A new research project led by the U.S. Air Force seeks to develop an integrated solution to the cockpit problem of spatial disorientation, cited as the leading cause of serious accidents for both military and general aviation pilots.
Several technologies envisioned for deployment with the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program were tested successfully in a recent "simulated demonstrations" at Fort Knox, Ky., according to company officials involved with the program. Called Capstone, the simulation was conducted by nearly 50 soldiers from across the Army's command structure.
Any move to defend airliners from shoulder-fired missiles would be a multi-faceted affair, and Congress may therefore want to consider implementing combinations of alternatives, the Congressional Research Service says. "Most believe that no single solution exists to effectively mitigate this threat," CRS says in a report titled "Homeland Security: Protecting Airliners from Terrorist Missiles."
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A study of payloads to be completed in late April or early May will feed into an analysis of alternatives of operationally responsive spacelift, said Col. Pamela L. Stewart, who is directing the spacelift study for Air Force Space Command. Payloads that can begin working quickly once in orbit are just as important as new rockets that can be launched faster, Stewart said March 27 in a telephone press conference from Peterson Air Force Base here.
The Army could use more blue force tracking devices to improve the service's ability to keep track of friendly forces on the battlefield, according to an Army general.
LONDON - Britain's Ministry of Defence (MOD) will gain a new chief for its Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) on May 1, when Vice Adm. Sir Peter Spencer of the Royal Navy takes over from long-serving Sir Robert Walmsley, also a former Vice Adm., who is retiring. Spencer will become chief executive as well as leader of the DPA, according to a March 28 announcement.
CPI Aerostructures, a maker of aerostructure components for the C-5A Galaxy, T-38 Talon and E-3 Sentry aircraft, said 2002 revenues rose nearly 37 percent over 2001 partly because of higher contract awards. Revenue for the year totaled nearly $24 million, compared with about $15 million in 2001. Net income for 2002, which included an $800,000 tax benefit, totaled $4.4 million, compared with a loss of $11.6 million in 2001. The gains partly were due to the closure of the company's Kolar machining business.
NEW DELHI - Israel and Russia have resolved a dispute over payments for upgrading Russian aircraft that India wants to use for airborne early warning (AEW), sources here said. Israel has agreed to pay royalties to Russia to upgrade Indian Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft with Israel's Phalcon radar. India plans to buy two or three of the radars.
The House Financial Services Committee approved a four-year reauthorization of the Defense Production Act (DPA) on March 26, six days after the committee's technology subcommittee took similar action (DAILY, March 25). The DPA authorizes financial incentives and other tools to ensure U.S. industry produces adequate supplies for the military. The Senate Banking Committee is expected to begin considering DPA reauthorization legislation sometime after the April 14-25 congressional recess (DAILY, March 26).
MUOS TEAM: Boeing will join the Lockheed Martin-General Dynamics team competing for the U.S. Navy's Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), the company said March 31. MUOS is a next-generation satellite system intended to replace the Navy's UHF Follow-On fleet. The Navy is scheduled to select a final design for MUOS in 2004.
The top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee is proposing to accelerate funding for NASA efforts to develop technology aimed at improving civilian aviation security and safety.
In mid-April, the Global Positioning System (GPS) program office will provide Peter Teets, the Air Force undersecretary for space, a package of options for accelerating the GPS III program, according to GPS Program Manager Col. Wesley Ballenger. To help fund other priorities, the Air Force decided earlier this year to delay the award of the GPS III prime contract and cut off all funding in FY '04, in anticipation of quickly ramping up the program later for a scheduled 2012 first launch.
AEROSPACE AWARD: The National Space Club has presented teams of scientists and engineers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Northrop Grumman Corp. the 2003 Nelson P. Jackson Aerospace Award for their work on NASA's Aqua Earth Observing System satellite. The award is presented annually for outstanding contributions to the missile, aircraft and space fields. Aqua, which is studying the Earth's water cycle, was launched in May and began returning data a month later (DAILY, June 25, 2002). The spacecraft was built by TRW Inc., now part of Northrop Grumman.
AWARD: The Missile Defense Agency announced late March 31 it has awarded concept design contracts to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for the kinetic energy interceptor (KEI) program, which seeks to develop a land- and sea-based capability to shoot down ballistic missiles in their boost phase. Each contract is worth $10 million and will last for eight months. The selection of a single team to be the prime contractor is expected in early 2004. Lockheed Martin's team includes Boeing Co., while Northrop Grumman is paired with Raytheon Co.
EADS CHAIRMAN: Arnaud Lagardere has been designated chairman of the board of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS), effective May 6, the company said March 28. Lagardere succeeds Jean-Luc Lagardere, his father, who died earlier this month (DAILY, March 19). The other chairman of EADS' board is Manfred Bischoff.
ALTERNATIVE WARFARE: U.S. adversaries are likely to turn to unconventional tactics rather than compete head-on against U.S. forces with conventional weaponry, according to aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan of Merrill Lynch. "Iraq's most effective tactics against the U.S. and U.K. forces appear to center on the same sorts of tactics that have been used against Israel by Hezbollah and Palestinian forces and by Chechen rebels against Russian forces," Callan says.
U.S. Navy minesweepers heading toward the Persian Gulf are running on engines developed by a niche Italian engine maker. The company, Isotta Fraschini, based in Bari, Italy, designs and manufactures non-magnetic diesel engines for minesweepers serving in navies around the world. Minesweeping ships need non-magnetic engines to avoid detonating magnetic influence mines. Magnetic influence mines detonate after sensing a change in the surrounding magnetic field caused by the iron in a passing ship's hull.
NATO EXPANSION: Seven former Warsaw Pact nations seeking to join NATO are staunch "Atlanticists" and are poised to make a small but strategically useful contributions to the alliance, says Douglas J. Feith, the Defense Department's undersecretary of defense for policy. NATO has invited Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to join the alliance. The organization expects each to offer a niche military capability, particularly in airlift, chemical and biological detection and human intelligence, Feith says.
PRAGUE - The Czech Republic is exploring future protection of its airspace with Britain, Czech deputy defense minister Jan Vana told The DAILY. Vana, who recently met with British officials, said discussions are at an early stage but there is a willingness on both sides to consider the possibilities.
HEROIC MISINVESTMENT: Despite its penchant for brilliant engineering, Japan continues to invest in military and commercial aircraft ventures of questionable value, says senior aircraft analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group. "Japan is a nation of brilliant engineering and chronic, almost heroic, misinvestment," he says. The F-2 fighter, formerly known as the FS-X fighter, is an example, he says. The composite wings of the fighter, developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, "are ahead of anything the U.S.
