Hyundi Space and Aircraft and Hyundai Precision and Industries Co. Ltd. (HDPIC) have ordered more than $26 million in machine tools in order to produce wing spars and stringers in South Korea for McDonnell Douglas' MD-95, Cincinnati Milacron Inc. announced yesterday. Deliveries on the 13-machine order will begin as early as next month and extend through March 1998. They will be installed in a wing manufacturing plant being built in Seosan, South Korea. Production is set to begin in 1999.
The U.S. Navy is expected to issue orders in the next few weeks to put the Rolling Airframe Missile on its aircraft carriers, a move that would increase the number of RAM launchers it will have to buy. "Within the month" the Navy's operations directorate is likely to decide to put RAM launchers on each of its carriers, says Capt. John Z. Stepien, the Navy's RAM program manager.
An upgrade of the shipboard Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) could enable it to defend against enemy helicopters and vessels, while retaining its primary capability as an anti-missile system. A pre-planned product improvement program for U.S.-German RAM, known as Block 1, will mainly enhance its infrared sensor, but the change could allow expanded use. Targeting helicopters and surface ships is an "inherent capability in the Block 1," U.S. Navy Capt. John Z. Stepien, RAM program manager told The DAILY.
A strong backlog that includes nearly two years' worth of sales will keep Alliant Techsystems healthy in the immediate future following losses in Monday's Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser contest and December's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle downselect, but things get cloudy beyond that, analysts said yesterday. Lockheed Martin beat Alliant for the WCMD contract (DAILY, Jan. 27), and shared the award for the EELV with McDonnell Douglas (DAILY, Dec. 23, 1996).
Japan may try to cut the anticipated $2.9 billion cost of developing its planned HOPE unpiloted space shuttle by adapting the HOPE-X prototype for orbital operations instead of building a new vehicle. The Science&Technology Agency (STA) has launched a study to see whether the HOPE-X technology demonstrator can be modified into an operational spaceplane. STA, the Space Activities Commission and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) plan to begin assembling HOPE-X next year for first flight in 1999.
The U.S. Army's aviation budget for fiscal 1998 is in "reasonably good shape," the service's top acquisition official said yesterday as the Pentagon gets ready to submit budgets for all the services to Congress. Gilbert Decker said the Army aviation picture in the '98 program objective memorandum "was slightly improved" over the FY '97 budget submission. He said at a gathering of the Association of the U.S. Army in Arlington, Va., however, that he would "like to accelerate some of these programs."
Fairchild Dornier said it has selected the Pratt&Whitney Canada PW306/9 turbofan to power the 328JET, a jet-powered version of its Dornier 328 turboprop and the first 32-seat-plus regional jet. The engine, with takeoff thrust of 6,050 pounds, "will provide the economies to revolutionize the market for regional aircraft," said Jim Robinson, president of Dornier.
The fifth of seven planned Eurofighter prototypes completed its first flight yesterday in Italy, flying for 35 minutes from Caselle airport near Turin. Alenia quoted test pilot Napoleone Bragagnolo as saying the plane "is easy to fly and very maneuverable." DA-7, actually the last of the seven developmental aircraft, is the second of Alenia's two prototypes and is scheduled for performance and weapons integration trials.
An upgraded version of the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile successfully completed a flight test last week to demonstrate its enhanced electronic counter-countermeasures capability, the U.S. Air Force reported. In the test, at Eglin AFB, Fla., the missile was fired against two QF-106 drones. Early indications are that it achieved all test objectives, Col. Michael R. Pepin, chief of the AMRAAM development team, said in a statement.
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $23,127,283 modification to previously awarded contract N00019-94-C-0039 for long lead spare and repair parts and support equipment for the Royal Malaysian Air Force F/A-18D aircraft under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo. (67%), and Hawthorne, Calif. (33%), and is expected to be completed by September 1997. Contract funds would not have expired at the end of the current fiscal year.
