Boeing North American expects to receive an engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract for the B-1B bomber's Block F upgrade program on June 17, company executives told reporters here Wednesday. Block F, part of the B-1B Conventional Mission Upgrade Program (CMUP), will improve the bomber's defensive system, according to Howard Chambers, vice president, strategic systems, B-1B program manager, North American Aircraft Div.
SUPPLEMENTAL DEADLOCK: House and Senate appropriators will go back to work on an $8.4 billion supplemental that contains $1.9 billion for the Defense Dept. when they return June 2 from a week-long recess. While they closed work on the defense portion of the bill, they couldn't agree on the other parts of the package. Making matters worse, the bill contains a continuing resolution provision that's sure to result in a White House veto of the entire package.
SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY: Even though Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. John Shalikashvili reminded House National Security Committee members that he told them last year that the annual defense budget is underfunded by $20 billion, several who aren't satisfied with the '98 request or the QDR said that if the Pentagon continues to cut defense spending in expectation of low congressional mark-ups, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET: Boeing North American is testing a "Scramshell," a supersonic projectile that could double the range of artillery guns, according to Thad Sanford, vice president for research, engineering and advanced programs at the North American Aircraft Div. in Seal Beach, Calif.
FAILURE OF A ZENIT 2 rocket at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on May 20 is being investigated by an interdepartmental commission, the Itar-Tass news agency was told Friday by Lt. Gen. Valery Grin, commander of Russia's Aerospace Force. "I can only say one thing: a reason for failure is the engine. The precise reason will become known after the commission, which includes staffers of design bureaus and scientific-research institutes, makes its conclusions," Grin said.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense is levying contractual penalties of up to $65 million against Lockheed Martin for delays of at least a year in deliveries of the first 25 C-130J airlifters to the Royal Air Force. Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems president Bill Bullock acknowledged here last week that discussions of the penalty clauses in the U.K.'s $1.8 billion C-130J contract were underway, but that no firm delivery date had yet been quoted, "We are late," he admitted. "We know we are late, and we have caused problems for our customers."
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. of India and Russia's Aviazapchast Public Ltd. are firming up plans to establish a joint venture company in India to manufacture spares for Russian aircraft, HAL officials said. The joint venture will also set up a spares warehouse. Because it plans to make and deal in military aircraft spares, negotiations are being monitored closely by India's defense ministry and the Indian Air Force, HAL sources said.
FARNBOROUGH CHANGE: Beginning in 2000, Britain's Farnborough air show will no longer be held in September. David Marshall, director general of the show, says that after the 50th Farnborough, in 1998, the bi-annual event will be held in July. The 2000 show will run from July 24 to July 30.
Hughes Aircraft is pitching its Advanced Communications Engine radio as a contender for the U.S. Army's $250 million Future Digital Radio, William Spaller, general manager for Hughes Communications products, Torrance, Calif., said.
PRELIMINARY MEETINGS: Mike Boyce, vice president of marketing and development for Boeing's Defense and Space Group, says Boeing and McDonnell Douglas started business development meetings last week in preparation for the anticipated merger this summer. The companies are permitted to exchange information on how they're organized and do business, but aren't allowed to talk about project strategies.
SHUTTLING TO 2030: Bob Minor, president of Boeing North American's Space Systems Div., believes the Space Shuttle will fly at least through 2012. Some have proposed replacing the Shuttle with the Reusable Launch Vehicle by 2000, but Minor tells reporters at the Downey, Calif., Engineering Integration facility that upgrades could keep some Shuttles flying until 2030.
The second of Japan's four 767 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft arrived at Boeing Field here early last week after modifications in Wichita, Kan., according to program manager Jim Smith. He told reporters that the No. 2 Japanese AWACS joins the No. 1 plane as they head toward delivery in March 1998. The first 767 AWACS has completed airworthiness testing on schedule, while No. 2 is set to begin mission systems testing.
F-15A UPGRADE? U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald Fogleman expresses willingness to reconsider the idea of upgrading McDonnell Douglas F-15A fighters. Responding to a question about such a move from Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee (DAILY, May 22), Fogleman says that "if you're going to go down to three air superiority wings" in the Air Force, "this will cause us to go back and relook this whole area."
With no Boeing 777-200X\300X launch customers in sight and plenty of high-margin CFM56 and CF6 engine business in hand, General Electric Aircraft Engines has decided to hold off on setting up a certification test program for its big 102,000-lbst. GE90-120B turbofan.
WEATHER FACTOR: Once Lockheed Martin has solved problems with a leaking fuel tank and auxiliary power unit on the F-22 fighter, first flight of the jet will be dictated by weather. The flight would be delayed if winds are over five knots, there's a cloud cover below 12,000 feet, and visibility is less than six miles.
Alliant Techsystems, Minneapolis, sales grew slightly to $1.1 billion in its fiscal year 1997, primarily due to increased revenues from tank ammunition following the resolution of a technical problem, the company reported.
The Defense Dept.'s Quadrennial Defense Review maps the path the Pentagon plans to take for information technology, but makes few changes to existing investments and programs. It found that existing defensive IT is "adequate," although as threats become more sophisticated the Pentagon admits it needs "a robust commitment to improve our ability to operate in the face of information threats." Offensive capabilities "will be increased in the future," the Pentagon said in the 69-page QDR report.
House Science Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner introduced the "Commercial Space Act of 1997," directing NASA to study the commercial possibilities for the International Space Station.
QDR 'A COVER': Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who frequently pursues an independent path in going after Pentagon spending he regards as wasteful, opposes the $2.6 billion boost in fiscal 1998 national security budget authority in the budget resolution - but won't try to kill it.
ON THE BOOKS: The U.S. Air Force will carry on its books all the used 707s it bought for refurbishment to Joint STARS aircraft, at least until NATO decides whether to buy the surveillance plane. The USAF bought all the 707s it needed for a 19 aircraft program. The Quadrennial Defense Review, however, cut the number to 13. An AF official says the extra six will be kept pending NATO's decision. How it will proceed if NATO passes on Joint STARS hasn't been determined, although prospects of selling the aging planes appear to be slim.
FAA proposed a $67,000 civil fine against US Airways for its failure to comply with an engine airworthiness directive, claiming the carrier operated a DC-9 last August for 67 flights without complying with an AD aimed at preventing fan blade failure. US Airways has 30 days to challenge the civil penalty.
Rolls-Royce is replacing gearbox bearings on Trent 700 high-bypass turbofans powering Airbus A330 twins while it continues to investigate what's causing the troubles with the components, which have led to a string of one-engine-out landings at both Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong-based Dragonair.
Boeing's Space Systems Div. has resurrected the Liquid Fly Back Booster (LFBB), a plan to replace the Space Shuttle's solid rocket boosters with liquid boosters, company executives told reporters at SSD headquarters Wednesday. The project is still in study phase, but SSD President Bob Minor said he would like to see the program underway in the next few years, and designers are looking to the reusable launch vehicle and X-33 programs to help move the LFBB project forward.
If Boeing Co. discards its "exclusive" contracts to supply Delta Air Lines and American Airlines with aircraft for 20 years, it "would be a step in the right direction, but not sufficient" to win the European Commission's approval of Boeing's planned acquisition of McDonnell Douglas, a European Union official said here yesterday.
