In response to an urgent operational need by troops in Iraq, the U.S. Marine Corps is safety testing a new shoulder-fired rocket system for urban assault based on Lockheed Martin's Predator anti-tank weapon system.
TANK TRANSPORTERS: The Australian Ministry of Defence has awarded an Australian $16 million ($12.1 million) contract to MAN Military Vehicles Systems of Australia to provide 14 Heavy Tank Transporters and repair and maintenance support, Robert Hill, the defense minister, said May 25. The vehicles will allow the country's M1A1 Abram tanks and M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicles to be transported on Australian roads.
HELO WORK: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has been awarded a $24.8 million contract modification for the production and delivery of 12 MH-60R Multi-Mission helicopters, the company said May 25. The work will be done in Stratford, Conn., and is expected to be finished in April 2006. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. awarded the contract.
Spacehab has entered into a nonreimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA to develop and test a miniaturized mass spectrometer that could help monitor air quality and toxicity levels aboard manned spacecraft, the company announced May 25.
Yuval Yanai, senior vice president and chief financial officer, has resigned. Ran Maidan will replace Yanai as chief financial officer, effective Sept. 1. Maidan currently is chief financial officer of the Elisra Group.
The U.S. Air Force's Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program is gearing up for several key activities to promote the development of an extended-range version (JASSM-ER) of the stealthy cruise missile.
The House on May 25 approved a provision to direct the defense secretary to provide Congress by the end of the year a sustainment plan for the existing U.S. Navy MHC-51 class mine countermeasures ships. Lawmakers further agreed to codify the content requirements of the Buy American Act as stated in Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement Part 225, as well as encourage the Defense Department to buy lithium-ion cells, batteries and associated manufacturing technologies that are made in the United States.
FINANCIAL IMPROVEMENT: The U.S. Navy has awarded BearingPoint Inc., a business consulting and systems integration firm, a contract worth up to $107.6 million to assist with the implementation of the Navy's financial improvement plan, the company said May 25. McLean, Va.-based BearingPoint will help the Navy document business processes, test financial systems and sample financial data.
RECAPITALIZATION: Curtiss-Wright Corp. of Roseland, N.J., has completed the recapitalization of its common stock and Class B stock into a single class of common stock, the company said May 25. The company's stockholders approved the recapitalization on May 19. Each share of common stock now has one vote in corporate governance matters. The single class of common stock began trading under the symbol "CW" on May 25 on the New York Stock Exchange.
AgustaWestland has been awarded a 194 million pound ($355 million) contract by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence to upgrade its military's Apache AH MK1 helicopter's sighting and targeting system, the Anglo-Italian company said May 25. The upgrade involves Arrowhead, the U.S. Army's Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor. The M-TADS Electronic Display and Control and the Improved Helmet and Display Sighting System also will also be fitted to the U.K.'s 67 Apaches, the company said.
The Air Force's space surveillance network is remotely observing orbital rendezvous missions such as DART and the XSS-11 mission to gauge its ability to detect possible threats to satellites, according to an Air Force official.
ASSEMBLY PARTS: Lockheed Martin Corp. has been awarded a $35.7 million contract to produce night sensor assembly parts for the AH-64 Apache helicopter, the Defense Department said May 25. Seventy-eight percent of the work will be performed in Orlando, Fla., and 22% in Oswego, N.Y. The work is expected to be finished by April 30, 2008. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., awarded the contract.
JAVELIN PRODUCTION: The U.S. Army has awarded a Raytheon-Lockheed Martin joint venture a $95 million contract to produce the Javelin anti-tank weapon system, the companies said May 25. The joint venture will produce 120 command launch units and 1,038 missiles. The Javelin is in full-rate production. The weapon system is being used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, as well as Australia's military, and has seen extensive use in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Establishment of the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., for the first time allows control of U.S. military space assets by a single entity, according to the Air Force.
MOSCOW - Khrunichev Center said May 25 that it has signed a contract with Russia's defense ministry to conduct research, development and flight-testing of the Angara launch vehicle.
The U.S. Navy is looking to award dual contracts to Northrop Grumman Corp. and General Dynamics Corp. to have each build a lead DD(X) destroyer simultaneously in the hopes that the service can compete the shipbuilders for a future round of DD(X) orders. Meanwhile, the Navy also is considering boosting the number of Flight 0 orders for its Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), John J. Young Jr., the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, told reporters at the Pentagon May 25.
Lockheed Martin C-130E aircrew training simulators have been given a Level C certification, allowing the Air Force to train pilots on all tasks up to the final check flight, the company said May 25. The simulators are located at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. The certification was given by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command. Simulators are categorized from A to D, with Level D the highest. In a Level D simulator, a pilot can earn a rating without ever flying the aircraft.
