WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORP. has formed the Westinghouse Communication and Information Systems Co., and named Richard J. Hadala, 38, as president. The company said yesterday that the new unit will boost it "in the closely related commercial communications and security systems markets, and...consolidate several existing units into one strategically focused business, as part of the Westinghouse Electronic Systems business unit." Hadala joined Westinghouse in January 1994 as corporate vice president in charge of strategic management.
NASA could decide as early as today whether to continue the X-34 reusable launch vehicle program, balancing its need for low-cost launches for small satellites against concerns that the Orbital Science/Rockwell team developing the air-launched booster has banked too much on Russia's RD-120 rocket engine.
McDonnell Douglas headed the list of U.S. defense contractors in October, the first month of the new fiscal year, receiving $448.3 million of the nearly three billion dollars in prime contracts awarded by DOD during the month. The company received eight of the 119 contracts, each valued at $1 million or more, announced daily at the Pentagon, including the third largest contract awarded in October - $280.4 million from Naval Air Systems Command for the fiscal year 1995 procurement of 24 F/A-18C aircraft.
An item about helicopter industry employment and sales (DAILY, Oct. 30, page 172) inadvertently listed figures as being for Boeing and Sikorsky. The numbers refer to Boeing helicopter activities alone.
U.S. Air Force investigators couldn't conclusively determine the cause of the fatal May 10 crash of an F-117 aircraft near Zuni, N.M., but they surmised in a report on the accident that it was due to disorientation of the pilot. Disorientation is assumed to have played a role in two earlier fatal crashes of the plane, in 1986 and 1987.
HUGHES' DirecTV expects to activate its one-millionth subscriber today after just over one year of service, and said yesterday that the milestone will move DirecTV into the ranks of the country's top-ten largest multiple system cable operators by the end of 1995. "Our ability to reach one million subscribers in such a short time...confirms the overwhelming appetite for a digital alternative to traditional methods of programming delivery," said Eddy Hartenstein, president of Hughes' DirecTV Inc. subsidiary, in a prepared statement.
The Defense Dept. has bought excess electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) testing equipment and should implement management controls to stop the proliferation, DOD's Inspector General office found. "[M]ore than $70 million was invested for infrared and electro-optical resources to augment various non-MRTFB [Major Range and Test Facility Bases] while testing capacity at the MRTFB was underutilized," said the report, dated Oct. 19 and titled "Infrared and Electro-Optical Capabilities within DOD" states.
Spain signed an agreement to buy 51 new General Electric F404 fighter engines to power 24 surplus U.S. Navy McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets, GE reported yesterday. The deal - financed commercially - was expected (DAILY, Oct. 10, page 50), and marks the first in what could be a promising string of new sales for the enginemaker to power other used aircraft.
House Speaker Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has told House National Security Chairman Rep. Floyd Spence (R-S.C.) that the fiscal 1996 defense authorization conference must wind up by this weekend if the House is to act on it by mid- November. "We've got to wind up by this weekend to take advantage of a window of opportunity to get on the (House) floor," Spence told The DAILY yesterday. In practical terms, this would mean that a conference agreement would have to be reached today or tomorrow, he added.
The multi-service Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures program, one of only a few new electronic warfare projects, was cleared to enter engineering and manufacturing development on Oct. 26. Program officials were scheduled on Oct. 31 to brief Vice Adm. William Bowes, the U.S. Navy's acting service acquisition executive, on contractor proposals for IDECM, which is intended to fill the void in aircraft self- protection after cancellation of the Airborne Self-Protection Jammer. An award was expected to follow a couple of days later.
Japan's Science and Technology Agency (STA), the organization within the prime minister's office that sets space policy and oversees that nation's space and aerospace agencies, has reorganized to account for the higher level of international cooperation that will come when the International Space Station is orbited, the U.S. Commerce Dept. has reported.
Boeing is removing retiree benefits from its final proposal to its striking union because of the union's refusal to bargain as the job action nears the 30-day mark, said the company's senior human resources VP, Larry McKean. "Any decision about changes to health care benefits for current hourly retirees will be made solely at the company's discretion," he said, although the company's proposal for current employees represented by the International Association of Machinists remains unchanged.
