The U.S. Army last week completed the first successful firing of an Army Tactical Missile System from its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) carrier vehicle, Lockheed Martin Vought Systems said yesterday. The test took place July 1 at White Sands Missile, N.M. HIMARS is designed to carry one ATACMS missile or a six-pack of Multiple Launch Rocket System rockets. The system has been developed to support the Rapid Force Projection Initiative advanced concept technology demonstration, scheduled for this summer.
Raytheon Systems Co. won a follow-on production contract from England's Avimo Ltd. for a thermal imaging and fire control sight for British Army Scimitar Light Armored Vehicles. The specific value of the multi-million contract was not disclosed. Raytheon said it will provide Avimo with thermal imaging technology for integration with a laser rangefinder, fire control processor and periscope head to upgrade the Scimitar. The system, called SPIRE, also has applications for similar upgrades to Scorpion and Sabre armored vehicles.
LMI AEROSPACE INC., St. Louis, began a public offering of 2.3 million shares at $10 per share. Net proceeds of about $20.8 million will be used to repay certain debt, pursue acquisitions, and expand manufacturing capacity.
C. Dale Reis has been appointed general manager of the Defense Systems segment in Tucson, Ariz. succeeding David L. McPherson who is retiring. Frank S. Marchilena succeeeds Reis as general manager, Command, Control and Communication Systems segment in Marlborough, Mass. Marchilena had been general manager of Training and Services. Philip T. Le Pore becomes general manager, Training and Services segment, Vienna, Va. and executive vice president, succeeding Marchilena.
Stephen E. Nash, formerly president of Defiance, Inc., has been appointed chief executive officer of the Los Angeles company. Jim Brannan, owner of Waltco, has been appointed chairman of the board.
SPACEHAB AND DASA have joined forces to market sounding rocket flights for U.S. and Asian researchers, the U.S. company announced. Spacehab will handle marketing, while DASA's Space Infrastructure Unit will build "microgravity research modules" to be launched on commercially produced sounding rockets. Researchers will get as much as 18 minutes of microgravity from a flight. Spacehab President and Chief Executive David A. Rossi said the move continues Spacehab's efforts to establish a "full range of microgravity services for commercial and civil customers."
AIR FORCE Dyncorp, Aerospace Technology, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded on July 1, 1998, a $23,180,981 face value increase to a fixed-price-incentive contract to provide for FY 1999 aircraft maintenance support for the T-37, T-38, AT-
Japan joined the U.S. and Russia Saturday as the third member of the small club of nations that have launched space probes to celestial bodies beyond Earth orbit, using its M-5 solid-fuel rocket to hurl the Planet-B spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit that will take it to Mars late next year.
LOCKHEED MARTIN Tactical Aircraft Systems is modifying radiator panels mounted inside the payload bay doors on U.S. Space Shuttles to give delicate freon tubes better protection against dust particles at the International Space Station orbit. The work, done at the unit's composites manufacturing center in Fort Worth, Tex., involves bonding aluminum doublers and silver-Teflon tape over the Freon tubes in large autoclaves, where the space hardware is heated to 250 degrees F. for eight hours.
CANADA'S NSI COMMUNICATIONS has completed its acquisition of the Satellite Global Access (SGA) division from Spar Aerospace subsidiary ComStream Corp. NSI paid U.S. $3.05 million in cash and assumed liabilities of U.S. $6.95 million for the ComStream unit, which specializes in Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) networks. The deal gives NSI a $16 million backlog for satellite communications systems.
CANADA SIGNED CONTRACTS with the U.K. government and GEC Marine to lease four Upholder class diesel-electric submarines, the U.K. Ministry of Defense announced. A separate contract was signed between the Canadian government and Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd. (VSEL) for initial equipment spares and training, and a contract for Engineering and Support Management is expected to be signed. The contracts were signed at VSEL, where the submarines are moored.
L-3 Communications said yesterday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SPD Technologies Inc. for $230 million. SPD, based in Philadelphia, Pa., and Anaheim, Calif., provides electronics and electrical power products and subsystems for the U.S. Navy and other customers. It had revenues of $170 million in 1997. L-3 Communications, based in New York City, supplies secure communications systems and products, avionics and ocean systems, microwave components and telemetry, instrumentation, space and wireless products.
KISTLER AEROSPACE marked two milestones last month in its march to completion of the first commercial reusable launch vehicle. Lockheed Martin Michoud Systems, near New Orleans, completed the first welded aluminum liquid oxygen tank for Kistler's K-1 RLV, and Kistler itself successfully tested the six-parachute cluster that will ease the K-1 first stage back to an airbag-assisted soft landing after launch.
AIR FORCE Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded on June 29, 1998, a $150,024,762 firm-fixed-price contract to provide FY99 contractor logistics support for the KC-10 and KDC-10 aircraft. There were 30 firms solicited and two proposals received. Expected contract completion date is September 30,1999. Solicitation issue date was October 15, 1997. Negotiation completion date was May 13, 1998. Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (F34601-98-C-0125).
B/E AEROSPACE, which produces cabin interior products for commercial passenger transport aircraft, reached an agreement to acquire Aerospace Lighting Corp., continuing what it says is its strategy of penetrating the market for corporate and VIP jet aircraft cabin interiors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This is the third acquisition of the current fiscal year for BE Aerospace, headquartered in Wellington, Fla. It follows the buy of Puritan-Bennett's WEMAC air and oxygen flow valve business and Aircraft Modular Products, both in April.
Satellites generally used for intelligence gathering recently were used by the U.S. Navy to help find mines that could endanger operations in littoral waters, the Office of Naval Research said.
