The Pentagon has put together a rescission package for fiscal year 1996 funds, but has steered clear of attacking most programs that have received significant congressional support or that have been heavily defended by the services. Most of the rescissions come from research, development, test and evaluation accounts. RDT&E department-wide was hit with a $200.1 million rescission, the Navy lost $169 million, the Air Force was down $116.3 million, and the Army lost $77 million.
February 15, 1996 General Electric Company General Electric Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, is being awarded a $55,500,000 face value increase to a firm fixed price contract to provide for 14 spare F118-GE-100 engines applicable to the B-2 aircraft. Contract is expected to be completed November 1997. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-86/C-2040, P00050).
One of the promising near-term applications of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices outlined in last week's Pentagon report on the new technology (DAILY, Feb. 16) would revolutionize military logistics by eliminating today's scheduled maintenance of vehicles and other weapon systems with condition-based maintenance (CBM).
The White House intends to deliver to Capitol Hill appropriators as early as today an $820 million supplemental request, which in part would pay for the initial cost of sending U.S. troops to Bosnia, Office of Management and Budget officials told congressional defense aides yesterday. Of the $820 million, $620 million would be for the cost of sending troops to Bosnia and another $200 million would used for reconstruction and aid to Bosnia, a Senate aide explained. That $200 million would come from the State Dept. budget, he said.
Litton Industries has acquired defense electronics specialist TELDIX GmbH of Germany for an undisclosed amount of cash. TELDIX, with annual sales of about $70 million (U.S.) and about 500 employees, provides avionics and navigation systems for a number of European weapon systems. In addition, Litton said, it supplies integrated navigation and attitude and heading reference systems for ships, submarines and other naval platforms, and is a leader in development and production of momentum and reaction wheels for satellites.
February 14, 1996 Kaman Sciences Corporation Kaman Sciences Corporation, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is being awarded a $9,184,216 face value increase to a Cost Plus Award Fee contract to expand software maintenance and support efforts at Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, Colorado. Contract is expected to be completed September 1996. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The 21st Contracting Squadron, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado is the contracting activity (F05603-91/C-0011).
Debt-watcher Moody's Investors Service lowered ratings on $95 million of Airbus Industrie's long-term debt yesterday, citing weakness at Airbus partners Daimler-Benz and Aerospatiale and the possibility that changes in the consortium's organization could make it easier for partners to leave Airbus' debt behind.
While industry executives cheered U.S. Transportation Command chief Gen. Robert Rutherford's declaration here that more C-17s are needed beyond the 120 in the existing buy, AF acquisition chief Gen. George Muellner pointed out Friday that any add-ons to the C-17 program are an "outyear issue," and one for which there is no money, at least for now.
McDonnell Douglas has delivered the first F/A-18E/F strike fighter to NAS Patuxent River, Md., and the second will arrive there soon. MDC said seven of the planes will make about 2,000 flights at Pax River over the next three years. Operational service is slated to begin in 2001, with 1,000 of the planes to be acquired by the U.S. Navy through 2015.
GTE Government Systems, Communications Systems Div., Taunton, Mass., received a $4.5 million increment under a $4.8 million contract for work on shelters for Mobile Subscriber Equipment (MSE). The contract covers a base year and three option years to refurbish the shelters to "like new" condition. ITT Aerospace Communications Div., Fort Wayne, Ind., received $5.2 million for 20,000 handheld remote control devices for use with the Single Channel Ground&Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS). Work will be performed at Ville Saint-Laurent, Canada (85%) and Ft. Wayne (15%).
Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are preparing a fast-track flight demonstration of technology needed for an interim space interferometer leading to a deep-space "planet-finder," with a Space Shuttle or expendable launch mission possible as early as 1998.
The U.S. Air Force already faces a "$4.5 billion disconnect bill" as it approaches the fiscal 1998 program objective memorandum (POM) process, so any new starts will come at the expense of existing programs, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Joseph Ralston warned industry executives exhibiting possible new products at an Air Force Association symposium here Friday.
Lt. Gen. George Muellner, the U.S. Air Force's acquisition chief and one-time head of the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) program, tells the three industry teams competing to finish the project to "keep the design space open" for a gun, although the debate on whether the Joint Strike Fighter will actually need a gun continues to rage.
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), San Diego, is working on electric gun technology as part of the U.S. Army's five-year, $30 million Focused Technology Program (FTP). The SAIC team has designed and fabricated a subscale pulsed alternator that has exceeded the energy density of present systems by a factor of three and will be compact enough in the next generation to fit within the envelope of the main battle tank, according to the company.
The two Joint STARS aircraft flying in support of NATO operations in Bosnia have broken the operational sortie record set by the type during operation Desert Storm. The Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System planes -an E-8A and an E-8C - logged their 50th mission on Wednesday in support of Operation Joint Endeavor, according to the U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command. The E-8A flew the record breaking mission. The two have been deployed since late December, and are being flown by the 4500th provisional Joint STARS squadron.
Big loser in the revised division of labor for the International Space Station is Ukraine. Yuri Koptiev, head of the Russian Space Agency, tells Moscow reporters it would have taken three launches with the Ukrainian Zenit booster to install Russia's Science Power Platform (SPP), a job NASA has agreed to tackle with the Shuttle as a way to help Russia through some stormy financial weather (DAILY, Feb. 1).
Unique Mobility, Golden, Colo., has been selected by Pentastar Electronics, the military electronics arm of Chrysler Corp., to supply its UQM permanent magnet motors and electronic controls for integration into a prototype hybrid electric version of the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV). The Pentastar agreement calls for delivery of four UQM SR218 53 KW permanent magnet motors and 270 v inverters similar to those developed by Unique for commercial vehicles.
An F-15 fighter flew from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., last Thursday on the first functional evaluation flight of a Pratt&Whitney-built thrust vectoring nozzle. The pitch-yaw balance beam nozzle will vector thrust on the F-15 as part of the Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE) program, P&W said. ACTIVE is being run jointly by NASA, the Air Force, MDC and P&W.
JAPAN AIRLINES took delivery of its first Boeing 777 airliner in ceremonies Feb. 15 at Boeing Field in Seattle. The plane, powered by Pratt&Whitney PW4084 engines, is the first of 15 ordered by JAL. It has options on ten more of the twinjets. JAL will begin commercial service with its first 777 April 26 on domestic routes in Japan. P&W said 12 Pratt-powered 777s are in service.
JAST concept definition program pre-solicitation conference, once planned for Jan. 29, is now set for Feb. 21, the Joint Advanced Strike Technology Office said in a Feb. 20 Commerce Business Daily notice. The conference, to be classified "secret," will be held at ANSER facilities in Arlington, Va.
The U.S. Army in the next few weeks will launch the Aerial Common Sensor program - slated to succeed the Guardrail Common Sensor and Airborne Reconnaissance Low systems - assuming the mission need statement gets its expected approval from the Joint Staff, an Army official said Friday.
