TITAN CORP., San Diego, said the U.S. Navy has exercised an $8.3 million contract option for AN/USC-42 (V)1 and (V)3 satellite communication terminals. It said the action, by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, "significantly increases the number of U.S. Navy submarines and ships capable of entering and operating in joint-service controlled 5- and 25-kHz DAMA [demand assigned multiple access] ultra high frequency (UHF) satellite communication networks." The new terminals "will be installed on U.S.
The investment emphasis for the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, formerly the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, has changed significantly during the last decade, O'Neill says. In 1985, he says, all investment went to the technology base, but this fiscal year, seed money constitutes only 8% of BMDO's investment.
Launch vehicle builders, including those working on a reusable rocket for the 21st century, and launch service consumers will have a say in future federal regulations covering certification of new launchers at an FAA session next week. The Office of Commercial Space Transportation will hold a public meeting April 24 at the Dept. of Transportation in Washington to help it identify issues in commercial space launcher certification, as well as such other issues as international use of commercial spaceports.
Northrop Grumman Corp. filed plans with U.S. regulators Friday to sell seven million new shares of common stock, which would raise part of the money needed to pay off its debt from acquiring Westinghouse's defense units. Under the shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission, 5.95 million shares will be offered in the U.S. and Canada by U.S. underwriters CS First Boston, Merrill Lynch, and Salomon Brothers Inc. International managers will concurrently offer the other 1.05 million shares outside the U.S. and Canada.
U.S. Vice President Albert Gore has received what aides termed a "constructive" reply from Moscow to his warning that Russia risked its place on the International Space Station unless it stabilized payments for the hardware it has agreed to contribute to the project, while Russian President Boris Yeltsin publicly declared Friday that "the domestic space program is our national pride."
If the current Pentagon leadership remains in place after the upcoming elections, there's likely to be a call for another round of base closings in 1998, says Gilbert L. Decker, the U.S. Army's assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition. "I expect when the smoke and furor of the '96 election is over, we maybe can fight things out on their own merit rather than on politics," he remarks. "All the services still have installations they don't need open."
LOCKHEED MARTIN Government Electronic Systems, Moorestown, N.J., was awarded $7.6 million under a previous contract to provide engineering services in support of the Japanese Foreign Military Sales Aegis combat system program. U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command awarded the contract on April 3.
BFGOODRICH AEROSPACE, Engineered Polymer Products, Jacksonville, Fla., got a $7.7 million modification to an earlier Naval Sea Systems Command contract on March 22 for seven AN/SQS-26/53 sonar dome rubber windows, seven shipping installation fixtures, and installation and technical services.
First-quarter profits edged up 7% to $186.5 million at Raytheon on nearly 16% better sales of $2.76 billion, helped along by strength in the company's commercial businesses and at Raytheon/E-Systems, acquired last year. Chairman and CEO Dennis J. Picard singled out E-Systems and Raytheon Aircraft last week for boosting profit growth, noting that aircraft sales rose to both commercial and U.S. customers, and that E-Systems won a major contract for next-generation countermeasures from the U.S. Air Force during the first quarter.
KEARFOTT GUIDANCE&NAVIGATION CORP., Wayne, N.J., received a $15 million modification to an earlier contract for 20 inertial measurement units (IMUs), 40 failure verification/repair and recertification units, 18 IMU recalibrations and 6 IMU integrated production capability maintenance (IPCM) hardware sets for the Trident II (D5) missile Mk. 6 guidance system. The contract, awarded April 4 by the U.S. Navy's Strategic Systems Program, combines purchases for the U.S. (59.5%) and the U.K. (40.5%) under the Foreign Military Sales program.
Hughes Telecommunications and Space Co. said Friday it will continue to pursue development of a civil satellite-based augmentation to the Global Positioning System for aircraft navigation despite a decision by the Inmarsat Council not to invest in the projected International Satellite Navigation System (ISNS).
MCLAUGHLIN RESEARCH CORP., New London, Conn., won a $5.6 million contract March 20 from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Div., Newport, R.I., for technical support of the General Noise and Tonal System (GNATS) program.
LOCKHEED MARTIN Advanced Technology Laboratories, Camden, N.J., was chosen by the Office of Naval Research over seven other competitors for a $7 million contract to develop human performance technologies, component hardware/software technologies and prototype systems, and demonstrate an embedded training system for the Aegis combat system and combat training system. The contract was awarded March 19.
THE U.S. AIR FORCE cancelled the VC-X VIP airlifter procurement plan in order to replace it with a streamlined, lease-to-buy arrangement for four VC-X aircraft with a contract award this summer, the service reported Friday. Program managers are working on a new, three-page sources sought solicitation aimed at quick, commercial-style acquisition and acceptance of the aircraft, which will meet all Federal Aviation Administration safety requirements, including cockpit data/voice recorders.
NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va., received a $9.1 million modification to previously awarded contract for design familiarization in the New Attack Submarine (NSSN) program. The contract, awarded April 9 by Naval Sea Systems Command, will include liaison with the lead shipbuilder, development of design transfer procedures and processes, and digital data transfer exchange efforts.
A Pentagon review on how to counter nuclear, biological and chemical weapons will likely lead to increased funding, according to Ashton Carter, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. The Office of the Secretary of Defense recently rejected a recommendation by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to take money out of those mission areas, Carter said. He said that "we expect...an increase" in funding.
U.S. ARMY AVIATION AND TROOP COMMAND, St. Louis, on April 9 selected five companies from a field of seven to provide programmatic and technical support services. Each company will ultimately receive $33 million for the work. Chosen were Advanced Engineering and Planning Corp, Rockville, Md.; COBRO Corp., Earth City, Mo.; Innovative Logistics Techniques, Inc., McLean, Va.; Decisions and Advanced Technology Associates, Inc., Maryland Heights, Mo., and System Dynamics International, Inc., St. Louis. The contracts run through April, 2001.
The General Accounting Office says the Defense Dept. isn't adequately approaching the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses mission and that it should postpone retirement of the EF-111 Raven and the F-4G Wild Weasel until the funding priority of SEAD can be looked at again. But it says the Pentagon thinks such a study would be redundant.
The Pentagon plans to create a new joint project office to oversee and manage development of a national missile defense system, Lt. Gen. Malcolm O'Neill, director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, said Wednesday. O'Neill told the Naval Surface Warfare association during a luncheon in Arlington, Va., that the JPO will be set up under BMDO to manage the NMD program Authority to make a deployment decision will remain with the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
U.S. military services' wish lists for fiscal year 1997, presented to the Senate Armed Services and the House National Security committees, would add a total of $9.670 billion to their formal budget requests, congressional sources said. The lists, printed below, were offered by the Army, Navy and Air Force in response to congressional requests for priority add-ons.
To test the performance of some of its airborne radar systems, the U.S. Air Force wants to develop a system that will mimic the countermeasures of enemy fighters. The AF Aeronautical System Center's Aerial Targets Integrated Product Team, at Eglin AFB, Fla., is looking for proposals for a demonstration/validation phase for the Drone Radio Frequency Electronic Enhancement Mechanism (DREEM) program, according to an April 10 Commerce Business Daily notice.
Robert Joseph, director of the National Defense University's Counter- proliferation Center and a former aide in the Bush Administration, said China's recent behavior merits putting it in the category of "rogue nations."
A plan by the International Maritime Satellite consortium to launch navigation satellites built by Hughes was torpedoed by Comsat of the U.S., apparently because of Washington's policy that only GPS will be used in a projected system for navigation of civil aircraft.
DYNCORP, Reston, Va., received a high performance rating from NASA's Johnson Space Center, where it provides aircraft maintenance and modification services. "The rating is the highest-ever performance rating presented to a company performing aircraft maintenance and modification services at the Johnson Space Center," Dyncorp said.
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO., Lynn, Mass., got a $22.2 million modification to an earlier U.S. Army contract on March 29 for 66 T700-GE-701C engines for the Apache helicopter, and other support such as field service representatives, manuals, and containers for The Netherlands. The Army Aviation and Troop Command contract was announced by the Dept. of Defense on April 1.
