The independent Base Closure and Realignment Commission has approved the Defense Department's request to consolidate Army and Marine Corps ground vehicle development and acquisition activities (D&A), including unmanned vehicles and robotics, at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Mich. The BRAC Commission approved the move Aug. 24 as it began final deliberations on the Pentagon's proposals for closing and realigning domestic military facilities. Panel Chairman Anthony Principi proposed adopting the plan.
Elbit Systems Ltd. has finished the second stage of its plan to buy shares of Tadiran Communications Ltd. from Koor Industries, the Haifa, Israel-based company said Aug. 25. The defense electronics company now owns 26% of the military communications company's shares. Koor Industries, also of Israel, simultaneously purchased share equity in Elbit, bringing its total Elbit holdings to 7%. The share-buying move, announced in July, is part of a larger consolidation within Israel's defense industry (DAILY, July 8).
SHIP PROTECTION: The Naval Sea Systems Command has decided on Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Shipboard Protection System to boost naval vessels' self-protection while moored to a pier, at anchor or during restricted maneuvering.
The Government Accountability Office has denied the protest of an Army contract to provide intrusion detection services at Fort Hood, Texas. Evergreen Fire and Security protested the award to Shane Gelling Co. for intrusion detection work that included maintaining electronic entry control systems, radio frequency identification systems, forward-looking infrared cameras and other equipment.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is restructuring itself to make better use of its money and to strengthen ties among its programs, according to the head of MDA.
The Base Closure and Realignment Commission has rejected an effort to consolidate six U.S. facilities supposedly associated with air and space C4ISR research and development into just two. Commissioners and their staff said they found that most of the affected facilities and their workers actually dealt with acquisition and ongoing operations. "This is just not an accurate description of what these people do," commission Chairman Anthony Principi said, before leading a move to strike the proposal.
Shadow tactical unmanned aerial vehicles have amassed more than 50,000 hours of total flight operations, nearly 80% of them in combat missions in Iraq, Shadow builder AAI Corp. said Aug. 25. The 50,000-hour milestone was reached Aug. 9 during a flight operated by a U.S. Army unit supporting a ground mission in Iraq, the company said, although further details of the flight were not released. Thirty-one Shadow systems have been delivered since the end of 1999, out of a total of 56 systems - including 220 air vehicles - the Army has ordered.
CREW HONORED: NASA has changed the name of the National Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, to the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, after the seven Columbia astronauts killed in 2003. The NSBF provides complete balloon operation services and engineering support to the scientific community in the U.S. and several other countries.
General Dynamics U.K. Ltd. will demonstrate an in-hub electric drive and related systems for the United Kingdom's Future Rapid Effect System, the company said Aug. 24. The work on the Chassis Concept Technology Demonstration Program is to "provide a baseline" for using such technology in FRES, the company said. FRES is similar to the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems. The contract is for an 18-month-long program to demonstrate the drive and the integration of electronic systems into a vehicle chassis.
BAE Systems Australia will continue to produce components for the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile under a $36 million contract from Raytheon Missile Systems. The order pushes the amount of SeaSparrow business awarded to BAE Australia to more than $200 million, the company said Aug. 24.
SPARKER ACOUSTICS: The Navy has given the go-ahead to Phoenix Science & Technology Inc. of Chelmsford, Mass., for a $15 million Phase III Small Business Innovative Research Program contract for its sparker acoustic technology, used in submarine and mine countermeasures. Phoenix beat out one other unidentified potential contractor for the award and several other bidders for two underlying SBIR research topics, the Navy said late Aug. 24.
Independent Base Closure and Realignment commissioners have backed a Pentagon plan to concentrate its initial Joint Strike Fighter F-35 aircraft pilot training at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., although a Texas Republican senator will push to make Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, the final location.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Volga-Dnepr airlines of Russia will acquire five new An-124-100M-150 freighter aircraft as part of the An-124-100 Production Recovery Project, the company said Aug. 24. Deliveries of the aircraft from the Aviastar SP aviation plant are expected to begin in 2008. The An-124-100M-150 is the improved version of the Antonov An-124. It is able to transport 150 metric tons of cargo and is used almost exclusively for freight operations, the company said.
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.
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.
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.
