Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Defense company Elbit Systems Ltd. of Haifa, Israel, reported that revenues grew from $214.3 million last year to $223.8 million for the third quarter of 2004, an increase of 4.5 percent.

An ambitious U.S. Navy plan to replace most of its amphibious ships and buy a new class of logistics ships may not be feasible, says a report from the Congressional Budget Office.

The U.S. Air Force is making progress revamping the Space Based Radar (SBR) program in response to congressional concerns about the satellite effort, according to a program representative.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - While the Bush Administration has made some steps toward protecting American assets in space, it has fallen short of implementing programs that would make a significant difference, according to one analyst.

No new launch date has yet been set for NASA's Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) mission, while engineers continue to analyze a possible issue with loads on the payload that could occur during ignition of the Pegasus launch vehicle's second stage.

Spaceborne observations have helped give scientists an unprecedented understanding of climate change in Antarctica, a NASA official told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Nov. 16. NASA has developed "dozens of airborne and spaceborne sensors and funded hundreds of scientists over the last 30 years," said Ghassem R. Asrar, deputy associate administrator in NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

St. Louis-based LaBarge Inc. has agreed to a $4.1 million contract to supply electronic subsystems for the Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar system to Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Electronic Systems sector, LaBarge said Nov. 16. LaBarge will integrate and manufacture complex electronic components for modules which transmit and receive radio waves, the company said. The radio waves are translated into velocity and position information for air or ground targets.

Several competing unmanned aerial vehicle missions are likely to be proposed for flight on Mars in NASA's next Scout competition, according to Andy Gonzales, program manager for NASA Ames Research Center's MATADOR project.

SMART ORBITS: The European Space Agency's SMART-1 (Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-1) probe has successfully entered lunar orbit. Europe's first lunar probe, it will begin a six-month survey of key chemical elements on the moon's surface in mid-January.

The U.S. Navy has awarded UQM Technologies Inc. of Frederick, Colo., a $70,000 contract to design a compact, lightweight, diesel-driven generator for small unmanned military boats, the company said Nov. 16.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Airborne Laser (ABL) program is on the verge of achieving its second and final key goal for 2004, according to a program official. The "first flight" of ABL's beam-control/fire control system will happen "very, very soon," said Air Force Col. Ellen Pawlikowski, ABL program director. "The flight test is imminent," Pawlikowski told reporters during a teleconference Nov. 16.

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.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and France's CNES space agency have signed a memorandum of understanding to proceed with developing and launching the Megha-Tropiques joint atmospheric satellite mission. The MOU outlines the arrangements for developing and launching the satellite, operating it in orbit and using the scientific data it returns on the effect of the tropical atmosphere's water cycle on the Earth's climate. Megha-Tropiques is derived from the Sanskrit word for cloud and the French word for tropics.

An expansion of SpaceDev's Air Force research and missile defense-related work helped increase the company's third-quarter revenues by 60 percent, the Poway, Calif.-based company said Nov. 16. SpaceDev reported that quarterly revenues went from $767,780 in the third quarter of 2003 to $1.2 million, "primarily due to the addition and expansion of our contracts with the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Missile Defense Agency, which created new revenue."

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is trying to decide how it will use the data links it plans to add to many of its weapons.

Armor Holdings Inc., which builds security products and vehicle armor systems for the military and homeland defense markets, said its Aerospace & Defense Group has entered into a cooperative research and development initiative with Florida State University's Advanced Center for Composite Technologies (FAC2T).

PREDATORS: General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems will provide seven MQ-1L Predator unmanned aerial vehicles and 14 ruggedized aircraft maintenance test stations under a $22 million contract modification, the Department of Defense said Nov. 15. The work is to be complete by January 2007.

NASA is lobbying Congress for the authority to award prizes of more than $250,000 in its Centennial Challenges program, and hopes to get a green light during the current lame-duck session of Congress or early next year. NASA needs authorization from Congress to award prizes of more than $250,000. Centennial Challenges Program Manager Brant Sponberg met with authorizers on Capitol Hill to discuss the issue Nov. 15.

Former Boeing Co. Chief Financial Officer Michael Sears will be sentenced in January after entering a guilty plea Nov. 16 in connection with improper dealings with former Boeing executive and Air Force acquisitions official Darleen Druyun. Sears pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Virginia to one count of "aiding and abetting acts affecting a personal financial interest," court documents said. The maximum penalties are five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Judge Gerald Bruce Lee set a sentencing date of 9 a.m. Jan. 21.

Lockheed Martin conducted a second successful controlled flight-test of the Compact Kinetic Energy Missile (CKEM) recently at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., the company said Nov. 12. The missile was guided internally and flew 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). It did not attempt to hit a target.

The German Bundestag's budget committee has approved buying eight P-3C Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft from the Netherlands navy as well as 55 Dingo 2 armored transport vehicles, the German defense ministry said Nov. 12. The aircraft cost totals 271 million euros ($352 million), including simulators, documentation, spare parts, ground service and testing equipment. Deliveries of the P-3Cs are to begin next year.