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.
Lockheed Martin has received a $109.1 million contract for a third low-rate initial production lot of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, the company said Jan. 3.
On Jan. 3, NASA celebrated the one-year anniversary of the landing of the first of its twin Mars Exploration Rovers (MER), Spirit, which has traveled a total of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) on the martian surface. Three weeks after Spirit landed in Mars' Gusev Crater region, the rover Opportunity landed at Meridiani Planum on the opposite side of the planet, where it has traveled roughly 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) so far. Both vehicles are in "great shape for their age," according to Jim Erickson, MER project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Teams led by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Northrop Grumman have been tapped as finalists for the U.S. Army's Extended Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) unmanned aerial vehicle program. A systems capabilities demonstration is scheduled for the first quarter of 2005, leading to an expected contractor downselect in April, according to Aerospace Daily & Defense Report affiliate NetDefense.
ARMOR CABS: Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle Systems of Sealy, Texas, has been awarded a $27.3 million contract modification by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command of Warren, Mich., to produce 545 complete low-signature armor cabs for the family of medium tactical vehicles, the Defense Department said Dec. 27. The work will be done in Sealy and is expected to be finished by Aug. 31.
TESTING: Raytheon Missile Systems Co. will provide 20 range safety kits to support the Tomahawk missile All Up Round flight test program, the U.S. Defense Department said Jan. 3. The work will be done under a $5.5 million delivery order and is expected to be completed in January 2007.
Unmanned aerial vehicles showed their ability to contribute to operations in urban environments during a December experiment in Louisiana, according to the U.S Joint Forces Command (JFCOM). The experiment, called Extended Awareness 1 (EA1), included flights of UAVs from the airport at Slidell, La. The experiment was carried out in support of more than 2,000 Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit as they participated in the Marine Corps' Training in Urban Environment Exercise (TRUEX) that ran Dec. 3-17, JFCOM said Dec. 23.
The Defense Department has rebuffed an Air Force proposal to cut the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, opting instead to slash the Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor, which DOD leaders see as less transformational than JSF, according to sources and documents.
AMMUNITION CONTRACT: Finland-based Patria Weapons Systems will provide Finland's military with field gun and heavy mortar ammunition under a 40 million euro ($53.9 million) contract, the company said Dec. 28. Patria will produce 120mm Illumination and IR-Smoke and Cargo ammunition for the AMOS motar system, as well as 155mm Cargo ammunition components and ammunition shells. The company also will deliver its Artillery Proximity Fuze.
NAVY Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $35,300,000 ceiling-priced modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0001) for the development of the Generation II Mission Computer for the AH-1Z and UH-1Y aircraft under the H-1 Upgrade Program. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in September 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
NASA has selected Muniz Engineering Inc. of Houston to provide electrical systems engineering services to support the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., NASA said Dec. 22. The company will provide electrical engineering support services for hardware and software for space flight, airborne and ground systems, NASA said. The work includes developing and validating new technologies to enable future space and science missions.
RAPTOR EQUIPMENT: Curtiss-Wright Corp. will provide actuation equipment for the lead flap edge and weapons bay door for the F/A-22 Raptor, the company said Dec. 23. The work is being done under a contract from Lockheed Martin, which could be worth $32.6 million over three years, Curtiss-Wright said.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is reviewing the Defense Department's plans to move missile defense systems from the Missile Defense Agency to the military services, The DAILY has learned.
A new rifle sight that allows a soldier to aim at targets around corners and over or under barriers is being developed by Dayton, Ohio-based MTC Technologies Inc., the company said Dec. 22. The Parascope Urban Combat Sight contains a five-sided prism that enables a soldier to place a laser dot on a target from a variety of off-angle firing positions, the company said. Viewing ports from the rear are for normal firing and from the side for indirect firing. Only the hands and forearms of a soldier are exposed when shooting.
