Astronics Corp., Buffalo, N.Y., said its Luminescent Systems (LSI) subsidiary has won a contract from Lockheed Martin to supply integrally illuminated cockpit control panels for the F-22 fighter. The potential sales value to LSI exceeds $2 million. Astronics also said that Robert J. McKenna was been named to its board of directors Tuesday. McKenna is chairman, president and CEO of Acme Electric Corp., which designs and manufactures power conversion equipment for electronic and electrical systems.
Northrop Grumman next year is planning to demonstrate a laser for the Directed Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) system, which it is developing for a variety of helicopters and large, slow-flying aircraft of the U.K. and U.S. The baseline DIRCM uses an arc lamp to counter heat-seeking missiles. A laser would complement the arc lamp. Both systems would cover all threat bands, said Robert M. Broton, director of engineering for Northrop Grumman Electronics&Systems Integration Div.
In the last of a series of three flight tests, McDonnell Douglas demonstrated the reusability of a new navigation software module on different tactical aircraft equipped with different commercial processors. The results will be used to establish a design foundation for emerging programs like the Joint Strike Fighter, as well as for current production aircraft.
The fiscal 1997 foreign operations appropriations act, given final approval by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton Monday night, delivers a rebuke to the People's Republic of China for the reported sale of cruise missiles to Iran and ballistic missile technology to Syria.
The National Reconnaissance Office is looking to make additional changes in the way it operates, including joining the acquisition reform parade, according to Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert E. Larned, the NRO's director for signals intelligence acquisition.
The U.S. Army is soliciting bids for $2.1 million to $2.6 million worth of research and development work on helicopter programs, the Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, Ft. Eustis, Va., said in a Sept. 30 Commerce Business Daily notice. It said proposals can be submitted by Dec. 13, and contract award is anticipated before March 31. It also said, however, that funding is not yet available. Proposals are requested in the following areas:
No technical obstacles stand in the way of deploying the Space and Missile Tracking System (SMTS) beginning in fiscal 2002 as Congress has requested but it would be more efficient to start in FY '04, according to the Defense Science Board. Pentagon acquisition chief Paul Kaminski asked the board to review issues concerning acceleration of the existing schedule under which deployment would begin in FY '06.
Japan has agreed to negotiate with the U.S. on a barter deal to build the centrifuge for the International Space Station in exchange for transportation to the Station aboard the U.S. Space Shuttle for the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) and other Japanese hardware, U.S. and Japanese officials said yesterday.
The armed services' growing number of plus-up requests to Congress in recent years and the ensuing budget increases have undermined the Pentagon's ability to plan its budget, an top finance official from the Office of the Secretary of Defense lamented yesterday.
Donald W. Vanlandingham has been named president of Ball Aerospace&Technologies Corp. He joined Ball Brothers Research Corp. in 1967 and most recently held the position of executive vice president, operations at BATC. He became a member of the BATC executive committee in June.
Pentagon studies view the Advanced Battlespace Information System (ABIS) as a three-layered cake so large that everyone will have a hand in its preparation. Many different vendors will be involved, with many different users requesting different versions, said Dr. Anita Jones, the Pentagon's director of defense research and engineering.
An article in The DAILY of Sept. 30 (page 487 of the hardcopy of this issue) incorrectly stated that Kistler Aerospace has received a license to test fly its planned K-1 reusable launch vehicle. The FAA is considering the company's application for a test license, but has not granted a license to Kistler.
The $243.9 billion fiscal 1997 defense appropriations conference has taken a contradictory approach to providing equipment for the National Guard and Reserve. The House-Senate conference gave chiefs of the Guard and Reserve components the freedom to exercise control of their equipment requests and to submit to Congress detailed assessments of modernization priorities.
President Clinton Monday night signed into law the omnibus appropriations bill which included $243.9 billion in fiscal 1997 budget authority for the Defense Dept., even though it was $9.3 billion over his request. Clinton signed the omnibus bill, which actually was six appropriations measures packed into one bill, just hours before the start of the new fiscal year. The Senate gave final congressional approval to the package Monday night on a vote of 84-15. The House had approved the omnibus bill Saturday night on a 370-37 vote.
