The Defense Department is forming a Joint Rapid Action Cell (JRAC) to speed the fielding of materials urgently needed by warfighters. In a Sept. 3 memorandum, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz directed acting Pentagon acquisition chief Michael Wynne and DOD Comptroller Tina Jonas to set up the JRAC to "to break through the institutional barriers" that prevent DOD from "providing timely, effective support" to troops deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq and the global war on terrorism.
Arotech Corp.'s vehicle-armoring subsidiary, MDT Armor, will launch its new ultralight armored combat vehicle at the 2004 Association of the U.S. Army's annual meeting and exposition in Washington next week, the company said Oct. 18.
Smiths Group is acquiring Integrated Aerospace Inc., a privately owned, California-based supplier of specialist landing gear systems, for $110 million, subsidiary Smiths Aerospace said Oct. 19. The acquisition is expected to be completed in November, subject to regulatory approval.
NASA's Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft is scheduled to launch Oct. 26 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., NASA said Oct. 18. DART is to demonstrate technologies for spacecraft to rendezvous with other spacecraft without human intervention, and is scheduled to rendezvous with a target satellite during the mission. DART is the first demonstration program selected by NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate to develop technologies for the new space exploration mission.
GENERATORS: The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is sponsoring the development of new, compact electrical generators for aircraft, with an eye toward powering future directed energy weapons. Working under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant, Electrodynamics Associates Inc. of Oviedo, Fla., is developing two types of generators - a 2.5-megawatt generator weighing 327 pounds and a 100-200 kilowatt generator.
The U.S. Air Force has formed a task force that plans to deliver a road map for directed energy weapons by early next year, according to Harry Disbrow, deputy director for operational capability requirements at Air Force headquarters.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded ITT Industries Inc. of White Plains, N.Y., a $40 million firm fixed price contract to provide AN/AVS-9 night vision goggles for rotary wing and fixed aircraft crews, the company said Oct. 18. Pilots, co-pilots and other crewmembers using the goggles include those on C-17 and C-130 transport aircraft, KC-10 and KC-135 tankers, and H-60 helicopters, the company said. ITT's Night Vision division, based in Roanoke, Va., will do the work. It is set to be complete by July 2007.
NASA has picked four teams to research critical issues in electric propulsion to support the new space exploration plan, the aerospace agency announced late Oct. 18. The work is part of NASA's Project Prometheus, which is aimed at advancing in-space nuclear power and propulsion (DAILY, Aug. 11). The total value of the work over three years is about $6 million, NASA said. The teams are:
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - U.S. efforts to strengthen its global command and control (C2) systems will benefit from efforts to field a national missile defense system, according to Gen. James E. Cartwright, commander of U.S. Strategic Command. "Part of what we're talking about" in the current "shakedown" phase of the missile defense system, he said, is trying to understand a range of broad issues that affect global C2.
Lockheed Martin's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) team is moving toward final critical design review (CDR) in December, the company said Oct. 18. The company's LCS team completed the initial critical design review in September (DAILY, Sept. 23). The initial critical design review included customer approval of final design elements, including general arrangements, drawings and initial manning concepts, the company said.
HERCULES ORDER: Lockheed Martin will deliver an additional C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to Denmark, the company said Oct. 19. Denmark's air force exercised an option for the aircraft under the original order for three C-130Js that was placed in December 2000.
The U.S. Navy is stepping up its efforts to develop directed energy weapons and has made significant strides in recent months, according to Rear Adm. Brad Hicks, commander of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. "As fiscal constraints allow ... the Navy is increasing its efforts in directed energy," Hicks said during a presentation at the Directed Energy Professional Society's seventh annual symposium in Rockville, Md., on Oct. 19. "We continue to set world records in [Free Electron Laser] performance. ..."
Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors will provide Virginia-class submarine long-lead material under a $41.9 million contract modification, the U.S. Department of Defense said Oct. 15. The work will be done under the Acoustic Rapid Commercial off-the-shelf Insertion (A-RCI) program, DOD said. A-RCI is a sonar system upgrade installed on several submarines, including the Virginia (SSN 774). It integrates and improves towed array, hull array, sphere array and other ship sensor processing, DOD said.
The Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C. private investment firm, completed a tender offer for a majority of Stellex Aerostructures Inc.'s stock, both companies said Oct. 15. As a result, a Carlyle affiliate owns a controlling stake in Stellex Aerostructures, a New Jersey supplier of integrated assemblies and precision parts for commercial and military aviation, private and business aviation and space. Stellex will continue to operate as a privately held company and the existing management team will remain in place, the companies said.
New observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope have revealed that planets are formed over a long period by massive collisions between rocky bodies the size of mountain ranges, NASA announced Oct. 18. According to previous theory, rocky planets form like snowballs out of planetary discs of dust, slowly accreting until they become mountain-sized bodies. These planetesimals collide further to create terrestrial planets like the Earth, slowly depleting the disc.
Pentagon acquisition officials are seeking more information about the Air Force's Space Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High) after conducting a high-level review of the program. In an "acquisition decision information paper" released Oct. 18, the Defense Department said that acting Pentagon acquisition chief Michael Wynne has asked the Air Force to provide a "status update" on the second of two infrared sensors that are to be placed on classified satellites in highly elliptical orbit (HEO).
In the wake of a mishap investigation board's (MIB) preliminary finding that the Genesis spacecraft's parachute failed due to a design error dating to 1999, NASA is placing extra scrutiny on other upcoming space science missions to try to ensure their success.
UAV WORKSHOP: The Commerce Department/NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory, NASA, and the Energy Department's Office of Science are sponsoring the second workshop on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for climate change research on Dec. 7-8 at the David Skaggs Research Center in Boulder, Colo. Participants will discuss the UAV technologies needed for next-generation Earth observation capabilities that will support the nation's weather research and climate change study goals.
ANTARCTIC SUPPORT: Raytheon Co. will continue support services for the National Science Foundation's U.S. Antarctic program under a $546 million contract extensiion, the company said Oct. 18. The extension brings the contract's total worth to nearly $1.2 billion and extends the agreement another five years, to March 31, 2010, Raytheon said.
Enertec Systems 2001 Inc. has successfully completed the installation of automatic test equipment (ATE) at the Boeing plant that will produce and test the second stage of the Arrow missile defense interceptor, the company said last week. The company, a majority-owned affiliate of Lapis Technologies Inc., is a major supplier of ATE for the U.S.-Israeli Arrow system.
The Australian government is issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for Australian shipbuilders to bid on its navy's AU$4.5-$6 billion ($3.3-$4.4 billion U.S.) Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs) project, the Australian Department of Defence said on Oct. 16. The RFP and its terms were set to be released on Oct. 18, Defence Minister Robert Hill said in a statement.
The U.S. Army is buying AuraGen Vehicle Integrated Primary Electrical Resource (VIPER) mobile power generator systems for $235,000 from El Sengundo, Calif.-based Aura Systems, Inc. for two of its deploying commands, the company said Oct. 18. The Army's Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) made the buy, Aura Systems said. The purchase is the VIPER Operational Field Evaluation portion of $3.5 million approved for the AuraGen VIPER in the FY 2004 Defense Department budget, the company said.
The last two of 10 Stryker variants - the Stryker Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV) and the Mobile Gun System (MGS) - were approved for low-rate initial production (LRIP) by the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) Sept. 9, the Department of Defense said Oct. 18. Complete LRIP was authorized for the NBCRV and limited LRIP was authorized for the MGS. Until now, the Army has been testing eight MGS engineering prototypes and three NBCRV prototypes.
