ENGINE MARKET: The turboprop engine market is expected to remain strong from 2004 to 2013, with 9,538 engines expected to be produced at a total value of $7.8 billion, according to Forecast International analysts. "In most cases, the military will continue to favor turboprops for the high lift they provide, and turboprops are also ideal for most hot-and-high altitude operations as well as transport to rural areas with short runways," says David Franus, Forecast International senior analyst for power systems.
MORE PARTNERS: Lockheed Martin-led Team US101 has added 16 suppliers in Florida to its team vying to build the next presidential helicopter fleet, the company said Oct. 22. The team is competing with Sikorsky in a hotly contested effort to replace the fleet. "...As an excellent example of Lockheed Martin's corporate commitment to the US101 program, two of our Florida-based operating companies - Aerostructures, and the Simulation, Training & Support business unit - are also supporting Team US101's efforts to win the Marine One competition," Stephen D.
ENGINE WORK: General Electric Aircraft Engines will produce commercial parts for several engine lines used in U.S. Navy and Air Force aircraft, the Department of Defense announced Oct. 21. The $444.9 million contract calls for parts for the T64, T58, TF39, TF34, F118, F404, T700, F110 and F101 engine lines. The work is expected to be completed by July 30, 2005.
WORK RESUMES: A stop-work order has been lifted on the U.S. Army's Joint Tactical Radio System Cluster 5 after the Government Accountability Office denied a JTRS Cluster 5 protest. The Army awarded a $295 million system development and demonstration contract to General Dynamics in July (DAILY, July 20). Competitor ITT Industries protested, but the GAO denied the protest on Oct. 20, allowing work to resume "immediately," the Army's Communication Electronics Command Acquisition Center says.
HUYGENS: The Cassini-Huygens Probe mission team is focusing its attention on the upcoming release of the Huygens probe, which will dive into the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan. Release is scheduled for Dec. 24. Due to uncertainty over the gravity of Saturn's moon Iapetus, Huygens will be released twice as far away from Iapetus than originally planned, according to Andrew Dantzler, acting director of the solar system division in NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
C-130 AMP: The U.S. Air Force's C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) is on track to begin modifying its first aircraft in January 2005 at Boeing facilities in San Antonio, Texas, a service spokesman says. The $4 billion-plus program, which calls for upgrading avionics on a total of 490 C-130s through 2016, has not experienced cost overruns or schedule delays since a restructuring was completed in August 2003, the spokesman says. Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems filed protests Oct.
SM-3 DELIVERIES: Raytheon Co. announced Oct. 22 that it has begun delivering the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) to the U.S. government. The Defense Department wants to have five ship-based SM-3s available for emergency use by year's end to defend against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
NEW PROBA: The European Space Agency plans to deploy a follow-on technology demonstrator spacecraft, Proba-2, by the end of 2007 to demonstrate new technologies and products in orbit, ESA says. A system built around these developments is intended to support a mission to observe and measure the plasma of the sun, ESA says. Proba-2 will follow Proba, ESA's first microsatellite, which has just completed three years of successful operations. The TV-sized imaging satellite was aimed at demonstrating autonomous operation, hence its name: Project for On-Board Autonomy.
Oct. 25 - 27 -- Association of the United States Army 2004 annual meeting and exposition, "Our Army at War - Relevant and Ready." Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.ausa.org. Oct. 25 - 27 -- The International Loran Association's 2004 Convention and Technical Symposium, Toyko, Japan. For more information go to www.loran.org/events.html.
The Canadian Department of National Defence awarded a CDN$5 million ($4 million) contract to General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada to perform engineering feasibility studies in support of the Canadian Mobile Gun System (MGS) program, the company said Oct. 22. These studies will assist the department in defining modifications to the Stryker MGS to meet Canadian requirements. Studies are expected in a number of technical areas including communications, navigation, and logistics support.
According to a review conducted in September, most of the Future Combat Systems' critical technologies would have been mature enough for the program's originally scheduled preliminary design review (PDR) in 2006, according to the U.S. Army. In addition, of the 50 percent of the technologies the Army assessed for maturity under the FCS realignment, all have been deemed to be mature enough for their new PDRs, an Army official said.
JSF SCRUTINY: The U.S. Defense Department's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, which is transitioning from being a design on paper to actual hardware, is about to receive more scrutiny. The recently completed fiscal 2005 defense authorization conference report requires the Government Accountability Office to start conducting an annual review of the program to see whether JSF is meeting its cost, schedule and performance goals. A report on the first review is due March 15, 2005.
NET-CENTRIC SUB: The U.S. Navy is launching an era of "unprecedented capability" for its fleet with the Oct. 23 commissioning of the USS Virginia (SSN 774), says Lockheed Martin, which designed the sub's sonar, combat system, radio room and electronic support equipment. "USS Virginia's network-centric communication capabilities are a significant departure from legacy systems and address many of the Navy's FORCEnet transformational communication needs," says Michael LaRouche, senior executive for the company's Navy command and control programs.
The mission team for NASA's Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) is weighing the pros and cons of incorporating a lander that would touch down on the surface of Europa. JIMO's Science Definition Team (SDT) has recommended that the spacecraft include a lander that would perform a soft landing on Europa and bore into its frozen surface. The team determined that the lander was valuable enough to devote up to one quarter of the JIMO's 1,500-kilogram (3,306 pound) science payload to it.
Government representatives from nine nations are expected to gather in Australia in the coming days to review progress in the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. The event, the sixth semi-annual meeting of the program's executive committee, will include officials from the United States and its eight international partners for JSF.
The first flight of a Gripen multirole fighter aircraft bound for export to the Czech Republic took place Oct. 18 in Linkoping, Sweden, the FMV Swedish Defense Material Agency said Oct. 20. The aircraft, painted gray with the Czech Republic national insignia on its tail, was flown by a Saab test pilot. "This flight is a very important milestone for the Czech program and shows that the production of Gripen aircraft for the Czech Republic is on schedule," Per Nilsson, FMV program director for the Gripen for Czech Republic, said in a statement.
Lockheed Martin Systems Integration will complete the integration of avionics and support software into the MH-60S helicopter under a $15.6 million delivery order, the U.S. Department of Defense said Oct. 22. The work will be done under a previously issued agreement to provide Block 3A Armed Helicopter Phase III engineering efforts needed to complete the work. The work will be performed in Owego, N.Y., and is expected to be completed in August 2006.
The United States wants to lease one of the Swedish navy's Gotland-class submarines to play the enemy role in naval exercises, Swedish naval supplier Kockums AB said, citing Swedish press reports. The long-term lease would include the submarine's crew and support services, Kockums said. The Swedish government is considering the deal. Kockums provides the Stirling Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system for all of the Swedish navy's subs, which allows them to remain submerged for weeks without using nuclear power.
The European Space Agency and German space agency DLR have inaugurated a control center for the European elements of the International Space Station, ESA said Oct. 20. The center has been set up in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, Germany. The Columbus Control Centre will conduct its first real-time observations next April, when Italian ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori is scheduled to visit the ISS for 10 days. An ESA/DLR team will control the scientific program of the European experiments aboard the ISS for the first time during his stay.
Honeywell's 2004 third-quarter net income increased to $372 million from $344 million from the third quarter of 2003, the company said Oct. 20. Defense and space sales grew 3 percent in the quarter. This segment margin increased to 15.4 percent, compared with 14.6 percent a year ago, primarily due to strong commercial aftermarket sales growth, Honeywell said. Also, Honeywell was selected by Lockheed Martin as supply services provider for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
JSF WORK: Vektrex of San Diego will develop a power interface for performing high-fidelity power testing on F-35 Joint Strike Fighter communications avionics, the company said Oct. 21. The work will be done for Northrop Grumman Corp., which is developing the communications avionics for Lockheed Martin.
The Pentagon is staying the course with the Space Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High) after assessing alternatives to the often-troubled program. The Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have completed an analysis of alternatives, and the Air Force "has been directed to continue to execute the SBIRS program of record," a program official told The DAILY Oct. 20 in a written response to questions.
The project team for NASA's ambitious Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) plans to work with NASA leadership to obtain a higher budget request for the mission during its crucial development years. Scheduled to launch no earlier than 2011, the multibillion-dollar JIMO mission will be the first flight demonstration of the space nuclear power and propulsion technology being developed under NASA's Prometheus effort.
DRS Technologies Inc. of Parsippany, N.J., has received $34.3 million in new orders to provide engineering services, spares and production for the U.S. Navy's AN/UYQ-70 Advanced Display Systems and related computer equipment, the company said Oct. 20. The systems and equipment are on the Navy's new Aegis destroyers, cruisers and other surface ships, as well as E-2C Hawkeye aircraft and USS Los Angeles class SSN 688 attack submarines.
