MAKING THEIR DEBUT: Lockheed Martin plans to roll out its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) on April 15 at its facility in Camden, Ark., the company said April 9. HIMARS is the newest member of the family of MLRS launchers and GMLRS is the latest addition to the MLRS family of munitions, the company said.
POWERED FLIGHT: Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne flew its second powered flight on April 8, reaching a speed of Mach 2 and a maximum altitude of 100,000 feet, according to a statement released by the National Space Society. The first powered flight took place Dec. 17, during which the suborbital spacecraft reached speeds of Mach 1.2 and a maximum altitude of 67,800 feet. SpaceShipOne is carried to its release altitude by the White Knight aircraft, which takes off from Mojave Airport in California.
An article in The DAILY of April 7, "Lockheed Martin JCM completes inert munitions testing," incorrectly described the kind of testing the Joint Common Missile's motor has completed. It has completed insensitive munitions testing, meaning it won't detonate when subjected to fire or struck by debris.
NO SUPPORT: The General Accounting Office says it could find no evidence that the U.S. Department of Defense provided guidance to combatant commanders on how to implement legislation allowing the agency to support coalition liaison officers. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2003 authorized Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to provide services and support to foreign coalition officers temporarily assigned to the headquarters of combatant commands as part of the war on terrorism.
FUEL EFFICIENT: Sens. Sue Collins (R-Me.), Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) are pushing legislation to increase energy efficiency in military vehicles. Under the proposed National Defense Energy Savings Act, which they introduced last week, the government would pay no up-front costs for private contractors' energy-efficient upgrades to military vehicles such as tanks, aircraft and ships.
The U.S. Marine Corps is trying to plug a $1.6 billion funding hole caused by higher than expected demands for equipment and other items in ongoing military operations, officials said April 8.
The Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) radio did well in recently completed operational tests and the U.S. Air Force plans to issue a full-rate production contract to prime contractor Boeing before the end of the fiscal year, said Lt. Col. Tom Kennedy, the Air Force's CSEL program manager.
Roughly a year after delivery to the U.S. Navy, the upcoming X-Craft demonstrator will be fitted with a lifting body to enhance its speed and provide additional stability for helicopter operations, according to Chief of Naval Research Adm. Jay Cohen. A lifting body is an underwater wing that raises the hull of a boat off the surface of the water at high speeds while providing enhanced stability at low speeds. Pacific Marine of Honolulu, Hawaii will provide the 350-ton lifting body for X-Craft.
The U.S. Navy's CVN-21 future aircraft carrier passed Milestone B April 2, which means the program can move into the detailed design phase, according to Rear Adm. Dennis Dwyer, program executive officer for aircraft carriers. "Passing Milestone B allows us to start ship construction in October 2006. In the meantime, we will buy long-lead material for initial assemblies and currently are negotiating the contract for construction preparation," Dwyer said. "Electric Boat is helping with the design. We intend to build some shipboard units in this period.
A recently redesigned portion of the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) has started to undergo testing, according to Raytheon Co., the prime contractor for the sea-based interceptor. The first ground test was conducted in mid-February, and several more ground tests are expected in preparation for flight-testing in 2005. "The first test worked like a charm," said Dean Gehr, a business development director for Raytheon Missile Systems.
The newest version of the Lockheed Martin-led team's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) design would allow the ship, at full weight, to move at 46 knots, Lockheed Martin representative Keith Mordoff told The DAILY. The ship could move at up to 60 knots in special operations outfitting for shorter ranges, Mordoff said. The ship would be able to accelerate to full speed in less than two minutes, and turn a 360-degree radius in less than eight boat lengths at its rated sprint speed, he said.
RETIRING: The Bush Administration's chief architect for missile defense plans to retire later this year, the Defense Department announced April 8. Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency since June 1999, will step down in a few months and be replaced by his current deputy, Air Force Maj. Gen. Henry Obering. Kadish, who has been on active duty for 34 years, will retire effective Sept. 1, though he will likely take an extended leave starting in July.
