NEW HUEYS?: The U.S. Navy may reopen a production line for UH-1 Hueys that closed 24 years ago, an official tells The DAILY. Bell Helicopter Textron is analyzing a Navy proposal to reopen an assembly line for about 100 upgraded UH-1Y Hueys, rather than remanufacture UH-1Ns, says Col. Doug Islieb, H-1 programs manager. The proposal is based on the possibility that new Hueys may cost less than remanufactured aircraft, which are expected to cost about $16.5 million each.
The U.S. Defense Dept. is moving to codify rules for agencies to employ a little-used class of research and development contracts called Technology Investment Agreements (TIAs). A rulemaking notice posted in the Federal Register Aug. 7 proposes to formalize the TIA system in defense acquisition policies starting Sept. 8.
The Army's lead systems integrator (LSI) team for the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program on Aug. 7 named three additional companies to develop systems for the program. The companies are Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control, General Dynamics Robotic Systems and iRobot. The companies join 15 other firms and company divisions selected by the LSI team of the Boeing Co. and Science Applications International Corp. on July 10 to participate in the FCS program (DAILY, July 11).
The next major test of the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system has been tentatively slated for Aug. 15, The DAILY has learned. The test calls for Orbital Sciences Corp. to launch one of two proposed designs for GMD's new interceptor booster. The other booster design, developed by Lockheed Martin Corp., is scheduled to follow suit in September or October. Both boosters will be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Neither test will involve an attempt to intercept a target missile.
NG REALIGNED: Northrop Grumman Corp. will realign two businesses by Jan. 1 to improve its information technology and network-centric work, the company said Aug. 7. About 5,600 Northrop Grumman Information Technology workers will move to the Mission Systems unit, and 2,600 Missions Systems workers will move to the IT unit as part of the move, the company said.
Eight companies have been asked by the Department of Homeland Security to submit additional information on their ideas for protecting airliners against attacks by man-portable missiles, an agency spokesman said Aug. 7. "We asked for additional information" from eight companies of the 90 or so that responded to a May 14 broad agency announcement seeking proposals to support Homeland Security R&D projects, Brian Roehrkasse told The DAILY. He declined to identify the companies.
Three new technology transition programs are helping new technologies bypass the so-called "valley of death" to become part of procurement programs, according to Tim Harp, assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for innovation and technology integration at the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). "My job up there is to try to facilitate tech transition," Harp said at the Naval-Industry R&D Partnership conference in Washington Aug. 6. "We have several programs that we use to do that."
The Defense Department is opposing a provision in the House-passed fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill that DOD says would block the potential retirement of the Air Force's C-5A fleet for several years.
Work has stopped at a large NASA-owned wind tunnel the U.S. Army traditionally has relied on for its full-scale rotorcraft testing, and NASA is preparing to close the facility next year. Based at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., the 40 by 80 by 120-foot National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) is the largest wind tunnel in the world. The facility mostly has been dormant this year, as NASA and the Army have attempted to work out the details of their future partnership on rotorcraft R&D (DAILY, March 11).
Executives with the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. on Aug. 7 reaffirmed the company's commitment to expanding operations in the United States. Plans for expansion include building facilities to support military programs and building a facility to complete final assembly on one of the Airbus jetliners, officials said.
PRAGUE - Aero Vodochody said Aug. 7 it would continue to focus on military aircraft production despite its announcement of a $20 million order for nine AE270 Ibis civilian aircraft. The order, placed by Florida-based distributor East Coast Jet Center, involves the supply of one aircraft next year and four aircraft a year in 2005 and 2006. The aircraft is produced by Ibis Aerospace, a 50/50 joint venture between Aero and Taiwan-based Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC).
Preliminary checks point to a faulty clamp installation as the culprit in the hydraulic failure that caused a V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft to make an unscheduled landing Aug. 4, according to a statement from manufacturer Bell-Boeing. The clamp, which held a hydraulic line filter, was "not installed as required," according to the statement. The resulting vibrations caused the connection to loosen and the number two hydraulic system to leak fluid.
The U.S. Navy scheduled and then canceled an Aug. 7 briefing on the Virginia-class submarine, saying the contract required "further review." John Young Jr., the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, was expected to make an announcement on the initial block buy of submarines, a source told The DAILY.
The heavy damage inflicted on AH-1W Cobra attack helicopters during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) bolsters the case for a planned upgrade as the program nears a milestone production decision, a Naval Air Systems (NAVAIR) official told The DAILY Aug. 7. All but nine of the 58 attack helicopters deployed in the campaign required various levels of depot maintenance, a ratio that the senior marine aviation commander called unaffordable (DAILY, July 30).
Orbital Sciences Corp. said Aug. 6 it was awarded the initial phase of a $25 million satellite manufacturing contract from a team led by Hampton University (HU) of Hampton, Va. HU's James M. Russell III is the principal investigator of the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) program. The University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) in Boulder is managing satellite development for HU. Orbital will complete the design and development and build the spacecraft at its Dulles, Va., facility, the company said.
LM BONDS: Lockheed Martin Corp. will offer up to $850 million in bonds, the company said. The bonds would be convertible to shares of Lockheed Martin common stock if certain conditions are met and the company decides not to settle such a conversion with cash, the company said Aug. 6. Initial buyers will have the option to buy an additional $150 million in bonds, the company said. Lockheed Martin also said it plans to buy back up to $1.15 billion in outstanding debt.
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) pledged his continued support for international cooperation on defense programs in a speech in Washington Aug. 6, while reiterating his assertion that Congress will back off from "Buy American" legislation that critics say would restrict such cooperation. Weldon chairs the House tactical air and land forces subcommittee and is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee under Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), the leading House sponsor of the "Buy American" provisions.
It's not clear what impact a United Kingdom buy of BAE Systems' Hawk trainers will have on India's pending decision on which advanced jet trainer to buy. The U.K. announced last week it would buy new Hawk Mk. 128s for $1.3 billion (DAILY, July 31). U.K. defense industry sources said the sale may have improved BAE Systems' chances for selling Hawk 100 trainers to India, which has been negotiating with the company for years.
MINUTEMAN LAUNCH: An unarmed Minuteman III ICBM was successfully launched Aug. 6 as part of a flight test for Force Development Evaluation, according to Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The launch was conducted by the 30th Space Wing and a combined task force from the 341st Space Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., and the 576th Flight Test Squadron at Vandenberg.
Curtiss-Wright Corp. of Roseland, N.J., said it has acquired Peritek Corp., a company that builds video and graphic display boards and counts Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Raytheon, BAE Systems and General Dynamics among its customers. "Acquiring Peritek is consistent with our desire to expand our presence in the electronic systems arena," Martin Benante, chairman and CEO of Curtiss-Wright, said in a statement.
Tera Tech Inc. of Pasadena, Calif., a consulting and engineering company, said Aug. 5 it is acquired Engineering Management Concepts Inc. (EMC), which provides engineering and program support to U.S. Defense Department weapons test ranges. The Camarillo, Calif.-based company also provides systems logistics support and information technology support to the DOD, Tera Tech said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
WRIGHT COINS: The U.S. Mint is producing a series of gold, silver and copper-clad coins to commemorate the centennial of the Wright Brothers' flight. The coins are on sale now and a portion of the proceeds will go to repair, refurbish and maintain the Wright Brothers National Memorial Park in North Carolina.
AEROSONIC CORP., Clearwater, Fla. Robert J. McGill, president of L-3 Communications-Display Systems, has been elected to the board of directors. ALENIA AERONAUTICA, Rome Roberto Assereto has been appointed chief operating officer. ASTORIA SOFTWARE, San Francisco
