The industry standards organization ASTM International is kicking off a new effort to develop consensus technical standards for unmanned undersea vehicles in response to a request made by the U.S. Navy, which is seeking to ensure that its future unmanned systems will be interoperable.
SECOND X-45C: The Boeing Co. has begun building the second of three X-45C air vehicles it is supposed to supply to the Defense Department's Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) program. The first X-45C is well along in being assembled and is scheduled to begin flight-testing in early 2007.
June 27 - 29 -- The ION 61st Annual Meeting, Cambridge, Mass. For more information go to www.ion.org. June 27 - 29 -- 4th Annual Government Symposium on Information Sharing & Homeland Security, New Orleans, La. For more information call 1-888-603-8899 or go to www.federalevents.com. June 27 - July 1 -- 2005 National Space & Missile Materials Symposium, "Betting on Materials: A Sure Win," JW Marriott Resort at Summerlin, Nev. For more information go to www.usasymposium.com/nsmms/.
IMAGE SHARING: The U.S. Navy is making software changes and adding solid-state recorders to its Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to allow them to send target images from their Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) pods to other aircraft and to ground forces. Capt. Donald "BD" Gaddis, the Navy's F/A-18 program manager, says the first two squadrons - one with 10 F/A-18Es, the other with 12 F/A-18Fs - are slated to have that capability this fall. "My plan is to make sure that that's in every Super Hornet," Gaddis says.
The U.S. Army and Marine Corps anticipate fielding a joint Blue Force Tracking system for testing as early as December 2005, according to Army officials. The joint BFT system is being developed using the Army's Force 21 Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) software. FBCB2/BFT is a tactical command-and-control system that links troops, vehicles, aircraft and sensors via satellite or terrestrial radio to provide a digital picture of the battlefield.
NAVY HAWKS: The U.S. Navy expects the first delivery of its maritime Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., in August, says Capt. Paul Morgan, program manager for the Naval Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Program Office. The Northrop Grumman Corp. RQ-4A Global Hawks originally were developed for the Air Force. The maritime system includes landing and recovery and mission control elements for the Navy and calls for 34-hour endurance.
BAE Systems North America's $4 billion acquisition of United Defense Industries, finalized on June 24, "expands our prime position in the U.S. into land systems, enhances our existing support and services profile and brings strong, differentiating technologies for future programs and opportunities," said Mark Ronald, president and CEO of BAE Systems North America. He said his company's new unit is expected to generate annual revenues of more than $3 billion.
FCS MEETING: Newly appointed Pentagon acquisition chief Ken Krieg was briefed on the status of the Army's Future Combat Systems program during a meeting June 21. "The FCS meeting was just an information briefing to Mr. Krieg as the new defense acquisition executive, so is characterized as a DAE review, instead of a Defense Acquisition Board program review," a Pentagon spokeswoman told The DAILY.
Ret. Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, former director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, has been tapped to chair a panel that the Pentagon is creating to help reform the weapons-buying process. The advisory committee will be charged with reviewing the Defense Department's entire weapon system acquisition process and recommending changes by November.
If Congress accelerated procurement of the Coast Guard's National Security Cutters (NSCs) and Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs) under its Deepwater recapitalization effort, it could help support the two U.S. defense shipyards that have built the U.S. Navy's large surface combatants, both of which are facing fewer Pentagon ship orders, according to a congressional expert.
TEAC Aerospace Technologies of Montebello, Calif., will supply MDR-80 mission data recorders to Italy's Aermacchi for the AMX fighter aircraft, the company said last week. The AMX fighter is a joint venture of Aermacchi, Alenia and Embraer. Delivery of the mission data recorders will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, TEAC said.
X-43 FUNDING: The Senate Appropriations committee's fiscal 2006 spending bill for NASA (DAILY, June 24) includes $25 million to continue the X-43 hypersonic research aircraft program, which set the world speed record of nearly Mach 10 during its final flight in November 2004. NASA moved to cancel the follow-on X-43C in 2004, but the program was kept alive with a FY 2005 congressional earmark. The X-43 team is drafting a revised proposal for the X-43C (DAILY, May 31).
Israel's El Al Airlines is equipping seven passenger jets with Sky Connect Iridium Satellite terminals, which will allow global cockpit voice and data communications on long-haul flights, Iridium said last week. Boeing 747-200s are being outfitted with Sky Connect Classic Iridium satellite phone systems, supplied by GayaCom, Iridium's service provider for Israel.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has worked ahead and authorized $8.8 billion for the Coast Guard in fiscal 2007 as part of a two-year bill. The move came as the committee adopted S. 1280, which also authorizes $8.2 billion in FY '06 for the Coast Guard. The bill - not voted on in subcommittee - was cosponsored by the chairs and ranking Democrats of the full committee and fisheries and Coast Guard subcommittee (DAILY, June 24).
The DD(X) industry consortium and the U.S. Navy conducted the third consecutive successful guided flight test of the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) on June 16, according to Naval Sea Systems Command. Preliminary results showed the munition successfully conducted preplanned maneuvers along a 60 nautical mile flight path during the 280-second flight, according to a NAVSEA statement.
The Department of Defense faces two key challenges as it moves to transform its joint training, the Government Accountability Office says - it must effectively communicate with everyone involved to let them understand the plan, and make sure new training requirements meet the needs of combatant commands. The DOD expects its Training Transformation Program to be fully operational by 2009, and has set up three initiatives to get ready, developing them incrementally through what the GAO calls a "build a little, test a little" philosophy. They are:
A reorganization at General Electric that merges its current 11 business units into six, and that is intended to speed growth and profitability, will yield a new chief for the operation that includes the Aircraft Engines component, a company spokeswoman said. The reorganization, announced June 23 and set to become effective July 5, will give GE the following new businesses: Infrastructure; Industrial; Commercial Financial Services; NBC Universal; Healthcare; and Consumer Finance.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s AN/AES-1 Airborne Laser Mine Detection System, which the U.S. Navy calls the first new technology to be applied to mine warfare since the advent of sonar, received Navy approval June 15 for low-rate initial production. The approval came after a Milestone C review and allows for integration aboard U.S. Navy H-60-series helicopters. The system uses a LIDAR - light detection and ranging - blue-green laser to locate subsurface mines.
Pratt & Whitney has achieved European Aviation Safety Agency validation on its newest engine, the PW6000, the company said June 23. This is the first validation of an "all new" engine since the EASE was established in September 2003, the company said. "Achieving EASA validation is a significant milestone, granting the PW6000 program the authority to operate throughout the 25 EU [European Union] member states," Steve Heath, president of Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines, said in a statement.
INCREASE: Senate subcommittee authorizers are moving toward approving $1.1 billion for the Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization effort in fiscal 2006. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's Coast Guard subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), authorized the amount June 23. Senate appropriators already have approved $905.6 million, closer to the Bush Administration request of $966 million.
A member of the House Armed Services Committee called June 23 for reviving the development of space-based lasers for missile defense. Rep. John Hostettler (R-Ind.) said that lasers offer more precision and speed than other weapons and that fielding them in space would provide the ultimate "high ground" to defend the United States against ballistic missile attack. Such technology also has the potential to protect U.S. satellites, he said.
