Goodrich Corp. announced Jan. 29 it was selling its Avionics Systems business to L-3 Communications Corp. for $188 million cash. The sale is part of the company's push to become "a systems supplier, not a component supplier," a Goodrich spokesman said. "We want to focus on markets where we can be either number one or number two."
The chairman of the House Transportation Committee's Coast Guard panel said Jan. 29 that he plans to push to speed up the Coast Guard's Deepwater modernization program, a change he believes could save billions of dollars.
NEW DELHI - India and Iran agreed to step up their defense cooperation during Iranian President Mohammed Khatami's visit here this week. In a preliminary meeting earlier this month, officials of the two countries agreed that India would maintain and upgrade Iran's MiG-29 fleet. India also will train Iranian pilots and provide spare parts for Iran's Sea King helicopters.
The House Appropriations Committee announced major organizational changes on Jan. 29, including several new appointments to the defense and NASA subcommittees and the creation of a subcommittee to fund the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Committee Chairman C.W. "Bill" Young (R-Fla.) said Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) will replace retired Rep. Joe Skeen (R-N.M.) on the defense panel. Wicker's congressional district includes Columbus Air Force Base, which trains pilots.
LONDON - Norway announced new partnership agreements with the four-nation Eurofighter Partner Companies (EPCs) on Jan. 28, indicating renewed interest in the Eurofighter Typhoon for the Norwegian air force. Norway will negotiate with the partner companies - Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, EADS-CASA and EADS-Deutschland - on general terms and conditions for future cooperation with Norwegian industry. Separate contracts would follow between Norwegian companies and the EPCs.
The drop in net profit for Northrop Grumman Corp. in 2002 largely reflects changes in accounting procedures to reflect the real value of some assets and charges for discontinued operations. Net profit for the company fell from $427 million in 2001 to $64 million in 2002 (DAILY, Jan. 29). The drop largely reflects a rule change passed by the Securities and Exchange Commission dictating how companies record charges for goodwill and other intangible assets.
NASA has selected nine research proposals for additional funding under Phase 2 of its 2001 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, the agency announced Jan. 28. Phase 2 continues the development of the most promising projects selected in Phase 1, and can include up to $500,000 covering a two-year performance period. The combined award total for the nine Phase 2 contracts is expected to be $4.5 million, according to NASA.
AAI CORP., Hunt Valley, Md. Frederick M. Strader has been named president and chief operating officer. Richard R. Erkeneff, who has been president and CEO since 1992, will continue as CEO. AMERICAN MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, Fairfax, Va. John Hillen has joined the company as senior vice president to lead its defense and intelligence practice. BAE SYSTEMS, London Peter Mason has been appointed to the board of directors. BALL CORP., Broomfield, Colo.
SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH: Two U.S. Air Force satellites were successfully deployed Jan. 29. A Boeing Delta II carried GPS IIR-8, which will join the Global Positioning System fleet, and XSS-10, an Air Force Research Laboratory demonstration microsatellite.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) proved their value for use in future submarine operations during the Navy's recent "Giant Shadow" experiment in the Bahamas, according to Capt. Bill Toti, the experiment's joint force maritime component commander.
Astrium will design and build the Venus Express spacecraft for the European Space Agency (ESA) under an 82.4 million euro ($90.6 million) contract, the company said Jan. 28. Venus Express, which would be the first European spacecraft to visit Venus, is scheduled to launch in November 2005 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The program has cut costs by reusing the design of the Mars Express spacecraft and spare instruments from that program and the Rosetta spacecraft.
Two U.S. Air Force satellites are slated to launch Jan. 29 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a Boeing Delta II rocket. The booster is carrying GPS IIR-8, which will replace SVN-22 in the Global Positioning System satellite constellation, and XSS-10, an Air Force Research Laboratory experimental microsatellite. XSS-10 is to test autonomous and manual control of the satellite, performa autonomous navigation and visually inspect the Delta II's second stage, according to Boeing.
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is calling for industry to submit designs for a new vertical-lift aircraft to replace the aging VH-3D presidential helicopter. The VH-3D is a twin engine, all-weather helicopter flown by Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), which is responsible for transporting the president and other heads of state. Originally derived from the Sikorsky S-61 series, the first version of the VH-3D was flown by the Navy nearly 40 years ago.
MAVERICKS: The U.S. Air Force has awarded Raytheon Co. a $38.9 million Foreign Military Sales contract to supply AGM-65 infrared Maverick missiles, trainers and spares to Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain, the company said Jan. 28. Work is to be completed by December 2004.
COMMUNICATIONS: Thales Communications is defining and testing communication systems under two study contracts awarded late last year by the French defense procurement agency, the company said Jan. 28. The first contract is for development of a high-speed radio demonstrator, which could allow for faster communication rates for naval and land forces. The second is for the definition and testing of software for tri-service radios, which are to be compatible with the U.S. military's planned Joint Tactical Radio System by using the Software Common Architecture standard.
Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. are nearing the end of work on the first of two concept advanced development phases in the Navy's Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program, and are expected to begin efforts on the second phase next month, a Naval Air Systems Command spokesman said.
Two glitches that hampered the V-22 Osprey's shipboard flight tests earlier this month are not considered serious problems for the at-risk program, a Navy official says. An oil leak and a warning light on Aircraft No. 10 cost the program precious hours of flight tests aboard the USS Iwo Jima during the week of Jan. 13.
Raytheon officials said Jan. 28 they are exploring new ways of using their Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), including pairing it with a different kind of radar and deploying it on land instead of just at sea. "We need to be innovative," said Rick Yuse, vice president of the missile defense business area for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. "One of the things we're doing is looking at how we can integrate some of the systems and components that we use from other parts of missile defense to solve some specific problems."
House and Senate panels are gearing up to consider legislation that could influence the modernization of the nation's air traffic control system and authorize future funding for the FAA's research and development activities. The House Science Committee likely will hold hearings on FAA authorization legislation sometime in March, according to a committee spokeswoman.
C4ISR: BAE Systems C4ISR will provide two more Dagger and Talon high-capacity satellite communications systems for the United Kingdom's Defence Communications Services Agency, the company said Jan. 28. Dagger is mounted on a Land Rover and Talon is a man-portable deployable terminal.
