ASN ANNOUNCED: President Bush has nominated Delores M. Etter of Maryland to be assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, replacing John Young Jr., who has been tapped to oversee Defense Department research efforts (DAILY, Aug. 1). The White House said Etter is a professor in the electrical engineering department at the U.S. Naval Academy, but had assumed the position of acting director of defense for research and engineering, the position for which Young was nominated. In addition to Etter, the White House on Sept.
The U.S. Air Force faces several challenges with large unmanned aerial vehicles as it fields a growing number of those aircraft, a service general said Sept. 7. Among the challenges is "assured communication," or encrypting information flows to ensure an enemy cannot "redirect" a UAV or otherwise "deny you the ability to control that platform," said Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, who recently became the military deputy in the Air Force acquisition office.
Titan Flyby: On Sept. 7 NASA's Cassini probe made its latest flyby of Saturn's moon, Titan, coming within 668 miles of its cloud-covered surface. The spacecraft focused its sensors on Titan's high southern latitudes, where earlier photographs have shown possible indications of lakes.
SPANISH MISSILES: The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Sept. 6 of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Spain of 94 Standard Missile-1 Block VIB Tactical missiles for as much as $41 million. The agency said the principal contractors are the Raytheon Co. and Aerojet General Corp. "It is vital for the U.S. to assist Spain's development and maintenance of a strong self-defense capability that is consistent with U.S. regional objectives," a DSCA statement said.
SATELLITE SUPPORT: The Defense Department is providing some military satellite bandwidth to mobile phone companies in the Gulf Coast region affected by Hurricane Katrina, according to the head of U.S. Northern Command. The support is provided so the companies can get back to their servers and return to providing mobile phone communications among the civilian population in Mississippi. Navy Adm. Timothy Keating told reporters in a Sept.
TURKEY JSOWS: Turkey is seeking up to $35 million worth of Joint Standoff Weapons (JSOWs), the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Sept. 6. Turkey is seeking 50 AGM-154A-1 JSOWs with BLU-111 warheads and 54 unitary penetration variant AGM-154Cs, along with dummy trainers, captive flight missiles and missile simulation units. The sale is tied to Turkey's plans to modernize its F-16 fighters, DSCA said. Raytheon Systems Corp. of Tucson, Ariz., would be the prime contractor.
commercial space services provider Spacehab said its fourth quarter financial performance was affected by slips in the launch of the space shuttle, but that figures for its full fiscal year show a strengthened balance sheet.
The Army and Boeing/SAIC, the Future Combat Systems' lead systems integrator, have released the final request for proposals for the active protection system to protect manned FCS ground vehicles from attack. The APS is intended to counteract incoming threats such as rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and missiles, providing a lighter and more effective alternative to traditional slat armor. Proposals are due in October, and the Army plans to select a prime contractor in the first quarter of next year.
Lt. Gen. Joseph L. Yakovac, military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, defended the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development system during a speech here Sept. 6, calling it sound in concept but lacking in execution. "My contention is that if we can get it to be more streamlined, the concept is the right concept," Yakovac said during the Association of the U.S. Army's Acquisition Symposium in Falls Church, Va.
The Senate plans to address its fiscal 2006 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill, including $16.4 billion for NASA, later this week, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said Sept. 6 on the chamber's floor.
The U.S. Marine Corps is looking for a new "headborne system" that incorporates a helmet, eyewear, lower face protection, hearing protection and communications gear, among other capabilities. The Corps also is looking for potential bidders able to act as a systems integrator for the project, according to a request for information from the Marine Corps Systems Command.
Alenia Aeronautica and Aermacchi, two Finmeccanica companies, will establish industrial and commercial partnerships with two Russian aviation companies, Finmeccanica said. Alenia and Aermacchi will team with Irkut and its subsidiary, Yakovlev, for work on aircraft design, training aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle technology, the Italian defense giant said recently. The deals were worked out at the recent Moscow air show late last month.
The Boeing Co. has triumphed over Dassault Aviation in Singapore's competition to supply up to 20 new fighter jets, Dassault said Sept. 6. France-based Dassault released a statement saying that the American dollar's weakness relative to other currencies seems to have given U.S.-based Boeing an economic advantage. The French firm also said that Boeing appears to have benefited from Singapore's desire to maintain close military ties with the United States, the world's lone superpower, whose Air Force flies the F-15.
ARMY Monarch Construction Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded on Aug. 31, 2005, a $25,423,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the design and construction of a NASIC Intelligence Production Complex. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by July 15, 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 257 bids solicited on Dec. 3, 2004, and five bids were received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity (W912QR-05-C-0026
RECON PODS: The U.S. Navy awarded a subsidiary of Raytheon Co. a $19.9 million contract to produce six Shared Reconnaissance Pod systems at its Indianapolis facility for delivery next year, the company said Sept. 6. Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC had bought subsystems and components for the six systems under an earlier Navy award, Raytheon said. The system - first designed to provide advanced day and night imaging and real-time data linking to the F/A-18F Super Hornet - was developed by a government and industry team including the Boeing Co., Recon/Optical Inc.
More U.S. military equipment and personnel are continuing to pour into the Gulf Coast region in response to Hurricane Katrina, the Defense Department said Sept. 5 and 6. Twenty-one Navy ships are in the area, including the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, the amphibious vessel USS Iwo Jima and the USS Bataan. The Bataan has been serving as a platform for search-and-recovery missions and is ready to accept hospital patients. The Iwo Jima also is providing hospital beds.
