The U.S. Army general in charge of United States and United Nations forces in South Korea asked Congress on March 8 to continue support for modernizing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities there. "Our intelligence transformation efforts are focused in three critical areas: improving our warning posture, modernizing legacy C4I architectures and sensor suites and improving our ability to discern intent," Gen. Leon J. LaPorte told the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC).
SUBCOMMITTEE LEADERS: The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation announced its subcommittee leadership appointments March 8. For the aviation subcommittee, Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) will chair with Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) as ranking member. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) will lead the science and space subcommittee with Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) as ranking member.
Spurred by combat injuries suffered by U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is starting a program to develop realistic-looking prosthetic arms that would be controlled by a person's nervous system.
Northrop Grumman Corp. of Los Angeles has awarded Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Rockwell Collins a four-year, $49.6 million contract to provide avionics upgrades for 18 E-8C Joint STARS aircraft, Rockwell Collins said March 7. The upgrades will allow the aircraft to meet Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) requirements, the company said.
The new combatant commander for U.S. military forces in the Pacific realm tried on March 8 not to jump directly into the debate about U.S. naval shipbuilding and fleet structure, but Navy Adm. William J. Fallon still referred to China's military growth trend as a potential future concern. "It's disconcerting to see this buildup, it seems to be more than might be required for their defense," Fallon told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
SAS C PANELS: The Senate Armed Services Committee's defense subcommittee will be chaired by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) under subcommittee assignments announced late March 7 by SASC Chairman Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) will be the defense panel's ranking Democrat. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) will head the Homeland Security subcommittee, with Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.), the SASC ranking Democrat, taking the same position there as well. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) will chair the Commerce, Science and Technology subcommittee, with Sen.
Lockheed Martin's Surveilling Miniature Attack Cruise Missile (SMACM) is expected to enter the next stage of its development later this month when the missile's seeker will be tested in flight aboard a Beech King Air small aircraft, according to a company spokeswoman. Lockheed Martin plans other SMACM flight-tests later in the year, including launching the missile from an aircraft. The company has said that SMACM successfully underwent wind-tunnel tests in late 2004 (DAILY, Dec. 23).
The U.S. Defense Department says it currently has no plans to intervene in a labor strike that began March 8 at Lockheed Martin's Marietta, Ga., plant, where the Air Force's F/A-22 Raptor and C-130J Super Hercules are built. "At this point, it's in the contractor's hands until/unless it becomes an issue involving a critical contract for needed equipment, weapon systems, etc.," DOD spokesman Glenn Flood said. "Then the contracting activity that has the most at stake could get involved."
A BUDGET OF THEIR OWN: Democrats in the House will propose their own federal budget, House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters March 8. The Democrats' budget will outline a "strong commitment to national defense," although Hoyer did not provide further details. The Democratic budget proposal will exclude some of the same things that President Bush left out of his fiscal 2006 budget proposal, including costs for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. aerospace industry expanded its foreign trade surplus in 2004, increasing the positive balance by $4 billion to reach $31 billion, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) said March 7. According to statistics compiled by the AIA Aerospace Research Center, the industry saw an increase in exports of $4.3 billion and an increase in imports of about $400 million. The positive trade balance in 2003 was $27 billion.
NEW DELHI - Singapore's defense ministry has submitted a request for proposals to three companies for the production of 20 fighter aircraft worth $1 billion, defense minister Teo Chee Hean said. Under consideration are Eurofighterís Typhoon, Boeing Co.'s F-15E and F/A-18, and Dassault Aviation's Rafael. Two United Kingdom Royal Air Force Typhoons were evaluated in Singapore last year. (DAILY, July 6, 2004). The defence ministry will award the contract in the next few months and "ensure that it extracts the best value," Teo said.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has won the second phase of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract to develop electronic components made from gallium nitride, a next-generation semiconductor material system aimed at providing improved communications, radar and intelligence capability to warfighters.
The House Science Committee is concerned that the FAA's Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation (AST) is "continuing to develop burdensome and costly launch regulations that will undermine the competitiveness of the existing U.S. expendable launch industry," according to the committee's recent "Views and Estimates" report on the Bush Administration's fiscal year 2006 budget request.
BAE Systems North America has agreed to acquire United Defense Industries Inc. (UDI) for $4.1 billion, BAE Systems said March 7. "The acquisition, for the first time, allows BAE Systems to become a prime contractor in the United States," Jim McAleese, founder of McAleese & Associates, a law firm that analyzes defense issues, told The DAILY. "BAE isn't a prime in the U.S. except for on the Advanced Tactical Infrared Countermeasures System [ATIRCMS] program."
The House Science Committee in a new report expresses concern over current laws preventing the United States from buying Soyuz rockets from Russia, warning that they could bring the International Space Station (ISS) program to a standstill in the coming year.
NO MERGER: EADS and Thales should not merge, the head of DaimlerChrysler told Financial Times Deutschland. There are areas where they could cooperate, Jurgen Schrempp said, but "I don't see any point in a merger." DaimlerChrysler owns about a third of EADS.
Although the Boeing Co. is involved in yet another ethics scandal - this time involving the ouster of President and CEO Harry Stonecipher for an alleged affair with a female executive - this is not expected to affect the Air Force's recent decision to lift the company's 20-month suspension from space launch competitions, said Maj. Karen Finn, an Air Force spokeswoman.
DISCOVERY PROCESSING: Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida continue to prepare the space shuttle Discovery for rollout to the Vehicle Assembly Building later this month, where it will be mated with its tank and boosters in anticipation of launch between May 15 and June 3. The shuttle currently is in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, where technicians are working on assembly fasteners for the Boom Manipulator Positioning Mechanism, installing and verifying the Remote Manipulator System camera and inspecting airlock wiring.
