COLTEC AEROSPACE, Charlotte, N.C., has been named a primary flight control supplier for the Canadair Regional Jet Series 700. The controls will be produced at Coltec's Menasco Aerospace plant, Oakville, Ontario, Canada. The lead customer for the Series 700 is Brit Air, Morlaix, France, which will begin taking deliveries in the final quarter of 2000.
LUFTHANSA TECHNIK and BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE created an aviation service center for servicing Bombardier business jets in Europe. The joint venture, Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services GmbH, will perform maintenance, repair and overhaul of Learjet 31, 35, 36, 45, 55 and 60, along with the Canadair Challenger 600, 601, 604 and the Bombardier Global Express. The center will be located at Schoenefeld Airport, Berlin.
LOCKHEED MARTIN VOUGHT SYSTEMS, Dallas, received a $50 million contract to produce Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) launchers for Japan. Final assembly onto the vehicle chassis will take place at the Nissan Aerospace facility. Delivery will be completed by mid-1999.
MIR ORBITAL STATION might have to be abandoned if its crew cannot locate a troublesome coolant leak and complete other urgent repairs, an official with Mission Control Center-Moscow told reporters yesterday.
Russia's government has issued a directive authorizing a host of Russian organizations to cooperate with Germany on development of the Burlak airborne space launch system. Signed by Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin on April 2 and released yesterday, the directive authorizes "interested federal bodies" in Russia to negotiate with the German space agency and the German firm OHB-SYSTEM GmbH of Bremen on scientific and technical cooperation in the development of the aviation and space complex "Burlak-Diana."
AVCORP INDUSTRIES INC., Montreal, signed a five-year, $20 million production agreement with Bell Helicopter Textron Canada. Avcorp will fabricate 1,700 sheet metal and spot weld detail parts and assemblies at its Metal Products Division, Laval, Quebec.
Lockheed Martin's acquisition of Loral's defense electronics and systems businesses, completed in April 1996, boosted performance for the first quarter of 1997, the company reported yesterday. Sales climbed 31% to $6.7 billion as Lockheed Martin earned $290 million in the first three months of 1997. Profits totaled $5.1 billion on sales of $272 million in the same period a year ago. Backlog totaled $49.6 billion, compared to $42.6 billion a year ago.
More flight tests are needed across the board to achieve success in theater missile defense (TMD) and national missile defense (NMD) programs, says Bill Loomis, president of the new United Missile Defense Company (UMDC) pursuing a multi-billion contract to become the government's prime contractor for NMD.
The U.S. Navy is assessing the benefits and feasibility of using the Joint Direct Attack Munition on F-14s, which could lead the first real-time JDAM retargeting capability if the program is given the go-ahead, Navy officials say. Navy F-14 Tomcats have been experiencing a renaissance with the recent addition of the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared at Night (LANTIRN) system and a digital suite for some of its Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pods.
Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces test launched an SS-18 ICBM from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan April 17 to confirm operational performance of the missile after long-term deployment. According to a statement by the SRF's press center, the missile was fired at 15:30 Moscow Time (7:30 a.m. EDT) April 17. All 10 of its warheads hit simulated targets in a designated area on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The launch was performed by the combat crew of the SRF Testing Administration operating at Baikonur, which is managed by the Space Forces.
The Swiss Federal Council, or cabinet, overwhelmingly approved a measure April 16 to privatize the defense industry in hopes of making four companies there more competitive, the government announced. The proposal will now go to Parliament. The companies - SF Swiss Aircraft and Systems Co., Emmen; SM Swiss Ammunition Enterprise, Thun; SW Swiss Ordnance Enterprise, Thun and SE Swiss Electronics Enterprise, Bern - will be transformed into stock corporations combined into a holding company.
Slipping the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft and the Comanche helicopter has added a total of $14 billion to the cost of the two programs, according to Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), chairman of the House National Security research and development subcommittee. He said that by buying only five V-22s in fiscal 1998 instead of the 12 President Clinton promised last year for FY 1998, "we slip that program out so it's a $5 billion added cost. If that's acquisition reform, I don't like it."
An Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus XL air-launched booster orbited a Spanish science satellite Monday, carrying the cremated remains of 24 individuals as a secondary payload.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP., Sykesville, Md., won a contract worth more than $5 million from Babcock Defense Systems Ltd. of the United Kingdom for the project definition phase of the U.K.'s Sonar 2087 project. Babcock received one of two prime contracts from the U.K. Ministry of Defense. Northrop Grumman's Anti-Submarine Warfare and Ship Systems business unit will serve as sonar lead for Babcock's team. Follow-on phases could be worth more than $150 million.
ROHR HAS FINALIZED finalized an agreement to settle claims against the U.S. Navy on the E3/E6 program, the company announced Monday. The $3.5 million settlement relates to claims in connection with alleged changes in government quality assurance inspection practices in the late 1980s. The Chula Vista, Calif.-based company continues to pursue claims with the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals related to redefined acceptance criteria on the Grumman F-14 program.
The U.S. Air Force today plans to release the statement of objective and accompanying information for technology development in support of the Military Spaceplane, according to a Commerce Business Daily notice. The AF's Phillips Laboratory will contract for the ground-based technology demonstration of critical technologies for the vehicle, the lab says in an April 23 CBD announcement. One or more cost-plus fixed fee contracts may be awarded for research and development of the plane's Integrated Technology Testbed.
The Aerostructures Corp., Nashville, Tenn., and Contour Aerospace, Brea, Calif., have agreed to merge as The Aerostructures Corp., the companies announced yesterday. Both companies are majority owned by The Carlyle Group and its affiliates. Dick Wells, president and CEO of Aerostructures, will serve as CEO of the combined company, while Tom Wallace will continue with operating responsibility for Contour. Combined annual sales will be about $300 million.
Evergreen Helicopters has deployed two helicopters aboard the U.S. Navy ship Saturn to prove to the Military Sealift Command that it can carry out the Vertical Replenishment (VERTREP) mission for which it won a $4.5 million contract earlier this year.
Senate defense appropriators will take a closer look this year at cutting the U.S. Navy's plan to retrofit four more Trident submarines with D-5 missiles, according to Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Stevens made the comment at an April 9 Navy budget hearing during which Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) asked why the service wants to retrofit more Tridents with D-5s when the subs will have to be retired when START III goes into effect in 2007. Under current plans, the last Trident is slated to be retrofitted in 2007.
Lockheed Martin Wideband Systems, Salt Lake City, Utah, is being awarded a $10,358,893 firm-fixed-price contract for Predator Medium Altitude Endurance UAV Satellite Air Data Terminals, Ground Support Equipment, Spares, and Technical Data. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is expected to be completed by June 1998. Contract funds do not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Systems Command, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (N00019-97-C-0071).
The U.S. Air Force is showing interest in a wing kit for its 250- pound small, smart bomb (SSB) that could triple the range of the munition. "It's a promising concept," said Lt. Col. Ted Mundelein, AF program manager for the Wright Laboratory's Miniaturized Munition Technology effort. He said the concept, from GEC Marconi, "is something that we have some interest in testing."
Tracor Inc., Austin, Tex., said yesterday that sales and earnings grew 30% and 34%, respectively, during the first three months of 1997, but that a one-time charge for debt restructuring wiped out first quarter profits. Revenues of $297.5 million for the first three months of 1997 represented a 30% increase over 1996 first quarter sales of $229 million. Profits jumped 34% to $10.3 million, but a $10 million charge left Tracor with $279,000 in earnings for the 1997 first quarter, compared to $7.6 million a year ago.
Piasecki Aircraft Corp., Essington, Pa., is being awarded a $5,372,000 modification to previously awarded contract N00019- 95-C-0254 for the preliminary design, analysis, and simulation of the 4 bladed AH-1W Vectored Thrust Ducted Propeller (VTDP) and to design, fabricate and test the VTDP. Work will be performed in Essington, Pa., and is expected to be completed by December 1999. Contract funds would not have expired at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity.
U.S. NAVY last week accepted delivery of the first Standard Missile Block 3A missile, which is built by a Hughes/Raytheon joint venture. The delivery took place after completion of final assembly and testing, the companies said in a joint statement. Chauncey P. Dewey, president and CEO of the joint venture called Standard Missile Co., said the event "culminates the successful integration of the efforts of two companies to minimize cost and maximize capability."
