PARTNERS: A protocol signed June 17 by EADS and Sukhoi Corp. paves the way for joint development of unmanned combat air vehicle technology, integrating MBDA missile systems on Sukhoi fighters and other aircraft modernization programs. "The teaming agreement with Sukhoi is important for the development of technology for future defense systems," says a statement by EADs co-CEOs Phillipe Camus and Rainer Hertrich.
The General Accounting Office (GAO) and NASA's Inspector General (IG) are expressing concern over the implementation of the agency's new Integrated Financial Management Program (IFMP), which is scheduled to be operational at all NASA centers later this month. NASA initiated the IFMP program last year to unify its 10 field centers under the same accounting system. Two previous attempts to modernize the agency's bookkeeping were abandoned after 12 years and a reported expense of $180 million, according to the GAO (DAILY, March 21, 2002).
The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has awarded Alliant Techsystems (ATK) a $228.6 million contract to develop the Navy's precision-strike AGM-88E Advanced Anti-radiation Guided Missile (AARGM). AARGM is a follow-on retrofit program to the Navy's High-Speed Anti-radiation Missile (HARM) missile, an air-to-surface missile designed to attack radar-equipped enemy air defenses.
The U.S. Army recently conducted a series of flights in which the Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrated a new ground-operated synthetic aperture radar and moving target indicator (SAR/MTI) sensor, Northrop Grumman announced June 16. The SAR/MTI sensor is part of Northrop Grumman's Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Radar (TUAVR) package. The company has been developing the TUAVR for the Army to help its tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (TUAVs) collect battlefield intelligence.
EO/IR SPENDING: Despite U.S. Army plans to incorporate small, tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into its Future Combat Systems program, most of the money spent on UAV sensor systems in the near term will go for larger, high-endurance aircraft, according to David Rockwell, senior defense electronics analyst with the Teal Group. Rockwell predicts sales of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) equipment for UAVs are likely to double to nearly $500 million annually by 2010. Most of that will go for large, high-endurance UAVs like Global Hawk.
The Army's Low Cost Interceptor (LCI) program has successfully completed a key design review, taking it one step closer to a potential fielding at the end of the decade. During LCI's May 15-16 preliminary design review, Miltec, the system integrator, "presented a design that met the program goals," Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) said in a recent statement responding to questions.
STRYKER REPORT: The Office of the Secretary of Defense will submit its report on the performance of the Stryker family of combat vehicles to Congress in mid-July, according to a U.S. Army spokesman. The report will cover the performance of the vehicles in three exercises that took place from mid-March to late May, starting at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., and ending at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La. The 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division, which conducted the exercises, achieved initial operating capability in May.
Concerned that the Navy faces the "imminent loss" of many of its aging EP-3E Aries II aircraft, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is proposing that the service begin replacing the signals intelligence (SIGINT) platforms with the RC-135 Rivet Joint SIGINT aircraft, which already is flown by the Air Force.
Washington Gov. Gary Locke (D) signed a package of tax breaks into law June 18 in hopes of persuading the Boeing Co. to build the 7E7 Dreamliner in his state. The package would give the aerospace industry $3 billion in tax incentives over 20 years if Boeing builds the mid-size airliner in Washington. At least half a dozen states, including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kansas and Texas, are vying to host the 7E7's final assembly and are expected to submit proposals for Boeing's consideration by the June 20 deadline.
Experiences in Iraq and recent tests and demonstrations show that targets can be identified and attacked in "single-digit minutes," and the technology is progressing so rapidly it promises to cut the time to just one minute, according to Col. Norm Sweet of the U.S. Air Force's Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
LE BOURGET, France - Unless there is an unprecedented coming together of Europe's aerospace technology resources, its political decision-making and requirements processes, "then we are finished," said Eurofighter CEO Filippo Bagnato. Bagnato said that only a superior high-technology base and a united political front could prevent "another Poland," referring to Poland's selection of the U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon in the face of intense European competition.
LE BOURGET, France - Anti-French and anti-German political rhetoric in the U.S. in recent months has done nothing to alter the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.'s plan to expand its North American operation, although it has slowed progress, said Ralph Crosby, the executive overseeing its U.S. activities.
Arianespace of France and ELV of Italy signed an agreement June 19 for the production and operation of the new Vega light launch vehicle at Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. ELV will be responsible for the production of vehicle components and integration in French Guiana. Arianespace will be responsible for Vega launch vehicle facilities and integration of the upper segments with satellites. Both companies will participate in launch preparation and operation.
The latest test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system ended without success late June 18 as the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) warhead deployed but failed to shoot down the target missile, the Missile Defense Agency announced. MDA spokesman Rick Lehner told The DAILY it is too early to know why an intercept was not achieved. "Government and industry officials will conduct an extensive analysis of the flight test, and the results will be used to improve the Aegis BMD development and testing program," MDA said in a statement.
Three European aerospace companies have formed a joint venture to market a Russian-made amphibious aircraft to customers in Europe, North America and Australia. Officials at the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS), Irkut Corp. of Russia and Rolls-Royce Deutschland of Germany said June 18 that nearly 320 Be-200 aircraft could be sold in 25 countries over the next 25 years as a firefighting and multirole aircraft. Company officials said they reached that conclusion based on the results of a recently conducted joint feasibility study.
LE BOURGET, France - The Boeing Co. is proposing an industry-wide, international consortium to develop network communications standards for commercial aerospace and defense, according to John Harms, director of business development for Boeing's strategic architecture organization. "We've brought in companies that compete with us and said, 'let's agree to make our systems interoperable,'" he said. The talks have included BAE Systems and Thales as well as U.S. rivals Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
EXCELLENCE: Aerospace Daily European correspondent John Fricker was presented the Boeing Decade of Excellence Award at the Paris Air Show. The award is the top honor of the 2003 Aerospace Journalist Awards, presented by the World Leadership Forum on behalf of the Royal Aeronautical Society and l'Aero-Club de France.
LE BOURGET, France - As the 2003 Paris Air Show nears its June 22 closing, overall attendance nearly is overcoming the absence of the U.S. defense contingent, a series of crippling transportation strikes and even a brief but violent thunderstorm on June 17. An official count is not complete, but an early tally of daily attendance suggests crowds of government officials, industry exhibitors and aerospace enthusiasts are only slightly smaller than the event's record in 2001, a pleasant surprise for many European officials.
Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., will be the first active duty Air Force base to receive leased Boeing KC-767A tankers, the service said. Deliveries to the base would begin in fiscal 2006, and 32 of the new planes will be based there by 2010, the Air Force said.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has appointed Donald Winter as its lead executive for missile defense business, a move that reflects the company's increased role in that sector. Winter will set direction for all of the company's missile defense work and will be Northrop Grumman's main liaison to the director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). Winter will remain corporate vice president and president of the company's Mission Systems sector.
The House Appropriations defense subcommittee approved a fiscal 2004 defense appropriations bill June 18 that provides the 22 F/A-22 Raptors requested by the Bush Administration and adds money for several programs, including the Tomahawk and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles, according to a congressional source. Although the subcommittee made a small cut in the funding request for the Lockheed Martin F/A-22, it believes the money still is adequate to buy the 22 Raptors the Air Force wants to procure in FY '04, the source told The DAILY.
