A "think tank" made up of Canadian and U.S. military officials is working on strategic and tactical ways to share air, land and sea C4ISR from the national down to local levels. At the same time, they also are planning for collaborative operations, including deploying troops across the border in emergencies, officials told reporters Aug. 30 at the Canadian Embassy in Washington.
Kimberly Johnson, Airports editor for our sister publication Aviation Daily, has embedded in Iraq with the 2nd Marine Division for three months. She is reporting for The DAILY from there, covering the performance of specific weapon systems, the realities of warfare in Iraq and other topics important to our readers. She also writes and takes photographs for "Mother of All Blogs," a Web journal about her experiences. It is located at http://www.moab-iraq.blogspot.com.
TECH SERVICES: Management consulting and systems integration firm BearingPoint Inc. of McLean, Va., said Aug. 30 that it has been awarded a two-year contract worth up to $4 million to provide technical and advisory services to improve efficiency at the AIRSpeed Office of U.S. Naval Air Systems Command Depot Cherry Point, N.C. Services will include planning, managing, training and mentoring. Navair Depot Cherry Point inspects, repairs, manufactures, procures, modifies and overhauls airframes, engines, components and test equipment for Navy and Marine Corps aviation units.
SHIP DAMAGE: One U.S. Navy ship under construction in the Gulf Coast region, the Kidd (DDG 100), at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula, Miss., has been damaged by Hurricane Katrina, the Navy said Aug. 30. Another ship there, the first-of-its-class San Antonio (LPD 17), is providing shelter and food to Navy and contractor personnel at the shipyard.
PRAGUE - A Czech high-tech passive radar system called Vera is in the process of being shipped to the United States, Czech and U.S. officials said Aug. 30. Czech arms exporter Thomas CZ turned over the system to U.S. military representatives during a visit late this month, the officials said. The system's cost has not been disclosed. The U.S. became seriously interested in acquiring Vera last year (DAILY, July 20, 2004).
"Consistent" domestic combat air patrols over U.S. cities will continue for the "foreseeable future," and defense and homeland security officials remain ready to shoot down a passenger airliner if necessary to prevent another Sept. 11-type attack, according to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense Paul McHale.
NASA's Michoud Assembly facility in New Orleans and Stennis Space Center in Mississippi escaped catastrophic damage from Hurricane Katrina, although the devastating effects of the storm on the surrounding areas and employee homes is certain to affect the agency's efforts to launch the space shuttle in March 2006.
South Korea has begun mass production of the T-50 Golden Eagle trainer under a $6.2 billion program to promote its military aviation industry, the Korea Overseas Information Agency said. President Roh Mooh-hyun attended the rollout on Aug. 30 at the Korea Aerospace Industries factory in Sacheon, and said, "T-50s are one of the world's best trainer jets, whose capability and safety have been proved."
The Boeing Co. and EADS both said Aug. 30 that they plan to respond to the U.S. Air Force's new request for information (RFI) on a potential replacement for the KC-135 tanker. "Boeing has a complete family of aircraft to ensure the requirements defined by the U.S. Air Force can be met," a Boeing spokesman said. "We will definitely respond as a qualified vendor," an EADS spokesman said. The RFI, whose responses are due in mid-September, is intended to help the Air Force plan for a potential competition for new tankers.
The U.S. Army is expected to release the final request for proposals (RFP) for the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) during the afternoon of Aug. 31, according to government and industry sources. Responses to the solicitation likely will be due about Nov. 1, with a contract award for the program's system development and demonstration (SDD) phase projected for February or March, an industry source told The DAILY Aug. 30.
Defense electronics and support company Engineered Support Systems Inc. of St. Louis said Aug. 30 that it posted record revenue gains in the third quarter of 2005 despite production delays in one of the company's major defense programs.
Orbital Sciences Corp. will build a geosynchronous communications satellite for Horizons-2 Satellite, a 50/50 joint venture of PanAmSat and Japan's JSAT Corp. The satellite will be based on Orbital's Star small-satellite platform and is to be launched to a PanAmSat-licensed orbital slot at 74 degrees West longitude over the United States. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the satellite is scheduled to be delivered to Horizons-2 in 22 months.
A new report from the National Academies' National Research Council questions NASA's ongoing effort to develop spacecraft nuclear propulsion systems, recommending the agency study the technologies in more depth to ensure they will be worth the investment.
PRAGUE - Visualization and display products company Barco of Belgium has marked the delivery of its 5,000th RFD251 rugged flat display in support of the U.S. Navy's Q-70 program. The company, headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, marked the occasion in a ceremony with Lockheed Martin at Barco's facility at Duluth, Georgia.
P-3 DELIVERED: L-3 Communications' Integrated Systems subsidiary has delivered an upgraded P-3 Orion aircraft to New Zealand's air force two months ahead of schedule, the company said Aug. 24. L-3 is upgrading six Orions in all, and three of them have received the Wescam MX-20 imaging turret system, which features video capabilities and an infrared camera. The first of the trio was delivered in mid-August. The upgrades also include replacement of the data management, sensor, communications and navigation systems.
Just as it was shipping its first Cougar Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Rapid Response Vehicles under a $91 million, 122-vehicle contract for the U.S. military, Force Protection Inc. lost its founder and chief technology officer. After the stock markets closed Aug. 26, the Ladson, S.C., company announced that Garth Barrett "stepped down ... to pursue other opportunities." His departure was effective Aug. 23.
SBIR AWARD: Integrated Sensing Systems Inc. of Ypsilanti, Mich., announced Aug. 29 that it won a six-month U.S. Navy Small Business Innovative Research award to develop new methods of applying its technology to improve the hermetic packaging of a large array of different microsensors and displays. Douglas Sparks, executive vice president, said the company would work to integrate its technology into the Navy's inertial sensors to improve system performance.
ARMY McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Co., Mesa, Ariz., was awarded on Aug. 19, 2005, a $27,094,895 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for training device suites for the government of Kuwait. Work will be performed in St. Louis, (80%), and Mesa, Ariz. (20%), and is expected to be completed by April 15, 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on April 24, 2004. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (DAAH23-03-C-0028).
The Naval research community and the National Academy of Engineering plan to bring together the heads of research from key universities around the country for a meeting in late October to discuss how academia can contribute to the service's ongoing "Manhattan Project" to defeat improvised explosive devices. The meeting will take place in the Washington, D.C., area, according to Starnes Walker, chief scientist at the Office of Naval Research and head of the counter-IED effort.
