The Bush Administration said late May 20 that it plans to review U.S. export controls and other rules to ensure they do not impede missile defense cooperation with other countries. "As part of our efforts to deepen missile defense cooperation with friends and allies, the United States will seek to eliminate impediments to such cooperation," the White House said in a "fact sheet" that largely restates the Administration's plans for developing and fielding ballistic missile defenses.
Newly satisfied by the V-22 Osprey's improved technical stability, Defense Department leaders are shifting their focus to reducing the aircraft's $68 million price tag and are considering increasing the production rate. The Defense Acquisition Board (DAB), chaired by E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, signed a memorandum May 20 stating the V-22's progress during flight tests is "sufficient to consider" ramping up production.
The military needs to invest in new technologies now and think bigger in its approach to future urban warfare, according to Lt. Gen. Patrick M. Hughes (ret.), former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
BOEING FRANCE, Paris Yves Galland has been named to the new position of president. DRS TECHNOLOGIES, Parsippany, N.J. Steven T. Schorer has joined the company as president of its Electronic Systems Group, based in Gaithersburg, Md. KEYSTONE HELICOPTER, West Chester, Pa. Stephen J. Gambone has been appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer of Keystone Ranger Holdings Inc., and all subsidiaries. NORTHROP GRUMMAN, Los Angeles
MOSCOW - The environmental inspector for Russia's Arkhangelsk region, Anatoly Minyaev, has agreed to allow preparations for a planned June 30 Rockot launch continue at Plesetsk Cosmodrome. On April 18, Minyaev halted Rockot operations due to an absence of a water treatment plant at the Rocket pad. Environmental activists have tried to halt Rockot launches for years, saying they are environmentally damaging.
NEW DELHI - India will provide technical assistance to Malaysia to help maintain the Sukhoi Su-30s the country is buying from Russia. An Indian defense ministry official said a team of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) scientists and defense ministry officials is visiting Malaysia this month to develop a maintenance plan for the Su-30s. India already has agreed to train Malaysian pilots and mechanics to fly and maintain the country's MiG-29 aircraft. Malaysia is buying 18 Su-30 MKMs for about $900 million, the official said.
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have won small contracts to develop risk reduction proposals for developing a critical software tool for war planners at U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM). The $1.1 million contracts launch the first of two phases for the $85 million Strategic War Planning System Modernization (SWPS-M) program, an Air Force contracting officer at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., said May 20.
A panel led by Pentagon acquisition czar E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr. on May 20 agreed to postpone a critical ramp-up decision for the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor's production schedule until September. The ruling by the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB), which Aldridge chairs, essentially defers the ramp-up question to the next undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Aldridge plans to retire May 23.
Congressional Democrats took aim at the Bush Administration's missile defense plans during consideration of the fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill May 20, proposing several amendments that would impose funding cuts or other restrictions on anti-missile programs. The House and Senate were expected to decide the fate of those amendments late May 20 or later in the week. The proposals appeared to face an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Congress.
FINMECCANNICA TAPPED: Stephen Bryen, president of Finmeccannica Inc., which represents Italy's Finmeccanica S.p.A. in the U.S., has been reappointed to a three-year term on the U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). Bryen is one of a dozen members on the commission, which Congress created in 2000 to assess the national security implications of U.S. trade with China.
The first U.S. Army Stryker Brigade will achieve initial operating capability (IOC) this month, senior Army program officials said May 20, but additional testing will have to be done before the brigade-size unit of about 3,600 troops is ready for deployment. Senior Army officials will assess the training and readiness of the first Stryker Brigade Combat Team (3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division) during an operational exercise from May 15-27 at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), Fort Polk, La.
The U.S. Army has identified a set of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) requirements for operations in urban environments and is calling on industry for help fulfill them, according to the director of ISR integration for Army intelligence.
The U.S. Army is moving ahead on plans to outfit unmanned aerial vehicles with signals intelligence payloads. The service's Communications-Electronics Command is soliciting industry for information on the subject and wants responses by June 20. CECOM says in a May 20 FedBizOpps notice that it wants ideas on design, development, fabrication, integration and testing of a SIGINT payload for the Future Combat System's Unmanned Air Vehicle System or the Extended Range/Multi-Purpose Tactical UAV.
BOEING SATELLITE SYSTEMS of El Segundo, Calif., has shipped the Thuraya-2 communications satellite to the Sea Launch Co. in preparation for an early June launch, the company said. The satellite is the second that Boeing has built for the Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co. of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Thuraya-2 is to be located at 44 degrees East in a geosynchronous orbit.
The U.S. Defense Department is launching a DOD-wide campaign to reduce aviation accidents and other types of mishaps by at least 50 percent over the next two years, according to a recent memorandum signed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. In a May 19 memo to top officials, including the undersecretaries of defense and the secretaries of the Air Force, Army and Navy, Rumsfeld said cutting the number and rate of DOD mishaps in half is an "achievable" goal and "will directly increase our operational readiness."
The U.S. Air Force has awarded ThalesRaytheon Systems Co. a $22.3 million spiral 1 contract to upgrade its Battle Control System, the company announced May 20. The Battle Control System (BCS) will provide commanders at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and Pacific Command (PACOM) with an interoperable air defense command-and-control platform to support NORAD's homeland defense mission.
PRAGUE - Czech arms trader Pamco International has signed a contract to sell 17 Aero Vodochody-built L-39 Albatros jet trainers to Algeria, a company source said. The deal, first reported in the Czech weekly business magazine Euro, is said to be worth $20-$30 million. The L-39s, which have not been used, have been in storage for more than 10 years. Pamco would not comment on the deal, although an official at the company said a contract has been signed "but not yet realized."
U.S. Special Operations Command has picked FLIR Systems Inc. and Raytheon Co. to supply up to 335 next-generation electro-optical systems for several types of helicopters. Together, the contracts total $150.6 million. FLIR Systems, Portland, Ore., was awarded $39.8 million to produce up to 75 systems, and Raytheon's El Segundo, Calif., operation got $110.8 million for as many as 260 sensors. The Pentagon announced the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts on May 15.
