the solar system," says the letter, sent to Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Directed energy weapons could change the way wars are fought, an analyst said at a conference here, but they must have the backing of senior leaders. Richard Dunn, a senior analyst at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Analysis Center in Arlington, Va., said directed energy weapons promise to be far more effective than guns in shooting down missiles. A bomber armed with a laser could, in theory, easily defeat a missile aimed at it.

PLATFORM: The Airborne Laser's Turret Maintenance Conditioning Platform, shown here, is a sealed, climate-controlled structure that fits over the ABL flight turret when the aircraft is on the ground, to protect its equipment. It also can be used as a clean room to allow work on items inside the turret. The flight turret arrived at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in October, completing the beam control/fire control system, which is to focus a laser on a ballistic missile in its boost phase of flight.

United Arab Emirates is seeking 1,000 Javelin anti-tank missile systems and related equipment that could be worth $135 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Nov. 17. Raytheon and Lockheed Martin's Javelin Joint Venture would be the prime contractor for the sale, which would include 100 command launch units and would enhance UAE's direct-fire capability for infantry, cavalry and commando units, DSCA said.

AEGIS CONTRACT: General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works won a $488.6 million modification to a previously awarded contract from the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to provide additional funding for the DDG 111 Aegis destroyer, the Department of Defense said Nov. 16. The Navy expects the work to be completed by May 2010. NAVSEA also awarded Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Inc. a $470 million contract modification to provide more funding for the DDG 110 Aegis destroyer. The work is expected to be completed by June 2010.

The secretary of defense should give Congress a strategy for improving the Army National Guard's structure and readiness for overseas operations and clearly defining its homeland security role, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released Nov. 18.

The first production RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle, produced by Northrop Grumman Corp., recently was delivered to Beale Air Force Base, Calif., the company said Nov. 16. The UAV, designated AF-3, arrived on Oct. 28 from Birk Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The Global Hawk system has accumulated more than 5,000 flight hours on deployments to Germany, Australia, and Florida, in test flights over the western United States and in combat missions.

SI International Inc. of Reston, Va., has been awarded a five-year, $11.4 million contract to provide logistics support to the Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Depot Maintenance Operations and Programs Divisions at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, the company said Nov. 18.

SELLING: Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has agreed to sell its communications software subsidiary Telcordia Technologies Inc. to Providence Equity Partners and Warburg Pincus for nearly $1.4 billion in cash. The sale of the Piscataway, N.J.-based company is subject to regulatory approval, SAIC said Nov. 18.

In conjunction with an upswing in its missile and military and intelligence space segments, Orbital Sciences Corp. will see an increase in new orders for launch vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2004, company officials said Nov. 18 at the Lehman Brothers 2004 Small Cap Conference in Phoenix.

As expected, Air Force acquisition chief Marvin Sambur announced his resignation on Nov. 17. "He took on the tough challenges and vastly improved our acquisition processes and structure. As a result of his leadership, our airmen are better equipped and employ the leading-edge transformational weapon systems essential to successfully counter the new threats that face us," James Roche, the secretary of the Air Force, said in a statement.

The newest San Antonio-class amphibious ship, New Orleans, will be christened by the Navy on Nov. 20, the Defense Department said Nov. 17. The ceremony will be held at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems - Avondale Operations in Avondale, La. Carolyn Shelton, wife of Gen. Henry H. Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the New Orleans' sponsor and will christen the ship by breaking a champagne bottle across its bow, the DOD said. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark will give the principal address.

The Department of Defense should be mindful of Sikorsky's work on the failed RAH-66 Comanche helicopter when considering the company's bid for the future Marine One fleet, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) said Nov. 17.

The U.S. Army's Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile program has achieved significant progress on two key fronts, Army officials said Nov. 18.

Armor Holdings Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla., has won a three-year, $53 million contract to provide replacement ballistic glass for the U.S. Army Up-Armored Humvee fleet, the company said Nov. 18. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. The work will be done in 2005, 2006 and 2007 at Armor Holdings' Cincinnati, Ohio facilities.

AIM-9X BUY: Raytheon Systems Co. will provide AIM-9X tactical missiles for the U.S. Air Force and Navy and the militaries of Poland, Denmark, South Korea and Switzerland, the U.S. Defense Department said Nov. 18. The work will be done under a $158 million contract modification. The U.S. Air Force and Poland will get the largest orders of missiles - 178 each - with the U.S. Navy buying 93, Denmark buying 60 and South Korea 41. The quantity of Switzerland's buy is classified. The deal includes Captive Air Training Missiles for the U.S.

Aerospace, defense and electronics sensors company Meggitt has agreed to acquire Wilcoxon Research Inc., a supplier of vibration sensors and accessories. Maryland-based Wilcoxon will become part of Meggitt's Electronics division. That division is led by California-based subsidiary Endevco, which provides sensors for aerospace and defense markets.

Two companies from Australia and Canada have been awarded contracts by Northrop Grumman Corp. for components in the next-generation radar of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Northrop Grumman said Nov. 16. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed. Semi-rigid radio frequency cables will be provided by Cablex Pty. Ltd. of East Bentleigh, Victoria, Australia, Northrop Grumman said. The cables will allow communication between the radar and other elements of the F-35's avionics.