The annual Blue Flag modelling and simulation exercise for the first time this year involved the U.S. Air Force's new Information Warfare squadron and the Gulf Cooperation Council member nations, a top commander told The DAILY. Lt. Gen. Carl E. Franklin, commander of U.S. Central Command Air Forces, Shaw AFB, S.C., said the Shaw-based IW detachment provided "efficient processing of the vast volume of information" supporting the exercise at Hurlburt Field, Fla.
ITALY'S Dept. of Civil Protection has taken delivery of two Canadair CL-415 turboprop aircraft, increasing its fleet to six, Canadair Amphibious Aircraft Division of Bombardier Inc. said yesterday. The Italian agency also has five piston-powered CL-215s. Canadair said it wants six more CL- 415s to standardize the fleet of the fire-fighting planes. It said the latest order increases the CL-415 order book to 26, of which 21 have been accepted by Italy, Quebec and France.
Boeing is boosting production rates on its bread-and-butter 737 single-aisle twin jetliner for the third time in six months, aiming to roll 17 737s off the Seattle-area production line every month by the beginning of 1998. Only a little more than a year ago, Boeing management expected production of all five of its jetliner models to come to only 17.5 per month through at least 1997 (DAILY, Feb. 3, 1995), but buoyant demand led Boeing in December to hike its rates for the first time in three years, from 20 per month then to 24 per month by early 1997.
HEWLETT-PACKARD CO., Palo Alto, Calif., said it has completed an update to the U.S. Navy's Tactical Advanced Computer (TAC-4) program. It said the upgrade adds higher performance technology to provide the latest commercial technology and products to the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and other Dept. of Defense activities. "The contract now provides an enhanced migration strategy for government users who purchased HP equipment on the TAC-3 contract," HP said.
MCI has won a competition for the FAA Telecommunications Satellite program, intended to aid air traffic control facilities. Observers said MCI beat Harris Corp. They said GTE was also involved, but dropped out of the competition last summer. The contract was awarded June 12. MCI said yesterday that the ten-year, $165 million contract calls for construction and deployment of the nationwide FAATSAT network "to enhance the flow of radar information and computer, navigational and weather data to [ATC] facilities."
The U.S. Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet has joined the Air Force's F-16 and B-52 aircraft as a threshold platform for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, program director Terry Little said. "I am pleased that it did happen," because "it underscores that this is a joint program," Little said.
The U.S. Air Force's Scientific Advisory Board is recommending pursuit of a more capable aircraft for special operations forces, effectively endorsing a key part of AF Special Operations Command's (AFSOC) aircraft and technology wish-list advanced more than two years ago.
The Senate yesterday kicked off work on a $267.3 billion fiscal year 1997 defense authorization bill that provides $12.9 billion more than the Administration's request, with the Senate Armed Services Committee adding $7.7 billion to the procurement accounts and $3.7 billion for research and development programs. At press time, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) was still expected to offer an amendment altering several sections of the authorization bill pertaining to DOD intelligence activities.
The U.S. Air Force has asked industry for bids on interim Global Positioning Systems for all military passenger aircraft. The effort, involving over 1,000 kits, follows the April 3 crash of a CT-43 transport in Croatia that killed Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and all others onboard. It also complies with a directive from Defense Secretary William Perry.
TWO U.S. ARMY UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters together carrying 24 passengers and eight crew collided in mid-air early yesterday afternoon during training at Ft. Campbell, Ky. Word on injuries or fatalities wasn't immediately available.
The steering committee in charge of negotiating the merger of Dassault and Aerospatiale, comprising the managers of both French manufacturers, has been set up and is now working, said Serge Dassault. "Work groups are functioning and progressing under the aegis of DGA" (Delegation Generale pour l'Armement), the French defense industry administration, Dassault said. He said "...we give ourselves two years to set up this complex operation."
A Rockwell International-led team completed autoclave cure and pressure testing of a flight-weight composite tank structure for NASA's X- 33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator, which Rockwell said late Monday was a "key milestone" in developing light structures both for X-33 and the planned reusable launch vehicle, or RLV.
Bell Helicopter Textron is trying to buy a majority stake in Romania's Intreprinderea Aeronautica Romana, or IAR, which it hopes to use as a building block for new sales throughout the region, Romania's official state news agency Rompres claimed during the weekend. The agency said that Bell chief Lloyd Shoppa was in Romania to meet with President Ion Iliescu as part of the process of finalizing a $1 billion deal later this year to build Cobra attack helicopters at IAR's plant in Brasov.
An inertial platform malfunction may have caused failure of the Ariane V booster on its first flight June 4 from Kourou, French Guiana. The European Space Agency said "a large part of the equipment contained in the vehicle equipment bay has been recovered and inspected" and "has revealed the existence of a malfunction relating to the inertial platforms in Ariane V operating mode." It said "relevant information has been conveyed" to a board that is investigating the failure.
The Marine Corps this summer plans to complete testing of a version of the Hawk missile system able to defeat short-range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, officials said here Monday. Fielding of the upgrade is scheduled for next year.
AN ARIANE 44P BOOSTER on June 15 launched Intelsat 709 from Kourou, French Guiana. The satellite, the ninth Intelsat VII satellite built by Space Systems/Loral for Intelsat, was launched at 2:55 a.m., eastern time, SS/L said yesterday. It said the satellite was the third in the Intelsat VII series that was integrated and tested in France by Aerospatiale and delivered into storage five months before launch.
The U.S. Army's plan to deploy a single site National Missile Defense system within four years is risky because it involves a compressed testing schedule, the head of the service's Space and Strategic Defense Command said yesterday. Lt. Gen. Jay Garner told a combined hearing of the House National Security procurement and R&D subcommittees that the problem was neither funding nor technology, but concurrency. "You never know of the unknown- unknowns," he said.
The Senate's newest member, Sen. Sheila Frahm (R-Kans.), yesterday accepted an offer to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, filling a GOP seat left by new Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.). Frahm told The DAILY she wanted a seat on the panel to be an advocate for the defense industry in Kansas and to push for a "strong national defense." She was sworn in to the Senate last week to replace Bob Dole, who left the body to focus on his run for the presidency.
Lockheed Martin and McDonnell Douglas, chosen to proceed to the definition and risk reduction phase of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile program, bid missiles costing an average of less than $500,000 per copy, but industry and government officials see potential to reduce that price.
MD-95 launch customer ValuJet Airlines plans to review whether it can continue to make payments to McDonnell Douglas while a government-forced grounding deprives the no-frills carrier of revenue, ValuJet President Lewis Jordan said yesterday.
U.S. Army helicopter pilots have received their first formal instruction in air combat maneuvering, and will use the skills to train pilots of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Six U.S. Army pilots, flying AH-64 Apache and OH-58 Kiowa Warriors helicopters, were trained by personnel of Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactical Squadron-1 (MAWTS-1) at MCAS Yuma, Ariz., during the week of June 4, according to a Marine Corps release.
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS said the Improved Target Acquisition System (ITAS) is nearing the end of the 40-month engineering and manufacturing development phase. The company won the EMD award from Army Missile Command in April 1993. ITAS, an upgrade to the existing TOW-2 weapon system, will be the first 2nd-generation system developed by the Army to complete EMD, TI said.
The U.S. Navy on Friday formally introduced the first F-14 Tomcat equipped with the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) system, which will enable the fighter to conduct strike missions. "Today with the LANTIRN targeting system, we sharpen the Tomcat's claws," Navy Secretary John H. Dalton said at a ceremony at NAS Oceana, Va. "The success of the F-14 strike fighter upgrade is a perfect example of Navy-industry cooperation, the hallmark of our acquisition reform program."
The Senate today is scheduled to begin consideration of the Armed Services Committee-approved fiscal 1997 defense authorization, but in a climate of uncertainty. The White House Office of Management and Budget has warned that President Clinton's senior advisers would recommend a veto if Congress enacts the bill as it now stands.
Bell Helicopter Textron, Incorporated, Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $20,237,814 modification to previously awarded contract N00019-95-C-0240 for the procurement of three AH-1W helicopters, technical data, and related technical support for the United States Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed by August 1998. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
