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.
BRADLEY SUPPORT: Santa Clara, Calif.-based United Defense Industries Inc. has won a $34.3 million contract modification to provide systems technical support and logistics services for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. The work will be done mostly in Santa Clara and is expected to be completed by November 2005.
EADS Space Transportation has been awarded a 10-year contract worth more than 3 billion euros ($3.95 billion) to provide the French navy with M51 ballistic missiles that carry nuclear warheads, EADS said Jan. 5. The number of missiles was not disclosed. The contract was awarded by the French arms procurement agency DGA. Four French submarines will be equipped with M51s beginning in 2010. The sub Le Terrible will be the first to be retrofitted, followed by Le Vigilant, Le Triomphant and Le Temeraire.
A new bipartisan group of legislators is forming on Capitol Hill to try to shield U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and new shipbuilding from potential Defense Department budget cuts beginning in fiscal 2006. The effort - spurred by reductions outlined in DOD's Program Budget Decision (PBD) No. 753 (DAILY, Jan. 4) - already counts at least 18 members in its first week.
While NASA is not rushing the space shuttle's return to flight, regaining its cargo capability will be crucial to ensuring that the International Space Station (ISS) won't have to be evacuated, according to Michael Kostelnik, deputy associate administrator for the shuttle and ISS.
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) of Canada has received a $154 million contract from NASA to develop the grappling arm and two-armed robot required for an autonomous servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope, the company announced Jan. 5.
The U.S. Air Force's F/A-22 Raptor returned to the air Jan. 6, ending a "stand-down" imposed on the fleet after one of the stealthy jets crashed on takeoff in December and was destroyed. The Air Force had suspended flying all 28 of its remaining F/A-22s after the Dec. 20 accident, in which the pilot ejected safely as his Lockheed Martin-built jet was leaving the runway at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. (DAILY, Dec. 22, Dec. 23).
Oman's military has agreed to buy about 100 Javelin Anti-Tank Weapon Systems from the U.S. government through a joint venture of Raytheon Co. and Lockheed Martin, the companies said Jan. 6. Financial terms were not disclosed. Oman's military will receive about 100 Javelin missiles and command launch units, along with training and support packages, the companies said.
The Bush Administration released its long-awaited space transportation policy Jan. 6, which instructs the Department of Defense to retain its "assured access to space" strategy and continue to support Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle providers Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
The U.S. Defense Department has ordered a study on whether requirements for part of the Space Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High) system should be reduced to avoid more cost and schedule overruns in the program. The Air Force is to conduct the review with the Joint Staff and U.S. Strategic Command and give the results to the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) and the undersecretaries of defense for intelligence and acquisition by March 31. The review is to focus on the program's geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellites.
NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., atop a Boeing Delta II rocket on Jan. 12 at about 1:48 p.m. EST, NASA said Jan. 5. Originally scheduled for Dec. 30, the launch was pushed back because of technical concerns over the rocket. After rendezvousing with comet Tempel 1 this coming July, the Deep Impact spacecraft is scheduled to deploy a penetrator to strike the comet's surface and expose its interior, which is thought to contain material virtually unchanged since the formation of the solar system.
AMMO CONTRACT: General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems of St. Petersburg, Fla., has been awarded a $54 million contract modification to produce 120mm M831A1 and M865 tank training ammunition for the U.S. Army, the company said Jan. 6. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Field Support Command at Rock Island, Ill. The rounds are fired from M1A1/A2 tanks. The work is expected to be finished by September 2008.
The U.S. Defense Department's industrial policy (IP) office is urging DOD leaders to consider adding a second supplier for its Active Denial System (ADS) on the grounds that demand for the nonlethal, directed energy weapon could eventually surge. ADS, which is designed to repel adversaries, uses an energy beam to heat water under the skin, causing pain but no damage. It is being developed for warfighters but could ultimately be useful for military peacekeepers and law enforcement agencies as well, the IP office wrote in a new report.
TRUCK ARMOR: Jacksonville, Fla.-based Armor Holdings Inc. has won a $53.5 million contract modification to provide add-on armor for various U.S. Army heavy trucks, the company said Jan. 5. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. The work will be done in Phoenix and is scheduled to be finished in 2005.
CONTRIBUTIONS: Gregory H. Bradford, a self-employed international defense consultant and former chief operating officer of Washington-based EADS North America, has been named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. He was cited for his contributions "to the development and enrichment of French-American industrial and commercial cooperation."
