Finland's navy has conducted sea-acceptance tests of EADS-provided command, control and reconnaissance systems for Finnish fast patrol boats, the company said Sept. 8. The systems, which were built and integrated by EADS Defence & Security Systems, include the Advanced Naval Combat System, the TRS-3D radar and the Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar 2000 I.
The U.S. Army has awarded Raytheon Co. a $17 million contract to provide 15 Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment systems to help monitor weapons storage sites in Kosovo, the company said Sept. 8. Elevated on a stationary platform, the RAID infrared sensor system can detect hostile troop or equipment movement from great distances. RAID will be upgraded with a motion detection radar and command and control for the NATO-led Kosovo mission, called Operation Eagle Eye.
The U.S. Navy has boosted the number of Man-Transportable Robotic System production units it has ordered from Foster-Miller Inc. of Waltham, Mass., for an additional $96.1 million. The Naval Sea Systems Command's contract modification increases the number of units under contract from 250 to 1,200, and adjusts unit prices as stipulated in the original contract, the Navy said Sept. 7. The U.S. military had planned to buy 960 units altogether, the Navy said previously (DAILY, June 23).
Boeing has joined an international team led by the Welsh Development Agency to explore and research the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for remote sensing and monitoring in the environmental and agricultural sector. The intent to team for this initiative was announced by the WDA at a signing ceremony on Sept. 7 attended by representatives of Boeing, QinetiQ, and the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research.
During a recent industry day for the Future Cargo Aircraft program, the Army told prospective bidders that it is restructuring the contract to help speed the arrival of its replacement for the C-23 Sherpa. Under the new plan, the Army first will issue an engineering services contract to the winning bidder in June 2006, followed by an order for 22 low-rate initial production aircraft in January 2007. Under the previous schedule, the final downselect and contract award would not have occurred until the fall of 2007.
ACOUSTIC RECEIVER: The U.S. Office of Naval Research has chosen BAE Systems Information and Electronics Systems Integration Inc. in Nashau, N.H., over at least two other companies for a $5.1 million contract to develop and test an advanced off-board, low-frequency acoustic source receiver. BAE, which will work on the Littoral ASW [anti-submarine warfare] Multi-Statistics project in Nashua, is slated to finish in September 2008. The contract was competitively procured under a broad agency announcement, the Navy announced late Sept. 7.
PATRIOT TEST: A Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile intercepted its target during a Sept. 8 test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., the U.S. Army said. During the test, two PAC-3 missiles were "ripple fired" at a short-range ballistic missile target. The first PAC-3 interceptor destroyed the target, so the second interceptor self-destructed. The test was designed to try out software upgrades to the missile and ground system. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are the PAC-3 program's main contractors.
Thales Communications Inc. of Clarksburg, Md., part of the Thales Group, has delivered an AN/URC-143 HF radio system to the U.S. Navy. The delivery, for the USS Champion (MCM-4), marks the completion of the company's initial contract for the design, development and delivery of the first system, Thales said Sept. 8. The AN/URC-143 is to replace older radio systems on Avenger-class minesweepers.
NASA's effort to fix the remaining areas of potentially dangerous foam insulation loss on the space shuttle's external tank is adjusting to the effects of Hurricane Katrina, according to Bill Gerstenmaier, the agency's associate administrator for Space Operations.
Northrop Grumman has shed almost all of the excess weight it has been aiming to remove from the fire-control radar it is developing for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, company program officials said Sept. 8.
The U.S. Air Force is about to launch a formal study on potential candidates for a new multi-use helicopter, an industry source said Sept. 8. The Air Force plans to start the analysis of alternatives (AOA) "in the next couple weeks," the source told The DAILY. Contractors that might compete to build the helicopter are being asked to sign papers that will allow them to confidentially provide input for the AOA.
A new satellite ground station designed to substantially improve the Netherland's intelligence gathering was unveiled on Sept. 6. The station will be part of a new Dutch intelligence organization called the National Signals Intelligence Organization (NSO), which will provide raw intelligence to both the Defense Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) and the civilian General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD).
Northrop Grumman Corp. hopes to open its Gulf Coast region shipyards, temporarily closed by Hurricane Katrina, on Sept. 12, according to a company update posted on its Web site late Sept. 7. "While the company is hopeful to resume some levels of shipbuilding activities at its shipyards next week, for now all personnel should continue to monitor these daily advisories," the company said.
Contractors have unveiled proposals for two new military aircraft variants: the Northrop Grumman KC-30 tanker and the Boeing HH-47 combat-search-and-rescue helicopter.
NASA has released a request for information to gauge the interest among commercial geosynchronous satellite operators in using the extra room on their spacecraft to host NASA science instruments. The first instrument that could fly under what NASA is calling the Geo-Quick Ride program is the 31-kilogram (68-pound) Multispectral Imaging System for the Thermosphere and Ionosphere (MISTI) instrument. Responses to the RFI, including a description of how MISTI would be accommodated, are due Sept. 26.
JOCKEYING BILLS: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested Sept. 7 that the Senate take up its delayed fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill on Sept. 8, even ahead of a spending bill including NASA, so that more money can be provided for Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery operations. He said that authorization legislation could be amended with nonrelated provisions while appropriations bills follow stricter Senate guidelines.
