HYDROGEN: Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide said Feb. 28 that it expects $2 million out of the fiscal 2005 defense appropriations act for its U.S. Army Mobile Hydrogen Infrastructure program. The Irvine, Calif., company credited Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.), chairman of the then-House Select Committee on Homeland Security, with securing the funds last year.
With three of its four planned software block upgrades wrapped up, the X-45A Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) program is looking forward to a final software upgrade that will culminate in a "graduation" demo this summer, according to Boeing spokesman Bill Barksdale.
NEW FACILITY: Northrop Grumman Corp. opened its newly consolidated Remotec Inc. robotics facility in Clinton, Tenn., on Feb. 28, the company said. The 75,000 square foot engineering, manufacturing and administrative office building consolidates what had been four separate, less-modern facilities, the company said. Remotec provides mobile robot systems for hazardous duty for the military, law enforcement, nuclear facilities and research laboratories. Remotec is part of Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector.
ATK Thiokol Inc. of Brigham City, Utah, will deliver M212 Aircraft Countermeasure Flares under a $6.7 million order from the U.S. Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, the Department of Defense said Feb. 28. The work will be performed in Corrine, Utah, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, DOD said.
COMPLETED: Lockheed Martin has completed the acquisition of STASYS Ltd., a United Kingdom-based technology and consulting company that has tactical data link integration and modeling and simulation expertise, Lockheed Martin said Feb. 28. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company will be known as Lockheed Martin STASYS Ltd.
CORROSION: Systems and Materials Research Consultancy of Spicewood, Texas, is to develop a prototype of a microwave corrosion detector for inspecting aircraft structures under a $12 million Small Business Innovative Research contract, the U.S. Department of Defense said Feb. 28. The work is to be completed in February 2010, and is to develop a system that could inspect structures for less than competing technologies, DOD said. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division of Lakehurst, N.J., awarded the work.
L-3 Communications Integrated Systems of Greenville, Texas, has been awarded a $16.3 million contract to conduct Enhanced Special Structural Inspections (ESSIs) and center wing replacement on P-3 aircraft, the Defense Department said Feb. 28. The inspections will focus on the replacement of structural components of high-fatigue areas discovered during P-3 Service Life Assessment Program fatigue testing. The work will be performed in Greenville and is set to be finished in December 2007.
Military and commercial aerospace company RADA Electronic Industries Ltd. of Netanya, Israel, enjoyed a 15% jump in revenues and an 8.4% boost in net income in 2004, the company said Feb. 28. Revenues in 2004 grew to $14.2 million, while net income climbed to $822,000, or 3 cents per share, the company said. Net income in 2003 was $758,000. Operating profits for 2004 also increased to $1 million, compared to $25,000 in 2003.
The CVN-21 DAB A Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) meeting to review the futuristic CVN-21 aircraft carrier has been postponed and there is no "current indication when it will be rescheduled," a Navy spokesman told The DAILY Feb. 25.
SCAR: The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) awarded a contract worth up to $700 million to a U.S. subsidiary of Liege, Belgium-based Herstal Group for the Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR). The SCAR will be built at the FN Manufacturing LLC plant in Columbia, S.C. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Ind., is responsible for SCAR program testing.
ALION: Technology products firm Alion Science and Technology of McLean, Va., has purchased Seaside, Calif.-based Carmel Applied Technologies Inc., the company said Feb. 28. Financial terms were not disclosed. CATI provides development and integration of systems to produce 3-D visuals for flight simulators. Alion primarily serves the Defense Department. CATI will become part of Alion's Strategic Operations Group within the Defense Operations Integration Sector.
The U.S. Defense Department is revamping top-level oversight of the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) to improve coordination among the program's multiple efforts, according to a program official. DOD plans to end the practice of having each of several clusters report to a different service official, said Lt. Col. Maryann Watson (USAF), program manager of the Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Station (AMF) cluster. Under the new approach, a single person will oversee all of the clusters.
NITZE COMMISSIONING: The U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer Nitze (DDG 94) will be commissioned March. 5. The Flight IIA Aegis destroyer and its crew of about 300 arrived in its permanent homeport at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., on Feb. 24. The Flight IIA upgrade program includes improvements over the first flight of destroyers such as the addition of two helicopter hangers for the SH-60 Seahawk Light Airborne Multi-Purpose helicopter. The Flight IIA design also features a zonal electrical distribution system and other shipboard improvements.
Aerospace component and assembly manufacturer Ducommun Inc. reported a dip in fourth-quarter 2004 sales due to a reduction in sales to NASA's space shuttle program, and CEO Joseph C. Berenato said the overall results were a "major disappointment."
Lockheed Martin Corp. came out on top in meeting the Small Diameter Bomb's (SDB) moving-target requirement before the Air Force dropped that requirement and picked the Boeing Co. as SDB's prime contractor, according to the Government Accountability Office. Early in the SDB competition, "Lockheed Martin was perceived as having a 'strength' and Boeing was considered 'weak' with regard to the moving-target requirements," also known as the program's Increment 2 or second phase, the GAO wrote in a document released Feb. 25.
House and Senate Appropriations Committee staff are preparing to deal with the restructuring of the House panel, but it's not clear what effect the changes will have on annual spending bills, an industry observer said.
TACTICAL VEHICLES: Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle Systems L.P. of Sealy, Texas, has been awarded a $6.4 million contract to produce 150 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles. The work will be done in Sealy and is set to be finished by Nov. 20, 2005. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich.
DRS Technologies Inc. of Parsippany, N.J., has been awarded a $21.3 million contract to provide the U.S. Army with digitization systems for M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles to better see the battlefield, the company said Feb. 28.
Japan's H-IIA rocket returned to flight Feb. 26, launching the Multi-functional Transport Satellite-1 Replacement (MTSAT-1R) spacecraft from the Tanegashima Space Center. Launch took place at 1:25 p.m. Pacific Time, with spacecraft separation occurring 40 minutes later. A scheduled launch attempt on Feb. 24 was postponed due to weather.
Safe Air Ltd., a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, will modify and support New Zealand C-130 Hercules aircraft under a contract from the Canadian company Spar Aerospace Ltd. The modifications are to extend the life of the aircraft by 15 years, Safe Air said, and include replacing structural components in the wing and fuselage, upgrading mechanical and electrical systems and installing new avionics.
Britain's Ministry of Defence has awarded VT Group plc of Southampton, England, a 30 million pound ($57.5 million) contract to build an Offshore Patrol Vessel for the U.K. navy, the MOD said Feb 25. The 80-meter (87.4 yard) ship is based on the VT Group-built River Class design and will replace the U.K. navy's two existing Castle Class offshore patrol vessels. The new vessel, with a helicopter deck and surveillance radar, will patrol the waters off the Falkland Islands, the MOD said.
