Aerojet recently conducted wind tunnel tests of its hypersonic engine for the HyFly program, the company announced Dec. 2. The tests simulated speeds of Mach 4, 5 and 6.5, the company said. Aerojet is designing and building the hypersonic engine for Boeing Phantom Works, which will integrate the engines into the HyFly vehicles. A joint effort between the Navy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a hypersonic strike missile, HyFly is expected to begin flight-tests in 2006 (DAILY, April 2, 2003).
APPROVED: FlightSafety International's new full-flight simulator for Sikorsky's S-92 helicopter has been approved by the FAA, the company said Dec. 6. The simulator is the first for Sikorsky's new S-92, and is located at FlightSafety's West Palm Beach, Fla., learning center.
NASA is preparing to submit its responses to the remaining 10 return-to-flight (RTF) recommendations made by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board to the Stafford-Covey Task Group in time for its plenary meeting later this month, according to shuttle managers.
General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products will produce 1,393 30mm cannon barrels to equip A-10 aircraft for close-air support, the company said Dec. 6. The work will be done under a $6 million contract from the Defense Logistics Agency's Defense Supply Center Columbus. The contract's value could reach $13 million if all options are exercised, the company said Dec. 6. The A-10's GAU-8 seven-barrel cannon fires 30mm rounds capable of piercing tank armor, making it effective against armored targets, General Dynamics said.
ARMY General Electric Aircraft Engines, Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded on Dec. 2, 2004, a $162,339,024 modification to a firm fixed price contract for overhaul and repair for the entire T700 Family of Engines. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2005. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Aug. 22, 2000. 2 The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (DAAH23-00-C-0347).
Intelsat has regained control of Americas 7, a communications satellite that developed a sudden electrical problem last week, the company said Dec. 3. The company was able to regain contact with the satellite and control of it after "an intensive recovery effort," and is restoring service, Intelsat said.
NIGHT VISION: Lockheed Martin has added night-vision goggle capability to the F-16 Mission Training Centers it produces for the U.S. Air Force, the company said Dec. 3. The enhancement was demonstrated during a recent critical design review of the centers and will allow more realistic training, the company said.
NO MERGER: The European Aeronautics Defence and Space Co. (EADS) does not plan to merge with French defense electronics company Thales, says Philippe Camus, EADS co-CEO. "A merger with Thales is not on the agenda. Thales is an important partner and supplier for us," Camus says. "We're not looking for a major acquisition, due to our strong organic growth." The French government plans to renew its efforts to merge EADS with Thales SA early next year, according to the French press.
PRV SCHEDULE: The U.S. Air Force remains on track to release a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV) in January 2005 and a final RFP in May or June, a service spokesman says. The selection of a prime contractor is slated for the October-December quarter of 2005. Competitors are expected to include the Bell-Boeing CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, the EADS North America-Northrop Grumman NH-90 helicopter, the Lockheed Martin-AgustaWestland-Bell Helicopter Textron US101 helicopter and Sikorsky's S-92 helicopter (DAILY, Aug. 27).
GMD INTERCEPTORS: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., is scheduled to have its first interceptor for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system installed in an underground silo Dec. 7. One more interceptor is to be emplaced at Vandenberg by year's end, complementing the six already installed at Fort Greely, Alaska. The Defense Department has indicated that GMD could become operational in the next few weeks to defend against long-range ballistic missiles.
NOMINATED: Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, President Bush's nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security, will "build on the historic accomplishments of Secretary Tom Ridge," the president says. Bush announced Kerik's nomination Dec. 3 at a White House press conference. Ridge announced his resignation last week (DAILY, Dec. 1).
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Airborne Laser (ABL) program achieved a key goal Dec. 3 by conducting the "first flight" of the Lockheed Martin beam control/fire control system. The beam control/fire control system, designed to guide the kill laser to its target, took off from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., aboard YAL-1, a heavily modified Boeing 747-400F. The aircraft flew about 22 minutes before returning to the base.
LOCKHEED CHANGES: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. head Dain Hancock, whose retirement was announced Dec. 3, has no plans to enter government service, despite high-level job openings at the Air Force and possibly elsewhere in the Pentagon, according to company officials. Hancock will be succeeded Jan. 17 by Ralph Heath, who has overseen the F/A-22 Raptor program for Lockheed Martin. Company executive Larry Lawson will take Heath's old job.
The U.S. Army is redesigning the ammunition loading hardware for the Mobile Gun System (MGS) Stryker variant in response to reliability problems that put the program in "crisis" over the summer, according to Col. Peter Fuller, the Army's Stryker project manager.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) plans to break ground on a new U.S. aircraft facility in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 17 to deliver the CASA CN-235 MRS MPA (Medium Range Surveillance Maritime Patrol Aircraft) to the U.S. Coast Guard, a company official said Dec. 2. In February, EADS CASA won an $87.4 million contract from Integrated Coast Guard Systems for two CN-235s for the Coast Guard's Deepwater modernization program. Delivery is scheduled for 2006.
Dec. 7 - 8 -- Future Ground Forces in the Urban Battlefield, Hilton Arlington & Towers, Arlington, Va. For more information call 1-800-882-8684 or go to www.idga.org. Dec. 13 - 16 -- USSOCOM Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear Conference & Exhibition, "From Evolution to Revolution, Breaking the CBRN Paradigm While Winning the Global War on Terrorism," Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina & Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, Fla. For more information go to www.ndia.org.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) predicts it will bring in $10 billion from U.S. defense sales within the next five years, out of about $40 billion in contracts for which it is competing. EADS' goal for 2006 is $1 billion in revenue from U.S. defense sales, but it "plans to gross more from the U.S. defense market in the next four to five years," EADS co-CEO Philippe Camus said Dec. 2 at a media seminar in New York City. In 2004, EADS made $600 million in U.S. defense sales, an EADS representative told The DAILY.
TESTING: Underwater testing of a model of the European Robotic Arm, scheduled to be installed on the International Space Station's Multipurpose Laboratory Module, has revealed some shortcomings, the European Space Agency says. The testing highlighted some problems, including wrenches that kept releasing while bolts were being tightened. In 2005, the European companies that built the arm will work with Russian company Energia to improve it, ESA says. The model was built in 1998.
MCM EXERCISE: The U.S. Navy is using the High-Speed Vessel (HSV) Swift 2 as its mine countermeasures (MCM) command flagship for a fully integrated MCM exercise, the Naval Sea Systems Command said Dec. 3. The Gulf of Mexico exercise (GOMEX) began Dec. 3 and runs through Dec. 14. "This will be the first time ever that we have supported five MCM/MHC (coastal mine hunter) vessels, plus their command ship simultaneously," said George Betz, director of Naval Support Activity-Panama City Operations.
Former Pentagon comptroller Dov Zakheim questioned the Air Force's need to buy the F/A-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) at currently planned levels during a speech in Washington Dec. 3. "The Air Force is under tremendous budgetary pressure and its future resources simply can't sustain its stated needs," Zakheim said at the Heritage Foundation. Those needs include its space programs, airlift modernization, tanker support and increasing its fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles, he said.
COMPLETED: Lockheed Martin Corp. has completed its acquisition of naval electronic systems supplier Sippican Holdings Inc., the company said Dec. 3. Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors, Undersea Systems, of Manassas, Va., will acquire Sippican's business portfolio. Sippican develops and produces surface ship countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare training and submarine communications systems, and meteorological and oceanographic instruments.
