The Bush Administration's planned cut of $30 billion from the Department of Defense's procurement and modernization budget over the next six years marks an inevitable downswing after years of increasing defense budgets, especially in the wake of growing costs in Iraq, several defense industry analysts told The DAILY. The cuts were detailed in the Program Budget Decision (PBD) No. 753, a budget document signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz on Dec. 23 (DAILY, Jan. 4).
Ideal Aerosmith, which provides test equipment for the aerospace, automotive and petroleum industries, said Jan. 4 that it has bought Carco Electronics, which builds missile flight motion simulators and inertial navigation test systems. Carco's systems are used by governments and defense contractors to simulate the "high dynamic flight environment" of missiles and missile targets, and the buy gives Ideal Aerosmith "the most complete range of motion simulation products within the industry," the company said.
NASA will continue to operate the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) through the spring of 2005, the agency announced Jan. 4. NASA already has extended TRMM four years past its original three-year mission, which ended in 2000. This latest extension follows the release of a National Academy of Sciences report strongly recommending that NASA keep TRMM operating until a decision on de-orbiting the spacecraft becomes "unavoidable."
PEO MERGER: The U.S. Army plans to merge the program executive office (PEO) for air, space and missile defense with the PEO for tactical missiles, a move designed to achieve efficiencies, a service official said Jan. 4. The new entity, the PEO for missiles and space, is scheduled to be up and running Jan. 13.
UGS, which sells product lifecycle management software and services, will acquire Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd., which provides manufacturing process management software for the aerospace and electronics industries. UGS will pay $228 million in cash, or $17 a share. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2005, UGS said Jan. 4. The acquisition is the company's fourth technology company buy since May 2004.
RADIO CONTRACTS: Harris Corp. of Rochester, N.Y., has won more than $30 million in contracts from the U.S. Army to provide high-frequency AN/PRC-150(C) radios and services, the company said Jan. 4. Deliveries started in late December and will end by June 2005. The service contracts run through 2005 and include onsite training, installation and maintenance.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) commented on its recent cancellation of the Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) program in a statement released Jan. 4, saying that it "remains committed" to developing the next generation of autonomous military systems.
Taiwan has agreed to buy more than 400 Lockheed Martin-made AGM-114M blast-fragmentation Hellfire II rounds and other ammunition worth about $50 million under a foreign military sales agreement with the U.S. government, Lockheed Martin said Jan. 4. The total contract includes more than 600 AGM-114M blast fragmentation and AGM-114K high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds, the company said. The purchase will ensure that Taiwan's military is interoperable with the U.S. Army, Marine Corps and Special Operations Forces, Lockheed Martin said.
NASA's 2008 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is pressing on despite having its fiscal year 2005 budget slashed by appropriators from its $70 million request to $10 million.
By the end of 2005, NASA expects to choose a systems integrator to manage its ambitious plans to return humans to the moon by 2020 and prepare for human landings on Mars, according to Rear Adm. Craig Steidle (USN-Ret.), head of the agency's Exploration Systems office. The systems integrator team probably will be led by a NASA center partnered with a major aerospace company, Steidle told The DAILY. The agency plans to release a request for proposals (RFP) for the lead integrator over the summer and make a selection by December, he said.
PROTECTION KITS: Simula Aerospace and Defense Group of Phoenix, Ariz., has been awarded a $19 million contract modification by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command of Warren, Mich., to produce 602 add-on armor crew protection kits for the M915A2, M915A3, and M915A4 series of tactical vehicles, the Defense Department said Dec. 27. The work will be done in Hagalil, Israel, and is expected to be finished by Dec. 15, 2005.
Aerospace component maker TransDigm Inc. of Cleveland has completed its purchase of electromagnetic equipment manufacturer Skurka Engineering Co., TransDigm said Jan. 3. Financial terms were not disclosed. Skurka, based in Camarillo, Calif., primarily produces AC/DC electric motors and components used on a number of commercial and military aircraft, ships and ground vehicles. It has about 125 employees.
PROTECTION KITS: Alexandria, Va.-based Radian Inc. will produce 305 add-on armor crew protection kits with air conditioning for M915 and M915A1 tactical vehicles under a $7.1 million contract, the company said Dec. 27. The U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command of Warren, Mich., awarded the contract. The work will be done in St. Louis and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2005.
ENGINE HOODS: AM General Corp. of Mishawaka, Ind., will make engine compartment hoods for up-armored high mobility multiwheeled vehicles under a $21.6 million contract awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command of Warren, Mich., the Defense Department said Dec. 27. The work will be done in Mishawaka and is expected to be finished by Dec. 31, 2009.
El Segundo, Calif.-based Computer Sciences Corp. has won 65 contracts worth $427 million since Oct. 1 to provide various information technology services to the Defense Department and U.S. civil agencies, the company said Dec. 30.
The U.S. Department of Defense's requirement for compliance with passive radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is phasing in slowly, with only two Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) depots required to conform as of Jan. 1, said Bruce Mahone, the Aerospace Industries Association's assistant vice president for technical operations. The first depots to be phased in are the Susquehanna, Pa., and San Joaquin, Calif., Defense Distribution Depots.
NASA's Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous (DART) spacecraft is back on track to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., in early March, according to Rear Adm. Craig Steidle (USN-Ret.), head of the agency's Exploration Systems Office. Previous launch attempts in October and November were scrubbed due to weather, range availability, launch vehicle contamination and questions over whether the DART spacecraft would be able to withstand the loads associated with the ignition of the second stage of its Pegasus launch vehicle.
General Dynamics European Combat Land Systems and Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf, Germany, have created a U.S.-based joint venture company to build and deliver the 5.56mm XM8 Light Weight Modular Carbine System to U.S. government customers, General Dynamics said Jan. 3.
Jacksonville, Fla.-based Armor Holdings Inc. has purchased Bianchi International for $60 million in cash, the company said Jan. 3. Bianchi, located in Temecula, Calif., supplies holsters, belts and accessories under the Bianchi brand name and outdoor backpacks and daypacks under the Gregory brand name. Bianchi will be integrated into Armor Holdings' Products Division, which manufactures and distributes security products and vehicle armor systems for law enforcement, military, homeland security and commercial markets, the company said.
