Former CIA directors from three presidential administrations told Senate lawmakers Aug. 16 that the proposed national intelligence director post should be given authority and budget power to be effective. Lawmakers continued to struggle with what role the NID would play in the new intelligence structure recommended by the National Commission on the Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission.
SOLD: The Boeing Co. has completed the sale of its Irving, Texas, commercial electronics unit to BAE Systems North America, the company said Aug. 16. Terms of the sale, announced last month, were not disclosed. The unit designs, builds and supports avionics products. It has become part of BAE Systems' Platform Solutions Sector, which provides products for military and commercial aircraft.
The world's military forces will spend a total of $11 billion purchasing 6,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) through 2013, according to a new report by Forecast International Inc. U.S. companies will control more than half of this market's total value and will produce far more UAVs, ground control stations and payloads than any of their competitors, the report says. The leading firms are expected to be Global Hawk manufacturer Northrop Grumman and Predator manufacturer General Atomics.
Northrop Grumman Corp. and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) are expected to release information in the "near future" about their potential joint entry into the competition for the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV), an industry source said Aug. 16.
Sikorsky has chosen the Goodrich Corp. to provide the Integrated Vehicle Health Management System (IVHMS) for the U.S. Army's UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter program, Goodrich said Aug. 16. The contract could generate more than $100 million, according to the company. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2005. The Army plans to upgrade current UH-60As and UH-60Ls to the UH-60M configuration and also buy new UH-60M Black Hawks.
The U.S. Navy Department should review recent cuts in its fighter aircraft purchase plans to ensure they do not produce a force that is less capable than intended, according to the Government Accountability Office.
ACQUIRED: Zeus Holdings Ltd., a company formed by four investment funds, has agreed to acquire satellite communications company Intelsat Ltd. for $5 billion, which includes the assumption of about $2 billion of Intelsat debt, the company said Aug. 16. The deal is expected to close as early as the end of the year, Intelsat said. Zeus - formed by Apax Partners, Apollo Management, Madison Dearborn Partners and Permira - will pay $18.75 for each Intelsat share. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
NASA RFIs: NASA on Aug. 16 issued additional requests for information (RFIs) in response to the final report from the President's Commission on Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy, which was released in June. The RFIs seek information on how to expand and transform the role of the private sector in space operations. "The president's commission recommended major changes in the way we engage private industry and conduct space operation activities. We believe these RFIs will generate a new wave of interest in innovation," William F.
Northrop Grumman Corp. received a $71.2 million task order from the U.S. Army to provide acquisition and software support, which will help the Army with command, control, communications and computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) program readiness, the company said last week.
A U.S. Air Force F-15E aircrew successfully launched a Boeing Co. Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) last week over the Gulf of Mexico Test Range, Boeing said Aug. 16. The aircrew is assigned to the 46th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
A classified National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite is awaiting launch on a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS later this month from Cape Canaveral, Fla., as soon as possibly faulty transistors in the rocket's avionics are replaced.
ASC REVAMPING: The U.S. Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) is revamping itself to improve the way it acquires, modernizes and sustains aircraft. To streamline the organization, ASC is replacing more than 40 separate acquisition system program offices with seven acquisition wings and groups that will focus on combat support systems, fighters, long-range strike, mobility, reconnaissance, special operations forces and training systems. Lt. Gen.
HOMELAND SECURITY: With a $6 million contract from the Department of Defense's Counter-Narcoterrorism Technology Program Office, Raytheon Co. will demonstrate an integrated systems approach for the defense of maritime domains, such as ports, shorelines and sea lanes, against maritime-based homeland security threats, the company says.
JASSM LEADERSHIP: The Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) is getting a new leader. Dale Bridges, who has been with the U.S. Air Force-led program for more than five years, most recently as program manager, is leaving to take a technical leadership position with the 46th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. He is being replaced by Col. Jim Geurts, who has overseen several area attack systems, including the Sensor Fuzed Weapon and the Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser.
The organization of the intelligence community remains at the forefront of congressional scrutiny this week as several House and Senate committees continue to explore the implications of the 9/11 Commission's report on the nation's defense intelligence agencies. Lawmakers will return to Washington to continue a series of hearings on the recommendations from the commission, formally known as the National Commission on the Terrorist Attacks Upon America.
NO SALE: Reinhold Industries Inc., a California-based manufacturer of heat-resistant composite components for rocket propulsion, has decided not to pursue a change-in-control transaction, such as a merger or sale, the company says. "Reinhold Industries has completed the review of strategic alternatives for maximizing shareholder value announced in September 2003 ... [it has] been working with its financial advisor, William Blair & Co.
Aug. 16 - 19 -- 2004 Space and Missile Defense Conference and Exhibition, Missile Defense: Deployment and Beyond, Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama. For more information go to www.ndia.org. Aug. 23 - 26 -- Joint ADL Co-Lab Implementation Fest 2004: Achieving the Military's Needs Through ADL, Holiday Inn Select UCF, Colorado, Fla. For more information contact Patrick Rowe at (703) 247-9471 or go to www.trainingsystems.org/events.
The Department of Defense (DOD) needs to develop a detailed implementation plan for carrying out its strategy to nurture a "space cadre," according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
NEW APPROACH: The Pentagon's Office of Force Transformation (OFT) is trying to bring "a new business model and a different approach to risk" to military space, according to OFT Director Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski (USN-Ret.). "What we've said is, let's stand this whole thing on its head and start by focusing at the tactical and operational levels of war with a different business model," Cebrowski says. Because of advances in information technology, capability per kilogram put in orbit is "absolutely soaring," he says.
ROBOT AGNOSTIC: Steven Beckwith, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), is "agnostic" on the subject of robotic versus space shuttle servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Beckwith at first favored shuttle servicing because of its proven track record, his view has been "shifting" recently, he says. While shuttle visits have been limited to 10 days and no more than five spacewalks, a robotic spacecraft could work on Hubble for weeks or months if necessary, Beckwith says.
LIVING DOCUMENT: A memorandum of agreement between the U.S. Coast Guard and the Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC) is "a living document" that will change as needed to keep current with the times, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Joe Paitl says. The Coast Guard and the MSC have established procedures regarding the inspection and certification of MSC's U.S. Naval fleet by the Coast Guard. The new MOA replaces one from November 1997 and will be reviewed at least every two years and updated based on feedback, regulatory and statutory changes and the national defense climate.
ITT Industries completed its purchase of the Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) business from Eastman Kodak Co. for $725 million, forming its new Space Systems Division, ITT said Aug. 13. RSS supplies high-resolution satellite imaging systems and information services.
NetJets Inc. has agreed to purchase 50 AirCell ST 3100 satellite communications systems from Iridium Satellite LLC for its Raytheon Hawker 400XP light business jets, Iridium said Aug. 5. The systems will provide worldwide data and voice services to Netjets on the ground and at all altitudes through Iridium's 66 low-earth orbiting satellites. The satellite phone systems will be installed into the 400XPs before their retail delivery at Raytheon Aircraft Services in San Antonio, Texas.
The U.S. Air Force's B-2 Spirit bomber is expected soon to achieve key milestones for improving its stealth and radar technology, sources said Aug. 13.
