INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS Aerospace Policy Committee has recommended a push for laser satellite communications, suggesting that the U.S. government work with industry to conduct flight demonstrations of the lightweight data relay hardware. Citing advantages over microwave systems in production costs, data rates, and immunity to jamming and interference, the IEEE panel said the government alone has the resources to conduct the pre-competitive demonstrations that would spur commercial and government applications.
INMARSAT-3, the first of the international consortium's new-generation mobile communications satellites, has entered service over the Indian Ocean. Built by Lockheed Martin Astro Space Commercial, with a Matra Marconi Space-built payload, the new satellite was launched April 3 on an Atlas IIA from Cape Canaveral, Fla. It will allow the use of smaller Inmarsat-C terminals; the Inmarsat-M laptop-sized mobile telephone, lighter hardware for short and medium-haul aircraft, and the Inmarsat D and D+ messenger/pager system set for introduction soon.
The House Appropriations national security subcommittee yesterday completed work on a $246.5 billion fiscal 1997 defense money bill that exceeded the House authorization in funding F-15E fighters and Rivet Joint intelligence collection aircraft, while denying funds for a third Joint STARS plane that the Air Force put at the top of its '97 wish list.
Engineers working on the Air Force's third Miniature Sensor Technology Integration (MSTI-3) satellite used launch vehicle delays for additional testing and calibration of the sensor payload that will characterize medium wave infrared (MWIR) backgrounds from polar orbit over the next year. Peter Klupar, MSTI program manager at Spectrum Astro Inc., builder of the satellite, said Tuesday that delays with the Pegasus launcher allowed the SAIC-built sensor to spend an extra six weeks at Utah State University for calibration testing.
The Defense Dept. should tighten control of its information systems, the General Accounting Office says in a new report. "The potential for catastrophic damage is great," the GAO found, saying that at the very least, "these attacks are a multi-million dollar nuisance to Defense." Although it noted that DOD is taking steps to enhance information security, GAO said it still faces "significant challenges in controlling unauthorized access to its computer systems."
The House on Wednesday night passed the fiscal year 1997 intelligence authorization bill that increases by 3.9% the White House request for intelligence spending. The bill passed in a voice vote. Before final passage the House approved a $22 million increase for the DarkStar Tier III Minus unmanned aerial vehicle and an amendment to impose restrictions on the sharing of U.S. intelligence data with the U.N. (DAILY, May 23).
Wayne, N.J.-based GEC-Marconi Systems agreed this week to acquire electronics and communications specialist Hazeltine Corp. from parent ESCO Electronics Corp., GEC-Marconi Systems reported yesterday, and closing is expected within the next two to three months. GEC-Marconi Systems President and CEO Mark H. Ronald said in a prepared statement that "this new relationship" between the two complementary companies "will facilitate growth opportunities for the benefit of both companies." No projected financial terms were disclosed.
The U.S. Air Force plans to award only one contract in the new Space and Missile Tracking System (SMTS) competition that is attracting industry interest, said Col. Ralph Gajewski, manager of the service's Space Based Infrared System advanced program. To comply with a congressional mandate to accelerate SMTS, the Air Force will request proposals for an alternative concept to compete against one being offered by TRW for the pre-engineering and manufacturing development phase. Congress wants deployment of SMTS to start in fiscal 2002.
The Senate yesterday stopped an attempt by Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) to abolish the "fire walls" that currently protect defense budget funds from being shifted to non-defense discretionary accounts or to reduce the federal deficit. The Senate voted 57-41 to table the Bumpers amendment to the fiscal year 1997 budget resolution. When an amendment is tabled it is not voted on and cannot be brought up again on the bill until the following year.
The U.S. policy to limit the use of anti-personnel land mines will not affect M15, M19 and M21 mines, as reported by The DAILY in the May 17 issue (page 284). These are anti-tank mines and are therefore unaffected by the new policy.
Debt-watcher Moody's Investors Service yesterday assigned cautiously positive ratings on more than $300 million in new Greenwich Air Services debt, which the acquisition-hungry overhauler hopes to use to help pay for its purchase of Aviall's troubled airline engine overhaul units. Rating GASI's $175 million secured bank credit facility at Ba3 and $150 million in senior notes at B2, Moody's cited the Aviall acquisition's risks and the fiercely competitive nature of the commercial aircraft engine repair market.
