Marine Corp Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee told senators March 16 that he would like one more LPD 17 San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship added to the Defense Department's latest Future Years Defense Program (FYDP). The program of record called for a dozen, but the latest FYDP outlined just nine. Nine is the minimum needed, he said, but that level represents some risk.
WILLING TO SERVE: Gordon England, currently secretary of the U.S. Navy, on March 16 said he would be "delighted" to be nominated as secretary of the Air Force if President Bush chooses him. Speaking to reporters about speculation that England is being considered for the post, the 73rd Navy secretary noted his aerospace background. He has served as president of General Dynamics Fort Worth aircraft company. "I know the industrial base," he said. Former Air Force Secretary James Roche and procurement chief Marvin Sambur left the service in January.
The U.S. Air Force is forming a special team to review cost estimates for the Space Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High) in light of a new round of cost growth, a top service official said March 17.
The Patriot missile system was generally successful in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but some changes in its operation must be made, according to a Defense Science Board report. The system engaged all nine enemy tactical ballistic missiles that threatened the areas it was protecting, and eight of the engagements were successful, said the report, dated January 2005. The ninth engagement was probably successful, it said. "In an overall sense, the Patriot missile defense in OIF [was] a substantial success," the report said.
This week, the U.S. Navy will shift $300 million away from the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy, Navy Secretary Gordon England said, because the ship is to be decommissioned. England, testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee on on March 16, did not elaborate on how the money would be used. But he said if the JFK were overhauled, as had previously been planned, it could serve another decade.
The International Space Station (ISS) program is weighing options for replacing a faulty remote power controller that has temporarily taken down one of the station's three control moment gyros (CMGs). The station uses the 800-pound CMGs, which spin at 6,600 rpm, for propellantless attitude control and maneuvering. Operating with two gyroscopes should not affect a scheduled March 28 spacewalk, or the anticipated arrival of the space shuttle in May when it returns to flight on mission STS-114, according to ISS Program Manager Bill Gerstenmaier.
The U.S. Air Force is looking at ways to speed the acquisition of new tanker aircraft in case the Defense Department gives the go-ahead for such a program, according to a top service official.
The U.S. Air Force Space Battlelab has backed away from the Near-Space Maneuvering Vehicle (NSMV) following a series of technical problems that have caused redesigns and scuttled flight attempts.
PRAGUE - The Czech Republic on March 16 approved the purchase of Raytheon Co.-made AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) for its air force's new fleet of Jas-39 Gripen fighters, which are set to be delivered over the next few months. Financial terms were not disclosed. Czech officials declined to disclose the number of missiles being purchased. The missiles will be delivered by 2009.
APPROVED: President Bush said he is looking forward to "working with the Senate so that all of my top priorities are included" in a war supplemental bill. The House approved an $81.4 billion version - down from Bush's $81.9 billion request - on March 16. The House cut some foreign assistance funds and beefed up money for equipment for the Army and Marine Corps.
The House Science Committee March 17 approved bills that lawmakers said would help lead to discovering near-Earth asteroids and strengthening U.S. supercomputing capabilities. The bills, which passed the panel by voice votes, were reintroduced this year after passing the House during the 108th Congress but failing to make progress on Capitol Hill.
Two House Armed Services Committee members, both ardent shipbuilding advocates, have written President Bush to protest the U.S. Navy's plan to compete production of the DD(X) multimission destroyer and award the work to one shipyard. Reps. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) and Jo Ann Davis (R-Va.), who hail from shipbuilding states, told Bush that a winner-take-all competition, now planned for this year, would delay the destroyer by a year, add to its cost and could lead to industry layoffs.
LHA REPLACEMENT: If Congress adds to the U.S. Navy's fiscal 2006 budget request for ships, the service would want $417 million more to speed the LHA Replacement (LHA(R)) program, Adm. Vern Clark said March 16. Clark, the chief of naval operations, told the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee that the LHA(R) underscores the service's Sea Power 21 effort to move toward future littoral and antiterrorism amphibious operations, which is why it tops his wish list of add-ons.
DRY DOCK CONTRACT: Arlington, Va.-based United Defense Industries Inc. has been awarded a $5.5 million contract by the U.S. Navy for dry docking phased maintenance of the USS Hurricane (PC 3) and USS Squall (PC 7), the company said March 17. The work includes installation of the combat craft retrieval system, underwater hull and superstructure preservation, underwater machinery and structural repairs, girder modification and ship service diesel generator maintenance. The two ships are in San Diego.
NUCLEAR SUB: The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $36.6 million contract modification for additional nuclear-submarine work. Initially awarded March 3, 2004, the contract could be worth more than $1.1 billion over five years if all options are exercised and funded, the company said March 15.
With the Army Future Combat Systems' (FCS) preliminary design review only three years away, the Government Accountability Office is warning that the program is in deep trouble. The number of critical technologies the Army says are mature has decreased from last year, Paul Francis, director of GAO Acquisition and Sourcing Management, told The DAILY March 17.
The day the U.S. Air Force announced it is creating a "center of excellence" for unmanned aerial vehicles, a senior lawmaker suggested that a similar entity might be needed for the Army. The Air Force, which indicated in February that it was considering the UAV idea (DAILY, Feb. 10), said March 16 that it has begun setting up the center at Indian Springs Auxiliary Air Field, Nev., to improve interoperability among various UAV command and control systems.
The international main battle tank market will produce more than 8,100 tanks worth more than $33 billion through 2014, Forecast International Weapons Group says. The prediction comes in spite of the glut of available tanks, weapons systems analyst Dean Lockwood said in a March 14 statement. "Despite a glut of available tanks, the international main battle tank market remains a highly competitive and dynamic environment, populated by the established market powerhouses and an influx of energetic new players," Forecast said.
Acting U.S. Air Force Secretary Peter Teets is predicting that the Defense Department will reverse its decision to cut the service's purchase of the C-130J Super Hercules, providing the strongest sign yet that the transport aircraft program may avoid an early demise.
An article in the March 15 issue of Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, headlined "Army speeding fielding processes, acquisition chief Bolton says," misstated the rate of production of Small Arms Protective Inserts (SAPI). By December 2003, the U.S. Army was at peak production, contracting six companies to produce a total of 25,000 SAPI sets a month. Production figures at the end of February 2005 indicated that more than 500,000 sets had been produced, 60% percent of the Army objective.
PRAGUE - European officials have cleared Italian defense company Finmeccanica's proposed acquisition of BAE Systems' avionics and communication businesses under a complicated arrangement known as the "EuroSystems" transaction. The European Commission announced March 15 that the deal does not raise competition concerns in Europe. It also includes dissolving the AMS 50/50 joint venture that specializes in command and control systems and radar and simulation systems.
