The U.S. Air Force plans to award two contracts worth as much as $10 million for research and development work in support of the recently established Space Technology Institute. The institute has been set up at the AF's Phillips Laboratory to "stimulate innovation in military space technology programs and leverage on-going space technology breakthroughs by academic/research organizations," the AF said in an Oct. 7 Commerce Business Daily notice.
The first big link-up between aerospace companies on opposite sides of the Atlantic will come in the next five to 10 years, driven by the same inexorable forces that have led to consolidation in the U.S. and pressure for change in Europe, according to Micky Blackwell, president and chief operating officer of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.
The Marine Corps is opposing a concept that has been floated at the Pentagon to cut its EA-6B Prowler squadrons from five aircraft to four to free up aircraft for one additional squadron. The Marines are vehement that the change would cut the combat power of an EA-6B squadron and could undermine their ability to support Marine Air- Ground Task Forces. One Marine Corps official said that the existing setup allows the four Marine Prowler squadrons to meet their operational requirements.
House and Senate appropriations conferees, wrapping up work on their fiscal year 1998 VA, HUD and independent agencies bill Monday, agreed to provide NASA with $5.5 billion for human space flight. The conferees stipulated that of the $2.3 billion of the human space flight budget made available for Space Station, only $1.5 billion can be used before March 31, 1998. They also called for a National Research Council review of the program.
After waiting several weeks before allowing the Army to fire a high- power laser against a U.S. Air Force satellite, the Pentagon appears to have missed the window of opportunity to conduct the test because of a combination of bad weather and technical problems. "I don't know that the confidence level is very high" the test will be able to take place, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Michael Doubleday told reporters yesterday. He added that there is "some question" whether there'll be another test opportunity.
The defense industry has carried out the first stages of its consolidation well, but Loral Chairman and CEO Bernard Schwartz says he is "trying to raise an alarm that the sub-tier level must be taken care of." Schwartz, speaking at the John Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington Monday night, repeated his long-held view of the danger of consolidation to the second tier of the aerospace and defense industry (DAILY, Dec. 18, 1995).
Crew members aboard Russia's Mir orbital station managed to free the Progress M-35 resupply capsule yesterday and send it toward a fiery reentry into Earth's atmosphere, clearing the way for a new Progress capsule to dock today and deliver some two tons of supplies. The new Progress M-36 capsule was scheduled to dock yesterday, after its launch Sunday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, but the M-35 capsule was in the way and would not respond to undocking signals from the ground (DAILY, Oct. 7).
The U.S. Air Force is looking to develop a long-range target capable of flying 600-3,100 kilometers to support testing of theater missile defense systems. The AF's Rocket System Launch Program, Kirtland AFB, N.M., is getting ready to issue a solicitation next week for the Long-Range Air-Launched Target program, it said in a Oct. 7 Commerce Business Daily notice.
The House on Monday attached an amendment to the Export-Import Bank Act prohibiting assistance to Russia if it transfers advanced cruise missile systems to China. Under the terms of the amendment, if the U.S. president is made aware that Russia has transferred or delivered to China an SS-N-22 or SS-N-26 missile system, the Export-Import Bank must be notified. In such a case, the bank will not insure, guarantee or extend credit or other otherwise subsidize the export of any good or service to Russia.
The military should have a greater role in the White House's expected line-item vetoes of the $247.7 billion defense money bill than it did in Monday's line-item vetoes of military construction projects, Rep. John P. Murtha (Pa.), ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations national security subcommittee and the Administration's designated point man on defense-line item vetoes, urged yesterday.
The following budget charts are included in the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's Annual Report to Congress made public Oct. 3. Each year, BMDO provides congressional defense authorizers a detailed report on its missile defense program, including the status of individual technical efforts and budget projections. Although the FY '99 budget lines could change as DOD compiles its FY '99 budget submission, this report is a good early indication of what funding is available and what programs BMDO views as priorities (DAILY, Oct. 7).
The U.S. Navy says it wants the vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicles (VTOL UAVs) participating in its demonstration program next year to provide a range of 110 nautical miles and three-hour on-station time. The Navy plans to award two to four contracts to demonstrate VTOL UAVs in a six-month program beginning in January. It said in a broad area announcement that it plans to award contracts with an estimated value of $1 million to $3 million.
Raytheon E-Systems, St. Petersburg, Fla., is being awarded a $32,347,899 firm-fixed-price and time and materials contract for low rate initial production and full rate production of Joint Tactical Terminal Common Integrated Broadcast Service Modules (JTT/CIBS/M), which provides war fighters with tactical intelligence and targeting information. It provides the critical intelligence data links to Battle Managers, Intelligence Centers, Air Defenders, Fire Support elements and Aviation Nodes across all services. Work will be performed in St.
