NASA and space shuttle external tank manufacturer Lockheed Martin successfully completed the Design Certification Review (DCR) for the tank that will be used for the shuttle's return to flight mission, STS-114, the company announced March 29.
Excess capacity and slim profit margins likely will lead to further shrinking of the defense fuze industrial base through 2008, the Defense Department said, so it is considering boosting its science and technology research funding for both government and industry.
A new Defense Department report to Congress recommends DOD pay $30-$45 million for a multiyear, cost-sharing program with private industry to build a primary U.S. metal production facility for beryllium, a natural element deemed a "strategic and critical material," especially to produce nuclear weapons or defense products "essential to transformational warfare."
NASA needs to form a detailed plan for the retirement of the shuttle in order to retain skilled technicians as it winds down, according to an industry panel led by the Aerospace Industries Association.
SEA RADAR: The Sea-Based X-Band (SBX) radar, a key element in the U.S. Defense Department's planned national missile shield, is slated to achieve a major goal in the next 30 days, weather permitting, with the placement of a Raytheon-built radar atop a modified oil-drilling platform, according to DOD officials. The mating will occur in Corpus Christi, Texas, where a huge crane will pick up the radar and place it atop the platform. Following sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico, the self-propelled, slow-moving SBX will move around South America to the Pacific Ocean.
FIRST FLIGHT: SaabTech's Reconnaissance Pod System for the Gripen fighter had its first flight on March 24 at Linkoping, Sweden, the company said. The pod will allow JAS 39 Gripens to replace AJSF 37 Viggen reconnaissance aircraft assigned to the Swedish air force's rapid reaction force, Saab said. Flight-testing and evaluation will continue at Linkoping for about a year and the pod is scheduled to enter service in 2006.
The defense industrial base is not overly consolidated and current competition is sufficient to avoid stifling innovation and hurting warfighters, the U.S. Defense Department told Congress in its latest annual industrial capabilities report. DOD has identified more than 800 companies with relevant industrial base capabilities. Last year, it reviewed 32 proposed acquisitions under the Hart-Scott-Rodino provisions of the Antitrust Improvement Act to identify the affect on national security and defense industry capabilities.
NEW DELHI - India's navy has decided against buying six Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye 2000 carrier-borne early warning aircraft, saying they are too large for the service's needs and aren't a good fit for India's aircraft carriers. The aircraft requires a catapult launch, but India's carriers, including the Admiral Gorshkov, being bought from Russia, don't have them.
A high-level Pentagon panel met March 29 to consider whether the Air Force F/A-22 Raptor is ready to begin full-rate production. The Defense Acquisition Board had not concluded its session at press time. Results of the meeting may not be available for days or weeks. Prime contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. is building almost two F/A-22s a month in Marietta, Ga., a figure that could rise to almost three a month under full-rate production.
LANDING SYSTEMS: Lancaster, Pa.-based Herley Industries Inc. announced March 28 that it received a $3.3 million contract modification to supply Tactical Instrument Landing Systems (TILS) for U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet and E-2C Hawkeye aircraft. TILS is a new aircraft carrier-landing design that began as an initial multiyear contract for the Super Hornet.
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) has won two new contracts worth $23 million for production of additional AN/AAR-47 missile warning systems, the company said March 29. The electro-optical AAR-47, installed on U.S. and allied transport aircraft and helicopters, is a battle-proven system credited with saving numerous aircraft and aircrews from attack by heat-seeking, shoulder-fired missiles, the company said.
Fueled by its transformation efforts, the Office of the Secretary of Defense is expected to lead the federal government's information technology spending this fiscal year with $7.2 billion, according to the government IT consulting company Input. That will grow to $8.4 billion in fiscal 2010, Reston, Va.-based Input said.
COUNTERMEASURES: Northrop Grumman Corp. delivered the first five production units of its AN/ALQ-135 electronic countermeasures system to the Boeing Co. for use on F-15Ks bound for South Korea's air force, the company said March 29. The latest configuration of the AN/ALQ-135 has speed and memory enhancements, and uses microwave power module transmitter technology to cut weight and boost performance, Northrop Grumman said. Deliveries for the Korean F-15Ks have begun, and will continue through early 2008, Northrop Grumman said.
CPI Aerostructures Inc. of Edgewood, N.Y., reported March 29 that its fourth-quarter revenue rose 38.5% compared with the same period in 2003, reaching $9 million. For the year, the company said revenue increased 11% to $30.3 million, compared with $27.3 million for 2003. The company builds structural aircraft parts, mainly for the U.S. Air Force, and also provides engineering, technical and program management services.
DRS Technologies Inc. has been awarded a $49 million contract to provide an upgraded targeting system for the U.S. Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the company said March 29. The Improved Bradley Acquisition Subsystems (IBAS) allows gunners to fire from greater ranges, helping keep U.S. soldiers safer and enhancing the ability to destroy enemy targets, the company said.
The U.S. Coast Guard has released a long-awaited Revised Deepwater Implementation Plan, but two powerful U.S. senators already are criticizing it for not addressing what they believe is an insufficient fiscal 2006 budget proposal, as well as the slowness of the recapitalization effort.
NASA is working on a low-cost transceiver for launch vehicles that would allow them to relay telemetry to the ground through the agency's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS).
The U.S. Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) is seeking research and development proposals for the development of new centerline turboshaft engines for use in future manned and unmanned aerial vehicles. The Army won't issue a formal request for proposals, other solicitation requests, or more information regarding these requirements, the AATD said March 29. The period of performance for the program is about 43 months. Proposals are due May 15 and the government anticipates awarding contracts by July 30.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended the U.S. Navy's new shipbuilding plan March 29 and said he is making progress toward filling high-level jobs at the Pentagon. While the 30-year shipbuilding plan projects the Navy will have a fleet of 260-325 ships (DAILY, March 24), well short of the 375 that some lawmakers say is needed to defend the United States and sustain the industrial base, Rumsfeld said the document had to balance funding demands across the Defense Department.
U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) is soon to acquire broader technology transfer authority to quickly deploy industry research and development initiatives. For this purpose, it is establishing an Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA), the command said March 24.
GREENBELT, Md. - Before the end of spring, NASA plans to select the sequence of robotic orbiters and landers it will send to the moon to pave the way for astronauts to return by 2020. The Robotic Lunar Exploration Program (RLEP) will mark the first spacecraft launches directly supporting NASA's new vision for space exploration. Starting with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) in 2008, NASA expects to launch roughly one robotic lunar mission each year, all to be managed by Goddard Space Flight Center here.
