Fixes to the Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser won't drive up the $8,900 average unit cost of the weapon, according to Col. Bill Wise, the U.S. Air Force's area-attack system program director. Lockheed Martin will honor the price commitments made on WCMD, Wise said in an interview. The AF, however, is paying some of the additional development cost because the WCMD engineering and manufacturing development program is run under a cost-plus contract.
With consolidation of the U.S. defense industry probably not complete, "a conventional antitrust approach to consolidating and restructuring the defense industrial base was and remains incompatible with the realities of the defense marketplace in the 1990s and beyond," according to a study by the Washington-based Center for Strategic&International Studies (CSIS).
Deployment of the AGM-154A Joint Standoff Weapon aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was completed without failures, according to Capt. Bert Johnston, the Navy's JSOW program manager. JSOWs were carried by F/A-18 strike fighters on almost 50 missions, he said. The Nimitz returned to Norfolk several weeks ago after a cruise that took it to the Persian Gulf. A handful of JSOWs was available for the deployment because operational testing went so well that firing of all missiles wasn't required.
TACA Group of Latin America announced orders Friday for 30 firm and 30 option Airbus A320 aircraft. The group - which includes TACA of El Salvador and Honduras, Aviateca of Guatemala, Lacsa of Costa Rica and Nica of Nicaragua - said the deal is part of a joint negotiation with TAM of Brazil and Lanchile of Chile for 175 Airbus singe-aisle aircraft that includes 88 firm orders and 87 options. Deliveries are to begin late next year. The TACA group already has 14 A320s.
Boeing Enterprises will invest $10 million in Israel's Rada Electronic Industries, a move that Boeing said will make it the largest single stockholder in the avionics test equipment and electronics company. The agreement is for passive equity investment only, but Boeing may provide Rada with avionics expertise on new systems as well as opportunities for collaboration. The transaction should be completed in the second quarter. Boeing has estimated the annual market for avionics test equipment and services to be about $1 billion.
Photos of a National Reconnaissance Office Lacrosse imaging radar spacecraft and an NRO geosynchronous relay satellite provide a rare inside view of how the U.S. acquires and handles space reconnaissance imagery.
COMMON CONFIGURATION: The F/A-18s that Thailand was going to buy but can no longer afford, and that are now making their way to the U.S. Marine Corps (DAILY, March 16), will all be delivered as F/A-18Ds in the Lot 19 configuration, the latest the Marines have bought. Still unresolved is who will pay for the planes, although a budget supplemental is considered the likely option. The Marines, for their part, say their long-term aviation plans aren't affected by the eight additional Hornets.
LE-5A UPGRADE: An upgrade planned for Japan's new H-2A space launch vehicle might fix the problem that caused its predecessor to fail on its last flight. Investigators believe a nozzle burnthrough in the second-stage LE- 5A engine damaged nearby cables and other equipment, leading to the premature shutdown that left the Comets engineering test satellite stranded in a low orbit (DAILY, Feb. 24).
The FAA awarded Boeing a Supplemental Type Certificate to convert 747-200 combis with stretched upper decks to full freighter capabilities at the company's Modification Center in Wichita, Kan. The modifications restore the cargo capacity of the 747, allowing the airplane to carry 243,000 pounds, according to Boeing. The Modification Center recently completed work on its first 747 stretched-upper-deck conversion and is modifying another 747 combi into full-freighter configuration.
JETS DELAY: Start of engineering and manufacturing development for the Joint Emitter Targeting System has been delayed until fiscal 2001. JETS is a U.S. Navy-led initiative to allow F/A-18 strike fighters to more precisely target the High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM). It also is seen as a potential follow-on to the Air Force's HARM Targeting System, carried by F-16s. Funding problems have repeatedly caused JETS to slip. The program initially was supposed to begin in FY '98.
