Revenues climbed 12% and net earnings surged 15% for General Dynamics in the second quarter of 2005, the company said July 20. Second-quarter revenues were $5.2 billion, compared with $4.7 billion for the same period a year ago. Net earnings were $345 million, or $1.71 per share, compared to $300 million, or $1.49 per share, in the second quarter of 2004, the company said. Earnings from continuing operations jumped to $344 million, or $1.70 per share, from $290 million, or $1.44 per share.
Douglas Grier III has been appointed regional sales manager for law enforcement in the mid-Atlantic region. Bryan K. James has been named director of law enforcement sales.
Daniel J. McClain has been appointed corporate director of media relations. Douglas H. Young has been named vice president of space systems for the company's integrated systems sector and Crew Exploration Vehicle program manager.
ARMOR DISPLAY: The House Armed Services Committee on July 21 will host a Capitol Hill display of gun truck armor kits for convoy protection, a Humvee with a Marine Armor Kit and ballistic glass, and the Interceptor personal body armor system. The Vietnam-era gun truck armor kits were developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to provide convoy protection in Iraq, where 31 such trucks are now operating with another 80 vehicles planned, the HASC said July 20.
In late summer or early fall the U.S. Navy plans to assess a miniaturized Cooperative Engagement Capability terminal developed by prime contractor Raytheon that takes advantage of modern computer technology to reduce the system's size and power requirements. CEC links radar systems on Navy ships and aircraft to create joint radar tracks and enhance targeting. Based on 1990s technology, the current Block I CEC system costs roughly $6 million per installation.
Ike Evans, Richard Gephardt, Robert Johnson, Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish (USAF-Ret.), Connie Mack, Seth M. Mersky, Jeffrey L. Turner, and Nigel S. Wright have been named to the board of directors. Evans is an operating partner of Thayer Capital and vice chairman of Suntron Corp. Gephardt is a former Missouri congressman. Johnson is chairman of Honeywell Aerospace. Kadish is former director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. Mack is a former Florida senator. Mersky is a managing director of Onex Corp. Turner is president and CEO of Spirit Aerosystems Inc.
TOMAHAWK FLIES: The submarine USS Tucson test launched a Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile while submerged off the coast of southern California on July 19. Seconds after being launched vertically, the Tomahawk transitioned to cruise flight and flew a fully guided 815-nautical mile test flight using Global Positioning System and digital scene matching navigation. The flight ended at a target site on a land range managed by Naval Air Systems Command. The Block IV Tomahawk achieved initial operational capability in May 2004.
The U.S. Air Force will adjust its plans for legacy fighters if the multiservice F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program experiences more delays, a service official told a congressional panel July 20. The Air Force plans to buy 1,763 F-35s from Lockheed Martin Corp. to replace its F-16s and eventually its A-10s. But the Air Force's initial fielding date for JSF already has slipped from 2011 to 2013 due to the program's weight problems, and more delays are seen as possible.
MORE LAIRCM: Boeing will upgrade an additional 25 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft with Northrop Grumman's Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures, or LAIRCM, under a $31.2 million contract modification. LAIRCM detects, tracks and jams missiles by aiming a high-intensity laser into their seekers.
NEW DELHI - The United States' and India's completion of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) is expected to lead to greater cooperation in technology, commercial space programs and space exploration. The recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the U.S. marked the completion of the NSSP, which was launched in January 2004.
The Greek government has announced that it plans to buy 30 more F-16s from U.S.-based Lockheed Martin Corp. The purchase is estimated to cost 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), although a final price for the Advanced Block 52 aircraft still has to be negotiated with the United States, according to a statement released July 20 by the Greek Embassy in Washington. The order includes an option to buy 10 more F-16s. The Greek air force already has taken delivery of 140 F-16s through three previous purchases, according to Lockheed Martin.
Orbital Sciences Corp. reported revenues of $177.4 million and operating income of $14.7 million for the second quarter of 2005, results the company said were limited somewhat by production and delivery delays.
The U.S. Army said it has temporarily suspended a request for proposals for the Objective Individual Combat Weapon Increment 1 (OICW-1), a family of small arms, to incorporate requirements of other military services. The interest of other services "is further supported by several internal reviews reinforcing the increase in the potential for joint use," the Army said in an unusual July 19 announcement.
Armor Holdings Inc. announced July 20 that the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command awarded it a $78 million contract for additional M1114 up-armored Humvees for the Marine Corps.
After a similar attempt last week failed, a group of House members concerned about the growing influence and intentions of China successfully pushed adoption of a provision July 19 that they hope will keep European officials and companies from arming the Asian giant. The legislation came the same day that the Defense Department released an interagency report that described what Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called China's "significant military buildup."
Olivier Andries has been named executive vice president for strategy and cooperation. Charles Champion has been appointed chief operating officer. Henri Courpron has been appointed executive vice president of procurement. Alain Flourens has been named executive vice president of Airbus' Centers of Excellence. Karl-Heinz Hartmann has been appointed executive vice president of operations. John Leahy has been named chief operating officer - customers.
A NASA authorization bill will come before the House on July 22 and should pass after consideration of a controversial amendment aimed at curbing the outsourcing of any International Space Station-related jobs, House aides told The DAILY July 20. Congress has not sent the president a NASA authorization since 2000.
Aerospace and industrial gas turbine aftermarket sales boosted first-quarter fiscal 2006 sales for Precision Castparts Corp. to $854.6 million, a 27.9% increase over the same period last year, the company said July 19. Net income from continuing operations grew from $50.5 million for the first quarter of 2005 to $77.7 million this year.
A study has been launched on how the Air Force could protect all of its aircraft against the kinds of infrared-guided missiles that enemy forces have used in Afghanistan and Iraq.
NEW HEADQUARTERS: Security services and products provider Triple Canopy Inc. is moving its headquarters from suburban Chicago to northern Virginia to be closer to its chief customer, the U.S. government, the company said July 19. The firm's new office will be located in Herndon, Va., near Dulles International Airport. The 27,000-square-foot facility will open July 25 and house about 100 workers. Triple Canopy's customers include the Departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security, and Energy, as well as corporate clients.
Senate appropriators have postponed marking up the fiscal 2006 spending bill for the Defense Department. The Senate Appropriations Committee's defense panel was to meet July 19, but that was canceled. The same day, an SAC spokeswoman told The DAILY that the previously scheduled full-committee consideration of the defense bill, slated for July 21, also has been postponed.