The Large Aircraft Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system is intended to give tanker and transport aircraft an improved capability to defend against proliferating man-portable missiles, according to the Air Force. The colorless, eye-safe, multi-band Viper laser, mounted in a small pointer/tracker turret, is designed to be more effective than flares, which mimic the heat of aircraft engines to draw heat-seeking missiles away their target. LAIRCM's laser dazzles a missile's guidance seeker, sending it astray. It requires no human intervention once it is activated.
The U.S. Navy's EA-6B Improved Capability (ICAP) III aircraft began its operational evaluation (OPEVAL) April 2, the Navy announced April 8. During the five-month OPEVAL the Navy will operate the two upgraded EA-6B Prowler test aircraft normally while testers evaluate the performance of the ICAP III system, the reliability and maintainability of its components, and other metrics. Operational Test Squadron VX-9 out of China Lake, Calif., is conducting the OPEVAL.
Military leaders told a Senate panel this week that while unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have proved useful in Iraq and Afghanistan, the short ranges of some models, and a lack of sufficient numbers of the aircraft, have caused problems. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) asked military witnesses how they plan to address such problems during the Senate Armed Services Committee's strategic forces subcommittee's April 7 hearing on defense intelligence programs.
LICENSED TO FLY: The Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation has issued the world's first license for a suborbital manned rocket flight, to Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif. The FAA license is required for U.S. contenders for the X Prize, a $10 million award for a commercial manned, reusable space launch vehicle.
The U.S. Marine Corps is seeking information from industry on a new vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to replace the Pioneer, according to a recent request for information (RFI). Rather than initiate a new development program, Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM) wants to know how existing UAV systems could satisfy their requirements. Responses to the RFI are due April 30.
EDO CORP. will provide electronic equipment for the U.S. Navy's EP-3E reconnaissance aircraft under an $8.4 million contract from Raytheon Technical Services Co. The 17-month contract is the second phase of a multi-phase electronic support upgrade program for the aircraft, EDO Corp. said. In this phase, the SP-160 processor will be modified to provide added functionality and allow for the replacement of some parts of the AN/ALR-81 countermeasures receiving system, the company said.
ORBITAL SCIENCES CORP. has announced the winners of its first supplier achievement awards. ATK Thiokol Propulsion of Brigham City and Magna, Utah, was named Systems Supplier of the Year; Druck Inc. Sensors Group of New Fairfield, Conn., was named Component Supplier of the Year; Astech Engineered Products of Santa Ana, Calif., was given the Technical Excellence Award; CMC Electronics of Cincinnati, Ohio, Marotta Scientific Controls of Montville, N.J., Arde Inc. of Norwood, N.J. and Micro Power Electronics Inc.
A Raytheon-made missile originally designed for air combat may one day be reborn as a submarine-launched defensive weapon, according to a U.S. Navy official.
AEROSPACE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL, Memphis, Tenn. Paul Fanelli has been promoted to president and CEO, succeeding Gerald E. Schlesinger, who resigned to join NetJets Inc. ATHENA TECHNOLOGIES, Warrenton, Va. H. Jeffrey Leonard, president of Global Environment Fund, has been appointed chairman of the board of directors. BOEING, Washington, D.C. Robert J. "Bob" Vilhauer has been selected as vice president of public policy and analysis for Boeing Washington, D.C. Operations. He replaces Bob Bott, who retired April 1.
Raytheon Co. plans to develop a new variant of the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) that it could offer to potential foreign customers as a lower-cost, safer alternative to existing versions of the standoff weapon, according to company representatives.
The U.S. Air Force has completed an analysis of alternatives of the projected Space Based Radar's ground moving target indicator (GMTI), a development the service describes as a major milestone on the road to acquiring the multi-billion-dollar SBR. "The two-year study effort involved multiple Air Force organizations as well as other services and the intelligence community, and was recently approved by Lt. Gen. Daniel Leaf, vice commander of Air Force Space Command," an Air Force announcement said.
