Lockheed Martin will begin work installing weather data sensor stations in Romania's river basins as part of an effort to reduce severe annual flooding there, the company said Nov. 23. The company was awarded a $46 million contract in 2003 to design and build the Destructive Waters program and integrate it with Romania's National Integrated Meteorological System, which it developed under a contract awarded in 2000.
Jordan's government has asked to buy 50 AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) from the United States, as well as 51 LAU-129 Launch Rails, captive air training missiles and associated support equipment worth $39 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Nov. 22. Congress was informed of the possible military sale on Nov. 19. The prime contractor would be Tucson, Ariz.-based Raytheon Missile Systems, the DSCA said.
The U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater modernization program is making some headway in its effort to re-engine the service's HH-65 Dolphin helicopters, said Dale Bennett, vice president of Lockheed Martin Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS). The effort also got a late boost from Congress, which approved additional money for the work as part of a fiscal 2005 omnibus spending bill.
In observance of the Thanksgiving Day holiday, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish on Nov. 25 and 26. The next issue will be dated Nov. 29.
Following its budget victory on Capitol Hill, NASA must turn its attention to following through on President Bush's goals for space exploration, according to Administrator Sean O'Keefe. Congress on Nov. 20 approved a fiscal year 2005 NASA budget of nearly $16.2 billion, 5% more than the agency's FY '04 total (DAILY, Nov. 23). "Any residual question about whether or not there is support necessary to continue on, I think, has been resolved," O'Keefe said during an address to NASA employees Nov. 23. "That said, it is now incumbent upon us to perform."
JASSM CONTRACT: The U.S. Air Force (USAF) has awarded a $112 million contract to Lockheed Martin for the next batch of Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs), the Defense Department announced late Nov. 22. The 288 missiles are to be built by February 2007.
The first of four Boeing 767 tankers being built for the Italian air force is on track to take its first flight in March 2005, according to a company spokesman. The basic plane was built on a commercial aircraft line in Everett, Wash., and has been undergoing modifications in Wichita, Kan., to convert it to a refueler (DAILY, April 30). The tanker is to roll off the Wichita assembly line in February before taking its first flight the following month.
Eaton Corp. of Jackson, Mich., is expanding its work on the wing fluid delivery system of the Lockheed Martin-built F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a move that will reap a potential $1 billion in additional revenue, the company said Nov. 22. Eaton bases the revenue projection on the production of 2,600 aircraft through 2027. The work increases Eaton's total revenue on the project to almost $3 billion, including the hydraulic power generation system and general actuation, the company said.
INSTALLED: Boeing has installed a Multirole Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) antenna on a second 737-700 for Australia's Project Wedgetail, the company said Nov. 23. The MESA, built by Northrop Grumman, is the critical sensor on Australia's airborne early warning and control aircraft. Australia has ordered six of the aircraft.
Honeywell has signed a 10-year engineering and technology services agreement with IBM to accelerate Honeywell's network-centric battlefield components and systems business, the companies said Nov. 22. Honeywell's defense electronics business will gain access to IBM's engineering expertise, technologies, research and development, and manufacturing processes and facilities, the companies said.
The U.S. Army has awarded Raytheon Co. a one-year, $86 million contract option for its Live Training Program with the service's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO-STRI), the company said Nov. 22. The original eight-year contract was awarded in 1999 and has a potential value of more than $900 million. The award is the sixth of seven one-year options.
C-130J OPTION: The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. of Marietta, Ga., a $35.2 million contract option for logistics support, technical engineering support services and spares procurement for the U.S. Marine Corps' KC-130J and other C-130J aircraft, the Navy said Nov. 22. Ninety percent of the work will be performed at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., and 10 percent at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. The work is expected to be completed in December 2005.
Patria's Armored Modular Vehicle (AMV) has been tested successfully by Poland's defense ministry, allowing delivery of the vehicles to begin, Patria said Nov. 19. Poland's government ordered 690 of the vehicles in 2003. The first two vehicles were delivered in June and passed their final tests, which included swimming and field tests.
Munich, Germany-based EADS/LFK has been awarded a contract to provide the Spanish air force's F/A-18 and Eurofighter aircraft with the Taurus KEPD 350 precision-guided stand-off missile system, the company said. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. The first missiles will be delivered this month. The Spanish company SENER produces the fin actuation systems for the missile system and will serve as prime contractor for Spain for logistics, acquisition of the system and its integration on the aircraft.
A group of more than 50 U.S. lawmakers is urging the Defense Department to move quickly to replace the engines on the E-8C Joint STARS ground-surveillance aircraft, saying the existing propulsion system fails to meet Air Force needs.
SEVENTH CLIPPER: Boeing has delivered the seventh C-40A Clipper to the U.S. Naval Reserve, the company said Nov. 22. The Clippers, modified 737-700s, replace aging C-9B Skytrain aircraft and will increase the Navy's airlift capability, Boeing said.
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) will not be allowed to upgrade or replace its aging KC-135 refueling aircraft without holding a competition, according to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. An analysis of alternatives (AOA), which is nearly done, is assessing several broad options for updating the tanker fleet and will not complete the process of determining how the Air Force's refueling capability will be modernized, Wolfowitz wrote in a Nov. 19 letter to Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., Wichita, Kan., is being awarded a $22,750,000 firm fixed price contract to provide for four each RC-135 Re-Engine. Total funds have been obligated. This work will be complete by March 2006. Solicitation began June 2004 and negotiations were completed November 2004. The Headquarters Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (FA8105-05-C-0002). ARMY
NASA's fiscal year 2005 spending bill provides $25 million for a follow-on to the agency's X-43A hypersonic demonstrator, which had its final flight Nov. 16. In addition, "the conferees encourage joint NASA and Air Force cooperation and collaboration in advancement of aeronautics technologies in the national interest," according to the House-Senate conference committee that approved the bill. The extra money is thought to be the result of a congressional earmark.
The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise is receiving a state-of-the-art upgrade to its landing gear to help improve the ability of aircraft to touch down on the ship, the Navy said Nov. 19.
A top Pentagon official issued a memorandum on Oct. 25 tightening conflict-of-interest regulations, which a Washington watchdog group said shows the Defense Department is taking the revolving-door issue "slightly more seriously."
The U.S. Coast Guard needs to increase its maritime domain awareness and command and control capabilities as part of its post-9/11 homeland security mission, a Lockheed Martin official said Nov. 22. "We need to be able to track ships with the precision that we track aircraft in the aviation domain, where they use IFF [identification friend or foe] systems," said Dale Bennett, vice president of Lockheed Martin Integrated Coast Guard Systems.
