The U.K. Ministry of Defence Procurement announced Oct. 6 that it had selected Atkins Defence of Bristol as the preferred bidder for the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES), a family of vehicles with a range of combat, combat support, and service support roles using a common platform and components. Atkins will now proceed with the assessment phase of the FRES program. The ministry expects to sign a formal agreement by the end of the year. The potential value was not disclosed.
Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) Falcon 1 vehicle has been delivered to its launch complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., for a series of preflight tests leading to an expected launch in late November or December.
U.S. efforts to field a sea-based ballistic missile defense system remain on track, evidenced by plans for a ceremony later this month to mark the completion of the system's first deployable Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor, according to government and industry officials. The Defense Department has signaled for more than a year that it wants to have five SM-3s available for emergency use by the end of 2004, and a department official told The DAILY Oct. 6 that "things are still looking good for those five emergency rounds."
GLOBAL HAWK FLIGHT: The first Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle built for the U.S. Navy flew for the first time Oct. 6, according to a source at prime contractor Northrop Grumman. The RQ-4A Global Hawk, which was assembled in Palmdale, Calif., took off from there about 4 p.m. ET and was expected to land shortly after 7 p.m. at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The aircraft will undergo more tests at Edwards before being delivered to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., in 2005.
The U.S. government is looking to use advanced technologies, such as satellite communications and the Global Positioning System, to track and monitor containers that enter and leave U.S. ports and territorial waters, according to Robert A. Jacksta, executive director of border security and facilitation with the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit is suffering from a steering problem that may eventually force mission controllers to permanently disable their ability to lock the direction of two of its four steerable wheels. The two front and two rear wheels of the six-wheeled rover are used for steering. When not in use, the actuator motors that steer the wheels act as brakes to prevent unintended direction changes. The steering motors for the right-front and left-rear wheels failed to respond to commands sent on Oct. 1, according to NASA.
The United States and the European Union blasted each other with charges that unfair subsidies are going to Europe's Airbus and America's Boeing Co. The latest development in a long-simmering dispute began Oct. 6 when the U.S. complained to the World Trade Organization that European governments were illegally subsidizing Airbus. The European Union fired back almost immediately with its own complaint to the WTO alleging "massive subsidies" to Boeing.
A mishap investigation board (MIB) is citing lax discipline on the part of Lockheed Martin workers and poor oversight by both the company and NASA as primary causes of the September 2003 handling accident that severely damaged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) N-Prime satellite.
RAPTOR REVIEW: A Pentagon review of the F/A-22 Raptor has been delayed from Oct. 5 to Nov. 1 due to a scheduling conflict, according to Defense Department and Air Force spokespersons. The high-level meeting is supposed to examine the program's status and is not expected to result in any major decisions about the Lockheed Martin-built fighter, which is slated for full-rate production approval in January (DAILY, Sept. 24).
The U.S. Navy announced Oct. 5 that the Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program successfully completed its first major review since the Boeing Co. was picked to be the prime contractor almost four months ago. The three-day systems requirements review (SRR), held in Seattle, Wash., ended Sept. 30 and was designed to ensure program participants fully understand the Navy's needs. Stu Young, the Navy official who led the SRR, said the review convinced him that the program is on the right track.
General Dynamics received certification from the National Security Agency (NSA) for software version 5.3 for its AN/USC-61 Digital Modular Radio (DMR) system, the company said Oct. 4. The Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command awarded General Dynamics a $16 million contract to upgrade hardware and software for the AN/USC-61 DMR system, using the newly NSA-certified software.
PATHFINDER TO FLY: NASA and AeroVironment Inc. have refurbished the company's Pathfinder-Plus unmanned flying wing for a series of flights to take place this fall at the agency's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. Three or four low-altitude flights will be conducted to help characterize the effects of turbulence on the performance of lightweight, highly flexible solar-powered flying wings. The flights are intended to help prevent another crash such as that which destroyed the Pathfinder's larger cousin, the Helios, in June 2003.
The Senate continued consideration Oct. 5 of legislation - the National Intelligence Reform Act (S 2845) - that would reform the intelligence-related activities of the U.S. government, including setting up a national intelligence director.
SOFIA STARGAZES: Scientists have for the first time looked at the stars through NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), according to the agency. During an "on-sky test" conducted in August with the aircraft parked on the ground, the telescope imaged the star Polaris and demonstrated that its basic optical, mechanical and software systems are working properly, according to NASA. When it begins making observations at 40,000 feet altitude with its 2.5-meter telescope next year, SOFIA will be the largest airborne observatory in the world.
House and Senate negotiators are nearing the endgame over compromise language for the fiscal year 2005 defense authorization legislation, according to a Senate staffer who did not want to be identified. The chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate armed services committees are hashing out the final details, although a number of sticking points remain, he said. The Senate approved a $442 billion defense authorization bill in late June; the House approved its version, authorizing a similar amount, in May.
Canada is seeking TOW anti-armor and "bunker buster" missiles, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress Sept. 30. Canada has requested 2,000 Radio Frequency (RF) TOW-2A and 600 RF TOW-2B anti-armor guided missiles, as well as 400 RF Bunker Buster Missiles, spare parts and other related items, DSCA said. The total value of the sale could be $136 million, DSCA said. The sale would improve Canada's military capabilities and "further weapon system standardization and interoperability with U.S. forces," DSCA said.
NASA has tapped Lockheed Martin Space Systems to build the unmanned spacecraft that will service the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit after launching in December 2007. According to the terms of the $330.58 million award, Lockheed Martin must deliver the Hubble Robotic Vehicle Deorbit Module (HRVDM) within about 30 months, according to a NASA spokesman. The contract covers work approximately through April 2008, with initial money being reprogrammed from FY '04 funds.
The cost of Bell Helicopter Textron's V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft will drop from its current price of about $70 million to about $50 million within the next five years because of lean manufacturing, according to the head of Osprey program partner Bell Helicopter. The V-22 currently costs $73 million per aircraft. The Navy's target cost for the aircraft is $58 million by fiscal 2010, a Naval Air Systems Command representative told The DAILY.
A suborbital rocket emulating an undisclosed "emerging threat" was launched by the United States in a Sept. 29 test in the Pacific, Defense Department officials said Oct. 5. The missile, which lifted off from Wake Island and flew about 606 miles, contained a mock warhead, a sensor package and various missile defense-related experiments. Radar and optical data collected during the flight will be used to design and improve missile defense interceptors and sensors.
The first successful drops of GBU-38 bombs in combat were executed recently over central Iraq, the U.S. Air Force said Oct. 4. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons simultaneously released a pair of 500-pound GBU-38s on a two-story building during a nighttime mission. The weapons struck their target precisely with little collateral damage, the Air Force said. Alabama Air National Guardsmen and Wisconsin and Illinois airmen were involved in the effort.
