The U.S. Air Force will adjust its plans for legacy fighters if the multiservice F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program experiences more delays, a service official told a congressional panel July 20. The Air Force plans to buy 1,763 F-35s from Lockheed Martin Corp. to replace its F-16s and eventually its A-10s. But the Air Force's initial fielding date for JSF already has slipped from 2011 to 2013 due to the program's weight problems, and more delays are seen as possible.
MORE LAIRCM: Boeing will upgrade an additional 25 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft with Northrop Grumman's Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures, or LAIRCM, under a $31.2 million contract modification. LAIRCM detects, tracks and jams missiles by aiming a high-intensity laser into their seekers.
NEW DELHI - The United States' and India's completion of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) is expected to lead to greater cooperation in technology, commercial space programs and space exploration. The recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the U.S. marked the completion of the NSSP, which was launched in January 2004.
The Greek government has announced that it plans to buy 30 more F-16s from U.S.-based Lockheed Martin Corp. The purchase is estimated to cost 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), although a final price for the Advanced Block 52 aircraft still has to be negotiated with the United States, according to a statement released July 20 by the Greek Embassy in Washington. The order includes an option to buy 10 more F-16s. The Greek air force already has taken delivery of 140 F-16s through three previous purchases, according to Lockheed Martin.
Orbital Sciences Corp. reported revenues of $177.4 million and operating income of $14.7 million for the second quarter of 2005, results the company said were limited somewhat by production and delivery delays.
The U.S. Army said it has temporarily suspended a request for proposals for the Objective Individual Combat Weapon Increment 1 (OICW-1), a family of small arms, to incorporate requirements of other military services. The interest of other services "is further supported by several internal reviews reinforcing the increase in the potential for joint use," the Army said in an unusual July 19 announcement.
Armor Holdings Inc. announced July 20 that the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command awarded it a $78 million contract for additional M1114 up-armored Humvees for the Marine Corps.
After a similar attempt last week failed, a group of House members concerned about the growing influence and intentions of China successfully pushed adoption of a provision July 19 that they hope will keep European officials and companies from arming the Asian giant. The legislation came the same day that the Defense Department released an interagency report that described what Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called China's "significant military buildup."
Olivier Andries has been named executive vice president for strategy and cooperation. Charles Champion has been appointed chief operating officer. Henri Courpron has been appointed executive vice president of procurement. Alain Flourens has been named executive vice president of Airbus' Centers of Excellence. Karl-Heinz Hartmann has been appointed executive vice president of operations. John Leahy has been named chief operating officer - customers.
A NASA authorization bill will come before the House on July 22 and should pass after consideration of a controversial amendment aimed at curbing the outsourcing of any International Space Station-related jobs, House aides told The DAILY July 20. Congress has not sent the president a NASA authorization since 2000.
Aerospace and industrial gas turbine aftermarket sales boosted first-quarter fiscal 2006 sales for Precision Castparts Corp. to $854.6 million, a 27.9% increase over the same period last year, the company said July 19. Net income from continuing operations grew from $50.5 million for the first quarter of 2005 to $77.7 million this year.
A study has been launched on how the Air Force could protect all of its aircraft against the kinds of infrared-guided missiles that enemy forces have used in Afghanistan and Iraq.
NEW HEADQUARTERS: Security services and products provider Triple Canopy Inc. is moving its headquarters from suburban Chicago to northern Virginia to be closer to its chief customer, the U.S. government, the company said July 19. The firm's new office will be located in Herndon, Va., near Dulles International Airport. The 27,000-square-foot facility will open July 25 and house about 100 workers. Triple Canopy's customers include the Departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security, and Energy, as well as corporate clients.
Senate appropriators have postponed marking up the fiscal 2006 spending bill for the Defense Department. The Senate Appropriations Committee's defense panel was to meet July 19, but that was canceled. The same day, an SAC spokeswoman told The DAILY that the previously scheduled full-committee consideration of the defense bill, slated for July 21, also has been postponed.
An unnamed Middle Eastern country has placed an order for more than $15 million worth of 120mm mortar and training ammunition from MECAR, the Belgian subsidiary of the Vienna, Va.-based Allied Defense Group, the company said July 19. The company did not specify the client, identifying it as a "traditional customer." The 120mm ammunition on order is widely used by world militaries and can be used with various mortar weapon systems, the company said.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Hong Kong-based Asia Satellite Telecommunications (AsiaSat) has issued a request for proposals for the procurement of AsiaSat 5, a replacement satellite for AsiaSat 2. AsiaSat 2 is expected to run out of fuel and reach the end of its operational life in December 2010, AsiaSat CEO Peter Jackson said. When launched in 1995, AsiaSat 2 was the company's second satellite and the most powerful ever launched for Asia.
The independent BRAC Commission voted 8-1 on July 19 to add Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine, to the Base Realignment and Closure list for consideration, but a majority of the commissioners decided against doing the same for the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Hawaii.
Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips briefly left the International Space Station on July 19 to move their Soyuz spacecraft from one docking port to another to clear the way for a future spacewalk. Krikalev piloted the Russian capsule, which transports astronauts to and from the station. The Soyuz left the Pirs Docking Compartment at 6:38 a.m. EDT and docked at the Zarya Module's Earth-facing port at 7:08 a.m.
Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $79 million contract to provide the U.S. Army with 106 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) Block 1A Quick Reaction Unitary missiles, the company said July 19. The missiles will include new guidance, control and fuze systems. The work will be done in Dallas and Horizon City, Texas. The missiles are set to be delivered from the third quarter of 2006 through 2007.
Despite greater use by Iraqi insurgents of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, the overall IED casualty rate has declined since the formation of a Pentagon group intended to counter them, the Army said. There has been a 45% drop in the rate of casualties caused by the homemade bombs since April 2004, and 30-40% are found and rendered safe before they can be detonated, the Army said.
ARMORED VEHICLE: The Wolf light armored vehicle was accepted into operational service by the Israeli Defense Force during a recent ceremony hosted by its builder, Rafael Armament Development Authority. The Wolf is a multipurpose light armored vehicle that can be modified for use as an ambulance, rescue vehicle, logistics or command vehicle. The Israeli defense ministry is paying Haifa, Israel-based Rafael $20 million for the vehicles, which will enter service in the next few days. Israeli Gen.
