The House Republican Policy Committee yesterday called forabandonment of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and pushed the need for anational missile defense (NMD) system. The Republican leadership repeatedly has called for the ABM Treaty tobe done away with, an argument that has fallen on deaf ears in the ClintonAdministration. However, the Republican Policy Committee members stressedthey now have strong backing from a number of heavy hitters in the defensearena to wage this fight again.
Another long delay in starting on-orbit assembly of the InternationalSpace Station could cost the Clinton Administration hard-won support forthe project on Capitol Hill, the chairman of the House committee thatauthorizes NASA spending said yesterday.
Iridium LLC has decided to delay the start of commercial service forits worldwide "Big LEO" low-Earth orbit satellite communications networkfrom Sept. 23 until Nov. 1 to allow more time for testing before payingcustomers start making calls. Edward F. Staiano, Iridium vice chairman and CEO, told reportersyesterday that while the system is essentially complete, with alloperational software loaded and the hand-held satellite telephones workingadequately, he wants more time to work out remaining kinks.
Lockheed Martin Control Systems and Sextant Avionique said they haveagreed to jointly offer flight and avionics systems for the militarymarket. James D. Scanlon, president of Lockheed Martin Control Systems, andJean-Robert Martin, chairman and CEO of Sextant, said in a joint statementthat "Our two companies have much to gain through cooperation, and ourcustomers will benefit from a more comprehensive capability and greaterintegration of their flight avionics systems."
The Senate approved, by a 90-3 vote, a $12.6 billion fiscal 1999 foreign operations appropriations bill after putting restrictions on $35 million for North Korean energy development in reaction to Monday's test by North Korea of a Taepo Dong I multi-stage ballistic missile. The missile overflew Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean.
Denmark signed a memorandum of understanding at Farnborough to become the first international customer for a new pilot training scheme based in Canada. Details are due to be agreed between Art Eggleton, Canada's Minister of National Defense, and Hans Haekkerup, his Danish counterpart.
Ballistic Missile Defense Organization Director Lt. Gen. Lester Lyles expects by the end of this month to receive a number of reports on the status of the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile complied by industry experts. Special review teams comprised of heavy hitters experienced with problem-plagued development programs were tasked by THAAD missile prime contractor Lockheed Martin to evaluate the program. The teams were put together after the missile failed in its fifth attempt intercept a target in May (DAILY, July 17).
New Airbus chief executive Noel Forgeard used this year's Farnborough Air Show as the launch platform for marketing the consortium's 100-seat A318 transport - and for raising prices 3% across the board.
Bell Helicopter and Agusta of Italy signed an agreement at the Farnborough Air Show to form a joint venture to manage the Bell BA609 civil tiltrotor and the Agusta AB139, a new 12-15 passenger helicopter. The deal is subject to the boards of parent companies Textron and Finmeccanica. Bell Chairman and CEO Terry D. Stinson and Agusta President and CEO Amedeo Caporaletti made the announcement on the opening day of the air show.
Boeing has confirmed that the new thrust vector control system on three of the nine solid rocket boosters that powered the Delta III launch vehicle on its first flight caused the rocket to heel over and break up, and should have a corrective action plan ready by the end of the week.
The U.S. Air Force has changed some of its F-22 avionics development plan as a result of a cost study. Under the new plan the F-22 program "will re-allocate resources to the avionics development," the AF said in written response to questions. It noted, though, that the funding increase is being undertaken within the approximately $18 billion engineering and manufacturing development cost cap.
August 31, 1998 Raytheon Systems, Inc., Waco, Texas, is being awarded a $8,940,418 firm-fixed-price-contract to provide for 96 Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems and 63 Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems applicable to the C-141B and C aircraft. Expected contract completion date is March 2000. Solicitation issue date was June 9, 1998. Negotiation completion date was August 26, 1998. Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins AFB, Ga., is the contracting activity (F09603-98-C-0346).
NASA's inspector general has found the U.S. space agency purchased space-derived data that it already owned for $295,000 under a $50 million program ordered by Congress and the White House, but the audit that turned up the duplication headed off a second duplicative data buy that would have cost the agency another $576,000.
A Boeing Delta II rocket lifted five more replenishment satellites for the Iridium constellation into polar orbit yesterday, putting the "Big LEO" system back up to speed with replacements for all of the satellites that have failed on orbit. Liftoff from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., came at 5:13 p.m. EDT in a five-second launch window. The launch had been delayed from Friday after a lightning strike took down the range (DAILY, Sept. 8).
The Senate will vote today on a bill making it a policy of the U.S. to deploy "as soon as technologically feasible" a national missile defense, and ranking Senate Armed Services Democrat Sen. Carl Levin (Mich.) does not expect to lose any Democrats who opposed the measure the first time. A Levin spokesman acknowledged the Senator's assessment, which is, "As far as I know, we're not anticipating any changes at all."
Norway still plans to acquire a new multi-role fighter, but the decision date has slipped, according to Brig. Gen. Geir Harildstad, Royal Norwegian AF inspector of flying. At a conference in London last week, Harildstad said that the Norwegian Parliament will debate the need for a new fighter in the fall, weighing the RNoAF fighter requirement against a navy request for a new frigate program.
A nearly overheated commercial aircraft market and a flat or even declining military business base has ratcheted up competition among the big enginemakers to another level, underscored by the gloves-off remarks of the big engine chiefs during this week's Farnborough air show. "It's an all-fronts war everywhere" against rivals Pratt&Whitney and Rolls-Royce, declares GE Aircraft Engines president and CEO Jim McNerney, whose company is headed for top of the heap this year with projected revenues of $10 billion.
INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES, a Sarasota, Fla., company known for arranging MiG flights in Russia for paying clients, says the turmoil there has had little effect on its business. Individuals are still coming to fly in such jets as the MiG-25 and MiG-29 at a private research and testing facility at the Zhukovsky airfield outside Moscow, says Incredible Adventures. The company offers a variety of supersonic flight packages starting at $6,000.
September 2, 1998 McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $13,575,000 face value increase to a firm-fixed-price-contract to provide for various quantities of mechanical depot-level support equipment in support of the F-15I aircraft. This effort supports foreign military sales to Israel. Expected contract completion date is August 31, 2000. Negotiation completion date was July 9, 1998. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-97-C-2195-P00047).
DRS TECHNOLOGIES INC., Parsippany, N.J., has won certification from the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority for its Emergency Avionics System (EAS-3000), a beacon system that incorporates advanced data storage technology in a single crash-survivable unit.
