Congress should return NASA's aeronautics budget to 1998 levels to help assure the United States' leadership in aviation, a report by the National Institute for Aerospace says. NASA needs an average five-year annual increase of $885.5 million in its aeronautics budget, the report says, which would roughly double what the agency has requested for aeronautics for fiscal 2006 (DAILY, Feb. 8).
The U.S. Air Force is scheduled to stand up a squadron May 20 at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., to train pilots to fly the CV-22 Osprey. The 71st Special Operations Squadron, part of the 58th Special Operations Wing, will begin its work with several flight simulators. It is due to receive its first aircraft by June 2006, said Ward Carroll, spokesman for the Navy-led V-22 program office. "They'll be coming alive little by little," Carroll said May 9.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has placed a purchase order with Aurora Flight Sciences of Manassas, Va., to produce the company's first Hunter II unmanned aerial vehicle, Northrop Grumman said May 9. The order will serve as a test and demonstration system, the company said. The Hunter II will be built at Aurora's manufacturing facility in Starkville, Miss.
SERVICES CENTER: NASA on May 9 awarded a 10-year contract worth up to $230 million to Computer Sciences Corp. of Falls Church, Va., to support the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC). The NSSC will be located at the Stennis Space Center, Miss., and handle a variety of activities now being done at each NASA center and headquarters. Initial operations of the consolidated NSSC are set for October 2005. Human resources, information technology, procurement and financial management functions will switch to the NSSC from October 2005 through September 2008.
Lockheed Martin Corp. was not a member of the AgustaWestland team that competed for the South Korean presidential helicopter program. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. announced May 6 that its S-92 helicopter won that competition over the AgustaWestland EH101, as reported in the May 9 issue of The DAILY. The EH101 is the base of the US101, which in January was chosen over the Sikorsky VH-92 to stock the next fleet of U.S. presidential helicopters.
Defense Solutions LLC will rebuild 77 T-72 main battle tanks and other vehicles for Iraq's army under an agreement with Iraq's Ministry of Defense, the company said May 9. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has denied a contract protest from Madison Research Corp. (MRC) of Huntsville, Ala., that contended that the Air Force improperly awarded a support contract to COLSA Corp., also based in Huntsville. The contract was for assisting the Air Force in research, developing, acquiring, testing and maintaining aircraft and munition systems at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and other locations.
The U.S. aerospace and defense industry responded to the global marketplace and expanded internationally, so U.S. leaders should tread lightly regarding domestic requirements, Lockheed Martin Senior Vice President Robert H. Trice told lawmakers recently on Capitol Hill. The industry last year provided a trade surplus of $32 billion. "If cross-border relationships are anti-American, the defense industry didn't get the memo," he said.
The U.S. Navy said May 6 that it successfully conducted live-fire testing for the Spartan Scout, a new remote-controlled unmanned surface vehicle (USV) under advanced development by the Pentagon. The Spartan Scout conducted the first live-fire test of a USV at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., in early April. During the tests, it fired a remotely controlled, high-fidelity, electro-optically sighted .50-caliber machine gun while moving across the open water.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) "strongly improved" its financial performance in the first quarter of 2005, mostly driven by improved earnings in the Airbus division, the company said May 9. EADS reported earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 657 million euros ($840 million), more than triple the 198 million euros reported for the same period in 2004. Revenues grew 16%, to 7 billion euros ($9 billion) due to "strong performance across all divisions," including the defense division, which also grew by 16%.
The soon-to-be San Antonio, the first ship of the LPD 17 class of new amphibious ships, has returned to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems' (NGSS) Pascagoula, Miss., facility after successfully completing its sea trials, the U.S. Navy said May 6. The company tested ship maneuvering and steering, propulsion and propulsion controls, mission systems, auxiliary systems and combat systems. The Shipboard Wide Area Network and Engineering Control System, which the Navy says makes up the cornerstone of the complex new vessel, also was demonstrated.
Pennsylvania State University is being awarded a $27.7 million task order for work on the Persistent Littoral Undersea Surveillance Network (PLUSNET) concept. PLUSNET is to be a semiautonomous network of fixed bottom and in-water mobile sensors for detecting and tracking diesel electric submarines operating in shallow waters typical of the Western Pacific. The submarines pose a potential threat to U.S. forces stationed offshore near a combat zone.
Led by its Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Program, United Industrial Corp. posted a 31.7% gain in net sales and a 195% jump in net income for the first quarter of 2005, the company said May 9. Net sales from continuing operations for the first three months of 2005 rose to $107.5 million, compared with $81.6 million for the same period of 2004, the company said. First quarter 2005 net income rose to $12.7 million, or 84 cents a share, compared with $4.3 million, or 32 cents per share, the year before.
SWARMING UNMANNED: The U.S. Navy said May 9 that Alion Science and Technology Corp. of Chicago was awarded a $20 million contract for technical services to develop an "intelligent control system" for swarming, unmanned vehicles to demonstrate autonomous operations and cooperative behavior for persistent surveillance. Work will be performed in Morgantown, W. Va., and is expected to be completed in May 2009.
TANK REPAIRS: General Dynamics Land Systems of Sterling Heights, Mich., has been awarded a $25.2 million delivery order to service M1A2 System Enhancement Package (SEP) tanks returning from Iraq, the company said May 9. The order is part of a $56.3 million contract and was awarded by the U.S. Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command. General Dynamics will modify, repair and service the vehicles and reissue them to Army units before their next deployments. The work is set to start in June 2005. It will be done in Lima, Ohio, Eynon, Pa., and Sterling Heights.
MAINTENANCE: CAE Inc. of Montreal has been awarded a 15-year contract worth Canadian $45 million (U.S. $36.3 million) to provide maintenance and support services for the NATO Flying Training in Canada program, the company said May 9. The contract was awarded by Bombardier Military Aviation Training of Mirabel, Quebec. CAE will provide a range of support services for five flight training devices: three T-6A FTDs and one Hawk FTD located at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Moose Jaw, and one Hawk FTD at CFB Cold Lake.
EVOLVING SEASPARROW: Raytheon Co. on May 6 was awarded a $162.8 million contract for production of the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) for the U.S. Navy and nine other NATO and allied nations. The contract calls for 251 missiles, 38 shipping containers and associated spares for Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway and the Navy by October 2007. Raytheon said its international partners would perform the majority of the work, 55%, while Raytheon completes the rest. The ESSM is an "international cooperative upgrade" of the RIM-7 NATO SeaSparrow Missile, the company said.
COUGAR ORDER: U.S. Army and Marine Corps generals testifying before the House Armed Services Committee on May 5 said their services have placed a joint order for 120 Cougar troop-carrying vehicles made by Force Protection Inc. "We've taken the cue from the Marine Corps in procuring a vehicle called the Cougar," Army Brig. Gen. Joseph L. Votel, director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Task Force, told lawmakers. The vehicle is designed for joint explosive ordnance disposal.