NOT VITAL: As the U.S. Air Force compares cost and effectiveness of the Sensor Fuzed Weapon and AGM-154B Joint Standoff Weapon, both of which use the BLU-108 anti-armor warhead, the Navy is sitting back and watching. AF officials say JSOW is in a stronger position because it's a joint program (DAILY, March 9). But several AF officials also point out that canceling SFW would terminate the BLU-108 improvement program that benefits SFW and JSOW. But Navy officials aren't concerned. They point out the AGM-154B JSOW already has a 20% performance margin.
WAITING GAME: The House Appropriations national security subcommittee should conclude its fiscal 1999 hearings this week, but may have to pause until mid-May since the House Budget Committee isn't likely to have a budget resolution, and an allocation for the subcommittee, before then. Rep. C.W. (Bill) Young (R-Fla.), chairman of the national security subcommittee, says he will not present his numbers to the subcommittee until he gets the budget allocation number.
The Norwegian Army is closely monitoring progress on the U.S. Air Force Low Cost Autonomous Attack System (LOCAAS) with an eye to joining the program. Norway would use LOCAAS as a submunition on its Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). The U.S. Army briefly considered the MLRS/LOCAAS combination, but decided not to get involved in the program, partly because it viewed it as threatening the Brilliant Anti-Tank (BAT) submunition effort.
Boeing Co.'s Guidance Repair Center, Heath, Ohio, received FAA certification to repair the Carousel IV family of Inertial Navigation Systems used on many commercial aircraft. Boeing said the facility currently repairs military versions of the INS used on the KC-135, C-141, C-5, C-9 and C-130.
The U.S. Air Force will put funding for readiness and sustainment on the top of its "wish list." The House National Security Committee asked each of the service chiefs to provide information on what they would use money for if Congress were to provide additional funds, and readiness was the AF's top priority.
DO IT NOW: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jay L. Johnson agrees with Rep. Paul McHale (D-Pa.) who says at a House National Security Committee hearing that the present shipbuilding rate of five to six ships a year will drop the 346-ship Navy below 300 ships.
WAIT AND SEE: The Defense Dept. hasn't formalized its position on the "Impact '98" bill of Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.). The proposed legislation increases missile defense funding in FY '99 by $147 million. An earlier version added $300 million but DOD objected, saying $100 million was more appropriate (DAILY, Feb. 18). Deputy Defense Secretary Hamre says he'll let Congress know very soon what DOD thinks of the revised bill. He adds that the Pentagon's funding priority is to support operations in Bosnia and Iraq, not missile defense.
FLYING INTO Y2K: U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan thinks the AF has a good process in place to handle potential Year 2000 computer problems. But, he tells the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, it's too early to declare victory because unknowns may yet appear. Still, with stories rife that airline travel could break down on Jan. 1, 2000, Ryan says the Air Force is "going to fly New Year's Eve and New Year's Day."
GOOD OMEN?: Although the U.S. Navy has been forced to slip its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet briefing to senior Pentagon leaders, Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre tells reporters he doesn't expect long-term delays in the program. The lack of a confirmed technical solution to wing-drop and buffeting problems, weather-related flight test delays, and simple scheduling difficulties have pushed back the briefing that was planned for today. But Hamre said the last briefing he got on the Super Hornet showed the Navy had promising solutions.
Lockheed Martin said "signs remain positive" that it will be able to consummate the sale of F-16 fighters to the United Arab Emirates. Martin Indyk, assistant secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs, told the House International Relations Committee on March 10 that he believes the UAE sale "will go forward."
A panel to determine whether to use FY '98 B-2 bomber appropriations for upgrades or long-lead funding to buy more of the planes is siding with the Pentagon in recommending that the funds be used for upgrades.
Total development costs of the International Space Station will be $21.3 billion through December 2003, when the orbiting facility is scheduled to include the U.S. Habitation Module that will allow the Station to accommodate a crew of seven, and a U.S.-built Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) for emergencies.
The Pentagon's latest acquisition pricing mistakes are rare cases that should not detract from the overall success of acquisition reform efforts, Jacques Gansler, under secretary of defense for acquisition, said yesterday. But Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said the evidence presented by a Pentagon Inspector General's report on instances of overcharging "points to a more widespread problem," and called for an end to the Pentagon's "faulty acquisition policy."
