Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Canada-based CAE Inc. unveiled a number of related training products for C-130 aircraft at the Airlift/Tanker Association's annual convention in Dallas on Oct. 28, the company said.

Intelsat Ltd. has completed its acquisition of the customer contracts and other assets of COMSAT General Corp. for $90 million in cash, the company said Oct. 29. The deal includes the rights to Federal Communications Commission and other licenses and will enhance the company's competitiveness for providing satellite capacity and services to U.S. and NATO users, Intelsat said.

Nov. 11 - 13 -- Pacific Marine Expo, The West Coast Commercial Marine Marketplace," Washington State Convention & Trade Center, Seattle, Wash. For more information go to www.pacificmarineexpo.com. Nov. 15 - 16 -- ISR Integration 2004, "Enabling Precision Strike," Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Va. For more information go to www.defensenews.com/conferences/isr.

The Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser-Extended Range (WCMD-ER) is slated to begin flight-testing in mid-December, according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin. During the "captive carry" tests, the missile will fly aboard an F-16 to ensure it does not impair the jet's aerodynamics, company spokeswoman Jennifer Allen told The DAILY in recent written responses to questions.

EXPLORATION CONFERENCE: NASA will present an overview of its plans to implement the nation's vision for space exploration at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space Exploration Conference, to be held Jan. 30 through Feb. 1, 2005 at Disney's Contemporary Resort in Orlando, Fla. Rear Adm. Craig E. Steidle (USN-Ret.), head of the agency's Exploration Systems office, will serve as conference chair. More information on the conference can be found at http://www.aiaa.org.

Zurich, Switzerland-based Oerlikon Contraves AG has been awarded a contract to produce Millennium 35mm Ahead Naval Gun Systems for the Denmark navy's new Combat Support Ships (CSS), the company said on Oct. 28. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. The Millennium guns, armed with 35mm Ahead Air Burst Munition (ABM), will be able to defeat symmetric and asymmetric air and surface threats, the company said.

SLAMRAAM PROGRESS: The joint Surface Launched AMRAAM (SLAMRAAM) system is "progressing very well" and remains on track to be fielded starting in about 2008, says Col. Richard De Fatta, the Army's project manager for Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD). Several successful test firings have occurred with a Marine Corps-developed launcher, and a SLAMRAAM preliminary design review is slated for 2005. Raytheon is the prime contractor for the program, which will provide the Army and Marines with an AMRAAM missile mounted on a Humvee to shoot down cruise missiles.

MORE MEMBERS: Team US101 has added 20 component suppliers in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to its team competing to provide a new fleet of presidential helicopters. The companies include BAE Systems and L-3 Communications Systems-East.

Cyber Aerospace Corp. is completing development of the CyberBug, a two-pound unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the company announced Oct. 29. The battery-powered UAV can be flown into an area while a remote operator with a headset observes and listens. The company is marketing the CyberBug as a low-cost way for military forces, law enforcement, business owners, or state and local agencies to monitor properties or possible terrorist targets.

NICHE PURCHASE: Lockheed Martin Corp. plans to acquire Sippican Holdings Inc. as part of its strategy of acquiring niche companies that enhance its core focus areas, the company says. Lockheed Martin plans to buy Sippican, which supplies naval electronics systems, from the global private equity firm the Carlyle Group.

U.S. Air Force Space Command plans to release a request for proposals (RFP) next month for concept studies of the projected Orbital Deep Space Imager (ODSI), intended to enhance space situational awareness. The RFP will be sent to "previously qualified offerors" on or about Nov. 9, AFSPC's Space and Missile Systems Center said in an Oct. 28 FedBizOpps notice. The RFP was to have been released on about Sept. 22 (DAILY, Aug. 31). Proposals are due "the first week of December 2004."

NASA and Orbital Sciences Corp. have postponed the launch of the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft after discovering particulate contamination in the spacecraft's Pegasus launch vehicle. During final flight preparations at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., the closeout team discovered pieces of aluminum foil inside the rocket's fairing. The vehicle will be de-mated from its Stargazer L-1011 carrier aircraft and returned to the vehicle assembly building for inspection. NASA does not expect to launch before Nov. 4.

SUPER HORNET WORK: Boeing has been awarded a $36.9 million contract modification for the full-rate production of advanced mission computers and displays that will be integrated into the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Lot 28 aircraft, the U.S. Department of Defense said Oct. 27. The work is expected to be completed in July 2006.

C-17 TRAINING: AAI Corp. will upgrade systems used to train maintenance technicians for the C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft under a $23.5 million order, the company said Oct. 28. The upgrades will be installed on 26 C-17 trainers at three Air Force bases and one Air National Guard facility, the company said.

The first F/A-22 Raptor made for a deployable unit rolled off the assembly line Oct. 27 at prime contractor Lockheed Martin's plant in Marietta, Ga. The jet, Raptor 4041, will undergo post-production preparations and flights before being delivered to the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va., in early 2005. The Air Force announced about a year ago that the squadron would be the first deployable unit to fly the F/A-22 (DAILY, Oct. 16, 2003).

MTC Technologies Inc. of Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a task order worth up to $13.5 million to perform unscheduled depot level maintenance (UDLM) on all C-130 aircraft, the company said Oct. 28. The work will include center wing rainbow fitting replacements, center wing spar cap repairs and any other needed repairs.

Alliant Techsystems (ATK) reported sales of $673 million for the second quarter of 2005, an increase of 19 percent from the previous year, the company said Oct. 28. The sales were "driven by organic growth of 11 percent," the company said. Orders increased 16 percent to $548 million, from $474 million the previous year, the Minneapolis-based weapon and space systems company said.

Northrop Grumman Corp. will continue system and software development work on the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) Blue Force Tracking system under a $40 million, five-year Army contract, the company said Oct. 27.

The Titan Corp. reported record quarterly revenues of $526 million for the third quarter of 2004, a 12 percent increase over revenues of $468 million for the same period a year ago, the company said Oct. 27. Titan's net income from continuing operations was $16.6 million, compared with $15.6 million for the third quarter of 2003. This increase included a charge of $2.9 million for ongoing costs of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act government investigations and costs related to the terminated merger with Lockheed Martin (DAILY, June 28).

The U.S. Air Force has kicked off a study of options to replace the aging Minuteman III nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to a service official. The Land Based Strategic Deterrent (LBSD) analysis of alternatives (AOA) got under way recently and is slated for completion by Sept. 30, 2005, said Col. Richard Patenaude, chief of the deterrence and strike division in Air Force Space Command's requirements directorate.

Lockheed Martin said the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) it is building for the U.S. Navy will be equipped with the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.'s EADS TRS-3D radar for air and sea surveillance and weapon assignment. The radar also will be fitted to the U.S. Coast Guard's Maritime Security Cutter, Large (WMSL) for air search, the companies announced at the Euronaval exhibit in Paris Oct. 27.

Lockheed Martin is waiting for results of tests being conducted on the GBU-10 laser guided bomb kit that it makes following an observation that its flight characteristics may be different from previously observed characteristics, a company spokeswoman said. The Air Force notified Lockheed Martin Sept. 30 that it was suspending operational use of the kit, designated MAU-209/B, Jennifer Allen said Oct. 27 in response to a question.

Radar data captured by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft during its first close flyby of Titan on Oct. 26 is providing an unprecedented look at the surface of Saturn's most mysterious moon, according to NASA.