Rockwell Collins, Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is being awarded a $9,313,500 face value increase to a firm-fixed-price contract to provide for 8,000 Precision Lightweight Global Positioning System Receivers and accessories. The work will be performed at their facilities in Coralville, Iowa. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The work is expected to be completed March 1999. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles, Calif., is the contracting activity (F04701-93/D-0001, P00022).
Lockheed Martin will receive $31.6 million from the Netherlands for 10 Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared By Night (LANTIRN) targeting pods for F-16s. The Netherlands selected the LANTIRN targeting pod earlier this year, along with GEC-Marconi which will provide the navigation pod. Israel's Rafael was the losing bidder with its Litening pod.
General Electric Aircraft Engines, General Electric Co., Lynn, Mass., is being awarded a $37,692,308 modification to previously awarded contract N00019-95-C-0132 for the procurement of 17 F404-GE-402 engines for the US Navy F/A-18C/D aircraft program and various modules for the US Navy and the Government of Malaysia. Work will be performed in Lynn, Mass. (58%); Evandale, Ohio (25%); Rutland, Vt. (4%); Albuquerque, N.M. (4%); Madisonville, Ky. (4%); Hooksett, N.H. (3%); and Wilmington, N.C. (2%), and is expected to be completed by March 1999.
A NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE payload is scheduled to be launched atop a Titan IV vehicle from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Thursday between 8 p.m. and midnight EDT, the Air Force said. The launch had been on hold since July 15 because of a flow control valve problem (DAILY, July 18) and, more recently, because of a brush-fire around the Vandenberg launch site. The mission will use a Lockheed Martin Titan IV-A.
Increased technology transfer between the U.S. and its European NATO allies could ease the technology gap that is emerging within the alliance as a result of the U.S. developing and fielding advanced weapons technology. "If we are working in one alliance together then I think there should be preparedness for certain transfer of technology," German Army Gen. Klaus Naumann, chairman of NATO's military committee, told reporters last week in Washington.
EchoStar III, the first satellite completed at Lockheed Martin's new Commercial Satellite Center in Sunnyvale, Calif., was launched Sunday from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla., atop a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS vehicle. Liftoff from Pad B, Launch Complex 36, came at 5:01 p.m. EDT. The Lockheed Martin A2100 will be placed in geosynchronous at 61.5 degrees West longitude, where it will provide direct broadcast television service through EchoStar's DISH network.
NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE Atlantis landed safely at Kennedy Space Center yesterday after its seventh mission to Russia's Mir orbital station, returning Astronaut Michael Foale to Earth after 145 days aboard Mir. The landing at 5:55 p.m. EDT was delayed a day at because of clouds over KSC, and took place only after NASA activated its alternate landing site at Edwards AFB, Calif., because of continued poor weather in Florida. The Shuttle delivered critical supplies, a backup computer and Astronaut David Wolf, who is scheduled to remain on Mir until January (DAILY, Sept.
Russia's creaky Mir orbital station hit another snag yesterday when ground controllers in Moscow were unable to undock an old Progress resupply capsule to make room for a new one launched Sunday. Signals from Mission Control Center-Moscow (MCC-M) ordering Progress M-35, which arrived in July, to separate from Mir had no effect yesterday. As a result, the docking scheduled today probably will not take place before tomorrow at the earliest.
The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's budget plan for development of a national missile defense (NMD) system includes $393 million in fiscal year 1999, a significant drop from the $978 million Congress provides in the FY '98 defense appropriations bill, according to BMDO's 1997 Report to Congress. BMDO, in the annual report to Congress made public Friday, says it is on track to develop a NMD system that could be in place at the earliest by 2003 if a decision is made to deploy by that time.
The Defense Dept. is beginning 11 new Foreign Comparative Test programs this fiscal year and is continuing 20 other programs in which it will evaluate hardware developed and built internationally to determine their potential to meet U.S. military requirements. The Army will start five new programs; the Navy/Marine Corps three; the Air Force two, and Special Operations Command one, the Pentagon announced yesterday.
Johnson Control World Services, Inc., Cape Canaveral, Fla., is being awarded a $91,997,309 face value increase to a cost-plus-award-fee contract to provide for FY 1998 launch base support services for the 45th Space Wing operations at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla., and the Eastern Range. This effort includes facilities engineering, security, safety, quality control, fire protection, logistics, and administrative support. Contract is expected to be completed September 1998. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
