Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Raytheon Co. successfully fired five Extended Range Guided Munition ballistic rounds from a gun on Oct. 23, the company said Oct. 25. The tests, at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., showed that the propellant charge performed to expectations and achieved the predicted rocket motor ignition and burn rate, Raytheon said. The five-inch, rocket-assisted ERGM is aimed at allowing surface ships to provide fire support to on-shore forces.

The U.S. Navy plans to award a contract to demonstrate solid rocket motor technology for a projected submarine-launched intermediate range ballistic missile. The service's Strategic Systems Program Office asked industry for input on an SLIRBM in August 2003. In May 2004, it asked for detailed cost and technical information on development and production of a propulsion system for such a missile.

October 18, 2004 AIR FORCE

Aerojet of Sacramento, Calif., has conducted a successful hot-fire test program for a nontoxic reaction control engine (RCE) that would use liquid oxygen and ethanol as propellants, the company said last week. The RCE is being developed for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Ala., for possible use in the agency's new space exploration initiative. The testing validated the use of the engine in steady state and pulse mode, meaning it could be used for ascent, on-orbit and re-entry operations, the company said.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION: The 100th center fuselage for a Eurofighter production aircraft is undergoing equipment assembly at EADS Military Aircraft's Manching, Germany, plant, the company said. The component will be part of the seventh Spanish single-seat fighter, EADS said.

The U.S. Army still awaits an official waiver from the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) that would allow it to buy nearly 6,000 MicroLight portable radios for dismounted soldiers, according to manufacturer Raytheon. OSD requires a waiver when a service wants to buy a radio system that is outside of the upcoming Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), even if the system is JTRS-compliant. MicroLight is the radio for the Army's Land Warrior program, according to Raytheon (DAILY, Sept. 14).

Raytheon Co. will be the lead systems integrator for AN/BYG-1, the U.S. Navy submarine fleet's next-generation combat system, the company said Oct. 25. Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) will retrofit Los Angeles-class and Seawolf-class combat systems,. IDS will integrate the weapons control, tactical network subsystems and tactical control, which incorporate many advanced process build software algorithms. Raytheon also said it will ensure complete end-to-end functionality by providing coordination and integration.

Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Fincke returned to Earth on Oct. 23 after a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), landing safely in Kazakhstan at 7:36 p.m. CDT.

BOEING DIVIDEND: The Boeing Co. will pay a quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share, the company's board of directors declared Oct. 25. The dividend is payable Dec. 3 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 12.

CLOSING THE GAP: Boeing is seeking international sales to fill a six-month gap in the production of the AH-64 Apache helicopter that is set to occur from March to September 2007, according to Al Winn, the company's vice president for Apache programs. "We do not want to shut the line down," Winn said at a press briefing held during the Association of the U.S. Army's annual meeting in Washington on Oct. 25. The gap is shrinking, Winn said, and the company has until the middle of next year to fill it completely.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was expected to receive an update Oct. 25 on efforts to develop and field the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system as a national shield against long-range ballistic missiles, officials said. Officials providing the briefing were slated to include Army Maj. Gen. John Holly, who heads the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) office that has been developing GMD, and Army Lt. Gen. Larry Dodgen, whose Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) oversees forces that will operate the system.

Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has acquired Virginia-based high-technology information services company Presearch Inc., SAIC announced Oct. 25. SAIC is a research and engineering company providing information technology and systems integration. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

John Deere and robotics company iRobot have produced an intelligent unmanned ground vehicle named the Military R-Gator, which could perform dangerous missions, the companies said Oct. 25. The companies plan to begin pilot production of the R-Gator, which uses commercial, off-the-shelf technology, by mid-2005. Full production could begin by 2006, the companies said. The R-Gator is based on John Deere's M-Gator military utility vehicle platform, which is outfitted with iRobot's control and navigation and obstacle avoidance systems.

