MOSCOW - The Russian government plans to consider creating a single national civilian aircraft manufacturing company, according to a government official with oversight of the industry. Boris Alyoshin, the recently appointed vice premier for industry issues, described the plan June 26. Russia previously announced plans to create large aircraft manufacturing holding companies, which would include leading aircraft and helicopter firms and several subcontractors (DAILY, May 24, 2001).
ODYSSEY CONTINUES: NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter is revealing new details about ice in the high northern latitudes of Mars that will affect science strategies for future missions looking for past or present life, according to NASA. The spacecraft's neutron and gamma ray sensors have tracked seasonal changes as layers of "dry ice" (carbon-dioxide frost or snow) accumulated in winter and then dissipated in the spring, exposing a soil layer rich in water ice.
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) late June 26 rejected a proposal by the House International Relations Committee (HIRC) aimed at making it easier for U.S. firms to export commercial communications satellites. HASC Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) said he objected to the measure because it would nullify laws designed to ensure national security concerns are considered during the licensing process for satellite exports.
NATIVE ELECTRONICS: Australia's Ministry of Defence, striving to overcome a recent string of costly weapons procurement fiascos, is looking to boost its native military electronics industry. Mick Roche, undersecretary of defense materiel, unveiled the Defence Electronic Systems Sector Plan last week at the 2003 Defense + Industry Conference in Canberra. "The plan would see [the MOD] engaging the suppliers in early definition of requirements, and developing technologies to support the suppliers with better intellectual infrastructure," Roche says.
HEALTHY DEBATE: The appointment E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., former undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, to Lockheed Martin's board of directors is likely to spark healthy debate in the company's boardroom, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Christopher Mecray of Deutsche Bank. Although it's unclear what Aldridge will bring to the board in terms of financial oversight, he will bring a perspective different from that of management, Mecray says. "He's a very respected and independent thinker, and that's a healthy thing.
MASINT RESEARCH: The Bush Administration is objecting to a provision in the House-passed fiscal 2004 intelligence authorization bill that calls on the Defense Department to form an advisory panel to review technology research for measurement and signatures intelligence (MASINT), which is intelligence collected by observing the scientific features of targets. The provision is aimed at improving the coordination of MASINT activities by academia, government and the private sector.
Lockheed Martin said it has completed the first phase of testing of a more powerful General Electric engine for the F-16. The F110-GE-132, with about 32,500 pounds of thrust in maximum afterburner, is slated for use in the Block 60 F-16, 80 of which were ordered in 2000 by the United Arab Emirates. First flight of a Block 60 with the new engine is slated for later this year. "The engine met or exceeded all of our expectations during extensive ground and flight testing," Dan Levin, Lockheed Martin project test pilot, said in a June 26 statement.
DEFENSE APPROPS: The Senate Appropriations Committee hopes to take up its version of the fiscal 2004 defense appropriations bill soon after Congress returns from a weeklong Fourth of July recess. Tentative plans call for the committee's defense panel to consider the legislation July 8 and the full committee to mark up the bill July 10. The House version of the bill already has cleared the House Appropriations Committee and awaits consideration by the full House after the recess.
Lawmakers are pressing the U.S. Navy to re-examine some of its approaches to anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare. In a new report accompanying its version of the fiscal 2004 defense appropriations bill, the House Appropriations Committee suggests the Navy has lacked a coordinated approach to developing technology for anti-submarine warfare, resulting in "a piecemeal patchwork of sensors and platforms."
A story in the June 26 issue of The DAILY incorrectly stated which military would operate P-3 Orion aircraft the White House plans to sell to Pakistan. They would be operated by Pakistan's navy to track maritime smuggling and pursue al Qaeda operatives.
NEW DELHI - Indian scientists have confirmed that the first hot-fire test of an upper stage containing the country's new cryogenic engine will be held by the end of the year. The stage is being developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) as part of India's Cryogenic Upper Stage Project (CUSP). India has decided to fly the stage on its next Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) (DAILY, May 27). The first two flights of the GSLV used Russian-made cryogenic upper stages.
CAIB RECOMMENDS: Before NASA flies the space shuttle again, the agency should develop a means for inspecting and repairing damage to the shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS) while the orbiter is docked to the International Space Station, according to the latest preliminary recommendation from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB). The CAIB also is recommending a "comprehensive autonomous ... inspection and repair capability" for missions when the shuttle doesn't visit the ISS.
The first Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) was delivered to the U.S. Navy by Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector on June 26. ASDS is a battery-powered mini-submarine designed to carry eight Sea Air Land (SEAL) special operations forces and their equipment. The 65-foot submarine, with a range of 125 nautical miles, can reach speeds of up to eight knots.
Two days after the Army Tactical Missile System Penetrator (ATACMS-P) completed a milestone development event, the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) passed a measure that eliminates money in fiscal 2004 for the program. The House panel on June 26 passed the FY '04 defense appropriations bill, which includes a measure dropping the U.S. Defense Department's request for $55.075 million in FY'04 for research and development on ATACMS-P.
HAWK BUY: A decision by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) to buy 31 Hawk trainers would indicate that relations between the MOD and BAE Systems, the aircraft's manufacturer, have not deteriorated as badly as some media reports have indicated, according to Charles Armitage, global aerospace coordinator for Merrill Lynch. The decision, expected by the end of the month, likely would generate about 500 million pounds ($825 million) for BAE Systems over the next four to five years, Armitage says.
JSOW DROP: A B-1B Lancer test crew dropped Raytheon's Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) from the bomber for the first time on June 17, the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center said June 27. The crew successfully released two JSOWs are part of ongoing separating testing on the B-1B, the Air Force said.
NASA has formed an investigation team to determine why the Helios solar-electric unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed into the Pacific Ocean 29 minutes into a routine flight at the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii on the morning of June 26.
A competition for a $1.3 billion contract to provide up to five airborne tankers to Australia's Ministry of Defence opened for bids on June 26. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) plans to replace an aging fleet of drogue-equipped Boeing 707 tankers, which are limited to refueling Australia's Boeing F/A-18 Hornet fleet.
Lockheed Martin Corp. said June 27 it is forming a new business area to meet what it called the U.S. military's growing need for highly integrated systems. The unit, to be called Integrated Systems and Solutions (ISS), will be the company's fifth business unit.
July 8 - 9 -- Fuze IPT APBI & Industrial Base Workshop, Crystal City Marriott, Crystal City, Va. Contact Christy O'Hara at (703) 247-2586, or email [email protected] or go to www.ndia.org. July 10 -- Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) "Briefing to Industry," Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, Va. For more information call (703) 247-9471, fax (703) 243-1659, or go to www.trainingsystems.org/events.
U.S. Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR) effort to develop a replacement presidential helicopter is heating up following a White House request to accelerate the introduction of the aircraft to 2007. NAVAIR released a broad agency announcement calling for designs for the new Vertical Lift Aircraft (VXX) in January (DAILY, Jan. 29). The VXX would replace the VH-3D Sea King helicopter, which was derived from the Sikorsky S-61 and first flown nearly 40 years ago.
ORBITAL LAUNCH: An Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus booster successfully placed the OrbView-3 high-resolution imaging satellite into orbit on June 26, the company said. Orbital Sciences built the satellite for Orbital Imaging Corp. "We confirmed that the satellite is in the right orbit and that we're able to communicate with it," Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski said.
