Information Handling Services (IHS) and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) expanded their multiyear agreement to provide improved access to industry standards and related publications, AIA said Nov. 15. Under this long-term arrangement, IHS will become the exclusive distributor of AIA standards and related publications, and will upgrade and manage the AIA's National Aerospace Standards Store for easier access to these documents.
LUH AWARD: The Army will issue a contract for its Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) at the end of 2005 and the aircraft will deploy in 2006, says Paul Bogosian, deputy program executive officer for Army Aviation. "We held the industry day for the LUH November 8," Bogosian says. Because the LUH is a commercial-off-the-shelf aircraft, it will not have a system development program but will go straight into production (DAILY, Oct. 28). The Army plans to procure 322 LUHs to replace UH-60 Black Hawks, 144 of which will be used for homeland security, he says.
A new study by Dittmar Associates of Seabrook, Texas, has found strong support among the public for NASA's overall space exploration plans, including returning astronauts to the moon, but less support for a human Mars landing. Sixty-five percent of respondents supported a moon return, although only 18 percent supported a Mars landing, which was seen as riskier. "Interest and excitement about the vision for space exploration is strong for near-term aspects of the plan," Dittmar Associates said in a statement.
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems will design and develop the Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS) that is to be transported to the field by the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, the company said Nov. 10. The contract, awarded by the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command, has an initial value of $18 million but could be worth up to $300 million if initial production and fielding options are exercised.
NIGHT VISION: ITT Industries Night Vision, of Roanoke, Va., will supply night vision pocketscopes to the FBI for low-light surveillance, the company said Nov. 10. The deal could be worth up to $4.9 million over five years.
LIMITED DATA: Compared with their previous two Mach 7 flight attempts, NASA's X-43A "Hyper-X" team is working with only limited ground test data for its final Mach 10 flight, according to Laurie Marshall, chief engineer for the flight at Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. The reason is because no wind tunnel can successfully simulate such speeds for the expected duration of the flight. "The data we're trying to get cannot be obtained in any way other than flight," Marshall says.
The Army's OH-58D Kiowa Warriors will complete their safety enhancement program (SEP) in 2007, John Guenther, deputy product manager of the Army Scout/Attack Helicopter Program, told The DAILY Nov. 12. The SEP, which started in 1997, involves an engine upgrade, including going from an electromechanical fuel control system to a full authority digital engine control system. This improves how the fuel flows based on the aircraft's demands, Guenther said. Bell Helicopter is installing the hardware upgrades and Rolls-Royce is supplying the new C-30R3 engines.
ACQUISITION?: Steel Partners II, an investment fund and stockholder of GenCorp Inc., wants to negotiate to acquire all of GenCorp's shares for $17 each, GenCorp says. GenCorp - which owns aerospace and defense propulsion company Aerojet - is meeting with its advisers to consider its response to the offer and will advise its stockholders of its response, the company says.
Nov. 15 - 16 -- ISR Integration 2004, "Enabling Precision Strike," Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Va. For more information go to www.defensenews.com/conferences/isr. Nov. 15 - 17 -- 2004 Insensitive Munitions & Energetic Materials Technology Symposium, "Materials & Techniques for Reducing Sensitivity," Hilton, San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif. For more information go to www.ndia.org. Nov. 16 - 17 -- Aviation Week presents A&D Programs, Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix. To register go to http://www.AviationNow.com/conferences.
The German government is poised to award a 3.05 billion euro ($3.95 billion) contract to purchase 410 Puma infantry combat vehicles to a joint venture company owned by Rheinmetall De-Tec and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, a German newspaper has reported.
SCANEAGLE VARIANT: Boeing and the Insitu Group plan to begin flight-testing a longer-endurance version of their 4-foot-long ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle in early 2005. The new variant is expected to have an endurance of 30-plus hours, compared with the 15- to 20-hour on-station time of the version that the U.S. Marines are now fielding in Iraq to provide surveillance (DAILY, July 9). Equipping ScanEagle with a more efficient type of engine will allow the increase in endurance, a Boeing spokesman says.
SEARS SENTENCING: Former Boeing chief financial officer Michael Sears is expected to plead guilty in U.S. District Court Nov. 15 in connection with allegations that he improperly recruited Darleen Druyun to the company while she was still an Air Force acquisition official overseeing contracts with Boeing. Sears faces up to six months in jail. Druyun was sentenced Oct. 1 to nine months in prison (DAILY, Oct. 4).
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Airborne Laser (ABL) has achieved "first light," the first of two milestones the program has been aiming to complete by year's end. The laser, which emitted an invisible beam for a fraction of a second, heated up its target, a metal wall, and set fire to dust particles in its path.
SMART-1 ARRIVES: The European Space Agency's Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-1 (SMART-1) probe is expected to enter orbit around the moon late Nov. 15 or early Nov. 16. Europe's first lunar probe, SMART-1 was launched into Earth orbit in September 2003. In the months since, it has used a solar-powered ion engine to slowly expand its orbit and eventually allow gravitational capture by the moon.
MORE HELOS: Ninety-six of the U.S. Army's inventory of AH-64A Apaches will be remanufactured into Block II-configuration AH-64D Apache Longbows, Bogosian says. These are in addition to the current Army multiyear contract for converting 501 AH-64As to AH-64Ds. AH-64Ds have improved equipment and greater firepower, and Block II helicopters have increased digital capabilities, including digital mapping and messaging (DAILY, Nov. 12).
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is seeking industry input on ways to disrupt an enemy's command organization and increase the effectiveness of friendly battlefield command structures.
ORBIT/FR Inc., which builds automated microwave test and measurement systems for the aerospace and defense markets, reported that its revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30 increased 17 percent to $5 million. Revenues for the nine months ending Sept. 30 were up 25 percent, to $15.1 million, compared with the same period in 2003. The Horsham, Pa.-based company has "capitalized on strong market conditions and recognized our third straight quarterly profit," Israel Adan, the company's president and CEO, said in a statement.
The Super Dvora Mk-III fast patrol/interdiction naval craft, built by Israel Aircraft Industries' Ramta Division, has been accepted into operational service by Israel's navy, IAI said. A commissioning ceremony was held Nov. 11 at the Israel naval base in Ashdod. IAI/Ramta naval design engineers and architects worked with Israel's navy for two years to build the craft according to the navy's needs, the company said. The vessel is the first of six procured by Israel's navy under a contract signed in January 2002.
The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program has completed the first round of interceptor emplacements at Fort Greely, Alaska, a Defense Department official said Nov. 12. Fort Greely has now received all six operational interceptors it has been slated to get in 2004. The sixth one was placed in an underground silo on Nov. 11, less than four months after the first interceptor missile was installed at the Alaskan site (DAILY, July 26). Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., is expected to get its first two GMD interceptors by December.
In the Oct. 28 DAILY story headlined "Army cuts loitering missile out of NLOS-LS," several quotes attributed to George Svitak, the deputy director of business development for NetFires LLC, should have been attributed to Steve Altman, director of business development for the company. The final quote attributed to Svitak is correct.
The Boeing Co. recently rolled off the first 737-700 aircraft for Turkey's Peace Eagle airborne early warning and control program from its Renton, Wash., production line, the company said Nov. 11.
