Boeing flight-tested the A160 Hummingbird unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the first time since it bought the technology as part of its acquisition of Frontiers Systems Inc. in May, Boeing said Sept. 20.
General Dynamics has completed its purchase of TriPoint Global Communications Inc. of Newton, N.C., the company said Sept. 17. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. TriPoint Global Communications provides wireless communication and ground-based satellite equipment for data, voice and video applications. The company also supplies wireless backhaul products, VSAT antennas and antenna systems, and earth station and base station communications services and products. TriPoint Global Communications has about 1,450 workers in 14 locations.
PARTNERS: Communications companies Equant, Intelsat and iDirect Technologies have partnered to provide satellite-based wide area network (WAN) services, Equant said Sept. 20. The partners can provide communications services to underserved areas with features not previously available, Equant said. The company will offer its Internet protocol-enabled virtual private networks (IP VPN) service on Intelsat satellites. IDirect Technologies will provide broadband satellite access with its Netmodem product line.
Military systems integrator the Boeing Co. and information technology provider IBM have formed a strategic alliance to address an estimated $200 billion market for ground- and space-based systems to enhance the nation's military communications, intelligence operations and homeland security, Boeing said Sept. 20.
The United States and India are moving toward implementing the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) initiative, which would expand trade and cooperation in civilian space and nuclear and high-technology programs, the U.S. State Department said last week. In January, India and the U.S. agreed to expand cooperation in these areas and in missile defense. They have concluded the first phase of NSSP, which called for measures to address concerns about proliferation and to ensure compliance with U.S. export controls.
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - The V-22 Osprey program is pursuing a two-part approach to fix a faulty cooling device on the Bell-Boeing tiltrotor aircraft. Program officials said they are devising both short- and long-term redesigns of an air blower that cools components in the V-22's nacelles, or engine pods. The changes are intended to make the Smiths Aerospace blower more durable so it can better withstand heat and vibration.
Navy Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) hosted a lean management workshop last week to eliminate time, labor and cost wastes, according to Navy officials. The Sept. 13-14 workshop featured Lean Six Sigma, a management style that promotes efficiency and improves work processes (DAILY, April 3, 2002). "We have 82 lean experts in the four shipyards," said Douglas Smith, the engineering supervisor at Norfolk Navy Shipyard, Va.
Crews of the Spanish navy frigate Almirante Juan De Borbon (F-102) and the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG-91) continued the second joint combat system ship qualification trials (CSSQT) last week.
Arva Industries Inc. of St. Thomas, Ont., has delivered the first Multi-Purpose Engineer Vehicle (MPEV) to the Canadian army, the company said Sept. 16. Canada's Department of National Defence will purchase up to 28 of the high-speed backhoe/front-end loaders for its army combat engineers as part of a $20-million government standing offer.
SBSS REPLAN: The U.S. Air Force is replanning the Space-Based Surveillance System (SBSS) program in response to a fiscal year 2005 congressional budget cut, according to Lt. Gen. Brian Arnold, commander of Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base. A team consisting of Boeing and Ball Aerospace is under contract to develop SBSS, which will detect and track objects in space (DAILY, March 31). The Air Force plans to develop a "pathfinder" SBSS spacecraft, followed by as many as three "full-up" systems, according to Arnold.
The House leadership has not yet named the conference committee members for the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill, and the introduction of intelligence reform legislation early next week may further delay the appointments, according to the House Armed Services Committee staff. It had been expected that the conferees would be named shortly after lawmakers returned to work Sept. 7 after the August recess, with work on reconciling the bill with the Senate version getting under way soon afterward.
Hurricane Ivan, which passed to the east of NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, has done "little or no damage" at either location, according to a NASA spokeswoman. Michoud, Stennis, and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville reopened Sept. 17, with Stennis and Marshall adopting a liberal leave policy, according to Melissa Mathews at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
TESTIMONY: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will appear Sept. 23 before the Senate Armed Services Committee to testify on the global posture of military forces stationed overseas. Set to appear with Rumsfeld are Gen. Richard B. Myers (USAF), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. James L. Jones Jr. (USMC), supreme allied commander Europe; Adm. Thomas B. Fargo (USN), commander of U.S. Pacific Command; and Gen. Leon LaPorte (USA), commander of U.S. Forces Korea.
