The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) has endorsed a recent restructuring of the Missile Defense Agency's Airborne Laser (ABL) program but has asked MDA for more insight into how ABL compares with another system being developed to destroy ballistic missiles in their boost phase of flight.
Ronald W. Davis will retire as president of business development effective June 1. Dan D. Jura will succeed Davis. Jura currently is executive vice president for business development.
SAT WORK: EADS Astrium will design and build the first South Korean multifunction geostationary satellite. It is to carry payloads for meteorology, ocean observation and communications, the company said. It also will carry an ocean imager to monitor marine environments around the Korean peninsula.
The House Science Committee favorably reported out four bills related to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA during a markup hearing on Capitol Hill May 17. The committee passed: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Act (H.R. 50); a bill to establish a scholarship program to prepare students for careers at NOAA and the National Weather Service (H.R. 2364); the Remote Sensing Applications Act (H.R. 426); and the George E. Brown Jr. Near-Earth Object Survey Act (H.R. 1022).
PHALANX WORK: Raytheon Co. will provide Block 1B upgrade and conversion equipment for U.S. and Portuguese navy Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems, the U.S. Department of Defense said May 17. The work will be done under a $45 million modification to a previous contract and combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (31%) and Portugal's navy (69%) under the Foreign Military Sales program. The MK-15 Phalanx CIWS is a fast-reaction defense against high-speed maneuvering anti-ship missiles that have penetrated other ship defenses.
SpaceDev Inc. of Poway, Calif., posted a 78% increase in revenues and improved its net income to about $101,000 in the first quarter of 2005, the company said May 17. The space products company, which lost about $443,000 in the first quarter of 2004, credited the gains to a backlog of contracts including a second task order with the Missile Defense Agency worth $8.3 million. The 2004 first quarter net income loss primarily was due to loan fees of $464,000 on its revolving credit facility, the company said.
The Standard & Poor's ratings service raised its long-term credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Lockheed Martin from BBB to BBB+, citing its premier defense contractor status and solid financial profile. Credit analyst Roman Szuper said in a statement that the move "reflects an improved financial profile, stemming from stronger earnings and debt reduction. "The action also incorporates expectations that the company will continue to pursue a balanced financial policy and capital allocation from its sizable cash flow," Szuper said.
SBX RADOME: The U.S. Missile Defense Agency announced May 16 that a massive radome, or protective cover, has been placed on its Sea-Based X-Band Radar. Made of synthetic fabric, the radome weighs 18,000 pounds, stands more than 103 feet high and is 120 feet in diameter. The radar, now at Corpus Christi, Texas, is slated to undergo final integration, testing and evaluation before entering service in the ballistic missile defense system late this year.
BOUGHT: The InterTech Group Inc. has purchased the polybenzimidazole fiber and polymer business (PBI) of industrial chemicals producer Celanese Corp. of Charlotte, N.C. and formed PBI Performance Products Inc., InterTech said May 17. Financial terms were not disclosed. PBI polymer and fibers were developed for NASA to provide fire protection for astronauts.
Later this month, Raytheon and XM will demonstrate how satellite radio can provide tailored alerts to military troops as part of the Defense Department's Joint Blue Force Situational Awareness (JBFSA) program.
The House, which took up its version of the fiscal 2006 Homeland Security Department appropriations bill May 17, so far has retained a provision that would cut almost half of the U.S. Coast Guard's requested funding for its Deepwater recapitalization effort.
South Korea's defense ministry said it has developed prototypes of a new amphibious armored vehicle equipped with guided missiles and laser warning systems, the Korea Information Service said May 17. The vehicles, called the Korea Next Infantry Fighting Vehicle (KNIFV), are to be deployed with the military beginning in 2008 as part of a weapons buildup program.
The Pentagon wants to find out whether unmanned aerial vehicle technology developed by Scaled Composites LLC could be useful to warfighters. James "Snake" Clark, director of the Air Force Combat Support Office, said May 17 that he and "a couple undersecretaries of defense" plan to travel May 19 to Mojave, Calif., where the Burt Rutan-founded company is based, to "see what he's got."
NAVY BRAC: The U.S. Navy's recommendations for the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process would create a center of excellence for undersea warfare near San Diego, as well as consolidate some submarine activity in Norfolk, Va., and Kings Bay, Ga. The moves come as the Navy is proposing to close Submarine Base New London, Conn., which the department said would save $1.58 billion over 20 years. The Navy also is recommending basing its East Coast maritime patrol community at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla.
NUCLEAR PROPULSION: Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pa., has been awarded a $104.2 million contract modification to provide naval nuclear propulsion components for the U.S. Navy, the company said May 17. Seventy percent of the work will be done in Pittsburgh and 30% in Schenectady, N.Y. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., awarded the contract.
The Unmanned Little Bird helicopter will deploy to Iraq early next year to provide communications relay for members of the 101st Airborne Division, according to manufacturer Boeing. The deployment follows a series of successful demonstrations at Fort Campbell, K.Y., in which the helicopter kept members of the 101st in touch as they maneuvered through simulated urban terrain. The Little Bird assumes the role of a communications satellite, because orbital satellites often are difficult for soldiers to communicate with from urban areas.
PRAGUE - The Czech Republic's military has accepted three new Mi-35 combat helicopters from Russia as part of an ongoing debt repayment process, a Czech defense official said. Vlastimil Martinek, who heads the Czech defense ministry commission overseeing the helicopter deal, said May 13 that the Mi-35s have been inspected and have no defects.
International defense electronics company Elbit Systems Ltd. increased its revenue by 8% and bettered its net income by 6.5% in the first quarter of 2005, the company said May 17. The Haifa, Israel-based firm reported first quarter 2005 revenue of $230.7 million, compared with $213.7 million for the same period a year ago. Net income for the first quarter of 2005 was $13.1 million, or 32 cents per share, compared with $12.3 million, or 30 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2004.
Employment in the U.S. commercial and military aerospace markets declined slightly from the end of December 2004 to the end of January 2005, coming as a bit of a surprise to the Aerospace Industries Association, but most of the lost ground was regained by the end of March 2005, a result that was in line with AIA forecasts.
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) wants the Defense Department to pay more attention to protecting U.S. space assets and developing payload technology for small satellites.
NEW DELHI - India's Parliament has approved a bill to prevent the transfer of weapons of mass destruction and related technology from India. The parliament was assured that the bill would not hinder development of defense capabilities in the country.
Aerospace North America is canceling its ANA2006 aviation conference and trade exposition and ceasing operations as an association later this month. "Citing the difficulty in structuring an event with a theme and focus that differentiated it from the increasing number of other aerospace industry events, the board concluded that limited support from affiliates and some leading industry companies made it doubtful that conference delegate and exhibition sales would reach acceptable levels," the group said in a statement issued last week.
