Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force have completed an on-orbit checkout of the upgraded Global Positioning System satellite that was launched June 23, the company said July 20. The GPS IIR-12 spacecraft has been declared fully operational for military and civilian navigation users around the globe, the company said. GPS IIR-12, launched on a Boeing Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. (DAILY, June 25), was built by Lockheed Martin in Valley Forge, Pa.
The House Appropriations Committee's VA-HUD-NASA subcommittee voted to trim the aerospace agency's fiscal 2005 budget request by $1.1 billion, saying the panel wants to restore the shuttle program to flight but can't afford President Bush's vision for space exploration. The panel approved $15.1 billion for NASA on July 20, $229 million below the FY '04 level and $1.1 billion below the request. NASA has asked for $16.2 billion. Of that, $374 million had been earmarked for safety improvements to the shuttle fleet.
FARNBOROUGH, England - The Swedish company Saab Aerospace, which produces unmanned combat aerial vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles, has five projects on its books. Here's the status of each program and an examination of what Saab hopes to do next:
FARNBOROUGH, England - Lockheed Martin is expanding its missile defense ties in Europe. The Maryland-based company announced July 20 at the Farnborough Air Show that it has signed an agreement with the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) to explore opportunities for the two companies to partner on missile defense programs in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. Lockheed Martin unveiled a similar memorandum of understanding that it negotiated with Italy's Finmeccanica.
WATCHKEEPER: The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence has selected Thales U.K. as the preferred bidder for the next phase of the acquisition cycle of the Watchkeeper reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle program, Thales team member Elbit Systems Ltd. said July 20. Northrop Grumman also competed for the program, which is scheduled to enter service in 2006.
FARNBOROUGH, England - Long a mainstay of England's police forces, Eurocopter is promoting the virtues of its light twin-engined helicopter family while also touting a heavier helicopter to respond to terrorism, the company said July 19. Police aviation in the United Kingdom has been employing Eurocopters for 20 years, notably the AS 355 Ecureuil, BO 105, BK 117, and more recently the EC 135, 15 of which serve Great Britain's constabularies. Overall, 28 U.K. police forces rely on these aircraft.
The first of Northrop Grumman's upgraded RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicles made its first flight on July 1, the company said July 20. The newest Global Hawk, called AF-3, flew from Northrop's Palmdale, Calif., facility to Edwards Air Force Base. The four-hour flight was "flawless," the company said. Northrop Grumman expects to deliver the air vehicle to the U.S. Air Force later this month.
A United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement would help aircraft manufacturers and other businesses thrive by abolishing tariffs on American-made goods, according to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
U.S. Air Force space leaders are bracing for expected deep budget cuts in the Space Based Radar (SBR) and Transformational Satellite (TSAT) programs, and are preparing to draw up new strategies for moving both efforts forward.
Lockheed Martin has awarded the Curtiss-Wright Corp. a $6.3 million contract for procurement of radar warning receiver (RWR) systems used by U.S. Army helicopter programs, the Curtiss-Wright Corp. said July 20. The contract's total potential value is $17.6 million over the next two years.
FARNBOROUGH, England - Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher has fired another salvo in the long wars over Boeing's allegations that Airbus - which in 2003 became the first company in history to deliver more jet transports than Boeing - benefits from European government subsidies. "This is not about U.S. dominance or European dominance," he told Show News. "It's about an aerospace industry where there ought to be a level playing field. Everybody thinks its unlevel and nobody's saying so."
FARNBOROUGH, England - The Airbus Military A400M airlifter now is a real program, with a signed contract (in March 2003), 180 firm orders at a fixed 88 million euro ($108 million) flyaway price, a fixed schedule and a growing list of subcontractors.
FARNBOROUGH, England - "We are currently the highest-volume producer of military aircraft in the world," says Sherry Grady, government business vice president at Raytheon Aircraft. And although Raytheon's military aircraft are rather small, being light trainers, the experience and technical backing made possible by producing 70 or so each year allows the firm to claim a strong advantage in what is otherwise an overcrowded sector.
FARNBOROUGH, England - Development of the new Boeing 7E7 is "on plan, headed for a firm configuration in mid-year 2005," according to program vice president Mike Bair. "Most of our decisions have been made, and we're down to a laundry list of mundane things. Do we use windshield wipers or something else? Exactly where are the doors going to be? We know enough about the configuration to make guarantees - the airlines are confident that we'll have a solution for keeping rain off the windshield."
FARNBOROUGH, England - The U.S. Navy soon will lay out a plan for including other countries in its Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) development effort, a program official said July 19. Within the next few weeks, the Navy will roll out a "policy position" spelling out the extent of potential international involvement in MMA, said Capt. Steve Eastburg, the Navy's program manager for maritime surveillance aircraft, who spoke at a press briefing at the Farnborough Air Show.
The U.S. Marine Corps' plan to buy a new derivative of its heavy-lift CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter would give the service double lift capability and range and cut operating costs in half, according to a helicopter industry expert.
NEW DELHI - Congress has been informed by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency of a possible foreign military sale of aircraft self-protection systems to India, the DSCA said July 15. Along with associated services and equipment, the deal could be worth up to $40 million.
The U.S. Navy, through its Open Architecture Initiative, is working with the other services to adopt standardized interfaces that will allow platforms to share common systems without having to duplicate them, according to Capt. Tom Strei, program manager of Naval Sea Systems Command's Integrated Warfare Systems (IWS). IWS has been assigned to push the task by John Young, the assistant secretary of the Navy.
FARNBOROUGH, England - Three companies involved in making unmanned aerial vehicles announced July 19 that they will pool their efforts to compete in the U.S. market for "tactical" long-endurance UAVs, or those with low- to medium-altitudes.
PRAGUE - Senior U.S. officials are seriously interested in acquiring the Czech Republic's Vera advanced passive radar system, Czech foreign minister Cyril Svoboda said. After a two-day trip to Washington last week, Svoboda told Czech journalists that the U.S. wants to test the system to assess its capabilities.
William R. Graham, chairman of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack, is set to release the panel's final report to Congress at a House Armed Services Committee (HASC) hearing on July 22. The report is expected to address national security concerns that a nuclear weapon detonated at a high altitude could generate a powerful electromagnetic pulse that could damage or destroy orbiting satellites and civilian and military electronic systems on the ground.
The U.S. Air Force's RQ-4A Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial reconnaissance system recently passed 2,000 combat flight hours, its producer, Northrop Grumman, said on July 19. The Global Hawk accomplished the feat while supporting the war on terrorism and now has accumulated more than 4,000 total flight hours since its first flight mission in February 1998, the company said. Global Hawk has been on three combat deployments and also has deployed to Florida, Australia and Germany.
