SPACE TRIP: Russian Federal Space Agency sources have confirmed that a St. Petersburg business executive is likely to be the next "space tourist," flying in October to the International Space Station on a Soyuz TMA-5. Sergei Polonsky, 32, is president of Stroimontazh, a major Russian construction firm. He passed a cosmonaut preparation course in Star City in September 2002. Polonsky has had to pay an estimated $14-15 million for the trip. A final decision on the flight is due this week at the meeting of a state commission to approve the Soyuz crew.
Lockheed Martin Corp. has formed a network logistics enterprise to help the Department of Defense (DOD) meet its logistics needs through net-centric systems, said Scott Conover, senior manager for Lockheed Martin's Focused Logistics Enterprise. "The new group will consult with DOD leadership to understand what they're doing, and say, 'Here is what industry can do to help,'" Conover told The DAILY.
APACHE DEFENSE: The U.S. Army has signed a contract with BAE Systems Avionics Group to supply electronic warfare equipment and engineering and support for Greek Apache helicopters, the company said. The Helicopter Integrated Defense Aids System (HIDAS) counters, prioritizes, identifies and detects threats to Apache helicopters without crew intervention. The U.S. Army must produce the EW systems for the Greek air force because it is a foreign military sale. The HIDAS produces a comprehensive tactical picture with information from its multispectral threat warning sensors.
Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) will take the helm of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence as acting chairman in the wake of Rep. Porter Goss' (R-Fla.) nomination for director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The House leadership this week asked Boehlert to step in for Goss on an interim basis until a decision is made on a temporary or permanent replacement.
GENERAL ELECTRIC will provide CT7-8A turboshaft engines to the Canadian government for 28 of the country's Sikorsky H-92 Cyclone helicopters, the company said Aug. 9. The helicopters are part of Canada's $3 billion Maritime Helicopter Project. The CT7-8As recently were certified by the FAA and Transport Canada. The engines feature hot-section and turbine components, full authority digital electronic control and a higher-flow compressor designed with three-dimensional aerodynamic technology.
PRATT & WHITNEY will sell two additional Power Systems FT8 SWIFTPAC units to Ireland's Electricity Supply Board (ESB), the company said Aug. 10. The units, set to enter commercial service later this year, each provide 50 megawatts of quick response peaking capacity. The units will be located in the town of Rhode. Last year, ESB ordered two other SWIFTPAC units that began operating in Cork and Mayo counties on Dec. 12, 2004. The FT8 series is a derivative of Pratt & Whitney's JT8D aircraft engine.
BAE SYSTEMS has won a contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop an Autonomous Approach Landing Capability (AALC), the company said. The contract has a potential value of more than $13 million. BAE Systems will supply an integrated system consisting of a multispectral radome, a surface guidance system, new digital light engine head up displays, and a 94-GHz imaging radar fused with optical sensors.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) will equip German military Sikorsky CH-53 helicopters headed for Afghanistan with new missile warning systems, the company said Aug. 12. The federal office of defense technology and procurement plans to replace the helicopters' current missile warning systems with the AN/AAR-60 Missile Launch Detection System (MILDS), beginning with six aircraft. A decision on whether more helicopters earmarked for "crisis management scenarios" will be equipped with the systems is expected soon, EADS said.
CAE has sold Japan Airlines International a CAE-built Boeing 777-200ER full-flight simulator, the company said Aug. 9. The contract is valued at $16 million. The simulator is set to be delivered in spring 2006. The simulator will be equipped with a CAE Tropos visual system, which gives pilots visual cues through advanced real-time lighting and shading, enhanced weather effects, and satellite imagery.
NEW FACILITY: Pratt & Whitney and the U.S. Air Force have opened a joint maintenance facility to overhaul F119 engines at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., the company said Aug. 11. The F119 Heavy Maintenance Center will be managed by P&W's Military Aftermarket Services unit and staffed by OC-ALC mechanics. P&W will lead the engine/module repair and overhaul process. The engines power the F/A-22 Raptor stealth fighter.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has kicked off a follow-up effort to its recently completed Organic Air Vehicle (OAV) program, to further develop the technology of ducted fan unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and prepare it for inclusion in the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program.
