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 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.
A $1.1 billion annual budget to develop chemical and biological weapons defenses for U.S. troops is being focused on dramatically improving a growing arsenal of detection devices, senior Army officials said March 3. Led by the Army's Soldier Biological and Chemical Defense Command (SBCDC), military leaders are focusing a five-year spending plan on developing more sophisticated sensors that can detect and identify harmful agents at standoff range, said Brig. Gen. Stephen Reeves, the Pentagon's program executive officer for chemical and biological defense.
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.
NEW DELHI - Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.'s plan to upgrade 40 MiG-27L fighters has prompted objections from the aircrafts' original manufacturer, RSK MiG of Russia.
March 2 - 4 -- American Society for Quality Aviation-Space & Defense Division Conference. Radisson at The Port Hotel, Cape Canaveral, Fla. Call (254) 776-3550 or go to www.asdnet.org/cqsdi. March 2 - 4 -- 11th Annual Conference on Quality in the Space and Defense Industries, Radisson at the Port Hotel & Conference Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla. For more information contact Lester Lemay at (254) 776-3550 or email [email protected].
Fifteen months after launching a 10-year, $19 billion system development and demonstration phase, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program is due for its first comprehensive design evaluation. The program's preliminary design review (PDR), a routine step in the acquisition process, is scheduled for late March, but early parts of the evaluation are already underway, JSF program spokeswoman Kathy Crawford said last week.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), who has proposed tax incentives to promote commercial investment in space, is trying to attach his legislation to the White House's broad tax cut package, which Congress soon will consider.
PRICE CUTS: The Air Force plans to ask F/A-22 communications contractor Northrop Grumman and engine supplier Pratt & Whitney to slash the cost of critical components for the aircraft, Air Force Secretary James Roche says. After acquiring TRW, Northrop Grumman now owns the F/A-22's communications suite, which includes an intra-flight datalink, Joint Tactical Information Distribution System link and an Identification Friend or Foe system. The Air Force is seeking broad cuts to squeeze more aircraft into a $43 billion budget cap.
BY ANY OTHER NAME: Despite its name, NASA's proposed Orbital Space Plane (OSP) won't necessarily be a winged vehicle that lands like an airplane, according to O'Keefe. The recently released level one requirements for the vehicle (DAILY, Feb. 20) don't specify a landing configuration for prospective OSP contractors. "You can meet [those requirements] with any exotic design you'd like," O'Keefe says.
TANKER THREAT: Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says he probably will oppose an Air Force proposal to lease 100 Boeing 767 tankers unless it includes a plan for training, basing and maintenance. Inhofe says Congress needs to know how those matters will be addressed "before we get into something as far-reaching as this program." The Defense Department is expected to finish its review of the Air Force proposal within the next few weeks before deciding whether to submit it to Congress for consideration.
MONITORING: NASA should do a better job of tracking inventions, discoveries, improvements and innovations made by its contractors, the agency's inspector general says in a new report. NASA contractors are required to report such discoveries so they can be made available to the general public, but the IG says NASA did not follow up with contractors on six of the 11 active contracts and one of the four completed contracts that it reviewed. "As a result, the agency could not be assured that new technologies ...
HANDLING UCAV-N: Northrop Grumman is exploring several methods of controlling the Navy's Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV-N) after it lands on the carrier deck, according to X-47A Pegasus Program Manager Dave Mazur. "We think landing on the carrier is the trickiest part, but 45 seconds later, there potentially is going to be another airplane landing right behind it.
The new emphasis on military mobility is expected to drive up the demand for military turboshaft engines over the next 10 years, according to a report from Forecast International/DMS. The report, entitled "The Market for Aviation Turboshaft Engines, 2003-2012," says market demand should generate the need for 11,042 military turboshaft engines.
Wars arising in the next decade could closely reflect the themes that characterized the three largest conflicts of the last 10 years - stealth attack, precision bombing, long-range operations and coalition politics, according to a strategic analysis by a Northrop Grumman think tank released Feb. 28. If realized, the long-promised integration of data streams flowing across the battlefield will revolutionize war planning and drive fundamental changes to the chain of command, according to the year-long study by the Northrop Grumman Analysis Center.
SAT ALTERNATIVE: The Air Force is considering using the Global Hawk as an alternative to low-band satellites, says Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper. "I predict that we're going to see [Global Hawks] do a lot more than this reconnaissance and surveillance mission," Jumper says. Increasing launch costs are driving the Air Force to study the relay capability of high-altitude drones.
The Boeing Co. has donated a technology patent to Vanderbilt University, the company said Feb. 27. The patent covers a particle-separation technology originally developed for use in outer space, but readapted for efficient ground-based operation. The technology could contribute to the development of nanotechnology, or the creation of materials through the control of matter at the molecular level, Boeing said. Boeing's technology originally was developed to separate cells, proteins and enzymes in space, for pharmaceutical applications.
A series of pre-disaster e-mails debating the consequences of possible tile damage to the shuttle Columbia demonstrate a healthy level of debate and don't necessarily indicate a need for changes in procedures covering the voicing of safety concerns, according to NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe.
An American lawmaker angered by France's Iraq policy has introduced a bill that would bar the U.S. Defense Department from participating in this year's Paris Air Show. The measure, introduced Feb. 27, is the second shot that Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) has taken at the air show in the past few weeks. But unlike the sense-of-Congress resolution that Saxton introduced Feb. 13 to discourage U.S. armed forces, companies and private citizens from participating in the air show - which remains pending - his latest proposal will be binding if it becomes law.
SWEET SPOT: Although the trend is still toward larger satellites, the demand for some types of medium-sized satellites may continue, according to Mark Albrecht, president of International Launch Services. Most senior satellite executives five or six years ago felt satellites would keep getting larger, he says. "But I think that with experience, there is a point at which there are diminishing marginal returns, and I think we've found it in terms of operating larger satellites," Albrecht says. Problems with operating larger satellites include high insurance costs.
LONDON - A contract awarded Feb. 27 by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MOD) to a consortium led by General Dynamics U.K. was the first in a new program to establish defense technology centers (DTCs) in Britain. The DTCs are intended to benefit the MOD as sources of expertise in areas of science and technology. Each DTC will have customized structures and funding arrangements. The MOD will provide up to 5 million pounds ($7.9 million) a year for up to six years, with the consortia contributing up to half of the funding in cash or kind.
CONSOLIDATION: The Boeing Co. will consolidate all Delta IV launch vehicle manufacturing and assembly in Decatur, Ala., the company said Feb. 28. Delta work now done in Pueblo, Colo., will transfer to the production and testing facility in Decatur, a move that should be complete by mid-2004. The consolidation will allow for greater operating efficiency, Boeing said.
