AWARDS: Six technologies will be inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame this year, according to the Space Foundation. The inductees, derived from space technology, include a Northrop Grumman technology for cell phone power amplifiers and an ATK Thiokol Propulsion device to disarm landmines. For a list of the inductees, go to www.spacetechhalloffame.org/news.cfm.
In an attempt to repair an acknowledged and costly weakness, Air Force acquisition officers are in the final weeks of a three-month effort to elevate systems engineering principles in all procurement programs. Marvin Sambur, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, has directed all program executive officers (PEOs) to report back by early April, according to an internal memorandum obtained by Aerospace Daily.
Engineered Support Systems Inc. (ESSI) plans to acquire Technical and Management Services Corp. (TAMSCO), which provides information technology logistics services and telecommunications integration for the Department of Defense. St. Louis-based Engineered Support, which builds support and electronics equipment for the military, will pay $66.5 million for TAMSCO, subject to some price adjustments that may be made after the deal is closed.
With nearly 14 percent of the space shuttle Columbia's mass recovered so far, members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) are attempting to find the point where hot gas first infiltrated the orbiter's structure. "What we will be doing is trying to follow the heat," CAIB member Roger Tetrault said during a briefing in Houston March 4. "We have more questions than answers right now, but we're getting smarter fast, and I believe that there's a very good chance that we will ... be able to localize the breach."
ONE BLOCK DOWN: The Air Force's Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) program successfully completed all Block 1 demonstrations Feb. 28, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). During Block 1, the UCAV program completed 48 discrete laboratory, simulation and flight demonstrations. The final Block 1 activities were two flights that verified the safe operation of the UCAV's weapons bay door at altitudes of 35,000 feet and speeds up to Mach 0.75.
Lockheed Martin, Gibbs & Cox, Bollinger Shipyards and Marinette Marine will team to compete for the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, Lockheed Martin said March 4. "We're really satisfied with the kind of team we've put together here," said a company spokesman. "... As we go forward, we're expecting to have several other additions along the way."
A funding dispute is preventing the Department of Homeland Security from reviving a satellite-based program designed to aid in detecting forest fires, Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) said March 4.
Computer Sciences Corp. will support the design and acquisition of ships for the U.S. Navy's LHA amphibious assault ship replacement program, the company said March 4. The five-year task order is valued at $96 million if all options are exercised, the company said. The Navy is expected to award a contract in 2007 for construction of the next-generation amphibious assault ships, which will replace the existing, and aging, fleet of five LHA-1 class ships. CSC will provide engineering, engineering management and facilities support services.
The Missile Defense Agency plans to conduct nine flight tests from fiscal 2006 to FY '08 to help it develop a test bed for a ground-based interceptor system that can shoot down missiles in their boost phase, according to FY '04 budget documents MDA recently submitted to Congress.
NEW DELHI - The Indian air force (IAF) inducted its first mid-air refueling aircraft, an Ilyushin IL-78 bought from Uzbekistan, on March 3. The IL-78 was inducted into a new Agra-based squadron, "Battle Cry." The IAF is buying six IL-78s from Uzbekistan (DAILY, Sept. 5, 2002). A second IL-78 is slated to be inducted by the end of this month and the remaining four will be inducted by the end of the year, according to a senior air force official.
Spending on homeland and security and defense is projected to increase by $1.2 billion through 2005, according to a report from the business development firm Equity International. State and local government spending for homeland security over the same period is expected to remain flat.
The level of confidence investors had in the defense industry from early 2000 to mid 2002 is unlikely to return unless defense spending and weapons modernization increases after a war with Iraq, according to a March 3 report from Merrill Lynch. "Defense has been a frustrating group because while fundamentals look decent, [stock] valuations have fallen," senior aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan writes in the report.
General Dynamics said March 3 it has completed the acquisition of General Motors (GM) Defense, based in London, Ontario. General Dynamics announced last December it was acquiring the company for $1.1 billion in cash (DAILY, Dec. 20, 2002). The acquisition gives General Dynamics additional expertise in the design, development and production of lightweight armored combat vehicles, which are expected to play a major role in the deployment of the Army's Future Combat Systems.
Northrop Grumman said March 3 it has completed the sale of its TRW Automotive business, acquired during the December 2002 takeover of TRW Inc., to affiliates of the Blackstone Group for $4.7 billion. The move marks the end of Northrop Grumman's plans to sell or spin off the Automotive business while retaining control of TRW's Space & Electronics and Systems divisions.
PRAGUE - Three upgraded Mi-24 combat helicopters have been delivered to the Czech Republic by Russia as partial payment of debts, Czech air force spokesman Petr Sykora told the DAILY March 3. The helicopters arrived by transport aircraft at Prerov air force base in south Moravia a month ago, but details have only now been released. Four more Mi-24s will be delivered to Prerov this summer, Sykora said. Some of the Czech army's older Mi-24s are to be decommissioned once the remaining Mi-24s have been delivered.
Despite the progress that's been made in implementing the recommendations of the Rumsfeld-led Space Commission, there still is no "clear champion" for space at the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), according to former commission member Robert Davis.
MOTOR WORK: American Superconductor Corp. will lead a team to design and build a prototype 36.5 megawatt superconductor propulsion motor for electric warships, the company said March 3.
The Air Force unveiled plans late last week to modify the GBU-28 guidance and tail kits to accommodate an upgrade package for the BLU-113 penetrator warhead. Raytheon, the bomb kit's current supplier, will be awarded a sole-source contract to make up to 350 new GBU-28s in support of the Pre-planned Product Improvement program for BLU-113, according to an Air Force acquisition notice posted Feb. 28.
PRAGUE - BAE Systems is paying a $10,000 fine imposed by Czech officials for advertising its Gripen fighters in breach of regulations banning the advertising of weapons.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is funding three contractors to design "morphing" wings that radically alter their shape in flight, allowing for a new class of small, multi-mission unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Through the Morphing Aircraft Structures (MAS) program, DARPA hopes to enable a transition in the military from "large expensive systems of piloted aircraft to smaller systems of lethal, autonomous aircraft with combined roles," according to the agency.
CACI BUY: CACI International said it has completed the purchase of Applied Technology Solutions of Arlington, Va., an information technology company with clients in the U.S. intelligence community.
NEW DELHI - India's defense budget would increase slightly in fiscal year 2004 under a budget presented Feb. 28 by Finance Minister Jaswant Singh. The government plans to spend $13.6 billion for defense in that period, compared with $13.54 billion for fiscal 2003. As a percentage of the overall budget, defense would represent 14.8 percent, down from 15.6 percent in FY '03.
