KADISH & BUSH: Air Force Gen. Ronald Kadish, director of the Missile Defense Agency, is expected to give President Bush an in-person update on missile defense programs later this month, according to an industry source. A likely subject of the briefing, which is slated to take place at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, is the Bush Administration's plans to begin deploying the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system in September 2004.
The Naval Sea Systems Command awarded Raytheon a $105 million contract modification on Aug. 1 to further define the requirements for portions of the Aegis Combat System that will be installed aboard six warships. Those portions, along with the rest of the Aegis Weapon System, will be installed on two U.S. Navy DDG-51 destroyers, three South Korean ships, and one Japanese destroyer.
TRAINING DEVICES: AAI Corporation Engineering Support Inc. (ESI) will build and deliver three additional maintenance trainers for U.S. Air Force Globemaster III aircraft under a $37.7 million contract, the company said July 31. ESI will build the trainers in Charleston, S.C. and expects to deliver the first one in mid-2005.
The design of a U.S. Air Force network linking 13 command and control sensors is being shaped under a contract awarded to a Lockheed Martin-led team, the company announced Aug. 4. The Air Force's Electronic Systems Center launched the three-year program to develop the architecture for the Command and Control Constellation (C2C) with a one-year, $3 million award to the Lockheed Martin team. The contract could be worth up to $50 million.
At a July 30 meeting, the major players in the "Access Five" initiative to enable routine unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations in the national airspace agreed to move forward, despite lingering questions over the source of the necessary funding. The meeting, which took place in Washington, involved high-level representatives from NASA, the FAA, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the UNITE (UAV National Industry Team Endeavor) group, whose members are Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics, AeroVironment and Aurora Flight Sciences.
NEW DELHI - The Indo-U.S. Defense Policy Group (DPG) plans to hold a two-day meeting in Washington beginning Aug. 6. India's defense secretary, Ajay Prasad, left here Aug. 4 to attend the meeting, along with officials from the defense and external affairs ministries, the Defence Research and Development Organization and other officials.
Leaders of two multi-service force protection acquisition efforts met for the first time last week and agreed to tailor their systems to be complementary rather than competitive. The pledge covers the U.S. Army's $1 billion Guardian program and the Air Force's $300 million Integrated Base Defense Security System (IBDSS), which is nearing the final stages of a competitive downselect.
CryoSat, part of the European Space Agency's Living Planet program, is entering the final assembly stage on the way to being launched next year, ESA said Aug. 4. CryoSat is designed to measure changes in the Earth's terrestrial and marine ice fields, with the idea of providing "conclusive evidence" of whether polar ice is diminishing due to climate change, ESA said.
PRAGUE - Several national and international tenders will be called in coming months for NATO-approved projects at air bases in the Czech Republic. The move follows recent Czech government approval for a series of modernization and construction programs within the NATO Security Investments Program (BSIP). The projects, some of which were approved in principle by NATO in 1999, include the modernization of an aircraft hangar at Caslav airbase.
Boeing Air Force Systems will develop a modern a modern battle management suite to replace a 1970s-era system now aboard the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) fleet, the company said. The U.S. Air Force's Electronic Systems Center has awarded a contract to Boeing for the four-year system development and demonstration phase of the first major AWACS upgrade in 25 years, Boeing announced in an employee newsletter last week.
NEW WINDOW: After another launch delay, Boeing and the U.S. Air Force will have to find a new launch window for the Delta IV slated to carry a Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) spacecraft to orbit, Boeing said Aug. 4. The launch team is replacing an antenna for the rocket's flight termination system and the work won't be done in time to meet the Aug. 5 range availability assigned to the flight. The spacecraft is to launch the DSCS III B6, but the flight earlier was delayed for insulation checks (DAILY, Aug. 4).
MOSCOW - The launch of a Progress supply vehicle to the International Space Station later this year might not be possible without more money to finish building the spacecraft, an official with spacecraft builder RSC Energia said Aug. 4. Nikolai Zelenschikov, RSC Energia's first deputy general designer, said the vehicle is on the assembly line but might not be finished unless the company gets additional funding.
The first series production Eurofighter Typhoon has been delivered to the German air force, and Spain's air force has completed the acceptance flight of its first aircraft, Eurofighter consortium member EADS CASA said Aug. 4. Germany is the first Eurofighter partner country to accept delivery of the aircraft for service use, the company said. The aircraft, GT003, will be used for service pilot instructor training at Manching.
July 28, 2003 AIR FORCE United Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Group, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $12,256,898 contract to provide for turbine nozzle segment, quantity: 6,826 each, applicable to the F-15 and F-16 aircraft. No funds have been obligated. This work will be complete February 2004. Solicitations began April 2003 and negotiations were complete July 2003. The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (F34601-01-G-0006-0632).
JSF AWARDS: Three more Australian companies won contracts to support the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, bringing the national total to five awards, Australian government officials announced Aug. 1. Production Parts, of Victoria, won a bid to manufacture aluminum components for the F136 engine being designed by GE Aircraft Engines, the government says. Marand Precision Engineering, of Victoria, will produce a customized maintenance trailer to support JSF engines.
GLOBAL HAWK: The first production RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is entering a final series of systems tests in preparation for its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., later this month, according to Northrop Grumman. "Global Hawk Air Force 1" is the eighth Global Hawk, following seven built under the advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) phase of the program. After its flight test program, the UAV will be delivered to the Air Force's 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, Calif.
Lockheed Martin and Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) said they have reached an agreement to acquire parts of each other's businesses. Under the agreement, Lockheed Martin will acquire ACS' federal government information technology business for nearly $658 million. ACS will acquire Lockheed Martin's commercial information technology business for about $107 million.
PRAGUE - A shareholder dispute over the appointment of former Czech defense minister Jaroslav Tvrdik to the board of state-owned Aero Vodochody ended July 31 when Boeing announced it would support his nomination.
EUROCOPTER: American Eurocopter will break ground for a new manufacturing facility in Columbus, Miss., on Aug. 7. American Eurocopter is a subsidiary of Eurocopter, the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world, which is owned by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). "The newest American Eurocopter facility represents the confirmation of a commitment made by EADS North America and its subsidiaries to expand our footprint in the United States and contribute to economic growth, job creation and good citizenship," EADS says.
UNDERWHELMING: The second-quarter rise in the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) wouldn't have been as strong without contributions from the aerospace and defense industry, according to analyst Paul Nisbet of JSA Research. The stock market jumped July 31 on news that the GDP rose 2.4 percent during the second quarter. The consensus expectation called for a 1.6 percent increase. But the market virtually ignored the 44 percent increase in the defense component of GDP, the greatest increase since the Korean War over 50 years ago, Nisbet says.
FLIR NEED: Combat experience in Operation Iraqi Freedom shows the U.S. Army's AH-64 Apache fleet urgently needs to upgrade Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) sensors, says an after-action report compiled by the 3rd Infantry Division. The report urges the Army to buy and install second-generation FLIR systems "as soon as possible" for the Apache fleet. The deficiency was identified during the march to Baghdad, as aircraft faced enemy air defense artillery units hidden in palm groves and farms near the Euphrates River, the report says.
