NEW DELHI - Russian officials have assured India that the planned upgrading of the Indian Navy's Ilyushin IL-38 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft will begin in the next two months. Work on configuring the first of three IL-38s to the IL-38-SD configuration should be completed within six months, said an Indian navy official. Work on the two remaining IL-38s should be finished by next year.
SDS INTERNATIONAL will help the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Warfighter Training Division in Mesa, Ariz., develop a satellite simulation training system, the company said. The work will be performed by SDS International's Advanced Technologies Division of Orlando, Fla., and will build on a previous company contract to develop the software for a prototype Satellite Operations Simulation System (SOpsSim). Under the new contract, the company will integrate the SOpsSim with existing Air Force software that can improve satellite and space operations training.
The U.S. Navy has identified at least two options to develop a sea-based capability to intercept ballistic missiles in their terminal phase, a Navy official said March 27. One approach calls for studying the possibility of integrating the planned Pegasus missile with Navy ship systems, said John Young, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. Pegasus is under development as an extended range version of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile, a land-based, terminal phase interceptor.
RAPTOR DAB: The Defense Acquisition Board met March 27 to consider Lot 3 production of the F/A-22 Raptor. The meeting follows recent General Accounting Office reports that say the program's cost is rising and DOD should scale back its acquisition plans (DAILY, March 13, 18). Results of the DAB meeting have not been released.
Aiming to bolster international border security and anti-terrorism programs, the Administration's supplemental budget request delivered to Congress earlier this week is proposing a 50 percent jump in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) funds in fiscal 2003. The bulk of the proposed funding, totaling nearly $2.06 billion, already is earmarked for programs that could contribute to the war on terrorism, Lt. Gen. Tome Walters, head of the U.S. Defense Security and Cooperation Agency (DSCA) told The DAILY in an interview.
Raytheon Co. announced March 27 it has completed its acquisition of Solipsys Corp. Raytheon officials said the acquisition strengthens the company's portfolio of integrated technologies used across missile defense, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, precision engagement and homeland security programs. Solipsys, based in Laurel, Md., specializes in the production of software for data fusion, tracking and display. The company will become part of Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems division.
ENGINEERED SUPPORT SYSTEMS will repair and upgrade 14 AN/APQ-159(V)-5 radar systems for the F-5 fighter program of an unidentified country in the Americas, the company said. The multi-million contract for the work was awarded by Derco Aerospace. It includes major radar components, test equipment and logistics support, which is intended to extend the radar system's life through 2015.
ICAP ASSESSED: The U.S. Navy has completed the operational assessment series of test flights of Northrop Grumman's Increased Capability (ICAP) III electronic attack weapon system one month ahead of schedule, the company said March 27. Successful completion of that assessment is a critical step leading to low-rate initial production of ICAP III. That decision is expected this spring, Northrop Grumman said. A team led by Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector developed the system for the EA-6B Prowler and the EA-18.
The services and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) must deliver a plan for the proposed joint Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) program office to the Office of the Secretary of Defense by mid-April that would establish the office by the end of the year.
Demonstrations show that an autonomous unmanned aircraft flown from the ground could be integrated into controlled airspace with manned aircraft, Boeing said March 26. The demonstrations, carried out under the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) program, used a T-33 trainer modified as a UCAV surrogate aircraft, according to the company.
In a sharply critical report, U.S. Defense Department inspectors found record-keeping errors that amounted to nearly one-third of the total value of supplies and spare parts at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC), Ga. The Pentagon's Inspector General (IG) estimates in a new report that $30.2 million worth of materiel at the maintenance center either is lost or hasn't been counted. The center keeps about $93.1 million of supplies on hand to repair Air Force aircraft, including F-15s and C-5s.
Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio will conduct foam impact testing on space shuttle components, including heat-resistant tiles and the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) wing edge, as part of the investigation into the loss of the shuttle Columbia.
NASA, Washington, D.C. Patricia L. Dunnington has been named chief information officer. NOAA, Washington, D.C. Mary M. Glackin has been named assistant administrator of NOAA program planning and integration. NORTHROP GRUMMAN, Los Angeles Albert F. Myers has been elected corporate vice president for strategy and technology. James L. Sanford will succeed Myers as corporate vice president and treasurer. NCI INFORMATION, McLean, Va.
More analysis will have to be done before the International Space Station can be configured to support more than three crewmembers, according to a senior NASA engineer. Expanding the station's crew is a goal of many in Congress and in the science community. One problem, said Jeffrey Arend, program manager for ISS integration and analysis at the Johnson Space Center, is that additional crewmembers will require additional systems on the spacecraft.
The U.S. Air Force plans to hold an industry day at Langley Air Force Base, Va., on April 10 to distribute the latest draft concept of operations (CONOPS) for its proposed Command and Control Constellation (C2C) and solicit input from industry.
The war with Iraq is not likely to be a windfall for defense contractors, according to several credit and financial analysts covering the aerospace and defense industry. "Defense contractors will likely see very limited benefit from either a short or longer war scenario," senior aerospace and defense analyst Christopher Mecray of Deutsche Bank said in a March 26 report. One reason, Mecray said, is that the U.S. military already has stockpiled substantial amounts of expendable weapons, including bombs, missiles and other munitions.
The U.S. military is using more than 10 types of unmanned aerial vehicles to support operations in Iraq, more than three times the number used in Afghanistan, a defense official said March 26.
The U.S. State Department has approved the first implementation agreement submitted under a fledgling export control reform called the Global Project Authorization (GPA), a key victory for the international component of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. State Department and program officials touted the fact that the approval came March 24, a day before a required five-day review period closed, but the move caps a reform process that began three years ago.
UAV WORK: DRS Technologies will produce Neptune maritime UAV systems for the U.S. Navy under new orders worth $5 million, the company said March 26. The five-foot-long Neptunes can be launched from small surface vessels or from land and are intended to assist tactical military operations and civil applications where runways aren't available, the company said.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper said March 26 that he wants to re-evaluate the military's airlift needs in light of its high operational tempo over the past year and a half. The Mobility Requirements Study-2005 (MRS-05), released in early 2001, raised the minimum airlift requirement from 49.7 million ton miles per day (MTM/D) to 54.5 MTM/D (DAILY, Jan. 26, 2001). But the study was completed before the U.S. became engaged in a global war on terrorism that has greatly increased demands for moving troops and cargo.
The Bush Administration's fiscal 2003 supplemental appropriations request contains $3.7 billion for munitions, $1.1 billion for military procurement and research and development, and $1.7 billion for classified defense programs, according to documents sent to Congress March 25.
An autonomous attack technology program has emerged this month as the top armament development priority for the U.S. Air Force, yet its future may hinge on the insertion of a "man-in-the-loop" capability. Although Air Force support is growing for a new cruise missile capable of autonomous attack, the operations command may demand a dual-mode system that can switch between autonomous and "man-in-the-loop" targeting, said Randy Bigum, vice president for strike weapons at Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control.
