HUGHES AIRCRAFT CO., El Segundo, Calif., received a sole-source U.S. Army contract with an estimated ceiling price of $961.3 million for Firefinder Radars and related equipment and services. The Dept. of Defense announced the contract July 2. It was awarded by the U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Command, Fort Monmouth, N.J.
Lockheed Martin Electronics and Missiles plans to adapt the Infrared Search and Track System (IRST) it has developed and integrated on U.S. Navy F-14D fighters for use on F-16s with an eye towards international sales, company officials say.
GEN. WALTER KROSS became commander of the U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command on Monday when he assumed the duties from Gen. Robert L. Rutherford during ceremonies at Scott AFB, Ill. Rutherford, who has served as commander in chief of USTRANSCOM and commander of AMC since October 1994, is retiring after more than 35 years of service. Kross had been director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. He helped stand up AMC (Provisional) as commander from January to June 1992.
Pratt&Whitney is recalling six JT8D-200 Series fan hubs from four operators - including Delta Airlines - after investigators probing the aborted takeoff of a Delta MD-88 earlier this month discovered the hubs all had the same unusual machining marks that had been found in the engine involved in the incident.
Texas Instruments Defense Systems&Electronics received an $8.9 million contract from the Air Force's Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga., to upgrade radar sets for the MC-130E aircraft. Texas Instruments will upgrade the X-band receiver/transmitter on 42 AN/APQ-122(V)8 radars for the MC-130E Combat Talon.
The first International Space Station crew will begin training at Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center near Moscow this fall, for a mission scheduled to begin in less than two years, under milestones agreed to during yesterday's Moscow meeting of Vice President Gore and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. Gore and Chernomydin noted the training schedule in a joint statement on human spaceflight issued in connection with their seventh meeting on economic and technological cooperation.
AINSLIE CORP., Braintree, Mass., won a competition to produce 116 TOW AN/UAS-12C night sights and 100 TOW AN/UAS-12A night sights for Turkey, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and Portugal. The Dept. of Defense announced the contract June 28. It was awarded by U.S. Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala.
PRECISION STANDARD INC. said its Pemco Aeroplex subsidiary has received a five-year contract to provide maintenance services for NASA aircraft based at the Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
President Clinton has signed an executive order creating a commission to formulate measures that would protect the U.S. information infrastructure from terrorist or other forms of attack. The commission is tasked to report within a year. Officials from the Defense Dept. and other agencies will participate in the task force.
ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS INC., Hopkins, Minn., won a $6.9 million modification to a U.S. Army contract for 288,540 25mm M910 cartridges and 283,170 25mm M793 cartridges for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The Dept. of Defense announced the contract June 27. It was awarded by the U.S. Army Armament, Munitions&Chemical Command, Rock Island, Ill.
Senate and House conferees trying to resolve the differences between their respective 1997 defense authorization bills are likely to make only a minor change, if any, to the standing rule governing privatization of DOD depot maintenance work, a Senate Armed Services Committee member told The DAILY yesterday. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chair of the SASC readiness subcommittee, said it appears that the House position to leave DOD's depot maintenance would remain relatively unchanged.
The U.S. Navy plans to invest about $9 million for industry to develop $300 transmit/receive radar modules that would lead to low-cost Active Electronically Scanned Arrays. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Div. at China Lake, Calif., said in a July 15 Commerce Business Daily notice that it plans to award up to two contracts for the development of the X-Band AESA technology. The initial design would be for future ships, with options for aircraft and missile implementation.
GOVERNMENT OF MOROCCO has asked the U.S. for 120 M60A3TTS tanks with 105mm gun and Tank Thermal Sight capability. The Dept. of Defense, announcing the request on July 10, said the "tanks will be supplied from U.S. Army inventory and will augment an aging tank inventory, enhance Morocco's force modernization efforts and improve the capability of its ground forces."
THE SECOND GPS replacement satellite was launched Monday aboard a Delta II booster, reaching its transfer orbit without incident. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla., came at 8:50 p.m. EDT. The satellite will restore full capability to the 24-satellite navigation constellation, replacing a satellite that has suffered partial performance degradation, according to Delta-builder McDonnell Douglas.
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles could yield substantial benefits to the Defense Dept.'s electronic warfare efforts, but instability in UAV programs has held up progress, says Anthony R. Grieco, deputy director for EW in DOD's acquisition and technology office. Grieco told The DAILY in an interview that "there's plenty of potential for the application of UAVs in EW" performing a variety of missions.
The Defense Dept. is trying to find money in its fiscal 1998-'03 program objective memorandum to fully staff its EA-6B Prowler aircraft, slated to be the only tactical airborne stand-off jammers available to the Air Force and Navy when the EF-111 Raven retires after FY '98. "There's an issue right now" about staffing for the Navy and Marine Corps plane, says Anthony R. Grieco, DOD's deputy director for electronic warfare in the acquisition and technology office.
HUGHES AIRCRAFT AND TEXAS INSTRUMENTS are in line for awards from the U.S. Army for Horizontal Technology Integration (HTI) of second generation forward looking infrared systems in the M1A2 Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer (CITV), the M1A2 Thermal Imaging System (TIS), the HTI NV-80 B-Kit in for the Bradley A3 Improved Bradley Acquisition System (IBAS) and the Commander's Independent Viewer (CIV).
CONSOLIDATED INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATES INC., Indiatlantic, Fla., is in line to conduct a flight assessment of the Shoulder-Launched Multi-Purpose Assault Weapon (SMAW) for the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), according to a June 28 Commerce Business Daily notice.
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS will supply three thermal imagers to the Indian Head Div. of the Naval Surfare Warfare Center under a sole source procurement that the center said "is part of the counterproliferation equipment packages being delivered to the Special Improvised Explosive (SIED) units." The Navy unit said in a July 16 Commerce Business Daily notice that the "imager is intended to be used in the field by EOD technicians to find and identify sensor threat or ordnance in a low light/no light environment."
U.S. COMMERCE DEPT. will focus on space-based technologies during an executive aerospace trade mission to Brazil in November. Brazil is pushing space-related technology as a primary objective of its development plan, and is developing a domestic launch site, communications and remote sensing satellites, and satellite applications like environmental monitoring. All are expected to require U.S. aerospace exports. Deadline for joining the 15-person trade mission Nov. 4-10 will be Aug. 16.
QSS GROUP of College Park, Md., has been awarded a $53 million, five-year contract to provide administrative, business and technical computing support for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The company will support management and administration; network systems; microcomputer hardware maintenance; systems development; host computing operations, and the scientific and engineering workstation procurement business and operations workstation laboratory.
ISRAEL MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS has certified the Amos communications satellite for commercial operations. Launched May 16 on an Ariane booster, the Israeli platform - developed by the MBT Div. of Israel Aircraft Industries - will provide telecommunications to Central Europe and the Middle East from its position at 4 degrees West longitude.
Orders for up to 90 Airbus aircraft have been placed by General Electric Capital Aviation Services, Airbus Industrie said yesterday.. The European consortium said it received 40 firm orders and 40 options for A319/A320/A321 single-aisle aircraft, and five firm orders and five options for the long range, four engine A340-300.
Schwartz Electro-optics, Incorporated, Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $5,864,600 increment as part of a $6,831,470 modification to an $18,390,715 cost plus fixed fee contract for research and development services to provide changes in the technical approach to meet the current requirements in the development of the Long Range Biological Standoff Detection System (LR-BSDS). Work will be performed in Orlando, Fla., and is expected to be completed by October 23, 1998. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL's Space Systems Div. has formed a partnership with Ukraine's Yuzhnoye design bureau to market launches on the venerable Tsyklon booster. The Rockwell unit has formed an organization it calls Satellite Delivery Systems to sell satellite launches from Plesetsk and Baikonur.
