The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to award up to three Phase 1 contracts for the Walrus cargo airship program in June, according to agency spokeswoman Jan Walker.
Although the U.S. Air Force continues to have a formal requirement to equip the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle with a defensive subsystem, it has decided not to actively pursue such a device for now, citing funding constraints and limited room on the UAV. The Global Hawk program office and Air Combat Command's (ACC's) high-altitude reconnaissance division revealed the subsystem decision in a written response to questions from The DAILY.
ARMY SUPPLEMENTAL: The U.S. Army portion of the Bush Administration's fiscal 2005 supplemental appropriations request, now pending in Congress, contains $372 million to buy 13 AH-64 Apaches and five UH-60 Black Hawks, according to newly released information. The helicopters would replace aircraft lost in Iraq.
COMBAT SUPPORT: The Agile Combat Support Systems Wing (ACSSW), which manages combat support acquisition programs for the U.S. Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC), has activated five units as part of a broader reorganization at ASC. The five units are the Aging Aircraft Systems Squadron, Combat Electronics Systems Squadron, Human Systems Group, Propulsion Systems Squadron and Simulator Systems Group.
Brazil has canceled its planned tender of a dozen new fighters, the country's air force said in a statement reported by the Agencia Estado Brazil newspaper. Brazil's F-X fighter program, to replace the country's aging fleet of Mirage aircraft, was estimated to be worth $700 million (DAILY, June 11, 2004). Competitors included Lockheed Martin's F-16 Block 50/52, the JAS-39 Gripen, the Embraer/Dassault variant of the Mirage, Sukhoi's Su-35 and MiG's MiG-29.
ITT Avionics of Clifton, N.J., will upgrade electronic countermeasures systems for B-52H aircraft under a $48.2 million contract award, the Defense Department said Feb. 23. The work will include the delivery and production of upgraded AN/ALQ-172 (V) line replaceable unit 1 receivers, line replaceable unit 4 transmitters, line replaceable unit 10 controllers, new line replaceable unit 21 control display units, yttrium garnett filter oscillator mixer modification kits, and spares and support equipment.
ARMOR KITS: The Oshkosh Truck Corp. of Oshkosh, Wis., has been awarded a $22.4 million contract to provide the Marine Corps with 124 ECP-59 MTVR armor kits for Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) Standard Cargo vehicles. The majority of the work will be done by Plasan Sasa in Israel. The work is expected to be finished by December 2005. The contract was awarded by the Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va.
TEST MOTOR: The Office of Naval Research awarded General Atomics of San Diego a $46 million contract for detail design, fabrication and factory testing of a full-scale superconducting, direct current, homopolar motor for ship propulsion, the company said Feb. 24. GA will deliver a 36.5-megawatt, 120-rpm prototype motor, motor drive and support equipment for full-performance testing by the Navy. The system is designed to propel large vessels, such as destroyers, now in development.
The Danish air force is the first military to deploy a next-generation electronic warfare simulation system developed by Cubic Corp.'s defense segment, the San Diego-based company said Feb. 24. The company's High Density Signal Simulator (HIDESS) tests an aircraft's ability to handle virtually all known radar threats that it might face in combat, Cubic said. HIDESS generates signals such as surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air and air-to-ground threats, sending them to an aircraft's actual radar warning receivers and flight software.
PROGRESS: The Expedition 10 crew onboard the International Space Station (ISS) is preparing to jettison a trash-filled Russian Progress cargo ship on Feb. 27 to make way for the arrival of Progress 17 on March 2. After undocking from the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module, the old Progress will orbit the Earth for 10 days before re-entering the planet's atmosphere and burning up over the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, flight controllers on the ground successfully controlled the Canadarm2 without assistance from the ISS crew during a test on Feb. 24.
London-based Rolls-Royce has delivered its first MT30 marine gas turbine generator set to the U.S. Navy for the DD(X) destroyer, the company said Feb. 25. The MT30 will drive the DD(X) Integrated Power System Engineering Development Model, which will provide risk mitigation for the main shipboard and propulsion systems.
Budget pressures could hamper efforts to adapt U.S. air and space assets to the post-Sept. 11 war environment, a panel of air power experts said Feb. 24. Military air and space assets present "inherent" adaptability and flexibility, which allow them to be applied to vastly different operational environments, said a group speaking at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. But questions remain over funding commitments and policies such as putting weapons in space.
