MORE AIRCRAFT: Military leaders in Afghanistan need more air capability, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Sept. 18. Specifically, helicopter and lift platforms are needed. "We'll be able to do things more quickly," he said. The capabilities wish list includes a squadron of attack helicopters and another two or three C-130s, U.S. European Commander and NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe Gen. James Jones said at a Sept. 7 briefing. Helicopters are very hard to generate in the alliance because they're maintenance intensive and expensive, Jones said.
NASA's aeronautics mission directorate is evaluating more than 700 research proposals from 110 universities and 120 other organizations and plans to begin making awards next month. Out of its $724 million total budget request for fiscal 2007, the aeronautics directorate has budgeted $50 million to fund external research. "We're looking to make awards starting in October, probably the majority into November," Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Lisa Porter told The DAILY.
The international Solar-B mission is set to launch Sept. 23 from Uchinoura Space Center in Japan, when it will begin a three-year mission to gather data on the sun's magnetic field that could one day improve space weather prediction. Led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Solar-B is a collaboration between the space agencies of Japan, the U.S., the United Kingdom and Europe. Following launch, Solar-B will enter a polar orbit that will put it in continuous sunlight for nine months of the year.
The Pentagon is expecting to conduct a competition for one of the key sensors to go on the beleaguered National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS).
General elections set for late November in the Netherlands could have important implications for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project and the fate of Dutch aerospace champion Stork. The PvdA, the Dutch labor party which is leading in the polls in the run-up to the Nov. 22 election, has suggested the country should scrap its participation in the project.
WIND TUNNEL TESTING: NASA Langley Research Center has completed wind tunnel testing of the Bell Boeing Quad Tiltrotor model - representing a C-130-sized aircraft - at its transonic dynamics tunnel. A 1/5th scale model (213-inch fuselage and 91-inch diameter rotors) began its joint Bell, NASA, U.S. Army research laboratory program on June 27. The model has powered forward and aft rotors, pylons, nacelles and dynamic wings. The testing investigated the effects of interference from the forward wing and rotor on the rear wing and rotor.
FIGHTER RFPS: With India's new combat aircraft buy still ill defined and Saudi Arabia poised to sign off on the Typhoon, Dassault Aviation chief executive Charles Edelstenne is pinning hopes for a Rafale export breakthrough on Greece and Switzerland. Edelstenne says the Swiss recently issued a request for information, which is expected to be followed by a request for proposals (RFP) in 2007-08. A Greek RFP, still dependent on confirmation of a new five-year defense spending plan, is anticipated in 2008.
NAVAIR PROMOTIONS: The U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Mike Mullen, announced Sept. 18 that Rear Adm. (selectee) Peter Williams is being assigned as program executive officer for tactical aircraft programs at the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Md. Williams follows Rear Adm. David Venlet, who is headed for a third star as the next Navair commander. Mullen also announced that Rear Adm. (lower half) William Shannon III is being assigned as assistant commander for logistics. Shannon is now assistant commander for acquisition and operations.
British-headquartered BAE Systems has delivered a robust set of interim results for the six-month period that ended June 30. Sales stood at 8.2 billion pounds ($15.36 billion), up 21 percent from the same period in 2005. Operating profit also climbed to 653 million pounds from 488 million.
ARMY Esterline Armtec Countermeasures Inc., Coachella, Calif., was awarded on Sept. 8, 2006, a $27,124,592 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for M206 and MJU-7A/B IR countermeasure flares. The work will be performed in East Camden, Ark., and is expected to be completed by May 30, 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were two bids solicited on Aug. 4, 2006, and two bids were received. The U.S. Army Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-04-C-0096).
The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command on Sept. 11 awarded Raytheon Co. a $285.4 million firm-fixed-price contract for production of the Improved Target Acquisition System (ITAS), which uses forward-looking infrared radar to provide fire control for the TOW missile.
NASA's Constellation Program has awarded Boeing $14 million to design a heat shield for the Orion crew launch vehicle using phenolic impregnated carbon ablator (PICA) material, and to build a full-scale manufacturing demonstration unit.
SUB ON TRACK: The Virginia-class submarine North Carolina (SSN 777) is 76 percent complete and is on track for delivery in February 2008, Northrop Grumman Corp. says. The company is building North Carolina, the fourth ship of the class, and says it is using lessons learned from the previous three Virginia subs. Northrop Grumman has been criticized for problems earlier in the program, which the company and Navy officials attributed to a 10-year gap since Northrop Grumman delivered its last large sub (DAILY, April 18).
WHITHER INTELSAT: There is considerable debate about how Intelsat will deal with the huge indebtedness from its recent PanAmSat acquisition, estimated at seven times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and interest. Philippe Olivier Rousseau, managing director at BNP Paribas, holds the prevailing view that Intelsat will opt for an initial public offering. Intelsat CEO David McGlade says the company will try to pare down debt initially from free cash flow and leave an IPO until later, but hints it may also look at acquiring more capacity.
Despite three years of government-funded research and development, there is no public policy consensus on equipping commercial aircraft with technology to protect them from shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missiles, a former top Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official says.
BORDER UAVS: The House wants "systematic" surveillance of U.S. land and maritime borders using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ground-based sensors, satellites, radar coverage and cameras. Among other elements of the so-called Secure Fence bill passed Sept. 14, the House asks for a description of how the U.S. Border Patrol is working, or will work, with the Homeland Security Department's Directorate of Science and Technology to analyze high-altitude monitoring technologies like UAVs and tethered aerostat radar systems for use with land-based systems.
NONTRADITIONAL: The Commerce Department's Office of Space Commercialization (OSC) is in discussions with NASA about how best to lure companies that aren't part of the traditional aerospace industry into becoming involved in the agency's exploration plans. In its role as coordinator of space-related issues within the Commerce Department, OSC plans an outreach effort likely to take the form of symposia or other activities in which nontraditional players are invited to network with government and industry space representatives (DAILY, June 13).
Sept. 19 -- AHS Federal City Chapter Dinner Meeting, "Current Status of U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corp. Vertical Flight Programs, Army/Navy Country Club, Arlington, Va. For more information call (703) 684-6777. Sept. 19 - 20 -- Military Logistics Summit 2006, "Total Asset Visibility, Supply-Chain Management on the Battlefield, Performance-Based Logistics," Sheraton Premiere at Tyson's Corner, Vienna, Va. For more information go to www.militarylogisticssummit.com.
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Texas -- Spacewalkers Joe Tanner and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper wrapped up the third and final extravehicular activity (EVA) of the space shuttle Atlantis Sept. 15 in good shape for landing at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., early Sept. 20.
The United States could fall behind other countries in the bid to put space-based radar in orbit because of slips and delays in the U.S.-planned system, speakers at the Sept. 13-15 Commercial Remote Sensing Satellite Symposium in Washington said. Industry experts say Germany and Canada are working on their own systems and could beat the United States into space with a constellation that will be able to track targets on the ground, even moving ones, with accuracy and depth never before available.