U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command is soliciting industry for design and development of an Extended Range Guided Munition (ERGM) that would be more accurate than current five-inch rounds. The chosen source would have to deliver 70 engineering development models in 1998 and be able to produce up to 500 for delivery in 2000, NavSea said in a Nov. 1 Commerce Business Daily notice.
A chip set being developed for automatic target recognition and tracking by Lockheed Martin's Electronics&Missile company, Orlando, Fla., is also being considered for non-military applications in medicine, industrial production and information security, according to the company.
Canadian aerospace companies heaved a collective sigh of relief yesterday as Quebec voters turned down an independence referendum that would have separated half the country's aerospace industry from Canada. But they kept most of their celebrating to themselves as separatists blamed immigrants and big business for their defeat, which led to street fighting and at least one case of arson.
The U.S. Army should be a "hunter-gatherer of technologies," mixing and matching the best of commercial and military-unique technologies to meet the information needs of its front line forces in the coming century, according to a report issued yesterday by the National Research Council.
Russia has set a March 10, 1996, launch date for Priroda, the fourth and final module to be attached to the Mir space station, but it won't be completely activated when U.S. astronaut Shannon W. Lucid arrives a week an a half later for a five-month stay.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff probably boosted the case for an all-C-17 buy for the U.S. airlift requirement by coming out for an all-military solution, congressional sources said yesterday as the Defense Acquisition Board met to decide on strategic airlift production. One source who favors a mixed buy of McDonnell Douglas C-17s and militarized Boeing 747-400 freighters said "the vibes aren't good." Sources also allowed that McDonnell's $190 million flyaway cost in fiscal 1996 dollars is close to $157.4 million for the C-33.
A Japanese communications satellite that had to be repaired after it was damaged during shipment to its launch site has been delivered on-orbit to its owner after a "flawless" checkout, according to Space Systems/Loral, the builder of the spacecraft. The N-Star A satellite was designed to provide fixed and mobile communications services in Japan for 10 years. The satellite is now "up and running" for its owner, Nippon Telephone&Telegraph (NTT), SS/L said.
Britain's Ministry of Defense awarded Shorts Missile Systems about $58 million for more Starstreak close air defense missiles as the British Army accepted the Starstreak-firing Self-Propelled High-Velocity Missile (SP HVM) system into service. Roy McNulty, president of the Northern Ireland-based Shorts, said at the acceptance ceremony at Sennelager in Germany that the new order, the new status of the SP HVM, and the recent U.S./U.K. look at Starstreak in the air-to-air role all mean that "the system had tremendous future potential.
Hughes Aircraft Co. delivered the $1 billion Peace Shield air defense system six months ahead of schedule, winning a $50 million early delivery bonus, the contractor said Monday. Peace Shield, which will allow the Royal Saudi Air Force to control its airborne and ground resources to maintain airspace sovereignty, includes a central command and control center, five regional centers, 17 long range air-defense radars and other facilities. More than 1.2 million lines of software code are also involved.
Japan's Defense Agency plans to spend about $770 million on a variety of missiles in fiscal year 1996. JDA has budgeted $210 million for Patriot air defense missiles, and $192 million to modernize the army's Hawk surface-to-air missile. Japan's Technical Research and Development Institute next year is slated to begin development of a Hawk replacement. JDA also plans to modernize its Toshiba Type 81 short-range SAMs at a cost of $89.6 million in FY '96.
JAPAN AIR LINES said yesterday it will launch the stretched Boeing 777-300 with an order for five valued at $800 million. JAL also was a launch customer for the 777-200. The first 777-300 will go into service in 1998, JAL said.
The U.S. Army's plan to shift its upper tier missile defense program to engineering and manufacturing development is "cost effective," but management changes could save more than $117 million, according to the Defense Dept.'s Inspector General.
ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS, Minneapolis, will build rocket motors for the Hellfire II and Longbow Hellfire missiles under a contract from Lockheed Martin that is expected to total $25 million over the four year agreement period, Alliant said. Observers said the company beat Thiokol for the contract.
