France's Sagem and Germany's STN Atlas Elektronik have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The companies plan to develop full interoperability between their UAV systems, particularly Sagem's Sperwer and STN Atlas' KZO/Taifun, Sagem and Rheinmetall DeTec AG, the holding group that includes STN Atlas, said July 2.
The Missile Defense Agency is slowing part of its boost-phase interceptor program because of financial and technical constraints, according to Defense Department officials. The kinetic energy interceptor (KEI) program had called for developing two test bed systems on similar schedules: one space-based, the other terrestrial or ground- and sea-based. If one system failed to meet expectations, MDA figured it would have an alternative available.
The House is expected to debate and approve the fiscal 2004 defense appropriations bill July 8. The House Appropriations Committee approved the legislation June 26 (DAILY, June 27), providing $4.2 billion for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, $132 million less than the Bush Administration's request, and $8.9 billion for missile defense, $193 million below the request (DAILY, June 25). Lawmakers may propose deeper cuts to missile defense when the full House takes up the bill.
The latest launch forecast from Futron Corp. predicts that 2003 and 2004 will see consistent increases in worldwide commercial launch activity, although "ominous" signs point to a slump in 2005. According to Futron's "best estimate" of the next 18 months, 23 commercial launches will take place worldwide by the end of this year, with 26 in 2004. This represents consistent growth from 2001, which saw the lowest number of commercial launches, 16, since 1994.
Air Force Maj. Gen.-select Henry Obering will replace retiring Army Maj. Gen. Peter Franklin as deputy director of the Missile Defense Agency, MDA announced July 2.
The Carlyle Group and Italian aerospace giant Finmeccanica have agreed to buy FiatAvio, the aerospace business of the Fiat Group. The value of the company is estimated at 1.5 billion euros ($1.76 billion). The deal will be financed through a combination of equity and debt. A source familiar with the deal told The DAILY that Carlyle and Finmeccanica would offer $500 million in equity to pay for the acquisition. The remainder will be paid for through debt offerings.
Scaled Composites has filed an application with the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, known as AST, to obtain a launch license for the first suborbital space flight of SpaceShipOne. Company founder Burt Rutan said he still hopes his reusable spacecraft will not have to be licensed like a rocket.
PRAGUE - A tender for new supersonic fighters for the Czech air force could be launched in late 2003 or early 2004 under proposals due to be considered by the Czech cabinet next week. The Czech ministry of defense is to present several options to the government on July 7. They include a five- or 10-year "bridging solution" involving the acquisition of a dozen older fighters to ensure airspace protection beginning in 2005, when the country's fleet of Mig-21s is to be decommissioned.
CONNEXION AGREEMENT: Connexion by Boeing has signed a service agreement with Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) to equip the carrier's long-haul aircraft with the company's broadband mobile satellite information service. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Service installations will begin in 2004 for SAS' 11 long-haul aircraft, Boeing said July 2, and the service may be expanded to other SAS aircraft. "This agreement ...
Calling it "draconian" and "catastrophic," a Lockheed Martin executive on July 2 sharply criticized a move by House appropriators to cut next year's budget for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) nearly in half. Randy Bigum, Lockheed Martin's vice president for strike weapons, also criticized the House panel's report on the fiscal 2004 defense appropriations bill, which described "uncertainty" encircling the JASSM program's testing phase after two disappointing flight tests this spring.
Lockheed Martin Corp. said July 2 it has been awarded a $175 million contract by Raytheon Co. for work on the navy's next-generation destroyer, the DD(X). In a statement, Lockheed Martin officials said the company plans to leverage its expertise in total ship systems engineering, command and control systems, Integrated Undersea Warfare (IUSW) systems, weapons control and phased array radars to help develop some of the proposed 11 engineering development models (EMDs).
ALCOA, Pittsburgh Veronica M. "Ronee" Hagee has been named chief customer officer. L.R. "Rick" Milner has been named to the new position of president, Alcoa Advanced Transportation Systems. AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MILITARY COMPTROLLERS, Arlington, Va. Thomas R. Bloom, director of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, has been named president. AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY CORP., San Diego Carl Gruenler has been named vice president of military operations. CPI AEROSTRUCTURES, Edgewood, N.Y.
VOUGHT BUY COMPLETED: Aerostructure supplier Vought Aircraft Industries has completed its acquisition of Aerostructures Corp., which designs and builds airframe structures, the company said July 2. The company will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Dallas-based Vought. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The U.S. Army doesn't have access to enough airlift to meet its goal of deploying a Stryker Brigade Combat Team anywhere in the world in 96 hours, the General Accounting Office said in a report released late June 30. Available airlift is insufficient to transport a brigade's 1,000 vehicles and 3,900 personnel, the GAO said. "At present, it would take from five to 14 days, depending on destination, and require over one-third of the Air Force's C-17 and C-5 transport aircraft fleet to deploy one Stryker brigade by air," the report says.
Lockheed Martin hopes to implement a systems upgrade program for surface ships similar to the one it used to develop commercial hardware and software applications for the Navy's submarine fleet. The program would involve upgrading the baseline systems architecture used to run the Aegis Weapon System aboard the Navy's cruisers and destroyers and providing periodic spiral hardware and software upgrades.
PRAGUE - Czech president Vaclav Klaus toured Aero Vodochody last week in a show of support for the troubled Czech aircraft manufacturer. Aero Vodochody's revenues are expected to plummet as it nears completion of an order for 72 L-159 subsonic fighters for the Czech air force. It is now banking on securing its first international order for the aircraft to ensure its future.
JOINING GALILEO: France's Thales Group has taken a 12 percent stake in Galileo Industries, the prime contractor for Galileo, Europe's planned satellite navigation service. Galileo, which would include a constellation of 30 satellites, recently got a green light from EU ministers to proceed (DAILY, May 28).
Northrop Grumman Corp. has begun exploring how the laser weapon know-how it recently obtained from its acquisition of TRW Inc. could improve the ships it builds, a Northrop Grumman official told reporters July 1. Wes Bush, president of Northrop Grumman's Space Technology unit, which includes the company's high-energy laser programs, said at a press briefing that Northrop Grumman has launched an initiative to explore the potential use of directed energy weapons for ships.
MOSCOW - On June 30, a Russian Rockot launch vehicle delivered eight commercial and university research satellites to orbit, along with a mockup of Khrunichev Center's Monitor E remote-sensing satellite. The satellites launched included Canada's Microvariability and Oscillation of Stars (MOST) observatory, the Czech Republic's Micromeasurement of Satellite Accelerations (MIMOSA), and Stanford University/QuakeFinder's QuakeSat scientific satellites.
After a two-year technology demonstration, Boeing and Lockheed Martin are preparing pricing bids this month for the U.S. Air Force's Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) program. The Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., sent requests for proposals to both contractors June 27, according to an acquisition notice posted July 1. The Air Force plans to select one contractor for the system development and demonstration (SDD) phase in early October, pending a late-September review by the Defense Acquisition Board.
