The United States has asked Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) to decide by the end of May whether it wants to buy 12 P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft from the U.S., a MND spokesman said May 24. If Taiwan does not reply, the aircraft may be sold to other countries, Liu Chih-chien said.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has opened a new space systems business development office near NASA Headquarters in Washington that will focus initially on the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) competition, the company announced. Former NASA associate administrator Alan Ladwig leads the office. Before joining Northrop Grumman, Ladwig was the chief operating officer for the Zero Gravity Corp., a private company offering parabolic airplane flights that simulate weightlessness.
QUICKBIRD: On May 25 DigitalGlobe announced the sale of high-resolution imagery from the company's Quickbird satellite that will allow better digital mapping of Hawaii. Quickbird imagery of Kauai County and the rainy Waimea Canyon will allow government authorities to conduct better flood plain mapping projects and disaster mitigation programs, the company said.
MOSCOW - RSC Energia's leadership has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to bar a radical change in the company's management. Voting for Energia's president is scheduled for May 28. The country's Federal Space Agency, which controls about 38% of the company's shares on behalf of the government, plans to replace 70-year-old current president Yuri Semyonov with Nikolai Sevastianov, 44, who is managing the Gascom satellite communication company (DAILY, March 22).
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) seems to have hinted to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) about the viability of a Florida base if he would go along with the Defense Department's plans to put the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy into early retirement. "In configuring the fleet for 11 carriers, the Navy will ensure that it makes effective use of existing carrier ports," OMB said in a statement of administration policy on the House's version of the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill (H.R. 1815), which was approved May 25.
SWITCH MODULES: EDO-Darlington Inc. of Wando, S.C., was awarded a potential $240 million contract for procurement and support of 476 transition switch modules for the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command, the Defense Department announced late May 25. Almost all of the work will be performed in Wando, with the rest in Augusta, Ga., and should be finished by May 2010.
Federal agencies awarded $11 billion in information technology related prime contracts during the second quarter of fiscal 2005, off 40% from the previous quarter, according to a May 26 report by the Reston, Va.-based consulting company Input.
Northrop Grumman has decided not to bid on the contract to manage Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico after reviewing the request for proposals (RFP) released by the Department of Energy May 18. "The company continues to be committed to helping the U.S. Department of Energy achieve its overall objectives, but has determined that it can best provide that support through other key programs," the company said in a statement. A company spokeswoman said she could not comment further on the company's reasons.
MOVING FORWARD: The Senate Armed Services Committee on May 25 favorably reported the nomination of Kenneth J. Krieg to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics to the full Senate, where confirmation is expected. The SASC also favorably moved along 661 nominations in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Krieg, currently director for program analysis and evaluation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, was tapped by President Bush to replace Michael Wynne, the current Pentagon acquisition chief (DAILY, April 22).
The $441.6 billion fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill that the House passed late May 25 includes a last-minute provision that would codify the content requirements of the Buy American Act, a move that could affect acquisition agreements with U.S. allies. "This amendment would sweep away the current waivers of the Buy American Act that have been carefully negotiated with our strongest military partners, and I am afraid will invoke retaliation if they are upheld," Rep. Thomas Davis III (R-Va.) said on the House floor, speaking against the provision.
An upgrade program for the U.S. Air Force's Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) has taken or is about to take several major steps forward, according to an industry official.
The Boeing Co. is poised to snag several more foreign customers for its Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) in 2005, according to company officials. "We expect to pick up a few more later on this year, but I'd prefer not to comment on exactly who they are," said Rick Heerdt, Boeing's JDAM program manager. JDAM already has 12 foreign customers, including Israel. The U.S. Air Force and Navy also buy the weapon.
In observance of the Memorial Day holiday, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish on May 30. The next issue will be dated May 31. The next issue of Homeland Security & Defense will appear June 2 and the next issue of NetDefense will appear June 3.
In response to an urgent operational need by troops in Iraq, the U.S. Marine Corps is safety testing a new shoulder-fired rocket system for urban assault based on Lockheed Martin's Predator anti-tank weapon system.
TANK TRANSPORTERS: The Australian Ministry of Defence has awarded an Australian $16 million ($12.1 million) contract to MAN Military Vehicles Systems of Australia to provide 14 Heavy Tank Transporters and repair and maintenance support, Robert Hill, the defense minister, said May 25. The vehicles will allow the country's M1A1 Abram tanks and M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicles to be transported on Australian roads.
HELO WORK: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has been awarded a $24.8 million contract modification for the production and delivery of 12 MH-60R Multi-Mission helicopters, the company said May 25. The work will be done in Stratford, Conn., and is expected to be finished in April 2006. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. awarded the contract.
Spacehab has entered into a nonreimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA to develop and test a miniaturized mass spectrometer that could help monitor air quality and toxicity levels aboard manned spacecraft, the company announced May 25.
Yuval Yanai, senior vice president and chief financial officer, has resigned. Ran Maidan will replace Yanai as chief financial officer, effective Sept. 1. Maidan currently is chief financial officer of the Elisra Group.
The U.S. Air Force's Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program is gearing up for several key activities to promote the development of an extended-range version (JASSM-ER) of the stealthy cruise missile.
