A NASA F-15 has demonstrated thrust vectoring at speeds approaching Mach 2 in tests designed to push the technology beyond the Mach 1.2 speeds achieved before. In four flights over Edwards AFB, Calif., NASA's Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE) F-15 performed pitch and yaw vectoring at Mach 1.95 using thrust-vector nozzles Pratt&Whitney developed for its F110-PW-29 engines.
China is actively upgrading its air force by slimming it down and increasing its capability, according to a senior U.S. defense official. The official, who declined to be otherwise identified, told reporters during a Pentagon briefing last week that although the Chinese are downsizing by 75% from a current level of 4,500 aircraft, "they're going to continue to replace quantity with quality." He said that "by the year 2005, we're going to see an air force much smaller, but much more capable in individual units."
The Defense Mapping Agency is the primary acquisition agent for commercial satellite imagery, but some Pentagon organizations are paying too much for such imagery by negotiating direct buys on their own, although the buys are small, according to Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Patrick M. Hughes.
The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and prime contractor Lockheed Martin have discovered a new glitch in the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and have decided to postpone the next intercept test, which was slated for Dec. 17, industry sources told The DAILY yesterday. A problem has been detected in THAAD's inertial measurement unit, they said. While it is not considered a "show stopper," some adjustments will have to be made and the next intercept test may not happen until early February, one source said.
A recent string of contract losses doesn't signal major problems for Hughes Aircraft Co., industry analysts said. The results are just a "string of bad luck," said Jon Kutler of Quarterdeck Investment Partners. In the past week, a Hughes team lost the $1.6 billion Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) to Lockheed Martin (DAILY, Nov. 12) and also missed, as a subcontractor to Rockwell International, the $1.1 billion Airborne Laser system development program (DAILY, Nov. 13).
REP. ROBERT DORNAN (R-CALIF.) trailed by 765 votes in his race for re- election yesterday as all absentee ballots were counted. Although he would appear to have lost to Loretta Sanchez, who claimed victory, the outcome could still be reversed. Sources said there were from 12,000 to 20,000 Orange County-wide provisional ballots that had to be reviewed, of which between 2,000 and 4,000 could be from Dornan's district. These were said to be those of voters whose voting addresses didn't match their registration addresses, but who were permitted to vote anyway.
Hughes Aircraft Co. has won a contract from the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) that it said could be worth more than $200 million if all options are exercised. Under the five-year contract, Hughes Information Technology Systems will provide operations and support for both NIMA's Geospatial Information Production System and the U.K.'s Military Survey Digital Production System.
Lockheed Martin is relying on its venerable Atlas technology in the "common core vehicle" it has proposed for the Pentagon's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, updated for the 21st century with a rigid aluminum structure and Russia's powerful RD-180 engine. The proposed new booster continues the evolution that will produce the Atlas IIAR scheduled to fly in 1998 (DAILY, Nov. 8, 1995), adding a "clean pad" concept that will see the booster stacked off-line and rolled out only 18 hours before launch to hold down processing costs.
A Proton launch vehicle with the Mars 96 planetary probe has been rolled out to the pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome and is in final preparations for a Saturday liftoff to the Red Planet. Launch is scheduled for 23:58 Moscow Time (3:58 p.m. EST). If the launch doesn't go on Saturday, backup dates are Nov. 17 and 22. During the 300-day transfer to Mars three trajectory corrections are planned.
Winds over Cape Canaveral, Fla., forced delays in launching the Space Shuttle Columbia and a commercial Atlas rocket yesterday, but Europe's Ariane booster managed to lift two telecommunications satellites from French Guiana on Wednesday. NASA managers decided yesterday to postpone Columbia's launch on STS- 80 until Tuesday because forecasts predicted winds at Kennedy Space Center would preclude a return-to-launch-site abort through the weekend.
The U.S. Air Force long-range planning effort to define a new strategic vision for the service has led it to sponsor a new, annual joint service wargame to assess the impact of future technologies.
The Airborne Laser's battle management capability will enhance the effectiveness of attack operations and terminal missile defenses, industry officials said yesterday.
Russia has apparently abandoned its Multirole Frontal Fighter and is instead pursuing a new aircraft referred to in the U.S. as the Next Generation Russian Fighter, a senior defense official told reporters at the Pentagon last week.
