Australia will send a 150-member special forces task group to Afghanistan for up to a year to help fight terrorism, the country's defense department said July 13. The group will consist of Special Air Service soldiers, commandos and logistic support elements who will work with American special forces, Robert Hill, Australia's defense minister, said in a statement. They will perform reconnaissance and surveillance operations and patrol remote regions. The forces will leave for Afghanistan in about two months, Hill said.
The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division has awarded the Boeing Co.'s McDonnell Douglas Corp. a $500 million contract for new F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G trainer and training systems, as well as to upgrade existing systems. The contract, which was not competitively procured, further calls for a full range of analysis, modeling and simulation, design, development, production, modification, test and evaluation, delivery, refurbishment, relocation and product support of all training systems for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps' aircraft platforms.
FLIGHT HOURS: The Northrop Grumman-built prototype of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system recently reached its 7,000th total flight hour during a combat mission supporting the war on terrorism, the company said July 14. Through three deployments, the six prototype Global Hawks have successfully completed more than 200 missions and have now flown more than 4,300 hours in combat. The Global Hawk prototype was pressed into service following the Sept. 11 attacks to provide image-based information for Operation Enduring Freedom.
The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division has given a $25 million go-ahead to Geneva Aerospace Inc. of Carrollton, Texas, for a Phase III Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Project on unmanned systems, including unmanned air vehicles. Geneva will research, develop, prototype and test autonomous control technology, new unmanned vehicle systems and common command, control and communication systems architectures for unmanned systems, the U.S. Navy announced late July 13.
MOBILITY MAN: Air Force Lt. Gen. Duncan McNabb has been nominated by President Bush to be commander of Air Mobility Command, which manages the Air Force's tanker and transport aircraft, the Pentagon announced July 13. If confirmed by the Senate, McNabb will succeed Gen. John Handy, who retires Oct. 1. McNabb is currently logistics director for the Joint Staff.
After backing off on trying to mandate as much, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has successfully pushed through an amendment on the Senate floor that specifically would allow the Homeland Security Department to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) along the southwestern border of the United States. An original version of McCain's amendment to the DHS spending bill under Senate consideration this week said UAVs "shall be deployed," but McCain modified his proposal to instead read UAVs "may be deployed," which was agreed to by unanimous consent late July 13.
BAE Systems will continue providing the U.S. Army with portable combat helicopter refueling systems under a $7.6 million order, the company said July 13. BAE Systems will produce 31 Advanced Aviation Forward Area Refueling Systems, which are used by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to fuel AH-64 Apache, UH-60 Blackhawk, and CH-47 Chinook helicopters.
Pier Francesco Guarguaglini has been appointed CEO. Piergiorgio Alberti, Franco Bonferroni, Gian Luigi Lombardi Cerri, Ernesto Monti, Roberto Petri, Dario Scannapieco, Maurizio de Tilla, Riccardo Varaldo, Guido Venturoni, Paolo Vigevano and Guarguaglini have been named to the board of directors.
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq - Dragon Eye unmanned aerial vehicles, meant to give Marine infantry units low-level reconnaissance, are prone to damage, forcing commanders to use the units more sparingly and putting pressure on other UAV systems operating in Iraq, says one senior noncommissioned officer here.
Paul Gregory has been named vice president of human resources. James J. Lindenfelser has been appointed vice president of customer relationship management. Albert A. Pisani has been named vice president of information superiority in the company's information technology sector. David L. Ryan has been appointed vice president of payloads and sensors for the space technology sector. Steve Timmerman has been appointed vice president and site manager for the St. Augustine, Fla., plant.
SUB LOBBYING: The U.S. Navy used "unacceptable assumptions" about the future nuclear attack submarine force to justify its Base Realignment and Closure recommendation to shut down Naval Submarine Base New London, Conn., leading House Armed Services Committee members have said. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), HASC chairman, and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), chairman of the HASC projection forces subcommittee, sent a letter to the BRAC Commission on July 5 asking it to reject the Defense Department's recommendation to close the sub base.
Four companies have received Air Force contracts for early work on the GPS III Operational Control Segment, or OCX. Their efforts will be used to develop a request for proposals for OCX. The project is intended to increase the Air Force's understanding of state-of-the-art capabilities in satellite control segment software and hardware architecture. The companies also will develop innovative architectures to meet the OCX performance requirements.
The U.S. Navy's positive assessment of the V-22 Osprey's recent test performance is a "total vindication" for the formerly troubled aircraft, a key lawmaker said July 13. Navy operational testers have urged their Defense Department counterparts to declare the V-22 ready to enter service in the Marine Corps (DAILY, July 12). The recommendation came at the end of an operational evaluation (OPEVAL) designed to show the Bell-Boeing tiltrotor transport has overcome technical challenges blamed for two fatal crashes in 2000.
Donald F. Fultz has resigned as chief financial officer. Victor F. Sellier will replace Fultz and continue as the company's vice president of business operations.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - The long-awaited launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery was scrubbed the afternoon of July 13 due to concerns over sensors in the orbiter's external tank that are designed to detect low fuel levels and turn off the main engines. Liftoff for the shuttle fleet's first mission in two and a half years had been scheduled for 3:51 p.m. EDT. The earliest another launch attempt could take place would be July 16, according to shuttle managers.
If a Defense Department-commissioned study recommends that the U.S. Air Force buy a new tanker aircraft, the service will aim to pick a specific platform in calendar 2006, according to the Air Force. A development phase would follow the source selection, and low-rate production would begin in fiscal 2008, the Air Force said. The first four aircraft would be delivered in FY '10, and production would increase to 15 a year by FY '14.
B-1B DISPLAY: Rockwell Collins has been awarded a contract by Boeing to provide the display for the B-1B Threat Situation Awareness System upgrade, the company said July 13. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The display shows high-resolution images of flight information such as altitude and heading, giving the flight crew increased situational awareness and allowing in-flight mission planning.
Two U.S. Army aviation areas will soon get new leaders. During a July 14 ceremony at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., Col. Don Hazelwood will officially become the Army's project manager for unmanned aerial vehicles, including the Extended Range Multi-Purpose UAV, which is in the midst of a competition between General Atomics' Warrior and Northrop Grumman's Hunter II.
