AVOIDING COSTS: The U.S. Transporation Command says it has saved $25 million in the first half of the year, while supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, after establishing a deployment distribution operations center in U.S. Central Command's area of operations. USTRANSCOM officials say much of the savings came from redirecting cargo movements from air to surface transport. For example, more than $2 million was saved moving 100 armored Humvees to Afghanistan by surface carrier.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) program offers the U.S. Army a chance to preserve its edge in helicopter technology in the absence of the canceled RAH-66 Comanche, according to Program Manager Don Woodbury.
NONCORE ASSETS: LMI Aerospace Inc., a St. Louis, Mo., provider of assemblies, kits and detail sheet metal and machined components to the aerospace, defense and technology industries, has sold its Versaform Canada division to a private group of investors, the company said. British Columbia-based Versaform Canada manufactures aerospace and architectural components. "The sale of Versaform Canada resulted from LMI's previously announced strategy to sell certain noncore assets," LMI said in a Sept. 16 announcement.
SBSS REPLAN: The U.S. Air Force is replanning the Space-Based Surveillance System (SBSS) program in response to a fiscal year 2005 congressional budget cut, according to Lt. Gen. Brian Arnold, commander of Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base. A team consisting of Boeing and Ball Aerospace is under contract to develop SBSS, which will detect and track objects in space (DAILY, March 31). The Air Force plans to develop a "pathfinder" SBSS spacecraft, followed by as many as three "full-up" systems, according to Arnold.
The FAA has certified General Electric's CF6-80C2 engine for the U.S. Air Force's C-5 Galaxy modernization program, GE Transportation-Aircraft Engines of Evendale, Ohio, said Sept. 16. The certification comes after eight months of ground-testing the engine to validate the new FADEC III control system and the engine-aircraft integration. The FADEC III control system has been certified on the CFM56-7 and GE90-115B engines.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $112 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a network of centers that provide technical assistance to small manufacturers. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Maine Republicans, said in a statement that the MEP has bolstered the economy in their state and helped retain and create jobs.
TESTIMONY: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will appear Sept. 23 before the Senate Armed Services Committee to testify on the global posture of military forces stationed overseas. Set to appear with Rumsfeld are Gen. Richard B. Myers (USAF), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. James L. Jones Jr. (USMC), supreme allied commander Europe; Adm. Thomas B. Fargo (USN), commander of U.S. Pacific Command; and Gen. Leon LaPorte (USA), commander of U.S. Forces Korea.
Arva Industries Inc. of St. Thomas, Ont., has delivered the first Multi-Purpose Engineer Vehicle (MPEV) to the Canadian army, the company said Sept. 16. Canada's Department of National Defence will purchase up to 28 of the high-speed backhoe/front-end loaders for its army combat engineers as part of a $20-million government standing offer.
The U.S. Army is making progress on its transformation, including upgrading its soldier equipment, aircraft, brigades and end strength, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody said Sept. 17 at a Defense Forum Foundation luncheon meeting on Capitol Hill. Equipping soldiers with Rapid Fielding Initiative (RFI) equipment - better body armor, helmets, boots and other pieces of clothing and equipment - costs the Army $15 million per brigade. "We are buying a total of 800,000 sets of this equipment," Cody said.
The House leadership has not yet named the conference committee members for the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill, and the introduction of intelligence reform legislation early next week may further delay the appointments, according to the House Armed Services Committee staff. It had been expected that the conferees would be named shortly after lawmakers returned to work Sept. 7 after the August recess, with work on reconciling the bill with the Senate version getting under way soon afterward.
The U.S. Army plans to issue a draft request for proposals on about Oct. 1 for its planned Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter. An industry day is slated for Oct. 19. Army Aviation and Missile Command said it intends to issue the draft RFP "for the purpose of obtaining industry review and comment on the solicitation and requirements documents." In a Sept. 15 FedBizOpps notice, it says the comments will be used to conduct a "full and open competitive procurement" for the ARH.
SMALL SATS: More than 200 experts from 25 countries are scheduled to meet this week in La Rochelle, France to discuss small satellites and what they can achieve, according to the European Space Agency. ESA is sponsoring the Small Satellite Systems and Services Symposium with the French space agency. "Small satellites ... give us the possibility to test and demonstrate innovative and advanced technologies in space, at modest cost, before using the technologies on more expensive missions," says Luca Maresi, an ESA system engineer.
NEW MARKET: Lockheed Martin is entering the military truck market under a license agreement with the British company HMT Vehicles Ltd. to build and sell its tactical wheeled vehicles to government customers in North America, the company says. The agreement will give Lockheed Martin exclusive rights to supply light and medium tactical wheeled vehicles to military and government markets in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and to pursue international sales via the U.S. government's Foreign Military Sales program.
PAYLOAD CONTRACT: Alcatel of Paris will develop and deliver the payloads for the Express AM33 and AM44 communications satellites under a contract from the Russian Satellite Communications Co., Alcatel said Sept. 17. The electronic communications payloads will be built in Alcatel Space's Toulouse, France, plant and integrated into the Express AM platforms built by NPO-PM of Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
SAFE HAVEN: In light of the International Space Station's (ISS) requirement to provide "safe haven" for shuttle astronauts in the event of an on-orbit emergency, NASA is reviewing the ISS "minimum equipment list," according to Richard Covey, co-chair of the Stafford-Covey Return to Flight Task Group. The list describes the minimum equipment that must be available onboard the station before the space shuttle can launch. "They're going back and looking at that minimum equipment list to make sure it covers all the systems that would be required for safe haven," Covey says.
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems sector awarded a $16.6 million subcontract to Raytheon Co. for advance procurement of the LPD 23 San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship. Under the subcontract, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems will provide advanced planning, procurement and support for total ship electronic systems associated with LPD 23, the future SS San Diego and the seventh in the line of San Antonio class ships.
Lockheed Martin Corp. believes that equipping a C-130 to fire standoff missiles could fulfill the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) desire for new long-range strike capabilities, according to company officials.
The U.S. Navy says it plans to launch formal negotiations later this year with nations interested in participating in two new maritime surveillance aircraft programs.
QinetiQ North America will buy Westar Aerospace & Defense Group Inc. of St. Louis for $130 million, Westar said Sept. 14. "By partnering with QinetiQ, our engineers, software developers and analysts can offer additional technology solutions and meet the evolving needs of the Department of Defense and our other customers," Westar President Rob Topping said in a statement. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approval.
Eliminating sources of debris on the space shuttle's external tank remains the biggest challenge facing NASA as it attempts to return the orbiter to flight next March or April, according to the Stafford-Covey Return to Flight Task Group. "Probably the long pole in the tent right now would be the tank," Task Group Co-Chair Tom Stafford said during a teleconference Sept. 16.
The last two active-duty C-141B Starlifter transport aircraft will be retired Sept. 16 at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., the Air Force said Sept. 15. But the Air Force Reserve Command will keep flying the remaining 20 Starlifters until they are retired after 2006, Gen. John W. Handy, commander of the Air Mobility Command (AMC) and the U.S. Transportation Command, said in a statement.