Nichols Research Corporation, Huntsville, Ala., is being awarded a $14,045,435 face value increase to a cost plus award fee contract to provide for engineering, analysis and design support for the Air Force Ballistic Missile Defense Program Office. This effort will focus on sensors, weapons, battle management and command, control and communication systems. The work will be performed at Nichols Research Corporation, El Segundo, Calif. Contract is expected to be completed January 1999. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
Lockheed Martin Wideband Systems, Salt Lake City, Utah, is being awarded a $27,877,404 modification to previously awarded contract N00039-91-C-0027 for three Common High Bandwidth Data Link Systems and related services. This system provides a shipboard terminal data link for the receipt of signal and imagery intelligence data from remote air sensors and the transmission of link and sensor control data to remote airborne platforms. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is expected to be completed by September 1999.
The U.S. Air Force yesterday picked Lockheed Martin to build 40,000 Wind Corrected Munitions Dispensers in a $500 million program. Lockheed Martin beat Alliant Techsystems following a seven-flight, head-to-head flyoff. The Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin an initial $21.7 million contract for pilot production of 190 WCMD kits. Honeywell will provide the inertial measurement unit and BFGoodrich the control and actuator assembly.
A recently concluded Defense Dept. study on the future of low observables shows that stealth must be considered for all weapon systems if it is to live up to its ultimate promise, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald Fogleman said. "This study clearly shows a requirement for stealth in weapon systems across the spectrum," he told The DAILY in an interview last week. One of the panels involved in the study concluded that "the requirement for stealth is out there and growing," he said.
A Defense Science Board task force says the Pentagon's plan to increase modernization funding is risky, and that fundamental changes are needed in the short term to bring down the cost of the military's support infrastructure, which amounts to more than 55% of the Pentagon budget.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Md., is being awarded a $15,308,662 firm fixed price contract to provide for overhaul of 115 (estimated quantity) thrust reversers applicable to the C-5 aircraft. Contract is expected to be completed January 1998. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 32 firms solicited and 6 proposals received. San Antonio Air Logistics Center, Kelly AFB, Texas is the contracting activity (F41608-97/D-0169).
The Common Automated Recovery System (CARS) for unmanned aerial vehicles completed its first shipboard landing last week using a Pioneer UAV. It landed about three inches above the centerline of the recovery net on the USS Shreveport, a spokesman for the UAV Joint Project Office said yesterday. Wind speed over the deck at the time was 30 knots, and the ship was pitching 1.5 degrees and rolling 2.5 degrees.
JAMES R. PHILLIPS was promoted to vice president-general manager of the MD- 95 program at Douglas Aircraft, McDonnell Douglas announced yesterday. He succeeds John Wolf, who announced his retirement after 33 years with the company effective March 28. Jerry T. Callaghan, MD-95 program manager- technical, will become development program manager. Callaghan has been the technology leader on the project for four years.
Experience in Bosnia shows that the Pentagon must stop upgrading legacy information systems and embrace new technologies, many of which are available in the commercial marketplace, or U.S. forces may not have the data dominance they have today, according to the executive vice president and general manager of SAIC's Washington operations.
REP. PORTER GOSS (R-FLA.) yesterday was appointed chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. A number of Republican and Democratic members must still be named to the 16-member committee, comprised of nine Republican and seven Democratic seats.
Electric Boat Corporation, Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $30,971,545 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-95-C-2107 to exercise an option for the procurement of development and design studies related to the Seawolf Nuclear Attack Submarine Program. The first increment of funding for this option is $7,732,219. Work will be performed in Groton, Conn., and is expected to be completed by January 1999. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Aerospace, Sunnyvale, Calif., was awarded on Jan. 17, 1997 a $21,861,349 cost plus award fee contract to provide for operation and maintenance support from February 1997 through January 1998 for the Joint National Test Facility, Falcon AFB, Colo. Contract is expected to be completed January 1998. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo., is the contracting activity (F05604-95/C-9001).
CUBIC WORLDWIDE TECHNICAL SERVICES, San Diego, received a $1.4 million contract for support of the Royal Thai Air Force's Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) system.
Dept. of Defense laboratories, which have already reduced personnel by 20%, are likely to cut another 20% and will be stronger for it, Deputy Secretary of Defense for Acquisition Anita K. Jones said. "We will emerge with a stronger infrastructure whose facilities we can afford to fund and keep at the state-of-the-art, which they must be to be successful," she told a conference here. "We do not need as much laboratory test and evaluation capabilities as we have, and we will be stronger if we reduce it."
