The House and Senate armed services committees are preparing for painful cuts to current and future defense weapon systems and military bases due to budget deficits and Bush Administration proposals to reform Social Security and Medicare, according to statements from the House committee chairman and a Senate committee staff member.
Raymond W. Boushie has been named to the company's board of directors. Boushie has retired as president and CEO of Crane Aerospace & Electronics, a business segment of Crane Co., Stamford, Conn.
The V-22 Osprey program office is close to resolving a recently discovered glitch in the aircraft's engine pods and now foresees little or no delay in the start of a key test phase, a program spokesman said Jan. 26.
Although the U.S. Navy has decided to withdraw from the U.S. Air Force-led Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program, prime contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. plans no layoffs because JASSM sales to the Air Force and foreign customers are expected to sustain the current work force, according to the company. The Air Force is in the early stages of acquiring 4,900 JASSMs, and the missile has "excellent potential for international sales," with Australia among the possible overseas buyers, company spokeswoman Jennifer Allen said late Jan. 25.
Mark Faulkner has been appointed director of engineering for the Endwave Defense Systems division. Naren Idnani has been named director of manufacturing for the same division.
Gulf Helicopters of Doha, Qatar, has signed a contract to buy a Sikorsky S-92 aircraft to carry high-ranking officials. Delivery is scheduled for 2006, Sikorsky said Jan. 25. Financial terms were not disclosed. Turkey and Turkmenistan also have selected the S-92 for head-of-state missions. Turkey has contracted for one and Turkmenistan for two S-92s.
LASER LEADER: U.S. Air Force Col. Ellen Pawlikowski, director of the Missile Defense Agency's Airborne Laser program for almost five years, is scheduled to leave the program at the end of February, an MDA spokesman said Jan. 26. Pawlikowski, whose successor has not been announced, will replace civilian Christine Anderson as director of the Military Satellite Communications joint program office. Anderson has been reassigned as special assistant to the commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.
Saab presented the first Hungarian Gripen JAS-39 fighter aircraft to roll off the assembly line to Hungary's military on Jan. 25, the Swedish defense procurement agency said. "The rollout of the first Hungarian Gripen is a significant milestone in the Gripen for Hungary program," procurement agency program director Mats Hansson said in a statement.
DRS Technologies Inc. of Parsippany, N.J., has been awarded $30 million in new orders to provide engineering services, spares and production for the U.S. Navy's AN/UYQ-70 Advanced Display Systems and related computer equipment, the company said Jan. 26. Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors Tactical Systems of Eagan, Minn., awarded the contracts. The systems will be installed on the Navy's new Aegis destroyers, cruisers and other surface ships, as well as E-2C Hawkeye aircraft and USS Los Angeles class SSN 688 attack submarines.
Lockheed Martin has successfully conducted the fourth flight-test of a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Unitary rocket at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., the company said Jan. 25. This was the first flight of the GMLRS Unitary rocket with the enhanced capability fuze architecture. The warhead will have a tri-mode fuze, which allows airburst, point-impact and delay modes for penetrating capability, the company said.
Precision Castparts Corp., which produces aerospace metal components and products, intends to acquire the shares of Air Industries Corp. (AIC) and the assets of Air Tuf Products Inc. for $194 million in cash, Precision Castparts said Jan. 25. AIC, located in Garden Grove, Calif., manufactures airframe fasteners, which include bolts, pins, and screws made from titanium and nickel-based alloys. Precision Castparts said the acquisition will enhance PCC's presence in the aerospace fastener market.
U.S. officials should begin a connectivity-communications study to review how U.S. and foreign satellite capacity would be affected by a planned improvement of tsunami warning ability, the director of the National Weather Service told The DAILY Jan. 26.
Transformational capabilities achieved by the U.S. Air Force during Operation Iraqi Freedom included techniques that allowed more than 90% of sorties to receive updated information en route to targets, and enhanced weather forecasting that permitted more effective strikes against time-sensitive targets, according to a new report from the service.
NASA and the International Space Station (ISS) partners have agreed on a plan to complete the orbital facility by 2010 and accommodate all the hardware modules built by the international partner countries that have yet to be launched. The new plan will finish the station "with the fewest number of flights we can," NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said during a press conference following the ISS Heads of Agency (HOA) meeting in Montreal Jan. 26. "We have developed a dynamic plan to achieve that goal."
CACI International Inc. is one of several prime contractors to support the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) business and financial community multiple award contract, the company said Jan. 24. "This award positions CACI to expand its core engineering and logistics line of business," CACI said. Under the terms of the contract, CACI will lead a team of 11 subcontractors to supply logistics, business and financial support services to NAVAIR as it manages programs and products delivered to Navy and Marine Corps aviators.
John R. Woodhull has resigned from the board of directors. Robert Rodin will replace Woodhull. Rodin is founder and CEO of RDN Group, a management consulting firm. Douglas A. Moore has been appointed vice president and account executive. Mark F. Werny has been named vice president and account executive.
David R. Beachley has been named media relations manager. George M. Smart has been elected to the board of directors. Smart is former president of Sonoco-Phoenix Inc.
Adelaide, Australia-based Saab Systems has won a 620 million Swedish kronor ($89.3 million) contract to provide the Dutch army with Universal Tank and Anti Aircraft System (UTAAS) fire control systems for its CV9035 combat vehicles, the company said Jan. 25. The order includes fire control systems built on third-generation Thales infrared systems, along with upgraded software and data communications.