BAE SYSTEMS has been chosen by the Army to start system design and development for the Army's Tactical Signals Intelligence Payload, the company said Aug. 11. The three-year contract is worth $27 million. TSP is a subsystem for the Army's unmanned aerial vehicles. The payload processes and collects radio frequency energy that's displayed on an operator's workstation on the ground. The system gives the ground tactical commander an airborne collection capability responsive to real-time emerging operational intelligence requirements.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has named its team of partner companies vying for the U.S. Air Force Network Centric Solutions (NETCENTS) program. Northrop Grumman is competing with at least two other teams, including those led by Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and ManTech International, for work that is scheduled to be awarded by Sept. 29.
CURTISS-WRIGHT CONTROLS INC. has been awarded a $6 million contract from Lockheed Martin's Communications Electronics Command for procurement of spare Radar Warning Receiver systems for the U.S. Army, Curtiss-Wright said Aug. 10. Delivery of the RWR systems will begin in 2005 and end in 2007. Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing facility will be responsible for RWR testing, integration, procurement manufacturing and subsystems. It is located in Littleton, Mass. RWRs are safety systems designed for military aircraft applications.
BAE Systems has cleared another hurdle in its takeover of British armored combat vehicle (ACV) producer Alvis after the European Commission said it had no objections to the deal. Last June, Britain's biggest defense company trumped a 309 million pound ($563.5 million) offer for Alvis by U.S. firm General Dynamics with a 355 million pound ($647 million) bid.
SENTEL CORP. has awarded General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, a contract to provide the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in Fallon, Nev., with unmanned aerial vehicle training support. General Dynamics will provide the Aerostar UAV systems and various payloads licensed from Aeronautics Defense Systems, Ltd., in Israel. Mission operations and support personnel will also be provided. Training support will begin in September 2004 and last at least six months.
The U.S. Army and Navy's electromagnetic (EM) gun programs, intended to increase projectile velocity by using a more efficient energy source, are a collaborative effort between the services based on the same technology, but are intended to be used for different missions. The Army's EM gun will deploy on the Future Combat Systems' (FCS) small, transportable tanks, while the Navy's EM rail gun is scheduled to go on the future all-electric DD(X) surface combatant ships.
LAUNCHED: On Aug. 11, Russia's Federal Space Agency launched a Progress-M50 cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station. The vehicle is following a three-day approach trajectory rather than a two-day approach, as part of a spacecraft engine test, according to mission control in Moscow. The spacecraft is carrying about 3,500 pounds of dry cargo, 5,800 pounds of fuel, drinking water and other supplies. In addition, 625 pounds of spacecraft fuel is reserved for station altitude correction. Docking is planned for Aug. 14.
The managers of the Hubble Space Telescope's observation schedule are re-examining and reprioritizing requests for time on the telescope in light of a recent failure that has left its primary spectrograph inoperative. On Aug. 3, the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) instrument onboard Hubble stopped working, most likely because of a failed power supply. Installed by astronauts during the second Hubble servicing mission in 1997, the STIS had exceeded its five-year design life, according to NASA.
WORLD COMMUNICATIONS CENTER has been selected by Alaska to supply satellite communications services to state agencies and the state government, the company said Aug. 9. WCC will help Alaska standardize agency and state government users in switching to the Iridium system by October 2004. Iridium and Globalstar previously provided date and voice services to Alaska for the more than 400 satellite phones in use. WCC also will supply Iridium data, short burst data, text messaging and database solutions for tracking and remote monitoring, including L-band transceiver services.
Stephen Cambone, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, told the House Armed Services Committee that a need exists for an information technology system that would permit the sharing of information between federal agencies. "Although the intelligence community has made great progress in this area through the information sharing working group, it will take more time and effort networking the domestic, foreign, and military intelligence organizations to achieve what we need it to be," Cambone told the committee on Aug. 11.
Although total U.S. Department of Defense research and development (R&D) funding will increase 7 percent in fiscal 2005, it was a struggle to meet DOD's traditional goal of 3 percent for science and technology (S&T) funding, according to Jean Reed, a professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee. Reed spoke last week at the Naval-Industry R&D Partnership Conference 2004 in Washington.