STABILITY: The global launch industry has settled into a fairly stable rate of 60 to 70 launches a year, Futron Corp. says in its latest white paper, "The Space Launch Industry: Recent Trends and Near-Term Outlook." The paper, released Oct. 21, looks at the space launch activity over the next 15 months. "While the United States and Russia continue to lead the world in the number of noncommercial launches, China has made steady progress and has distinguished itself from the pack," Futron says. For 2005, Futron predicts the U.S.

The mission team for NASA's Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) is weighing the pros and cons of incorporating a lander that would touch down on the surface of Europa. JIMO's Science Definition Team (SDT) has recommended that the spacecraft include a lander that would perform a soft landing on Europa and bore into its frozen surface. The team determined that the lander was valuable enough to devote up to one quarter of the JIMO's 1,500-kilogram (3,306 pound) science payload to it.

The first flight of a Gripen multirole fighter aircraft bound for export to the Czech Republic took place Oct. 18 in Linkoping, Sweden, the FMV Swedish Defense Material Agency said Oct. 20. The aircraft, painted gray with the Czech Republic national insignia on its tail, was flown by a Saab test pilot. "This flight is a very important milestone for the Czech program and shows that the production of Gripen aircraft for the Czech Republic is on schedule," Per Nilsson, FMV program director for the Gripen for Czech Republic, said in a statement.

SM-3 DELIVERIES: Raytheon Co. announced Oct. 22 that it has begun delivering the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) to the U.S. government. The Defense Department wants to have five ship-based SM-3s available for emergency use by year's end to defend against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.

Orbital Sciences Corp. reported increases in revenue, operating income, net income and free cash flow for the third quarter of 2004. The Dulles, Va.-based company last week reported revenues of $171.7 million, up 33 percent for the same period last year. Operating income was $14.3 million, compared with $11.2 million in 2003, and net income was 11.4 million, compared with a $30.2 million net loss in the same period last year.

NET-CENTRIC SUB: The U.S. Navy is launching an era of "unprecedented capability" for its fleet with the Oct. 23 commissioning of the USS Virginia (SSN 774), says Lockheed Martin, which designed the sub's sonar, combat system, radio room and electronic support equipment. "USS Virginia's network-centric communication capabilities are a significant departure from legacy systems and address many of the Navy's FORCEnet transformational communication needs," says Michael LaRouche, senior executive for the company's Navy command and control programs.

WORK RESUMES: A stop-work order has been lifted on the U.S. Army's Joint Tactical Radio System Cluster 5 after the Government Accountability Office denied a JTRS Cluster 5 protest. The Army awarded a $295 million system development and demonstration contract to General Dynamics in July (DAILY, July 20). Competitor ITT Industries protested, but the GAO denied the protest on Oct. 20, allowing work to resume "immediately," the Army's Communication Electronics Command Acquisition Center says.

EA-18G REVIEW: A preliminary design review (PDR) for the U.S. Navy's EA-18G began Oct. 19 and was completed Oct 22. The Navy is expected to take days or weeks to analyze information presented at the review by the Boeing Co., the prime contractor for the electronic attack jet. As expected, the review's completion coincided with the start of production of the forward fuselage in St. Louis, Mo. (DAILY, Sept. 27).

Government representatives from nine nations are expected to gather in Australia in the coming days to review progress in the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. The event, the sixth semi-annual meeting of the program's executive committee, will include officials from the United States and its eight international partners for JSF.

NEW PROBA: The European Space Agency plans to deploy a follow-on technology demonstrator spacecraft, Proba-2, by the end of 2007 to demonstrate new technologies and products in orbit, ESA says. A system built around these developments is intended to support a mission to observe and measure the plasma of the sun, ESA says. Proba-2 will follow Proba, ESA's first microsatellite, which has just completed three years of successful operations. The TV-sized imaging satellite was aimed at demonstrating autonomous operation, hence its name: Project for On-Board Autonomy.

Oct. 25 - 27 -- Association of the United States Army 2004 annual meeting and exposition, "Our Army at War - Relevant and Ready." Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.ausa.org. Oct. 25 - 27 -- The International Loran Association's 2004 Convention and Technical Symposium, Toyko, Japan. For more information go to www.loran.org/events.html.