A self-appointed industry task force is recommending that federal acquisition rules be changed so that outsourced services are placed on an equal footing with item procurement such as weapons systems, as well as tweaking government-wide contracts and multiagency schedules to better reflect the growing importance of services contracting.
HIGH-TECH DEMS: Democratic Sens. Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Maria Cantwell (Wash.) are leading a group of 20 other Senate Democrats under the self-named High-Tech Working Group to push for federal investments, accelerating widespread deployment of "affordable" broadband networks, meeting industry's education and training needs, increasing exports and moving from a paper-based to an electronic health care system. Caucus members include Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.), the Senate minority leader, and Democratic Whip Sen. Richard Durbin (Ill.).
Starting May 25 in New York, the Office of Naval Research's "Afloat Lab" will show off the Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Targeting Vehicle (RST-V). The RST-V is designed to be a highly mobile, survivable, long-range ground reconnaissance vehicle that can be transported in a V-22 Osprey for the Marine Corps. It will be displayed at the South Street Seaport during Fleet Week.
STATION ARTS: The European Space Agency has tapped London-based independent arts organization Arts Catalyst to study future "cultural utilization" of the International Space Station (ISS), particularly the station's European components. The ISS is a cutting-edge research facility, but ESA "believes strongly that the cultural world too should have a say in the future of space exploration," says Daniel Sacotte, ESA's director of human spaceflight, microgravity and exploration.
India is expected to formally launch a fighter jet competition within months, according to a U.S. general who closely follows the process. "We believe that they are going to issue a firm request for proposals [RFP] in the next few months," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler, director of the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). "Whether that's two months or four months, I don't know."
Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart is calling on the U.S. government to verify his calculation that a recently discovered asteroid has a remote chance of striking the Pacific Ocean in 2036 and creating a tidal wave that could devastate the California coast.
HEADS UP: A new visual warning system that uses red and green lights to alert pilots that they are flying in restricted airspace was to become operational May 21 around Washington. Pilots targeted by the lights are to immediately contact air traffic control and exit the airspace. The system is being fielded by U.S. North American Aerospace Command, the FAA and the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
MDA OVERSIGHT: The U.S. Defense Department's proposal to move most of the Missile Defense Agency from Washington, D.C.-area office buildings to Redstone Arsenal, Ala., (DAILY, May 16) is raising concerns in some congressional quarters that it could become a bit harder to oversee an agency that would no longer be a short drive from Capitol Hill. The oversight challenge is seen as an unintentional result of a broader DOD effort to move thousands of northern Virginia defense workers to more secure locations.
The international market for self-propelled artillery is dominated by South Korea's Samsung Techwin, and it is likely to remain the leader for most of the next decade, according to a new report. The company's production of the K9 Thunder for the Republic of Korea Army, as well as licensed production of another system for Turkey, gives it about 25% of the world's production and 33% of the value of the market, said Dean Lockwood, a weapons systems analyst at Forecast International of Newtown, Conn.
SUB WORK: General Dynamics Electric Boat will build and procure long-lead material for converting the USS Georgia (SSBN-729) Trident ballistic missile submarine to a Trident SSGN, a multimission sub optimized for tactical strike and special operations support. The work will be done under a $14.7 million U.S. Navy contract modification, the company said May 20.
SINGAPORE FIGHTERS: Singapore is expected to make a decision in mid-to-late summer on whether to buy the U.S. Boeing F-15 or the French Dassault-built Rafael, according to U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler, director of the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). While Singaporean officials still are discussing Boeing's bid with the company, the U.S. government has completed its own portion of the information-dissemination process, Kohler says. "We believe that the United States government has answered all their questions," he says.
U.S. officials have begun talks with Afghanistan about the possibility of providing the Southwest Asian nation's military with transport planes and helicopters. "It's a big country; they need some transportation capability," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler, director of the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). "They've got kind of a hodgepodge of aircraft now, most of them leftover Soviet transports that are getting hard to maintain [and are] old. So we're looking at what options might be out there."
A Boeing Co. mobile simulator for the Super Hornet fighter gives the company a competitive advantage by letting customers have a convenient hands-on experience and provide immediate feedback, a Boeing official says. A demonstration of the simulator, for the F/A-18E/F and future variant EA-18G, was held for the media at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on May 19.
MOVING ON: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says HASC Staff Director Robert Rangel will be moving in early June to the Pentagon to work for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Bob Simmons, currently deputy staff director for oversight, will become HASC staff director. Hunter praises both Rangel and Simmons, a former chief executive officer with 24 years of experience in the defense and aerospace industry, who joined the committee staff in 2003.
The House Armed Services Committee has warned the Pentagon that it is concerned about the cost growth and acceleration of several major acquisition programs, such as the Navy's presidential helicopter program and the Army's Future Combat Systems.
PRV RFP: The U.S. Air Force has released a draft request for proposals (RFP) for its Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV) program and says it remains on track to release a final RFP in July. Proposals will be due in September, and a contract award is slated for February 2006. The Bell-Boeing PRV-22 tiltrotor aircraft, the Lockheed Martin-AgustaWestland-Bell Helicopter Textron US101 helicopter and Sikorsky's H-92 helicopter are expected to compete, and Boeing is considering offering its CH-47 Chinook helicopter.
A May 18 DAILY article incorrectly said that Boeing's Unmanned Little Bird helicopter will be deployed to Iraq next year. Although Boeing believes the Army is interested in using the system as a communications relay platform for ground troops in the field, deployment would depend on the continued success in the testing program, the company said. If approved, the earliest such a deployment could take place would be February 2006.
COUGARS MULTIPLY: The U.S. Navy said May 18 that Force Protection Industries Inc. was awarded a $16.6 million delivery order for 17 Cougar Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Rapid Response Vehicles, associated manuals and spares for the Marine Corps. A maximum of 122 vehicles can be ordered under the base contract. The latest order follows an Army request for 120 Cougars recently after the service watched Marines try them out in Iraq (DAILY, May 17).
Strict U.S. export regulations on sensitive aerospace technology are a serious obstacle to the development of the worldwide space tourism industry, according to Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan.
WCMD: Lockheed Martin will produce 1,655 Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD) tail kits and 100 WCMD-Extended Range wing kits for the U.S. Air Force, the company said May 19. The work will be done under a $52.9 million contract, which signals the start of production for the WCMD-ER system.
