Members of a presidential panel studying the U.S. aerospace industry told a congressional committee March 12 that developing new kinds of propulsion could dramatically improve the industry's overall prospects. "In both air and space, propulsion is a major area where research could produce some dramatic changes," said Robert Walker, chairman of the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry.
NEW DELHI - India's troubled Trishul missile will remain a technology demonstrator and will not be produced for the military, the government said. George Fernandes, the defense minister, told parliament March 12 that "while a number of complex technologies and [a] sea-skimming capability have been established, the missile still needs to be proved for all its capabilities." Some of the missile program's technologies could be used in future projects, Fernandes said.
U.S. discussions with France and Germany on the removal of barriers to industrial cooperation on defense products and services continue, despite the disagreement between the countries over Iraq policy, according to a senior Defense Department official. "We still have a dialogue with the French and the Germans," said Alfred Volkman, director of international cooperation in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisitions, Technology and Logistics.
A Florida-based subcontractor is assembling the first of four AC-130H models being upgraded to the AC-130U "Spooky II" configuration, but proposed weapons upgrades for the AC-130U fleet still are on the shelf. Boeing is leading a three-year, $450 million effort to upgrade four of the Vietnam-era AC-130H models, half the existing fleet, to the U configuration. The upgrade would add a 25mm gun and advanced sensors, including a synthetic aperture radar and navigation aided by the Global Positioning System.
NASA and the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry are joining forces in fiscal year 2004 on a new initiative to achieve routine UAV operations in the national airspace system (NAS) within a few years, although it remains to be seen how much of this complex problem will be tackled at once and how much it will cost.
The Defense Department's fiscal 2004 budget request would go a long way toward helping U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) ease its shortage of high-demand rotorcraft, according to Air Force Gen. Charles Holland, commander of USSOCOM.
BOEING, Brussels, Belgium Joris M. Vos has been named president for European Union and NATO relations. COMPUTER SCIENCES CORP., El Segundo, Calif. Mike Laphen has been named president and chief operating officer, effective April 1, replacing Edward P. Boykin, who will retire later this year. DIMENSIONS INTERNATIONAL, Alexandria, Va.
Although it was only a prototype model less than two years ago, the Army is rushing a blue force tracking device into the field after proving the technology during combat operations in Afghanistan, an Army space programs officer said March 12. The Grenadier Beyond line of sight Reporting And Tracking (BRAT) device, built by General Dynamics Decision Systems, began as a Force XXI initiative in 2000. It was expected to mature into low-rate initial production within two years.
NEW DELHI - India has built cryogenic engines for its Geostationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV), Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told parliament on March 12. India's indigenously produced cryogenic rocket engine, which has been under development since 1993, crossed a major milestone in September with a successful ground test-firing, which lasted for 1,000 seconds, longer than it would need to be fired in flight (DAILY, Sept. 30, 2002).
WORK RESUMES: Boeing has resumed development of its ultra-long-range 777 aircraft, the 777-200LR (longer range), the company said March 12. Work on the aircraft was halted after the aviation market downturn following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when engineers had completed only about 10 percent of the design. "We believe there is a strong market for both the 777-200LR and 777-300ER [extended range] airplanes," Boeing 777 Longer Range Program Manager Lars Andersen said in a statement.
A newly released video of the shuttle Columbia taken shortly after its launch Jan. 16 offers a better view of debris impacting the underside of the orbiter's left wing than previous footage, although the root cause of the Feb. 1 disaster remains "elusive," according to investigation chairman Adm. Hal Gehman.
Turkey's military has defined a list of equipment and weapons it may need to buy under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system pending the outcome of a potential war against Iraq. Faruk Logoglu, Turkey's ambassador to the U.S., said March 11 that the military's requirements are now "more defined," a result of months of internal discussions and negotiations with the U.S. Turkey's needs should be well-understood now by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which administers the FMS system, he said.
CLARIFICATION: An article in the March 11 edition of The DAILY should have said that an Atlas IIAS booster delivered to Vandenberg Air Force Base is not the last booster, but will be the last to carry an Air Force payload. At least three commercial missions for the Atlas IIAS have been announced for 2003-2004.
Executives of French aerospace companies are calling for aggressive measures to curb U.S. penetration into the European Union's $135.5 billion defense market. Annual French aerospace sales dropped 2 percent in 2002 to 24.57 billion euros ($26.78 billion), according to results unveiled last week by the Groupement Des Industries Francaises Aeronautiques et Spatiales (GIFAS).
MOAB TEST: The U.S. Air Force on March 11 conducted the first live test of the 21,000-pound Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb. The conventional weapon, a follow-on to the 15,000-pound "Daisy Cutter" used in Afghanistan (DAILY, March 7), detonated on a range at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., after being dropped by a C-130. It wasn't immediately clear if the test was successful.
The Missile Defense Agency plans to award contracts in September for about $150 million worth of items that will be used on future aircraft for the Airborne Laser (ABL) program, according to a program spokesman. The three contracts will be worth about $50 million each and are for long-lead items, or those that take a relatively long time to build. The first contract is expected to go to Lockheed Martin, which is responsible for the ABL's optical system, including mirrors, coatings and windows.
Boeing's Delta IV rocket completed the first Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) mission for the Air Force March 10 when it successfully placed a Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) spacecraft into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The Delta IV Medium launch vehicle lifted off at 7:59 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., deploying the spacecraft, DSCS III A3, approximately 42 minutes later.
ACQUISITION: Lockheed Martin has acquired some assets of Leigh Aerosystems of Carlsbad, Calif., which the company said would expand its capability in the strike weapons marketplace. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Leigh Aerospace builds the LongShot Wing Kit that can be attached to "dumb" bombs to convert them to standoff munitions, increase their accuracy and range, according to Lockheed Martin. The kit consists of a Global Positioning System-based guidance and targeting system and a pair of flight controlling wings.
Rising federal deficits don't necessarily inhibit the growth of defense spending, according to a leading Wall Street analyst. Instead, rising defense budgets appear to drive the growth of deficits, at least in the short term, according to Joseph Nadol, an aerospace and defense analyst and vice president with JP Morgan. He spoke at the Strategic Research Institute's 2003 Defense & Aerospace Investor, Supplier and Customer Conference-East, sponsored by the investment banking firms of Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin and Philpott Ball & Werner.
Recent remarks from the heads of the Boeing Co. and BAE Systems about a possible merger probably are designed to generate feedback from aerospace and defense industry observers and regulators, according to Jon Kutler of Quarterdeck Investment Partners. "I don't interpret any cross-border deals, including the one between Boeing and BAE, as being imminent," said Kutler, the chairman and CEO of the Los Angeles-based investment banking services company. "I just see this as part of the groundwork being laid for deals of that sort."
DISPLAY WORK: L-3 Communications will provide cockpit displays for the F-15K Eagle under a contract from the Boeing Co. worth more than $7 million, the company said March 11. The company will design, qualify and build four-inch by four-inch Flat Panel Up-Front Control displays for the F-15K, which Boeing will supply to South Korea (DAILY, April 22, 2002).