NIGHTMARE: Expect a "nightmare" fiscal 2006 appropriations process on Capitol Hill, the budget and appropriations adviser to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) says. Bill Hoagland says another late omnibus spending bill is likely, and that defense appropriations - usually the first set of bills to be completed - may not be finished first this time. Hoagland blames the uneven appropriations structure between the Senate and House, due to Rep. Jerry Lewis' (R-Calif.) recent consolidation of the House Appropriations Committee (DAILY, Feb. 11).
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - President Bush's nomination of U.N. Ambassador John D. Negroponte to be Director of National Intelligence probably won't have a significant effect on the current lines of intelligence communication to U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, according to Adm. Timothy J. Keating, who heads both commands. But Keating also said the creation of the DNI post may boost the ability of the two commands to get intelligence and pass it along.
Feb. 28 - March 2 -- 2005 International Conference On ISO 9000, Hilton Hotel, Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Fla. For more information go to www.iso9000conference.com. Feb. 28 - March 3 -- 21st National Logistics Conference & Exhibition, "Adapting Logistics Capabilities to National Security Requirements," Hyatt Regency, Miami, Fla. For more information contact Phyllis Edmonson at (703) 247-5730, email [email protected] or go to www.ndia.org.
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems has been awarded a $10 million contract to provide seven photonics mast workstations (PMWs) for U.S. Navy Virginia-class submarines, the company said Feb. 25. The contract was awarded by the Naval Sea Systems Command. Under the contract, General Dynamics will perform engineering services for the development, field maintenance and modification of PMWs that will be integrated into the photonics mast system.
Naval Air Systems Command plans its third public demonstration of unmanned aerial vehicles on June 27 at the Webster Field Annex of Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. Guests will be able to view a large stadium-style LED monitor featuring live feeds of imagery being taken by the UAVs as they fly overhead. UAV systems demonstrated in previous years include the Fire Scout, Predator, Pointer and Dragon Eye.
MORE CONSOLIDATIONS: Merger and acquisition dealmakers see 2005 turning into another robust year for industry consolidations. Michael Lustbader, vice president of Arlington Capital Partners and Bob Kipps, a director of Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin Capital, say the past few years have seen 80 to 100 deals a year, and they expect that rate to continue this year. Government services companies, and defense firms in particular, tend to consolidate relatively easily because of similar cultures and use of the same financial information technology systems.
DOD AND GSA: The results of an inspectors general review of the Defense Department's recent contracting through the General Services Administration's regional Federal Technology Service centers are expected "shortly," says Diedre Lee, the director of defense procurement and acquisition policy. So far, most FTS centers have been cleared for that work, although a few centers are still "iffy," she says. Fiscal 2005 legislation mandates that DOD and GSA address cross-agency contracting issues by March 15, or DOD can't continue to tap FTS.
RFID SAVINGS: Cost savings from using radio frequency identification (RFID) are persuading the Defense Department to look at other RFID applications to refine the supply chain process, such as tracking the useful life of specific parts, weapons, and even soldiers in the field, says the consulting company Input of Reston, Va. Most RFID contracts have been awarded to smaller firms specializing in RFID and supply chain management, and Input expects this trend to continue in the near term because RFID adoption will continue to be at the program level instead of agency-wide.
The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (Aegis BMD) system successfully intercepted a short-range ballistic missile target during a Feb. 24 test in the Pacific, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency announced late that day.
The Navy's GQM-163A "Coyote" Supersonic Sea Skimming Target program is planning the fourth of its six planned flight-tests for late March, according to a spokeswoman for engine provider Aerojet. Developed by Orbital Sciences Corp., the expendable GQM-163A will replace the Navy's dwindling inventory of MQM-8 Vandal Extended-Extended Range (EER) targets. The program's most recent flight-test took place Dec. 14 at Point Mugu, Calif. Aerojet provides the missile's variable flow ducted rocket (VFDR) ramjet engine.
The House and Senate armed services committees and other panels are scheduled to take up the fiscal 2006 Department of Defense budget request in earnest this week, starting with a Senate Budget Committee hearing with the Pentagon's chief financial officer, Tina Jonas, on March 1. The same day, the Senate Armed Services Committee will host a hearing on European and special operations commands. On March 2, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hear testimony from Jonas and the House Appropriations Committee will hear from Army officials.
NAVAIR SUPPORT: Titan Corp. said Feb. 24 that it was one of multiple winners of a five-year blanket purchase agreement to provide business and financial management support services at the Naval Air Systems Command. Last month, CACI International Inc. announced it too won a piece of the contract (DAILY, Jan. 27). The total deal has a potential value of $135 million.