CAE Inc. of Montreal has been chosen by the Netherlands navy to perform a $9 million upgrade of the Lynx helicopter full mission flight trainer (FMFT) at Naval Air Station de Kooy in Den Helder, Netherlands, the company said Sept. 15. The Lynx FMFT is part of the Joint Lynx Simulator Training Establishment (JLSTE), which trains Lynx helicopter aircrews in the armed forces of Germany, Holland, Denmark and Norway. The simulator is designed so the Lynx FMFT can work with various nations' Lynx helicopter fleets, the company said.
COMPLETING ACQUISITION: Stork Aerospace will be able to continue the production of landing gear for the NH90 helicopter after completing the acquisition of the assets of bankrupt SP Aerospace & Vehicle Systems of Geldrop, the Netherlands, Stork says. Stork will pay 3 million euros ($3.6 million) and will make investments to complete orders and restart production that could cost up to 10 million euros ($12.1 million). SP Aerospace builds landing gear for the NH90 and Apache helicopters, the F-16 and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and other programs.
LETTER CAMPAIGN: Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.) and 19 other lawmakers have written a letter to House and Senate conference committee members working on the fiscal 2005 Defense Authorization bill, voicing support for energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) that promote the use of energy efficient technologies (DAILY, April 25, 2003). "Under ESPCs, contractors finance, install and maintain new energy efficient equipment in federal facilities at no up-front cost to the government.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $112 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a network of centers that provide technical assistance to small manufacturers. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Maine Republicans, said in a statement that the MEP has bolstered the economy in their state and helped retain and create jobs.
Raytheon Missile Systems has awarded a multiyear $30 million contract to Ducommun Technologies (DTI) to manufacture cable harness assemblies for the Block IV Tomahawk cruise missile. The total contract award extends over the 2005-2010 period of performance. The initial release under the contract for 2005 is approximately $7 million. All the work will be performed at DTI's Fort Defiance, Ariz., facility.
The FAA has certified General Electric's CF6-80C2 engine for the U.S. Air Force's C-5 Galaxy modernization program, GE Transportation-Aircraft Engines of Evendale, Ohio, said Sept. 16. The certification comes after eight months of ground-testing the engine to validate the new FADEC III control system and the engine-aircraft integration. The FADEC III control system has been certified on the CFM56-7 and GE90-115B engines.
SPACEWALKS: NASA has awarded Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International of Windsor Locks, Conn., a consolidated contract to perform work related to future spacewalks. The five-year contract, which has five additional one-year options, has a total potential value of $814 million, according to NASA. The company's work will include defining and integrating spacewalk requirements for shuttle flights and space station expeditions, sustaining engineering for spacewalk hardware, and extending the life of spacesuit components through the life of the shuttle and station.
SMALL SATS: More than 200 experts from 25 countries are scheduled to meet this week in La Rochelle, France to discuss small satellites and what they can achieve, according to the European Space Agency. ESA is sponsoring the Small Satellite Systems and Services Symposium with the French space agency. "Small satellites ... give us the possibility to test and demonstrate innovative and advanced technologies in space, at modest cost, before using the technologies on more expensive missions," says Luca Maresi, an ESA system engineer.
NEW MARKET: Lockheed Martin is entering the military truck market under a license agreement with the British company HMT Vehicles Ltd. to build and sell its tactical wheeled vehicles to government customers in North America, the company says. The agreement will give Lockheed Martin exclusive rights to supply light and medium tactical wheeled vehicles to military and government markets in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and to pursue international sales via the U.S. government's Foreign Military Sales program.
Sept. 21 - 22 -- Wireless Sensing Solutions, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosement, Ill. For information call Jennifer LaFond at (508) 424-4809, email [email protected] or go to www.wssconference.com. Sept. 21 - 23 -- Enterprise Integration Expo 2004, "Connecting the Enterprise through Information," Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif. For information go to www.eiexpo.org. Sept. 21 - 24 -- ION GNSS 2004, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, Calif. Go to www.ion.org and follow the ION GNSS Meeting links.
The U.S. Army is making progress on its transformation, including upgrading its soldier equipment, aircraft, brigades and end strength, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody said Sept. 17 at a Defense Forum Foundation luncheon meeting on Capitol Hill. Equipping soldiers with Rapid Fielding Initiative (RFI) equipment - better body armor, helmets, boots and other pieces of clothing and equipment - costs the Army $15 million per brigade. "We are buying a total of 800,000 sets of this equipment," Cody said.
Computer Sciences Corp. has been awarded a four-year, $10.4 million contract by the Australian navy to install and design a shore-based and shipboard information technology infrastructure, the company said Sept. 16. CSC will provide program management and administrative, engineering, analytical and technical support for 17 RAN frigates, in addition to three naval communications stations and support and refueling ships, the company said.