TRW Space&Electronics will test high-tech flywheel battery technology for satellites under a program funded by NASA's Lewis Research Center. U.S. Flywheel Systems of Newbury Park, Calif., which is developing advanced flywheel energy storage technology for a variety of applications, said TRW will evaluate their systems as an alternative to the chemical batteries that store solar power aboard satellites.
General Dynamics Land Systems signed a $1.3 billion multi-year contract with the U.S. Army to deliver 580 M1A2 Abrams tank upgrades. The contract runs from October 1996 through July 2001, and the Army has the option to add 20 additional tanks by April 2001. The contract is a follow-on award to the $417 million, 206-tank contract awarded in September 1994 and calls for a production rate of 120 tanks per year.
The U.S. Air Force this week validated the capability of the B-1B bomber to use the CBU-87 cluster bomb in an operational scenario. The service's Air Combat Command said three B-1s released CBU-87s and Mk. 82 gravity bombs over a notional airfield at the Nellis AFB, Nev., range on Sept. 17. One of the B-1s carried two CBU-87s, the other two carried one Mk.-82 in the aft bay, and a CBU-87 in the mid-bay.
The U.S. Air Force's Wright Laboratory is supporting two separate technology programs to demonstrate the ability of fighter aircraft to precisely locate and target hostile radio-frequency emitters. The effort is in preparation for a program to follow the current HARM Targeting System (HTS) program. A team of Litton Amecom and Mercer Engineering Research Center, and Hughes Aircraft are working toward demonstration of such a capability in the next couple of years.
Airlines over the next 20 years will need nearly 13,600 new aircraft, or about 680 a year, according to a new forecast from McDonnell Douglas. The forecast includes all 457 scheduled and nonscheduled airlines which operate jet aircraft, said Don Black, VP-general manager of sales and marketing for Douglas Aircraft. Airlines in the former Soviet Union are not included.
McDonnell Douglas Corporation, St. Louis, Missouri, is being awarded a $200,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the remanufacture of up to 12 AV-8B Harrier II Plus aircraft, including integrated logistics support and associated technical data. This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $574,000,000. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (70%), and Salmesbury, United Kingdom (30%), and is expected to be completed by September 1999.
Northrop Grumman has begun system level integration and testing of the first developmental F-22 radar at its Electronic Sensors and Systems Div., Linthicum, Mary. Northrop Grumman is supplying the radar, the AN/APG-77, to Boeing, which teamed with Lockheed Martin to design and build the F-22. The radar is the first of 11 systems to be delivered by a Northrop Grumman-led joint venture with Texas Instruments. System integration and testing is expected to extend over 18 months.
NORWAY plans to procure four P-3 Anti-Surface Warfare Improvement Program (AIP) packages from the U.S. Navy. AIP upgrade designer Lockheed Martin Tactical Defense Systems, Eagan, Minn., would provide the avionics and airframe modifications to the Royal Norwegian Air Force, according to a Sept. 27 Commerce Business Daily notice.
Lockheed Martin Tactical Defense Systems, Litchfield Park, Arizona, is being awarded a $180,897,254 firm fixed price contract to provide for integration of sensor equipment into four Hawker 800 aircraft to allow the aircraft to perform reconnaissance missions. This effort also includes one fixed and two mobile ground stations applicable thereto. Contract is expected to be completed September 1999. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This effort supports foreign military sales to the Republic of Korea.
GEC-Marconi Avionics, Incorporated, Atlanta, Georgia, is being awarded a $5,145,910 firm fixed price contract to provide for 82 (estimated quantity) Heads-Up Display Electronic Units applicable to the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) system on the F-16C/D aircraft. Contract is expected to be completed November 1997. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were three firms solicited and one proposal received. Solicitation began May 1996; negotiations were completed September 1996.
Trimble Navigation Limited, Austin, Texas, is being awarded $12,881,764 of an estimated cumulative total $13,361,764 firm fixed price and time and materials contract for 785 Global Positioning Systems (GPS). The Cargo Utility GPS Receiver (CUGR) is a self contained, lightweight standalone GPS receiver for the Army UH-1 helicopter fleet. This acquisition meets the Congressional mandate to equip all aircraft (UH-1) with GPS capability by the year 2000. Work will be performed in Austin, Texas, and is expected to be completed by April 30, 1998.
