Northrop Grumman Corp. and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on ballistic missile defense solutions, Northrop Grumman said July 22. The accord establishes an industrial framework for formal discussions between the companies to identify and pursue business opportunities in the global ballistic missile defense market. An executive steering committee made up of individuals from both companies will begin work immediately.
CHINOOK DELIVERED: The Boeing Co. has delivered the first production U.S. Army CH-47F Chinook helicopter two months ahead of schedule, the company said July 21, kicking off the Chinook modernization program. The aircraft initially will be used for flight demonstrations. In all, the company is to deliver more than 300 F-model Chinooks to the Army.
The Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) is a family of guided and unguided 70-millimeter (2.75-inch) rockets designed to attack soft and lightly armored targets at ranges of up to six kilometers (3.7 miles).
FARNBOROUGH, England - The Thales-Boeing consortium bidding on the United Kingdom's Military Flying Training System announced at Farnborough the team name of "Sterling" as it puts the final touches on its initial concept proposal.
House lawmakers expressed concern over the development of the Defense Department's "space cadre" during a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing in Washington July 22, with committee chairman Rep. Terry Everett (R-Ala.) saying that current plans for the cadre lack detail. "The committee is concerned about the breadth and depth of the current Department of Defense plan," said Everett, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee's Strategic Forces Subcommittee. "It seems to lack sufficient detail and structure for implementation."
The Army plans on about Aug. 5 to release a request for proposals for the Extended Range/Multi-Purpose (ERMP) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system. Proposals will be due Aug. 20, according to a July 21 FedBizOpps notice from the Army Aviation and Missile Command in Huntsville, Ala.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - China has offered to sell KS-1A medium-range anti-aircraft missiles to Malaysia in a package that would include a technology transfer of another missile system, a Malaysian government official said.
FARNBOROUGH, England - End-of-year sales figures for the U.S. aerospace industry are improving and are likely to be $1-5 billion higher than the Aerospace Industries Association's forecast of $148.1 billion, AIA's president said.
The United States should plan for the systematic recovery of critical infrastructures in the event of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack that could severely disable and damage electronic systems throughout the nation, members of a commission that studied the issue told House Armed Services Committee members July 22. "The proliferation of nuclear weapons and rise of new nuclear powers with small nuclear arsenals have forced us to think about EMP as an asymmetric threat in its own right," said Committee Chairman Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.).
The U.S. Army will have to move $9 billion forward of the $34 billion that will help fund its Future Combat Systems (FCS) program to accelerate technology deployment and expand the number of systems it will deploy, Army officials told reporters July 22.
The House on July 21 approved $8.2 billion in fiscal 2005 funding for the U.S. Coast Guard, including $1.1 billion for the Integrated Deepwater System recapitalization program. "I believe that through our negotiations with the other body, we have crafted legislation that will give the Coast Guard the resources and authorities necessary to protect the safety and security of lives and property on U.S. waters," said Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
FARNBOROUGH, England - The U.S. KC-135 tanker replacement program may be in limbo, but the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) is keeping its eye firmly on the developments in the hope of jumping back into a competition it had been sidelined from.
AEROSONIC, Clearwater, Fla. David Baldini, Robert J. McGill, William C. Parker, P. Mark Perkins, David M. Vosen and Thomas E. Whytas have been elected to the board of directors.
SPACE GATEWAY SUPPORT will get two more years under the Joint Base Operations Support Contract (JBOSC) with NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., NASA said. The extension is valued at about $588.7 million and covers Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2006. The total contract value, including options, is more than $2 billion, NASA said. The JBOSC contract funds base operation and support services at the Kennedy Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base, all in Florida. Space Gateway Support is a joint venture of Northrop Grumman Technical Services Inc.
REVENUES UP: General Dynamics reported 2004 second quarter revenues of $4.8 billion, compared with $3.9 billion from the same period last year, the company said July 21. Net earnings for the quarter were $300 million, up 24 percent from 2003's $242 million. The company's Information Systems and Technology and Combat Systems "continued to provide strong revenue growth," company Chairman and CEO Nicholas D. Chabraja said in a statement.
The United States is vulnerable to an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack that would disable civilian and military information and power systems nationwide and cripple the country's economy, according to Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) "Nothing can equate to the potential impact," Weldon, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee's tactical air and land forces subcommittee, told reporters July 21.
FARNBOROUGH, England - Beriev's expertise with flying boats and amphibians is evident from the exhibits on its stand at the air show here, one of which is an artist's impression of the Russian company's latest project, the Be-310. Acknowledged only a couple of months ago, this is intended as a 72- to 102-seat airliner version of the Be-200 fire-fighting water bomber and search-and-rescue amphibian, with the crucial difference of two Rolls-Royce BR715 turbofans.
STEWART & STEVENSON SERVICES, Houston James M. Tidwell, the vice president of finance and chief financial officer for WEDGE Group Inc., has been elected to the board of directors. Max L. Lukens, president and CEO of Stewart & Stevenson, and Robert Sullivan were re-elected to the board.
MTC TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Dayton, Ohio Brig. Gen. Billy J. Bingham (USAF-Ret.) has been appointed senior vice president for its national security group. He replaces Hugh Bolton, who resigned for personal reasons.
The U.S. Army will delay by two years the deployment of its Future Combat Systems (FCS) first fully equipped unit of action (UA) until 2014, but will accelerate the spiraling in of new technologies, Army officials told the House Armed Services Committee July 21. The Army plans to officially launch its realigned FCS program July 22.
