PORK BARREL: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is criticizing "pork-barrel" spending in the fiscal 2005 defense appropriations act approved by Congress on July 22. McCain says he questions the $110 million earmarked for the advanced procurement of F-15 fighters. "The Air Force has decided to procure the [F/A-22] to replace the F-15. Yet this earmark keeps the F-15 production line open, so I question the necessity of the [F/A-22] procurement in the numbers of aircraft and at the funding levels requested by the Air Force. Apparently we just decided to pay for both," he says.
NASA's recently reconstituted Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) held its third meeting in Washington July 28-29 as it prepares to take over responsibility for safety oversight of the shuttle program from the Stafford-Covey Return to Flight Task Group. Chief among the concerns of both groups is the successful transmission of knowledge, according to ASAP Chairman Vice Adm. Joe Dyer (USN-Ret.). Stafford-Covey will dissolve formally when the shuttle flies again.
PARTNERS: Aavid Thermalloy and Swales Aerospace have formed an alliance to pursue new commercial opportunities for Swales' Loop Heat Pipe technologies, which stem from its thermal management work for NASA and Department of Defense satellites. The companies plan to offer commercial-off-the-shelf heat removal devices that Swales said would reduce the size, weight and cost of semiconductor-based products.
The Airborne Laser (ABL) is a highly modified Boeing 747-400F aircraft being designed to fire a megawatt high-energy laser at enemy ballistic missiles in their boost phase, the first 300 seconds or so of flight.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) reiterated his concerns in a new letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that the U.S. Air Force's involvement in an analysis of alternatives (AOA) study for its tanker needs will compromise the outcome of the study. McCain sent a letter to Rumsfeld on July 28, saying he is concerned about the participation of the Air Force leadership in the AOA and the involvement of the Air Force-funded RAND Corp., which is conducting the AOA.
NASA has selected nine studies, including one that would build a new spacecraft to replace the aging Hubble Space Telescope, to investigate new ideas for mission concepts as part of the Astronomical Search for Origins Program, the aerospace agency said July 29. The results of the studies will be used for planning missions complementing existing missions, including the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, and future missions, such as the Terrestrial Planet Finder. The selected proposals are:
The U.S. Air Force is launching a pair of reviews to determine why the Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) failed a recent flight-test and whether the stealthy cruise missile could be improved.
The Arrow missile defense system, a joint U.S.-Israeli program, shot down an actual Scud ballistic missile for the first time during a July 29 test. The intercept occurred at an altitude of about 24 miles after the ground-launched target had flown a distance of about 180 miles, said Yair Ramati, general manager of MLM, a subsidiary of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), Arrow's prime contractor. Ramati declined to say what type of target was used, but other sources confirmed it was a Scud, the kind of missile that several of Israel's enemies have deployed.
INTELLIGENCE CONTRACT: The Defense Department has awarded Titan Corp. a contract to provide comprehensive worldwide intelligence and information technology, the company said. The agreement has a potential value of $255 million through 2011. The Joint Deployable Intelligence Support Systems (JDISS) program is used by the U.S. military services to connect intelligence users, command centers and field commanders. It provides interoperable solutions, intelligence mission applications, integration, security coordination, deployment, and training support.
Six areas of work have won awards for innovation as part of NASA's Turning Goals into Reality (TGIR) Awards Program, NASA said last week. The awards were presented July 14 during the 2004 TGIR Conference in Washington. The six areas are aviation safety and reliability, environmental protection, space launch reliability, communications architecture, technology transfer and educational outreach to U.S. youth. Those awarded and their categories are:
The project manager of a U.S. Army anti-armor missile system declined to comment July 29 on the system's recent cancellation by Congress. The fiscal 2005 defense appropriations conference report calls for killing the Line-of-Sight Anti-Tank (LOSAT) system. The report was drafted by a House-Senate conference committee. It denies $71 million of the Army's $86 million program request and leaves $15 million for termination costs (DAILY, July 28).
Major defense companies reported increased earnings in the second quarter of 2004 compared with the second quarter of 2003, partly due to increased sales in defense and information technology. "Every one of the companies we follow exceeded expectations in their performance, in terms of revenues and bottom line earnings," Paul Nisbet, JSA Research, told The DAILY.
The Boeing Co. reported second quarter net income of $607 million, or 75 cents per share, on revenues of $13.1 billion, the company said July 28. A year earlier, the company suffered a second quarter net loss of $192 million, or 24 cents per share, on revenues of $12.7 billion.
The U.S. Air Force is asking industry for input on the idea of procuring a fleet of as many as 60 "hunter/killer remotely operated aircraft" that would fly 30-hour unmanned missions of up to 50,000 feet with 3,000 pounds of bombs. The first would become operational by late fiscal year 2007. Each air vehicle would cost about $10 million. Responses to a request for information are due Aug. 25.
The Marine Corps' V-22 Osprey tiltrotor program has passed an interim Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) review that a Boeing spokesman called a "rehearsal" for the crucial DAB next fall that will determine whether the program moves into full-rate production. The DAB review took place July 14. Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Michael Wynne signed the acquisition decision memorandum (ADM) for the meeting on July 26.
Military officials responsible for the upkeep and repair of equipment for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan told lawmakers recently that the services are adequately handing the influx of work in maintenance depots. The House Armed Services Committee asked the services to detail their progress on handling depot maintenance requirements for equipment returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. Air Force's tanker and transport aircraft face a series of crucial decisions and tests in the coming months, a key general said July 28. The Air Force recently discovered that struts that hold the engines on 30 KC-135E Stratotanker refuelers need major repairs for corrosion. But with no money budgeted for such work and with Congress resisting attempts to retire the aging aircraft, the Air Force may have to ground the planes until it figures out what to do, said Air Force Gen. John Handy, commander of U.S. Transportation Command.
With the transition from the U.S. Navy's current Nimitz-class aircraft carrier to its future CVN-21, the service to date has cut manpower costs by $2.7 billion, said Capt. Mike Schwartz, program manager for the Future Aircraft Carrier Program Office.
WARNING SYSTEMS: Alliant Techsytems (ATK) will produce AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning Systems and sensor upgrade kits under an additional $6.7 million contract from Naval Air Systems Command, the company said July 28. Total orders for the kits and systems in the last four months have passed $43 million, ATK said. The kits and systems will be delivered to the U.S. Navy and Air Force and to allied governments.
Some political analysts have expressed doubt that Congress will act on recommendations from the 9-11 commission to revamp its intelligence and homeland security committee structure.
OPTION EXERCISED: NASA has exercised a contract option with Lockheed Martin Space Operations of Houston to do work on space station mission operations and the space shuttle, NASA said July 27. The two-year contract is valued at $178.5 million. This will be the third option period of the contract, called the Mission Support Operations Contract. Under the MSOC, Lockheed Martin and its subcontractors perform space operations and data services support work for space shuttle missions and international space station expeditions.
BALL AEROSPACE & TECHNOLOGIES CORP., Boulder, Colo. Maj. Gen. John P. Casciano (USAF-Ret.) has joined the company as director of systems engineering for the national capital area. EAGLEPICHER HORIZON BATTERIES, Phoenix Ajoy Datta has joined the company as chief technology officer. GEORGIA TECHNOLOGY AUTHORITY, Atlanta Alfred G. Hansen, president and CEO of EMS Technologies, has been named to the board of directors. GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Atlanta
