Motorola Satellite Communications Inc. has filed an application with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to modify its license for the Iridium system to include authority for provision of Aeronautical Mobile Satellite (Route) Services AMS(R)S.
American Eurocopter's David Smith stepped down as president and CEO Monday to take an administrative leave to prepare his defense against a government indictment (DAILY, Feb. 3). Francois Guisolphe, vice president of Eurocopter participations, will take over as interim president. Eurocopter Chairman and CEO Siegfried Sobotta said the company will give Smith with full support in his fight against charges alleging payment of undisclosed commissions to Israel.
Pratt&Whitney Space Propulsion and Russia's NPO-Energomash (NPO-EM) yesterday announced formation of a joint venture to manage production and sell a new derivative Russian booster rocket engine. The joint venture, called RD Amross LLC, will manage production and sell the RD-180, being developed to power the Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAR advanced rocket and Lockheed Martin's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) candidate. The RD-180, now under development by the two companies, would be the world's first Russian-American engine.
The White House expects Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin to reaffirm Russia's commitment to the International Space Station when he meets with Vice President Al Gore this week, a senior White House official told reporters yesterday. "We've received a series of reaffirmations from the Prime Minister that the space station is [Russia's] premier international cooperation program and will be funded adequately," the official said.
A turnkey Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) station that could be replicated for about $500,000 each to provide precision landing capabilities at about 150 key airports will be developed by the FAA and the Air Transport Association over the next three years. FAA plans to budget $1 million or more a year, while the airlines will provide at least $1 million in in-kind services, such as aircraft, aircrews and engineering support.
The new look of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Electronics and Information&Services Sectors after formation of L3 Communications and realignment of business from the C3I&Systems Integration Sector (DAILY, Feb. 4) is detailed in the following breakdown, supplied by the company. Former C3I&Systems Integration Sector elements are in italics: Electronics Sector Thomas A. Corcoran, President and CEO Lockheed Martin Canada, Ottawa, Ontario Lockheed Martin Commercial Electronics, Hudson, N.H.
The U.S. is facing a reduced threat from Iran, Iraq and North Korea, and the chances of two regional conflicts occurring at about the same time are thus dwindling, says a report from the Defense Dept.'s National Defense University.
Raytheon Electronics Systems said it will produce 25 additional shipsets of main mission antennas for Iridium satellites under a new $52.4 million contract. RES, Bedford, Mass., said it is already under contract to develop and produce main mission antennas for 80 satellites of the Iridium system. It said the new award brings the current contract total to $272.9 million.
Richard Schwartz has been elected chairman of the board of Alliant Techsystems, effective immediately, Alliant announced Thursday. He will continue to hold the titles of president and CEO, which he assumed in January 1995. Schwartz replaces R. Keith Elliott, who is chairman, president and CEO of Hercules Inc., and who will continue to serve on the board. Elliott, passing the chairmanship, praised Schwartz for integrating Hercules Aerospace with Alliant. Elliott has served as Alliant's chairman since March 1995.
ICO GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS, London, named CT Bowring Space Projects as its space insurance broker. ICO said Bowring "will develop and implement a risk management plan for the launch of ICO satellites...."
The U.S. Air Force is considering an avionics upgrade and electronic countermeasure system replacement for its B-52H bombers to ensure the sustainability of the 71 fleet aircraft until 2040. "You're looking at something like an avionics mid-life upgrade," an AF official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The DAILY yesterday. The service has been studying since last year the B-52 sustainment issues might arise (DAILY, Aug. 20, 1996).
Pentagon acquisition chief Paul Kaminski says that on a recent trip to Europe, he discussed the potential for cooperation on space programs with Italian and French officials. "What we're really doing is beginning to structure a process where we looked to see 'can we combine some of our requirements, do some common things,'" Kaminski told reporters at the Pentagon during a Jan. 27 round table discussion.
BRAATHENS of Norway has ordered six Boeing 737-700 airliners valued at $255 million; deliveries are slated to begin in 1998 and continue through 2000. The carrier also placed options on another 10 of the 134-passenger aircraft. Braathens currently operates a fleet of 737-400/500 aircraft.
