Alliant Techsystems said its Conventional Munitions Group maintained a leadership position in the medium caliber ammunition market during the company's fiscal year 1998. During that period, which ended March 31, the group won contracts worth $64 million for production of tactical and target practice rounds. It won two awards for 1.6 million rounds of 25mm Bushmaster target practice ammunition used by the U.S. Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
Engine Lease Finance Corp. and the AGES Group, along with their respective parent companies, have formed a new joint venture to acquire a portfolio of spare aircraft engines for short- to long-term lease with an initial capitalization of $210 million.
Short Brothers delivered its first nacelle nose cowl for the GE CF34- 8C1 turbofan to GE Aircraft Engines, where it will undergo fan blade-off tests and other studies, Shorts reports. The unique -8C1 nacelle design can be used on either the port or starboard engine, and a novel thrust reverser arrangement cuts down on mechanisms and moving parts. The Belfast, Northern Ireland unit of Bombadier Aerospace will hand over six ground test articles in coming months, with the first production nacelles slated for delivery early next year.
The Russian Space Agency and United Technologies Corp. have agreed to set up production of Pratt&Whitney's RL-10 cryogenic rocket engines in Russia, agency and company officials announced here yesterday. The engines, upgraded using Russian technologies, would first be offered to boost payload capability of the Russian Proton rocket. But in the future they may be sold internationally, officials said.
Boeing Chairman Phil Condit said yesterday that estimated production costs of the next-generation 737s will exceed estimated revenue for the first 400 units. Condit said that Boeing will take a pretax charge of $350 million on first quarter earnings on top of previously recognized forward losses of $700 million related to production problems on the next-generation 737s, and that further charges could be necessary.
DOW-UNITED TECHNOLOGIES COMPOSITE PRODUCTS has received an option for seven more satellite buses for the Iridium "Big LEO" communications constellation. The composite buses, produced on a production line in Tallassee, Ala., were ordered by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, which is building the Iridium satellites. Overall, Lockheed Martin retains options for 37 more satellite buses, running through 2003. To date 87 of the units have been delivered, and the seven new orders are scheduled to be delivered this year.
AERIAL IMAGES, the North Carolina company that hopes to market 2-meter Russian space imagery on the Internet, reports a safe return to Earth for the Kometa satellite that has been gathering images of the Southeastern U.S. and other locations around the world since mid-February (DAILY, Feb. 18). The satellite with its cache of exposed film landed in Kazakhstan Monday. Working with Kodak, Digital Equipment Co., Microsoft and Russia's Sovinformsputnik, Aerial Images plans to begin offering images for as little as $7.95 through a web site at www.terraserver.com.
Lockheed Martin yesterday beat Boeing in the competition for continued development and eventual production of the U.S. Air Force Joint Air-to- Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM). Lockheed Martin's JASSM offer was a better designed, more effective and lower cost missile than the Boeing proposal, Darleen Druyun, the AF's source selection authority for the competition, told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday. The total JASSM program is expected to be worth about $2 billion.
INTELSAT 709 will provide direct-to-home satellite services for most of Brazil, the international satellite communications consortium announced Monday in Las Vegas. Three Ku-band transponders will handle the service from the satellite's location at 310 degrees East longitude, which will cover Brazil as far north as Natal with video program distribution services. Some 500,000 homes will use the service, which is expected to produce revenues through Embratel - Intelsat's Brazilian signatory - of more than $9.7 million.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Science space and aeronautics subcommittee and a strong backer of NASA's efforts to develop a next-generation reusable launch vehicle, has asked President Clinton to declassify "black" aircraft development programs from the Cold War era so any technology developed then can be applied to the new RLVs.
LORAL ORION NETWORK SYSTEMS has signed up Bonneville International Corp. as its first customer on the planned Orion 2 satellite to be located at 12 degrees West longitude after it is launched in the summer of 1999. Salt Lake City-based Bonneville leased 9 megahertz of an Orion 2 transponder to expand its broadcast programming services in Latin America. The company already has an agreement with Loral Orion to distribute its programming in Europe.
DRS Technologies Inc. signed a letter of intent to acquire NAI Technologies Inc., DRS announced. DRS is a high tech company based in Parsippany, N.J., specializing in systems and components for the processing, display and storage of data. NAI, based in Huntington, N.Y., provides rugged computers, peripheral equipment and integrated systems for military, government and commercial applications. It reported sales of $52 million in 1997.
U.S. Air Force officials are preparing a fiscal 1998 reprogramming to fund advanced missile propulsion work under the Advanced Propulsion Technology project, a portion of the wide-ranging Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Technology (IHPTET) initiative that was zeroed in the FY '98 budget request.
The Society of Automotive Engineers has restructured its technical standards and research group, a move it said was in response to changing needs of the aerospace industry and governments worldwide. Three new technical teams have been created by SAE to focus on aerospace, road vehicles and advanced technologies. In addition, a marketing team has been established to support the technical teams.
Kerri-Ann Jones, a biochemist with science policy experience at three agencies, will serve as acting White House science advisor following the departure April 3 of John H. Gibbons, who has held the post throughout the Clinton Administration.
One of the nine operational B-2 bombers at Whiteman AFB, Mo., recently hit a bird, sustaining damage. It was the second B-2 bird strike incident, according to Brig. Gen. Thomas Goslin, commander of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman. The first occurred more than two years ago. One AF official said the damage will involve significant repairs. Goslin said there was no structural damage. The same bomber was involved in a static discharge incident in the summer of 1996.
Lockheed Martin has established a new series of its venerable Atlas launch vehicles powered by the new RD-180 Russian rocket engine, and is calling them "Atlas III." Previously dubbed the Atlas IIAR, the Atlas IIIA will be powered by an RD-180 on the first stage and a Pratt&Whitney RL-10A on the Centaur upper stage. The Atlas IIIB, previously designated Atlas IIARC, will carry a stretched Centaur stage with two RL-10As for greater lift capacity.
The U.S. Army has removed some outyear sustainment funds from the AH- 64 Apache program in anticipation of eventual savings from outsourcing the support activity. But if the Prime Vendor Support (PVS) initiative doesn't get the green light, it could leave the program about $600 million short. The Army is considering an unsolicited proposal from Boeing Co. to take over support of the attack helicopters. Boeing is teamed with Lockheed Martin and the Corpus Christi, Tex., depot to compete for the support work.
COURT OF APPEALS for the Federal Circuit has reaffirmed an earlier award to Hughes Electronics Corp. for U.S. government infringement of a Hughes patent on satellite-control technology. The action marked the latest step in the government's appeal of a 1994 ruling that awarded Hughes $114 million for the attitude control system invented by Hughes engineer Donald Williams in 1959 (DAILY, June 21, 1994). Under the new ruling, the government owes Hughes more than $145 million for the original judgment and interest on it, Hughes said yesterday.
Northrop Grumman is bidding a B-2 bomber-like design for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle program. DARPA plans to build two demonstrator UCAVs for the missions of strike and suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD).
Northrop Grumman said yesterday that it has delivered the first AN/APG-77 electronically scanned radar and related software to the F-22 fighter program for avionics integration. The Block 1 software passed a qualification test on March 26 clearing the way for integration with other systems. In late February, the radar itself was delivered to Boeing, which is in charge of integration of the radar, electronic warfare suite and communications, navigation and information system.
NASA's Apex High-Altitude Flight Experiment, a remotely piloted sailplane designed to collect aerodynamic data at altitudes from 70,000 to 100,000 feet, has cleared Critical Design Review and is on track to begin fabrication once thermal management and structural loads testing are complete.
Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that since the Senate won't support a defense boost, he won't push for one. Last Thursday, the closing day of the Senate's debate on the $1.73 trillion fiscal 1999 congressional budget resolution, Thurmond detailed his rationale, noting what he said was a lack of concern about national security issues.
