COMPOSITE 7E7: Boeing's planned 7E7 mid-sized airliner (DAILY, Feb. 7) will be the first commercial jet to have most of its primary structure made of advanced composite materials, the company said June 12. That will include the wings and fuselage, Boeing said. The company has selected a graphite combined with epoxy resin as the main composite, and the wings will include TiGr composites, a combination of titanium and graphite.
Lockheed Martin's Line-of-Sight Antitank (LOSAT) System on June 11 successfully conducted the first guided flight test of a Kinetic Energy Missile (KEM) since 1996, the company said. The LOSAT system fired a KEM more than 1.9 miles and intercepted an M-60 tank used as a target at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., the company said. The missile received timed updates from the systems fire unit throughout the flight, and all objectives were met, according to Lockheed Martin.
Arianespace successfully launched two satellites from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on June 11, the company said. An Ariane 5 booster orbited the Optus and Defence C1 satellite for Australia's Optus and the Australian Department of Defence, and the BSAT-2c digital TV broadcast satellite for Japan's Broadcasting Satellite System Corp. (BSAT).
The U.K.'s Ministry of Defence (MOD) said June 12 that it has chosen Raytheon Co. over a team of MBDA and Boeing to meet a Royal Air Force requirement for a new Precision Guided Bomb. Raytheon now will negotiate with the MOD for the contract, according to Mike Brown, a spokesman for London-based Raytheon Systems Ltd. The contract, with an anticipated value of $175 million, will call for Raytheon to produce 2,000-3,000 Paveway IV bombs, Brown said. Production will take place in the U.K. and will involve up to 200 jobs in southern England and Scotland.
FAST BUY: The General Services Administration presented the 2003 Ida M. Ustad Award for Excellence in Acquisition to Charles E. Bright of MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., a Special Operations Command contracting officer. Bright was honored for the speedy acquisition of a missile defense system for MH-53M Pave Low IV helicopters used in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
General Dynamics Network Systems will support intelligence and command and control systems and networks for U.S. defense and intelligence operations worldwide under a contract that could be worth $1.95 billion over 10 years, the company said June 12.
It is too early to consider what delivery platforms might be used if the Bush Administration decides to develop new nuclear weapons, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said June 12. The Administration's fiscal 2004 budget request includes $6 million for advanced concepts work so U.S. laboratories can explore whether new nuclear weapons could be developed to meet new threats.
The U.S. Senate should consider tax incentive bills to spur investment in space, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), said June 12. Burns, a member of the Appropriations Committee subcommittee that helps fund NASA, said the Senate should follow the House's lead and consider such bills. "I think those are the kind of incentives we're going to have to promote," Burns told members of the Space Transportation Association.
The drive to equip commercial aircraft with military-style countermeasures received a boost June 12 as the House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee approved a fiscal 2004 appropriations bill providing $60 million for research, development and testing of the anti-missile devices.
Raytheon Co. conducted the first successful flight test of a controllable-thrust solid rocket motor earlier this month, motor builder Aerojet said June 11. The test, at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., called for the motor to provide thrust on command for the NetFires Precision Attack Missile, part of the U.S. Defense Department's NetFires program. The motor met its objectives providing a 50-second burn during a two-minute flight conducted by NetFires prime contractor Raytheon, Aerojet said.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's selection this week of retired four-star general Peter J. Schoomaker to be chief of staff of the Army, and President Bush's recent nomination of current Air Force Secretary James G. Roche to Army secretary, mean "good things" for the Army, one analyst said June 11. Schoomaker, 57, would be the 35th Army chief of staff following Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, who retired June 11. Schoomaker commanded U.S. Special Operations Command from 1997 until his retirement in 2000.
If Russia or other international partners cannot pay for Russian space vehicles to service the International Space Station while the space shuttle remains grounded, NASA will ask Congress for "relief" from restrictions that prevent the U.S. from paying for such vehicles itself, an agency official said June 11. Since the Feb. 1 Columbia disaster has grounded the shuttle fleet, NASA is relying on Russian Progress and Soyuz space vehicles to deliver cargo and people to the station.
NEW DELHI - Indian defense ministry officials say U.S. officials have indicated they will approve a foreign military sale of P-3 Orion aircraft to the Indian navy. India is negotiating a $1 billion defense package with the U.S., which officials say could include P-3 maritime surveillance aircraft, Patriot missile interceptors and electronic warfare systems. Buying surveillance aircraft is a top priority here following the loss of two of India's five Ilyushin IL-38 aircraft last October (DAILY, Oct. 3, 2002).
ANTEON INTERNATIONAL CORP., Fairfax, Va. Rear Adm. William W. Cobb Jr. (USN, ret.), has been appointed vice president of strategic planning with the Systems Engineering Group. BAE SYSTEMS, London Michael Hartnall, the former finance director of Rexam, has been appointed to the board of directors. He will serve in a non-executive capacity and be chairman of the company's Audit Committee. BOMBARDIER, Montreal
During a meeting of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) in Washington June 10, two members questioned Russia's explanation of why the Soyuz vehicle returning the Expedition Six crew to Earth landed nearly 300 miles from its expected landing site in northern Kazakhstan on May 3.
LOT 4: Raytheon Co. will produce AGM-65H/K Maverick missile guidance and control sections under a $10.2 million, Lot 4 production option from the U.S. Air Force, the company said June 11. The option includes 329 tactical guidance and control sections and an update to the AGM-65H/K Operations Supplement, the company said.
Without advances in communications technologies, diesel-electric submarines will continue to pose a significant challenge to U.S. naval operations, a Navy official said June 11. Speaking at the Naval Submarine League symposium in Alexandria, Va., Adm. Frank "Skip" Bowman, director of naval reactors, said diesel-electric submarine technology is becoming more advanced and more plentiful.
Credit analysts with Standard & Poor's lowered the ratings outlook for General Dynamics Corp. from stable to negative following that company's announcement that it plans to acquire Veridian Corp (DAILY, June 10). The largely debt-financed acquisition, coupled with the debt-financed acquisition of General Motors Defense in March (DAILY, March 4), would decrease funds from operations to debt, credit analyst Roman Szuper said in a June 10 report.
Acknowledging the growing importance of space assets in land combat and joint operations, the U.S. Army's new space policy document directs the service to take greater responsibility for the operation of space systems. "In the 20th century, the Army fully exploited the high ground provided by air capabilities and led the nation to space," the policy says. "In the 21st century we must fully exploit the high ground of space to empower adaptive leaders and soldiers with the ability to see first, understand first, act first, and finish decisively."
COLLIER AWARDED: The industry team behind Sikorsky's S-92 helicopter was awarded the 2002 Robert J. Collier Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association at a June 10 dinner. The S-92, given the prize for its safety, operating cost, performance and comfort, is the fifth rotorcraft to win the trophy.