NASA's Theseus remotely piloted vehicle, a $4.9 million platform for long-duration atmospheric research, crashed at Edwards AFB, Calif., Tuesday and apparently was destroyed. The twin-engine craft was descending after reaching 20,000 feet on its sixth test flight when it apparently went out of control and broke apart. NASA said in a press release the craft was being remotely operated at the time by Aurora Flight Sciences, the Manassas, Va.-based company that built it.
DIAGNOSTIC RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS INC. won a $1.5 million contract extension through its DRS Technology Applications&Service Co. to provide additional combat display emulators for the U.S. Navy's Naval Surface Warfare Center, the company announced. The original contract was awarded in February 1994. The latest extension brings its total value to $16.4 million.
HUGHES AIRCRAFT OF CANADA LTD. will transfer its $485 million contract with Canada for the Canadian Automated Air Traffic System (CAATS) to NAV CANADA, the company announced yesterday. The private NAV CANADA took over the government-run air navigation system on Nov. 1. Last April, Canada announced its decision to make the shift. Hughes and NAV CANADA agreed to the terms and conditions of the transfer on Oct. 24, Hughes said.
The U.S. Navy plans to buy only 20 McDonnell Douglas F/A-18E/F strike fighters in fiscal 1998 instead of the 24 it wanted, and will have to absorb several other FY '98 aviation cuts. In its fiscal '97 budget submission, the Navy said it would buy 24 F/A-18E/Fs in FY '98 and 162 between FY '97 and FY '01. But according to new projections from the Navy's budget office obtained by The DAILY, the service will buy only 20 E/Fs next year and 158 between FY '97 and FY '01. The Navy is buying 12 in FY '97.
REP. ROBERT DORNAN (R-CALIF.) appeared to be trailing as the counting of absentee ballots neared an end yesterday. His opponent, Loretta Sanchez (D), has declared victory. A Democratic congressional campaign source said Sanchez was leading by 929 votes with about 1,000 absentee ballots to be counted. A Republican congressional campaign source reported the same figures. Dornan held a lead of 233 votes before the counting of absentee ballots. If he loses, he could ask for a recount.
Lockheed Martin's successes in two big U.S. Air Force competitions - winning the Space-Based Infrared System last week and being on the winning team for the Airborne Laser this week - are watershed events that come from a "good, winning strategy," said K. Michael Henshaw, president of the company's Missiles&Space unit. He told The DAILY in an interview in Washington yesterday that "these are really anchor programs" that can decide "the character of the company." He said SBIRS could be worth $15 billion and ABL could be worth another $5 billion.
Three newly elected Republican Senators have indicated interest in serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and at least two of them appear likely to wind up there. The three are Sens.-elect Susan Collins (Maine), Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.). Collins would like to replace her former boss, departing Sen. William S. Cohen (R-Maine). Collins worked on Cohen's staff at SASC and on the staff of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. Later, she was a state Cabinet official in Maine for five years.
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) says he doesn't want the chairmanship of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and prefers to remain head of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Under Senate GOP rules he couldn't chair both. Lugar was next in line for the Intelligence Committee slot because Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who chaired the committee in the 104th Congress, must leave his seat under a rule that says a senator can't serve more than eight consecutive years on the committee.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems and the U.S. Air Force signed a commercial practices contract for C-130J transports, the first such contract in the 40-year history of the Hercules, Lockheed announced last week. Thanks to the passage of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 and the designation of the C-130J as a pilot commercial program, Lockheed Martin and the Air Force were able to use a commercial acquisition strategy and contracting concept, the company said.
Lockheed Martin managers may decide not to flight test a subscale aerospike rocket engine atop a modified NASA SR-71, weighing the mounting cost of the delayed flight test effort against the knowledge that would be gained for its X-33 "VentureStar" reusable launch vehicle prototype.
The U.S. Marine Corps has been neglecting corrosion controls on its aircraft and at least $49.4 million could be saved during the course of the next six years if improvements are made, according to the Pentagon's Inspector General. The IG said in a report released this week that the $49.4 million was associated with two helicopters - $39.8 million for the CH-46 and $9.6 million for the UH-1N.
The Joint Warfighting Center at Ft. Monroe, Va., is soon expected to complete the first draft of the operations plan that will support Gen. John Shalikashvili's "Joint Vision 2010," a military official said Friday. The draft will be released internally next month, said Brig. Gen.