Alliant Techsystems said it completed the second and final guided flight test of its candidate for the U.S. Air Force's Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD). The company, competing with Lockheed Martin for the $1.25 billion program, said the flight marks the end of the prototype test phase and the beginning of fabrication and testing of hardware to be used in the flyoff phase.
TRW is working under a $10.8 million subcontract to build high frequency transmitter modules for the U.S. Army Longbow/Hellfire missile program. The 18-month award, from Martin Marietta Microwave Technology Inc. (MMMTI), Orlando, Fla., covers the second phase of the program's low rate initial production, TRW Space&Electronics Group said. First phase work began a year ago.
The International Aero Engines V2500-powered Airbus A319 made its first flight this week, a six-hour trip from Toulouse that kicks off a 200- hour test program aimed at winning European certification by the end of the year. Airbus' CFM International CFM56-5B-powered A319 won its certification last month and is already in service with launch customer Swissair on European routes.
Democrat John Spratt (S.C.) yesterday pressed his own strategic missile defense plan, saying the Republican "Defend America" proposal is "unrealistic in today's budget."
Britain's GEC agreed to assemble rival Hughes' Airhawk variant of the Tomahawk cruise missile as a major subcontractor, hedging its bet in the U.K.'s 650 million-pound Conventionally Armed Stand Off Cruise Missile, or CASOM, contest. Both companies revealed the agreement during a London press conference yesterday. Defense Ministry officials have signaled that while the official "value for money" procurement policy remains in force for the competition, industrial base concerns for British industry will also be considered in their decision.
The first two-seat F/A-18E/F Super Hornet should start carrier suitability testing later this month, following delivery Tuesday to the U.S. Navy's aircraft test facilities at NAS Patuxent River, Md., McDonnell Douglas reported yesterday. F/A-18F1, the third Super Hornet to be delivered to the integrated test team at Pax River for flight testing, should then begin sea trials in January 1997.
Advanced technologies for future reusable launch vehicles (RLVs), including an all-composite liquid hydrogen fuel tank and a Russian-built aluminum-lithium liquid oxygen tank, performed well on their first flight aboard the DC-XA testbed last weekend, according to NASA's program manager for the subscale RLV prototype. Future flights will subject the lightweight hardware to greater stress, but Dan Dumbacher said NASA was pleased with the performance of the advanced hardware on the first flight.
Ashtech Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., announced availability of the first single-board receiver to tightly integrate technologies of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass). Leonard Kruczynski, director of strategic relationships at Ashtech, said in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the Differential Satellite Navigation Systems conference that having both the U.S. and Russian satellite constellations to draw on gives the user advantages in availability, integrity and accuracy.
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, would like to speed introduction of three new U.S. fighters - the F/A-18E/F, the F-22 and the Joint Strike Fighter. Stevens told The DAILY in a brief interview Tuesday that he hoped to avoid stretchouts built into the current schedules, which call for first deliveries of the F/A-18E/F in 2000, first F-22s in 2005, and first JSFs in 2008.
Pratt&Whitney won its first customer for the newly created fleet engine management program, with Airbus Industrie's Asset Management Div. selecting P&W to support Pratt-powered A300s and A310s owned or leased by Airbus units.
The House yesterday passed an amendment to the fiscal year 1997 intelligence authorization bill boosting funding for the Tier III Minus DarkStar unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by $22 million. The initial version of the House intelligence authorization bill increased the Administration's $17.4 million request for DarkStar to $34.9 million. The added $22 million raises the DarkStar funding level for FY '97 to $56.9 million.
Nacelle and aerostructures specialist Rohr continued to struggle in its third fiscal 1996 quarter, which just ended April 28, but management predicts a rebound in fiscal 1997 with sales up 15% from this year's pace. "Due to the long lead-time between placement of orders and subsequent aircraft deliveries," Rohr said it expects "fiscal 1996 to be the bottom of the commercial jet aircraft production cycle."
The House Appropriations national security subcommittee yesterday tentatively finished marking up the procurement and research and development titles of the fiscal 1997 defense appropriations bill, and funded all the major procurement add-ons in the House authorization, which increased procurement by $7.5 billion, subcommittee chairman Rep. C.W. (Bill) Young (R-Fla.) indicated yesterday.
