Lockheed Martin has begun wind tunnel testing the Surveilling Miniature Attack Cruise Missile (SMACM), a small, air-launched cruise missile designed to look for surface targets after being fired from outside enemy air defenses. Lockheed Martin expects to complete a 66-hour series of wind tunnel tests at an undisclosed location by the end of this week, according to a company spokeswoman. The firm hopes to know by next week whether the wind-tunnel effort has confirmed that the missile's design is aerodynamic. Flight-tests could follow in 2005.
Israel's upgraded A-4 Skyhawk has successfully completed its first flight, said RADA Electronic Industries Ltd., which provided modernized avionics for the air force trainer. Flight-testing of the upgraded aircraft is scheduled to be completed within three months, with serial production and installation of the upgraded systems continuing through the third quarter of 2005, RADA said.
Supplies of food are getting tight aboard the International Space Station (ISS), prompting program officials to begin thinking about a possible evacuation of the station in case the next resupply by a Russian Progress cargo vehicle doesn't take place on schedule. ISS managers try to retain 45 days of margin for each of the critical consumables onboard the station, including food, water, and air. Food supplies crossed this threshold on Nov. 14, and water is expected to drop below the margin Dec. 14.
The Senate passed "The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004" (H.R. 5382) by unanimous consent Dec. 8, clearing the way for President Bush to sign it into law. Passed by the House last month, H.R. 5382 establishes a regulatory framework for the emerging suborbital space tourism industry and allows the Federal Aviation Administration to more quickly grant experimental permits for new vehicles.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program, which had planned to conduct a flight-test Dec. 8, has delayed the event at least a day due to unfavorable weather conditions, according to an MDA spokesman. Heavy clouds at Kodiak Island, Alaska, the target missile's launch site, prevented Integrated Flight Test 13C (IFT-13C) from taking place as scheduled, the MDA spokesman told The DAILY Dec. 9. The clouds would have prevented safety officials from visually confirming that the target was on course after launch.
ITT Industries has been awarded a seven-year contract that could be worth up to $2.5 billion from the U.S. Army's Logistics Readiness Center for the production of the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS), ITT said Dec. 9. Under the contract, the Army will order SINCGARS combat radio systems and spares over the next several years to support U.S. and allied forces worldwide. The contract also permits ITT to upgrade earlier model SINCGARS with current technology. The initial order is worth $49.5 million, the company said.
The House Science Committee plans to hold hearings next year on the future of the Hubble Space Telescope, according to Chairman Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.). A National Academies panel concluded in a report released Dec. 8 that NASA should send the space shuttle to service Hubble as soon as possible, directly contradicting NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe's decision to cancel future shuttle visits in favor of robotic servicing.
PURCHASE: Microwave technology provider Herley Industries Inc. of Lancaster, Pa., has agreed to buy Micro Systems Inc. of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., for cash, Herley Industries said Dec. 9. The purchase price was not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in about 30 days. Micro Systems provides systems and services for unmanned aerial, sea and ground targets and missiles. Herley Industries makes microwave technology products for the defense, aerospace and medical industries.
BAE Systems of Rockville, Md., will provide system engineering and integration support for the U.S. Navy's Trident I (C4) and Trident II (D5) Fleet Ballistic Missile Strategic Weapon System programs under a $62 million contract, the company said Dec. 8. The Navy's Strategic Systems Programs in Washington awarded the contract.
TRANSPORT CENTER: Sikorsky Aircraft has opened a new Executive Transport Center where the Marine One presidential helicopter fleet will be built if Sikorsky wins the contract, the company said Dec. 8. The center is in Sikorsky's main facility in Stratford, Conn., but is secluded for security. Sikorsky has offered the VH-92 in its bid to win the VXX competition against Lockheed Martin-AgustaWestland's US101 helicopter. The Navy has delayed making a decision until the end of January 2005 (DAILY, Nov. 18).
IT SERVICES: SRA International Inc. of Fairfax, Va., has won a one-year, $18.1 million contract to provide information technology services to the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC), the company said Dec. 9. The contract was awarded by the General Services Administration's Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM). SRA will provide project management; administration and management of the afloat network operations center; afloat operations support; hardware and software upgrades and integration; and user training.
USAF CONTRACTS: HJ Ford, a subsidiary of Andover, Mass.-based Dynamics Research Corp., has won $29.2 million in contracts to provide services for the Aeronautical Systems Center and Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, the company said Dec. 8. The Aeronautical Systems Center work includes $27.8 million for the Long Range Strike, Reconnaissance, Mobility and ACS System Wings, the Training Aircraft System Group and the F/A-22 System Program Office.
New members of the board of directors are Jean Caron, EADS DCS, France (treasurer); Andrew Chadwick, QinetiQ, United Kingdom; Dina Hyde, Boeing Co.; Bjorn Kullberg, Saab Aerosystems, Sweden; Nick Miller, Thales UK, United Kingdom; Peter van Blyenburgh, Blyenburgh & Co., France (president); Bernhard Freiherr von Bothmer, UAV DACH, Germany.
President Bush signed a $388 billion spending bill for FY 2005 on Dec. 8 that includes nearly $16.2 billion in funding for NASA. The bill covers the spending of all federal agencies except the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon. Congress passed the measure on Nov. 20, but it was not sent to Bush until lawmakers overturned language that would have made it easier for some Congress members and their aides to see income tax returns in Internal Revenue Service offices. FY 2005 began Oct. 1.
Congressional negotiators were able to come up with a compromise that overcame the objection of a powerful House committee chairman, allowing the approval of legislation recommended by the 9/11 Commission to reform the U.S. intelligence organization. The legislation would create a national intelligence director (NID) to oversee a new national counterterrorism center that would coordinate intelligence gathering and analyses.
UPGRADES: Canada has awarded Raytheon Co. a $32 million contract to repair, overhaul and upgrade services to an additional 16 Phalanx radar and gun systems for the Canadian navy. Raytheon will provide total life-cycle support for Canada's Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS), including fleet repair work, field service support, overhauls and upgrades.
