VITRO CORP., Rockville, Md., a subsidiary of Tracor, is moving into the Indianapolis area to support the Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Div. The company recently won a $51.7 million, five-year-contract from the center to provide design engineering and software services. The company previously supported the Indianapolis-based center from offices in Fort Wayne and Bloomington, Ind.
U.S. NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER Training Systems Div., Orlando, Fla., is soliciting industry for up to five years of Command Aircraft Crew Training (CACT) services. It said in a pair of Nov. 8 Commerce Business Daily notices that the program "includes providing all labor, equipment, training facilities, tools, training materials, supervision and other services necessary for academic, aircrew coordination, and simulator training for" several aircraft: C-9B, CT-39E/G and T-39D, UC-12B/F and UC-12M, and C-20D.
NATO has invited industry to submit bids for independent verification and validation of the Air Command and Control System, a program that could be worth $1 billion. NATO's Air Command and Control Systems Management Agency (NACMA) said in a Nov. 2 Commerce Business Daily notice that it is "requesting nominations from qualified and certified companies" for the bids.
RAYTHEON CO.'s Electromagnetic Systems Div., Goleta, Calif., received a $13 million contract for 280 AN/ALE-50 decoy assemblies for the F/A-18, F-16 and other aircraft. The contract was awarded Oct. 11 by U.S. Naval Air Systems Command.
TRACOR AEROSPACE, Austin, Tex., said an $11.2 million contract from U.S. Naval Air Systems Command for 110 BOL chaff dispenser systems for the F-14 aircraft (DAILY, Oct. 24, page 146) will help it capture other, similar contracts. Tracor Aerospace President George R. Melton said, "This award marks an important step in pursuing more strategic domestic and international opportunities for this innovative chaff dispenser." Tracor Aerospace said the award resulted from the 1992 alliance between it, CelsiusTech AB of Sweden and Chemring Ltd. of the U.K.
U.S. NAVY Strategic Systems Program yesterday awarded nearly $390 million for Trident submarine and missile procurement, including two awards totaling $319.7 million to Lockheed Martin's Missiles&Space Co. for fiscal 1996 missile production. In two other Trident-related awards, Vitro received $30.9 million and Westinghouse $39.3 million. Both are for technical services for the submarines.
Kaman tapped several local companies to form a new team to support its bid to supply Kaman SH-2G helicopters for the Royal Australian Navy's new ANZAC frigates and proposed Offshore Patrol Combatants, the company reported yesterday.
Boeing Defense and Space Group said a team it leads has successfully passed an operational capability demonstration (OCD) which qualifies it to bid on FAA's $1 billion Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) contract. The company said an FAA evaluation team scored the performance of its air traffic control offering over a three-day period.
The Pentagon's Inspector General has rejected a claim by Aerojet General that the U.S. Air Force improperly denied the company an adjustment claim for its Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) sensor used on the Block 5D-3 Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DSMP) spacecraft.
Concurrent Computer Corp. and Harris Computer Systems Corp. agreed to merge in a move that both companies said would create a leader in real-time computing. The deal, announced Monday, must still go through a number of approval wickets, but the plan is for Oceanport, N.J.-based Concurrent's John Stihl to be chairman of the board and E. Courtney (Corky) Siegel of Harris, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to serve as president and chief executive officer.
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS CHAIRMAN Bob Livingston (R-La.) announced yesterday that the Republican leadership has agreed on a formula for a continuing resolution through Dec. 1 for all government agencies whose fiscal 1996 appropriations bills have not been enacted, including the Defense Dept. and NASA. It calls for funding programs at rates which do not exceed the lowest of the House or Senate appropriations bills or the fiscal 1995 appropriations. Programs terminated in either FY '96 bill would be funded at a level not to exceed 60% of the current rate of operations.
LORAL DEFENSE SYSTEMS-Akron, Ohio, will provide fiscal year 1996 operations, maintenance and support of the Special Operations Forces Aircrew Training System under a $10.3 million contract from the U.S. Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Center. Site of the work is Hurlburt Field, Fla.
Robert J. Witham has been named chairman of the board, president, and general manager of Alliant Defense Electronics Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of the company headquarted in Clearwater, Fla. Joel L. Houlton was named vice president of engineering for the Defense Systems Group.
Advances in imagery collection could change the way fighter reconnaissance is conducted because new sensors promise to cut the time that aircraft are exposed to an enemy, according to a senior official of the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office.
U.S. Navy Air Warfare Director Rear Adm. Brent Bennitt says priorities for the fiscal year 1998 program objective memorandum include the F/A-18E/F strike fighter, the MV-22 Osprey, and the CVN 77 aircraft carrier.
The U.S. Air Force is scheduled on Thursday to begin testing 250-pound smart bombs that are slated to take out 80% to 85% of the targets now assigned to 2,000-pound penetrator bombs.
The crash of an X-31 experimental aircraft early this year was caused by ice buildup on an unheated pitot tube, which led to misconfiguration of the flight control system and sudden departure from controlled flight, the Mishap Investigation Board looking into the cause of the accident says. The Jan. 19 incident occurred near Edwards AFB, Calif., when ice formed in or around the pitot tube that provides airspeed data to cockpit instruments, the flight control computers, and mission control at Dryden Flight Research Center, NASA said yesterday.
Kyle T. Alfriend of the Naval Postgraduate School in California will head the aerospace engineering division of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, effective July 1, 1996.
ALLIEDSIGNAL AEROSPACE said it plans to move its Prescott, Ariz., avionics operations to existing facilities in Olathe, Kans. It said the Prescott facility is part of AlliedSignal Aerospace Commercial Avionics Systems, and makes flight management and communications systems for general aviation and corporate aircraft.
Katherine L. Griffin, former director of sales and contracts for Avica, Inc., of the U.S., and commercial manager for Avica Equipment of the United Kingdom, has been appointed director of sales. James A. Lisi, previously senior product manager for aerospace switch products in the Aerospace Controls Division, Eaton Corp., Costa Mesa, Calif., has been appointed director of special products.
Michael M. Sera was appointed general manager of the Special Products Group. Prior to his appointment, Sera held the positions of field sales engineer, RF product marketing manager, and wireless marketing manager for Philips Semiconductors, Sunnyvale, Calif. and RF/Wireless Product Line Driver, Philips Japan, Ltd.
BFGOODRICH AEROSPACE said the U.S. Air Force has selected it to supply the wheel and brake system for its Block 40/42 F-16 fighters. A new contract covers more than 400 of the planes, the company said. Deliveries will begin in 1996. BFGoodrich said the system can handle high speed taxi stops and aborted takeoffs on runways as short as 4,500 feet.
Clayton M. Jones, previously senior vice president, government operations and international, was appointed vice president and general manager of the Collins Air Transport Division, headquarted in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
William "Bert" Hornback has joined the company as director of Electro- Optical (EO) Systems. Hornback has over twenty-five years experience in electronics and EO, gained while working for Northrop Grumman Corp. Hughes- Santa Barbara Research Center and Rockwell International. John J. Stuart, Jr., presently chief financial officer, has been named executive vice president.
