Northrop Grumman Corp. has returned the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) to the U.S. Navy after completing its midlife refueling and overhaul, the company said March 25. The Navy received the Eisenhower after four days of sea trials and operational tests to make sure the ship's two nuclear propulsion plants are mission capable, the company said.
SHIP WORK: U.S. Navy officials on March 23 approved a plan for more than $2 billion worth of work to alter and modernize surface ships and aircraft carriers in fiscal 2006, and said they found $203 million in "savings" across the Future Years Defense Plan. A three-tier decision-making process culled a backlog of more than 25,000 pending alterations, some more than 25 years old. "This is truly a first for the Navy," said Rear Adm. Denny Dwyer, program executive officer for carriers and head of the Entitled Modernization Process.
Philadelphia-based MCA Solutions is promoting its software against the U.S. Navy's legacy systems for running the service's spare parts system, and says it could allow the service to save billions on its inventory.
Acting Pentagon acquisition chief Michael Wynne will take over managing 21 major Air Force acquisition programs to "ensure continuity of program oversight" while the service undergoes a leadership transition, the Defense Department announced March 28. The programs, all designated acquisition category (ACAT) 1C, include the Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM), the C-17 Globemaster III, the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) and the Transformational Communications Satellite (TSAT) program (see chart on Page 7).
Lockheed Martin is in line for a contract to enhance the capability of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Among upgrades in the planned "Block 08" development are remote operation of launchers from beyond-line-of-sight distances and launching of missiles with information from non-THAAD sensors, according to a March 28 FedBizOpps pre-solicitation notice.
Aviation Week's Web portal, at http://www.aviationnow.com, has added a "find a supplier" feature that allows aviation and aerospace professionals to find suppliers for specific parts or services worldwide. Drawn from the World Aviation Directory & Aerospace Database, the search capability includes 15,000 manufacturers, distributors and maintenance providers in 6,000 product and service categories, the group said. No registration is required to use the service.
The High Altitude Airship (HAA), which is being developed to provide long-endurance surveillance and communications relay, is being taken off the fast track.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., said it has completed the focal planes, the most "technically challenging" part of the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS). The OMPS is one of more than a dozen instruments that will fly as part of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS).
International Space Station (ISS) Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov conducted a four-and-a-half hour spacewalk March 28, installing communications equipment on the outside of the Zvezda Service Module and deploying a small experimental satellite.
In a bid to give future Mars aircraft mission proposals a better chance of winning funding, NASA's aeronautics mission directorate is backing an effort at Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., to refine the necessary flight hardware and avionics.
BRIGHT OUTLOOK: Ballistic Recovery Systems Inc., which sells parachutes that can rescue small aircraft in trouble, has a "very bright outlook," President and Chief Operating Officer Larry E. Williams told shareholders at the company's annual meeting. BRS plans to double its value every five years, he said.
Todd Shipyards Corp. of Seattle announced late March 25 that the U.S. Navy awarded it a $12 million modification to a previously awarded contract for further repairs and alterations of the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier (CVN-74). The latest modification came on the heels of two other such awards for $29 million and $19 million since February (DAILY, Feb. 16). The Stennis work is being performed under a five-year contract for overhaul and continued maintenance of the aircraft carriers stationed at Bremerton and Everett, Wash.
Pentagon war gaming now often revolves around a four-day time frame to catch and ward off potential adversaries early in a hostile act, emphasizing that after that the United States could be facing a different, if not protracted, war, Navy officials told the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space 2005 exposition in Washington last week.
EDO Corp. will continue production of its LAU-142/A AMRAAM Vertical Ejection Launcher (AVEL) for the F/A-22 Raptor fighter under a $17.7 million order from Raptor prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The order covers production for up to 24 lot five aircraft, EDO Corp. said March 25. The AVEL allows the aircraft to launch the missiles at supersonic speed from an internal weapons bay, using no explosive pyrotechnic cartridges, which cuts down on logistics support and maintenance expense, EDO said.
SELF RELIANCE: Europe could rely on non-European space systems during the Cold War, but the situation is changing, according to a report issued by a European Commission-created panel. Today, it says, even though European countries operate abroad more frequently and work across borders within Europe to combat threats like terrorism, they continue to rely on the space systems of others. This must change, it says. "Europe can no longer assume a fortuitous coincidence of interest with the USA," the report says (see related story on Page 6).
FCS ACQUISITION: The U.S. Army "could consider adding other types of contracting strategies that are appropriate" for its Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, says Michael Wynne, acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. FCS, expected to cost $120-128 billion through 2025, is being procured under Other Transaction Authority (OTA), exempting it from Federal Acquisition Regulation rules, including the Truth-in-Negotiations Act and Procurement Integrity Act.
NRO HEAD: Dennis Fitzgerald, deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, is expected to become the NRO's acting director with the March 25 retirement of NRO head Peter Teets.
LONDON - A United Kingdom Royal Air Force C-130K that crashed over Iraq in January, killing all 10 personnel on board, would have carried chaff and flare dispensers, along with a directional infrared countermeasures system, according to a retired RAF official familiar with the aircraft.
TRAINING ACCORD: The U.S. and Swedish navies have agreed to a joint training effort using a Swedish advanced diesel submarine and crew for U.S. Navy fleet anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training, the U.S. Navy says. A Swedish Gotland-class air independent propulsion (AIP) submarine will be used for the training in San Diego. U.S. Navy personnel will observe while riding on the Swedish sub, which will be Swedish-flagged, commanded, manned and operated. The two navies will conduct focused and integrated ASW training and assess the U.S.
The U.S. has agreed to sell Lockheed Martin-built F-16 fighter aircraft to post-9/11 ally Pakistan, prompting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to tell President Bush that the move is a "great disappointment," according to the wire service Press Trust of India. Singh spoke with Bush about the sale on March 25, and warned that it could have "negative consequences" for India's security environment, Singh spokesman Sanjaya Baru was quoted as saying.
