CHECKING BATTERIES: This week Boeing expects to finish testing the batteries used in the flight termination systems of the company's Delta II and Delta IV rockets to ensure they will work properly. Located in the rocket's second stage, the batteries power the avionics that command the rocket to destroy itself if it veers off course. Verification of the batteries has delayed the launch of the first GPS IIR-M spacecraft on a Delta II from Cape Canaveral, Fla. (DAILY, Aug. 24).
Northrop Grumman has completed training representatives of Korea's air force and Boeing in the use of its improved ALQ-135M electronic countermeasures system. During a four week-class held in Rolling Meadows, Ill., the military and contractor officials learned how to operate and program the system using its reprogramming tool. The ALQ-135M is the newest upgrade to the ALQ-135, an automatic, internally mounted, electronic combat system.
The Base Closure and Realignment Commission on Aug. 24 spared southeast Virginia's Naval Air Station Oceana, Va. - for now - but warned that local and state officials will have to fight increasing commercial and residential development or lose the facility to Florida. In an unusual move, the commission said that if Virginia and the municipal governments of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake "fail to enact and enforce legislation to prevent further encroachment" of Oceana by March 2006, its naval air equipment will move to Cecil Field, Fla.
AMMO CONTRACT: General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems said Aug. 24 that it has been awarded a $171 million contract to supply 300 million rounds of small-caliber ammunition to the U.S. military. The initial award was made under a five-year contract that could be worth up to $1.2 billion if all options are exercised. The company will produce various types of 5.56mm, 7.62mm and .50-caliber ammunition. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill.
NAVY IT: The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps drove the "vast majority" of federal information technology acquisition during the third quarter of fiscal 2005 with nearly $57 billion in contract awards, Reston, Va.-based consulting company Input said. The services' high activity stemmed primarily from their awards of more than $54 billion to 503 information technology vendors under the SeaPort Enhanced (SeaPort-e) multiaward vehicle for IT goods and services, Input said (DAILY, June 2).
BREATHING EASIER: The U.S. Navy has tapped Treadwell Corp. of Thomaston, Conn., for $12.3 million in auxiliary cubicles and microprocessor controller components for Model 6L16 Electrolytic Oxygen Generators, the primary oxygen producer aboard SSN-688- and SSBN-726-class submarines. The Navy said late Aug. 23 that the follow-on acquisition is part of a program to upgrade the Treadwell generators for extended life, increased reliability and reduced life cycle costs. Treadwell is supposed to finish by September 2007.
Likely upcoming experiments could help the U.S. Missile Defense Agency determine whether to incorporate laser communications into future space efforts, according to MDA officials.
Elizabeth J. Bartholomew has been named vice president and director of operations for subsidiary Touchstone Consulting Group. Stephen M. Lynott has been appointed vice president and director of Touchstone. Thomas A. Summerlin has been named vice president and director of consulting for Touchstone. Christopher J. McGoff has been appointed vice president and director of SRA Strategic Consulting. Constantine Karmokolias has been named vice president and director for technology solutions.
Donna J. Demerling has been appointed senior vice president of quality and Six Sigma. Michael J. Hill has been named senior vice president for supply chain management.
The independent Base Closure and Realignment Commission voted 7-1 on Aug. 24 to reject the Defense Department's recommendation to close the Naval Submarine Base New London, Conn., saying it was too special to lose, partly because of General Dynamics' work there. The commission said DOD's May 13 recommendation to close the base "deviated" from almost all of the military value criteria under which 2005 BRAC decisions are to be made, as well as the force structure plan for probable threats to national security over the next 20 years.
EADS North America formally announced its offering of the UH145 for the Army's Light Utility Helicopter competition on Aug. 24, marking the company's first effort to become a prime contractor on a major U.S. military procurement, said Chairman and CEO Ralph Crosby. Becoming a sole prime for the U.S. Defense Department is "something that we set out to do three years ago when EADS North America was established," Crosby said during a teleconference Aug. 24.
Patrick Crowley has been named president of Neltec Inc., Park's circuitry material business unit in Tempe, Ariz. Howard R. Elliot has been appointed president of Nelco Products Pte. Ltd., Park's electronics circuitry material subsidiary in Singapore. Steven L. Garrette, president of Park's FiberCote Industries Inc. subsidiary in Waterbury, Conn., is on special assignment through Dec. 31 to assist efforts to expand Park's advanced composite materials business in North America and Asia.
Experimental data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite has allowed NASA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers to improve the accuracy of medium-range weather forecasts in the Northern Hemisphere, NASA announced Aug. 23.
The U.S. Navy-led V-22 Osprey program has begun testing the ability of the Bell-Boeing tiltrotor aircraft to be refueled by the Air Force's KC-135 tanker. The tests, which began Aug. 24 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., initially will try to verify that the two aircraft can safely fly near each, program spokesman Ward Carroll said. If more tests determine that the refueling mechanism can be safely put in place in the air, the KC-135 will try to send fuel to the V-22.
Raytheon has delivered an experimental Distributed Common Ground System to Langley Air Force Base, Va., for additional Air Force and company testing, the company said Aug. 24. The delivery completes the first phase of the company's DCGS contract.
RADAR SYSTEM: The U.S. Coast Guard has selected Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems' SeaSpray 7500E radar system for its HC-130H radar upgrade program, the joint venture of Finmeccanica and BAE Systems announced Aug. 24. The U.S. unit of Selex will partner with Pegasus International Corp. of Mississippi for the $67 million, seven-year award. Prototype evaluation and testing should start in October, with complete conversion of the 27 aircraft in the Coast Guard fleet by 2012. The fleet is expected to remain in service for a further 25 years, the company said.
VIPER STRIKE: Northrop Grumman has won a $22 million sole-source contract from U.S. Special Operations Command to develop Viper Strike as a stand-off precision-guided munition on the AC-130 gunship, the company said Aug. 24. The initial $22 million contract is for an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program with a potential value of up to $48.6 million. The first phase of the program is scheduled for completion in December 2006.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has invited three alternate teams to the Grand Challenge 2005 National Qualification Event to be held Sept. 28-Oct. 6 at the California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. In June, DARPA chose 40 robotic ground vehicle teams out of 118 hopefuls to participate in the NQE. The three alternate teams that will compete are Austin Robot Technology of Austin, Texas, Princeton University of Princeton, N.J., and Team Underdawg of San Jose, Calif.
Maj. Gen. John L. Barry (USAF Ret.) has been named to the board of directors. Barry was executive director of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.
The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corp.'s information technology sector a five-year, $208 million contract to provide operations, maintenance and engineering support for the Navy and U.S. Marine Corps' East and West Coast training ranges, the company said Aug. 24.
