END STRENGTH: Part of the U.S. Army's proposed $25 billion funding plus-up might pay for 4,000 more Army troops, "according to rumors," says an industry source. Defense Department Program Budget Decision No. 753 would add $5 billion a year from fiscal 2007 through fiscal 2011 for ongoing Army reorganization (DAILY, Jan. 4). Current high-tempo operations in Iraq have put a strain on Army active duty troops and reservists.
MODERNIZING: Canada's military has received its 40th Phase I modernized CF-18 Hornet from Boeing International, marking the midway point for the aircraft modernization program, the Canadian defense department says. Under an $880 million contract awarded in 2001, Boeing and subcontractor L-3 MAS of Quebec are modernizing Canada's CF-18s to extend their lives until at least 2017, following the outline of a similar program it undertook for U.S. Navy F-18 Hornets.
LOCKHEED ON UCAR: Lockheed Martin's Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) team made "great technical strides" in manned-unmanned systems integration before the cancellation of the program, according to a statement from the company. "We achieved advancements in mission management, sensors systems and rotorcraft design capable of delivering speed, agility, endurance and survivability," the company says.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has won a two-year, $9.2 million follow-on contract from the U.S. Army to provide support for the Tactical Simulation (TACSIM) intelligence training system, the company said Jan. 7. TACSIM is a joint training simulation that replicates the U.S. intelligence system. It is used by all the military services. The system trains commanders, intelligence staffs, collection managers and analysts to effectively use intelligence information in military operations, the company said.
The U.S. Army has received from Lockheed Martin its first Warfighters' Simulation (WARSIM) system, a computer-based simulation tool that supports the training of brigade, joint and coalition level commanders and staffs, the company said Jan. 6. The delivery is the first in a series set through 2006. The program is valued at more than $330 million. WARSIM was developed under a contract first awarded in 1996. The system was delivered to the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation Training and Instrumentation, the company said.
Dogged by unfinished business, a tightening budget and the future requirements of President Bush's new space exploration mission, Republicans and Democrats on the House Science Committee this year will strive to finally reauthorize NASA, committee staffers told The DAILY Jan. 7.
Possible termination of the Lockheed Martin C-130J program would break a multiyear contract, which could result in termination liabilities, a Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. representative told The DAILY on Jan. 7. Defense Department Program Budget Decision (PBD) No. 753 calls for killing the Air Force's C-130J transport aircraft program. The Air Force is in the midst of buying 168 C-130Js (DAILY, Jan. 4).
ACS REVIEW: A high-level Defense Department meeting on the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) program was delayed from December 2004 until late January or early February 2005, according to a Navy official. No problems have arisen in the program, but it has taken more time than expected to prepare for the review, the official tells The DAILY.
Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) will remain chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Aviation subcommittee while Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) retains the chair of the Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation subcommittee, full committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) announced Jan. 6.
NAVY OVERVIEW: Manpower, readiness and quality of service are among priorities the Navy is stressing in 2005, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark says in his CNO guidance, released last week. Increased diversity and the quality of recruits and their training will be emphasized, Clark says. The Sea Power 21 vision, which is transforming the way the Navy fights, will include refining the service's battle against terrorism, Clark says.
NO FREE RIDES: Russia plans to begin charging the U.S. to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) starting in 2006, according to Russian news reports. In the absence of the space shuttle, NASA for the past two years has relied entirely on Russia to transport astronauts and cargo to the ISS, via Soyuz and unmanned Progress vehicles. Russia has provided the flights for free. The new Soyuz plan will be discussed at the next ISS Heads of Agency (HOA) meeting, according to a NASA spokeswoman.
ROCK BOTTOM: Industry has joined a push from some lawmakers to protect aircraft carriers and new shipbuilding from planned defense budget cuts. American Shipbuilding Association President Cynthia Brown tells The DAILY that the "rock-bottom production rate" outlined in the Program Budget Decision No. 753 - which would fund only four ships in fiscal 2006 - could lead the U.S. fleet to drop below 180 ships from its current 289. It takes at least seven years to build aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, five years for large amphibious ships and four years for destroyers.
CANISTER CARTRIDGES: General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has won a $5.8 million contract to produce 3,600 M1028 120mm anti-personnel canister cartridges, the company said Jan. 7. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. The M1028 cartridge is fired from the main cannon of the M1A1/M1A2 Abrams battle tank.
The U.S. Army has exercised two contract options worth $12.4 million with St. Louis-based Engineered Support Systems Inc. for the production of Tactical Quiet Generator (TQG) sets, the company said Jan. 6. The orders were received by Engineered Support's Fermont subsidiary in Bridgeport, Conn.
The Boeing AH-64D Block III Apache helicopter will be compatible with the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS), and have increased power and better sensors, a Lockheed Martin representative told The DAILY. The funding for the improvements will be included in the upcoming Program Objectives Memorandum (POM), and Boeing will continue to work on their development for several more years, said Brad Rounding, manager of Apache projects for Boeing.
First flight of the Air Force Subscale Target (AFSAT) took place last month, according to Athena Technologies Inc., which makes the navigation suite for the vehicle. The flight took place Dec. 8 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Athena said in a Jan. 6 announcement. Composite Engineering Inc. (CEI) of Sacramento, Calif., the AFSAT prime contractor, chose Athena to supply the vehicle's integrated Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System and air data sensor suite.
The U.S. Army is planning to award a contract for the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) at the end of June, said Lt. Col. Neil Thurgood, ARH program manager, Army Aviation Program Executive Office. The accelerated program is on track for Milestone B in June 2005 with Milestone C, or low-rate initial production (LRIP), to follow in July 2006, said Thurgood, who spoke Jan. 6 at the Association of the U.S. Army's aviation symposium and exhibition in Arlington, Va.
Two Army program executive offices have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) aimed at boosting collaboration on simulation programs to help prepare soldiers for the war on terrorism. James Blake, program executive officer (PEO) for Army Simulation, Training and Instrumentation, and Paul Bogosian, PEO for Army Aviation, signed the MOA on Jan. 6 calling for further collaborate on managing, planning and executing aviation simulation programs. The MOA was announced at the Association of the U.S. Army's aviation symposium and exhibition in Arlington, Va.
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) have been elected by their Republican colleagues to be the next chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations committees. Lewis and Cochran prevailed through steering committee elections in their individual houses, followed by ratification of the full GOP chamber memberships. They replace Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), both of whom stepped down under internal GOP six-year term limits.
ITT Industries Inc. will supply two transportable air traffic control radar systems for the Romanian air force, the company said Jan. 5. The radars, part of a package that includes Instrument Landing Systems and other navigational aids, are due to be delivered in late 2005 and will help Romania upgrade its military bases to NATO standards, ITT said. The work will be done by the company's Gilfillan Radar Group.
Canada's military is buying up to 130 high-capacity, line-of-sight radios from Ultra Electronics Tactical Communications Systems of Montreal for Cdn$12.7 million ($10.2 million), the Canadian defense department said Jan. 5. "These new line-of-sight radios will greatly improve our ability to provide situational awareness for commanders and troops in the field," Gen. Ray Henault, chief of the defense staff, said in a statement. "The new radios will also support interoperability with our allies."
The U.S. Air Force is seeking to include 15 Predator A unmanned aerial vehicles in the Bush Administration's upcoming fiscal 2005 supplemental appropriations request, according to a congressional source. It is unclear whether the Air Force proposal will be approved by the Administration, which is expected to send its supplemental request to Capitol Hill in February or March (DAILY, Jan. 6). The funding package is designed mainly to sustain military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
