The U.S. Navy's Tactical Tomahawk (TACTOM) cruise missile weapon system program is intended to increase the missile's flexibility and lethality by decreasing response time, increasing the target set and allowing the missile to be retargeted after launch. Also known as Tomahawk Block IV, TACTOM, built by Raytheon Systems Co., is a follow-on to the current Block III Tomahawk missile being used for long-range land attack from Navy ships and submarines in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
After scrubbing three previous launch attempts, the U.S. Air Force successfully deployed a replacement Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite, GPS IIR-12, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:54 p.m. EDT June 23. Bad weather prompted launch officials to scrub launch attempts on June 19, 20, and 21. June 22 was spent rechecking the rocket, according to Boeing spokesman Robert Villanueva.
The Senate approved a $447 billion defense authorization bill late June 23 that would set aside a $25 billion reserve fund for military operations in Iraq, allow continued study of nuclear "bunker buster" weapons and provide funding for the missile defense system set to be deployed later this year. The bill, approved in a 97 to 0 vote, includes spending for the Department of Defense and defense programs handled by the Department of Energy.
A congressionally mandated Department of Defense strategy to combat extensive corrosion of military equipment and infrastructure falls short of addressing the problem, and could hurt safety and readiness and lead to the loss of "billions of dollars in avoidable maintenance costs," a General Accounting Office study has found. The June 2004 report said the DOD's strategy: * Does not identify funding levels and needed personnel resources to implement its plan.
The commander of an Air Force test unit has become the No. 2 official in the Defense Department's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Brig. Gen.-select Charles "C.R." Davis became JSF's deputy director on June 14, a program spokeswoman said June 23. Davis previously headed the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., which has been involved in testing various aerospace systems, including the F/A-22 Raptor.
A National Academies panel explored the potential technical risks of a robotic servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope during a meeting June 23, with astronauts on the panel expressing concern that the initial capture of the observatory could be more difficult than some at NASA believe.
The General Accounting Office (GAO) has concluded that NASA lacks disciplined cost-estimating processes and many of its programs are being put at risk as a result, according to a report released June 22. "NASA's basic cost-estimating processes - an important tool for managing programs - lack the discipline needed to ensure that program estimates are reasonable," GAO says.
NEW DELHI - NASA is considering collaborating with Indian industries to transfer biomedical spinoff technologies, according to an aerospace agency official. Robert W. Mah, director of the Smart Systems Research Laboratory at NASA's Ames Research Center, Calif., said some U.S. companies with Indian facilities already are collaborating with NASA on promoting such technology. Mah spoke at the first World Congress on Nano-Biotechnology in Mumbai.
INFRARED SYSTEMS: DRS Technologies has received $37.5 million in new contracts to provide infrared assemblies for U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, the company said June 23. The contracts were awarded by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control-Orlando. The contracts are to design, manufacture, assemble and test the pilotage and targeting receiver assemblies for the Apache Arrowhead Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) System.
The fiscal 2005 defense appropriations bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee June 22 would provide nearly the same funding level as the $416.9 billion version passed by the House that same day, but fully funds many programs that were harshly criticized or scaled back by the lower chamber.
New York-based L-3 Communications, which provides aircraft modernization and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems, has acquired commercial aircraft protection system provider AVISYS Inc. for $8 million in cash, L-3 announced June 23. L-3 Communications does all of AVISYS' aircraft modifications, an AVISYS representative told The DAILY. The merger will allow customers to procure aircraft protection systems and aircraft modifications from one source.
NANOTECH: NASA's Ames Research Center, Calif., and the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto, Calif., are collaborating to pursue innovative nanotechnology research, NASA said June 22. The work will help develop advanced aerospace systems for NASA's space exploration initiative, NASA said. "Nanoscience has the potential to both increase capability and decrease weight, which reduces cost," G. Scott Hubbard, the director of the Ames center, said in a statement.
The U.S. military needs to develop a "full spectrum" of electronic warfare (EW) capabilities and should consider accelerating programs that could meet those requirements, a senior Air Force general said June 23.
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe defended his decision to cancel further space shuttle servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope before the National Academies' space panels in Washington June 22, emphasizing his desire to minimize possible risks to astronauts.
Northrop Grumman Corp. will continue to support the transformation of U.S. Army intelligence systems and capabilities for future operations under new task orders, the company announced June 21. The task orders are part of a $13 million contract the company was awarded in March from the Army Intelligence Command to provide professional and technical support services to develop and maintain the Army Intelligence Master Plan. The company has performed similar work for the Army Intelligence Command for 17 years.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and private industry say they are wrestling with a host of complicated financial, logistical and technological issues as they try to adapt military-style countermeasures for use on commercial airliners.
CZECH JAVELINS: The Raytheon-Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture will supply the Javelin weapon system to the Czech Republic, Raytheon said June 22. Raytheon provides system engineering management and support for the joint venture and produces the Command Launch Unit (CLU), missile guidance electronic unit and system software. Lockheed Martin provides missile engineering and production support. The Czech Republic's decision to purchase the system ensures its military's interoperability with the U.S. Army, Marine Corps and Special Operations Forces, Raytheon said.
The U.S. Army of the future will be more modular, employ more joint expeditionary forces and be more "rotationally based," according to Maj. Gen. Robert W. Mixon, deputy director and chief of staff of the Army Futures Center at Fort Monroe, Va. "There is a true transformation of Army capabilities, and we're doing it right now," Mixon said June 22 at the Defense News Media Group Conferences' Joint Warfare Conference in Arlington, Va.
AURA: Northrop Grumman Corp. has moved NASA's Aura spacecraft to Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., in preparation for its July 10 launch, the company said June 22. Aura will carry four instruments to monitor the Earth's ozone, air quality and climate. It was built by Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector and is to be launched on a Boeing Delta II rocket.
The U.S. Air Force says it has received almost two dozen responses to its request for ideas to improve its long-range strike capabilities. The 23 submissions by private industry "effectively address a wide array of capabilities," the Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) told The DAILY in a recent written response to questions. The Air Force said it is reviewing the responses, which were due at the end of May, and has not set a firm deadline for deciding how to proceed.