A centrist Democratic policy guide geared to the second term of the Clinton Administration faults both Republicans and Democrats for accepting what it calls the premise of the Bottom Up Review - that military superiority can be achieved without major investments in next generation weapons.
R.A. Burch Construction Co. Inc., Ramona, Calif., was awarded on Jan. 27, 1997 a $7,118,000 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a new Contingency Airborne Reconnaissance System Deployable Ground Station Facility of approximately 39,100 sq. feet and a covered technical pad approximately 19,000 sq. feet. This facility also includes H, V, conditioning system, parking, site improvements, landscaping, security lighting, and closed circuit television cameras. Work will be performed at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., and is expected to be completed by June 30, 1998.
Longbow Limited Liability Co., Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $78,248,962 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for Lot 2 production, First Article Test, and Lot 2 Spares for Longbow Apache Control Radar, and Lot 3 long lead time effort. Work will be performed in Linthicum, Md.(50%); and Orlando, Fla., (50%), and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 1999. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source contract initiated on May 3, 1996. The contracting activity is the U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command, St.
The U.S. Air Force is soliciting industry for a 30-month advanced concept technology demonstration of the Low Cost Autonomous Attack System, and says it expects the system to cost no more than $30,000 apiece. The demonstration would show "that a low cost, [not-to-exceed] $30,000 average unit production cost system can be produced," the AF said in a Jan. 30 Commerce Business Daily notice. The expected average cost, in 1994 dollars, is based on a projected buy of 12,000 units.
A group of senators led by Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R- N.M.) told reporters yesterday they will introduce legislation to move the federal government to a two-year budget cycle. Domenici and other supporters of the legislation said the transition to a biennial budget will streamline the budget process and improve congressional oversight. The "Biennial Appropriations and Budget Act" thus far has 21 sponsers from both political parties, Domenici said.
A group of Russian and Ukrainian businesses reached an agreement to convert SS-18 ICBMs into launch vehicles for commercial satellite systems, with launches beginning as early as 1998, Russia's ASKOND Joint Stock Co., announced. Yuri Koptev of the Russian Space Agency and Alexy Negoda of Ukraine's National Space Agency signed a memorandum of cooperation to develop the Dnepr launch vehicle and carry out the project. More than 100 SS-18s are expected to be converted. SS-18s must be eliminated in accordance with the START arms treaty
Arianespace's Ariane 44L booster on Jan. 30 orbited two telecommunications satellites, the U.S.'s GE 2 and Argentina's first telecommunications satellite Nahuel 1A. GE 2 is the fourth GE American Communications satellite to be launched by Arianespace. It was built by Lockheed Martin Astro Space, East Windsor, New Jersey. Equipped with 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders, GE 2 will provide telecommunications services for North America and Hawaii. Weighing 5,828 pounds at launch, it has a design life of more than 15 years, Arianespace said.
Lockheed Martin Ocean, Radar and Sensor Systems, Syracuse, N.Y., is being awarded a $6,239,277 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for system, production, field, ILS/Depot and Fleet training support services, and for repair and refurbishment of TB-16/BQ Series and TB-29 Towed Arrays, R-2505 Receivers, and OA-9070 Series Deployable Array Working Groups (DAWGs). Work will be performed in Syracuse, N.Y., and is expected to be completed by January 1998. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured.
Hughes Missile Systems Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded $51,372,558 of a firm-fixed-price-letter contract with a cumulative total of $102,745,117, for 1,299 STINGER-RMP Missiles for Taiwan. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2000. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source contract initiated on Jan. 22, 1997. The contracting activity is the U.S. Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. (DAAH01-97-C-0097).
The U.S. Air Force faces a cost of billions of dollars to upgrade its airlift and tanker fleet to keep pace with commercial standards for navigation, communication and safety, AF officials say. "It's an Air Force-wide problem of very big proportion to comply with FAA" regulations and other mandated upgrades, an AF requirements officer told The DAILY in an interview at the Pentagon. "We're talking billions of dollars that are going to need to be invested."
