The U.S. Navy is pursuing agreements aimed at expanding international cooperation in several areas, including aviation, missile defense and ship design, a service official said March 30. The efforts underscore the Navy's desire to share the costs, risks and benefits of developing weapon systems, said Rino Pivirotto, acting executive director of the Navy International Programs Office.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Most of the damage sustained by U.S. Army helicopters returning from Afghanistan and Iraq was caused by harsh environmental conditions in those two countries, according to the official charged with restoring the aircraft. Army Col. Ray Woolery, aviation reset project manager at Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) in Huntsville, Ala., said "at least 90 percent" of the degradation consists of such things as airframe corrosion and engines clogged by dust and sand.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - "The whole character" of difficulties that plague the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) is under review, according to Adm. James O. Ellis Jr., commander of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM). "You need to understand the technical challenges, you need to identify and appropriately fence reserves," which can be difficult in tight budget times and can lead to forced tradeoffs, Ellis told reporters March 30 at the National Space Symposium here.
Boeing Co.'s work on the Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) system for the Air Force's E-10A program is leading it to take a broader look at such systems, according to Hank Davis, director of horizontal integration for the company's Network Centric Operations Programs and Technologies business in Huntington Beach, Calif.
ENGINE TEST: Northrop Grumman Corp. has developed and successfully tested a Reaction Control Subsystem engine that could be used in next-generation space launch vehicles, the company said March 30. The engine was developed by the company's Space Technology sector under a 2001 contract from NASA's Next Generation Launch Technology program.
The U.S. Air Force has formed a task force to prioritize investments and improvements for its Predator unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to Maj. Gen. Ronald Sams, director of ISR for air and space operations at Air Force headquarters. The task force was formed roughly a year ago at the prompting of the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. John Jumper, and Air Force Secretary James Roche, according to Sams. Sams leads the task force, which is called "Task Force Arnold."
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) will manufacture composite launch tube assemblies for the Javelin anti-armor weapon system under a $13 million contract from the Raytheon-Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture team, the company said March 30. The launch tube assemblies are built at ATK Tactical Systems, Rocket Center, W.Va. Most of the assemblies built under the contract will be for foreign military sales, ATK said. Production will begin in April and continue through September 2005.
The current Department of Defense study on forcible entry options (FEO) and the new concept of sea basing could change the planned mix of Navy ships, a Congressional Research Service defense analyst said March 30. FEO and sea basing, which calls for directing and supporting expeditionary operations ashore from bases at sea, could prompt the Navy to buy fewer amphibious ships and more Maritime Prepositioning Force-type (MPF) ships, CRS analyst Ronald O'Rourke said in written testimony to the House Armed Services Committee's projection forces panel.
Four homeland security companies were featured March 30 at a Washington conference showcasing investment opportunities in homeland defense companies. Markland Technologies Inc. of Ridgefield, Conn., founded in 2002 to focus on homeland security, has an automated international border crossing device called the Vehicle Stopping System, which stops cars attempting to speed through border check lines, said Ken Ducey, Markland Technologies' president and chief financial officer.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Boeing are mulling their options following an accident in which the X-50A Dragonfly unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was "damaged extensively" in a crash. An investigation team has been formed to look into the mishap, which took place at roughly 7:30 a.m. MST March 30 at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz. The Dragonfly was attempting to hover at 10-20 feet above the ground when the accident occurred, according to Boeing spokesman Doug Kinneard.
A bill to speed the research and development of missile defense systems for commercial aircraft would "make clear that while the Department of Homeland Security is conducting research and development of missile defense equipment for commercial aircraft, interim solutions to the threat posed by MANPADS should be taken," said its sponsor, Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's aviation subcommittee, and Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), introduced the bill March 30.
NEW DELHI - Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) plans to replace the avionics on its Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), which has led to an initial order worth $33 million to Israel Aircraft Industries. India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) supplied the avionics for the first 40 ALH. Future helicopters will be equipped with IAI-built avionics. The avionics package for new ALHs also will include new navigation systems and forward-looking infrared. India's military plans to buy more than 250 of the aircraft. Marketing
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla has refused to comment on reports that Boeing wants the equivalent of $37 million in compensation for pulling out of struggling aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody.
A deal to lease and buy KC-767 tankers from the Boeing Co. did "depart from the normal procurement procedures," but the goal was to accelerate the acquisition of the tankers, the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. John H. Jumper, told the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee March 30. "The advantage of the lease decreases with each year," Jumper told subcommittee members.
The Boeing Co. sold its Boeing Digital Cinema assets to Access Integrated Technologies Inc. of Morristown, N.J., the company said March 30. Boeing Digital Cinema technology allows films and other media to be sent directly to theaters using satellites or other transmission methods (DAILY, June 24, 2002).
SBSS: A Boeing-Ball Aerospace team will develop and initially operate the Space-Based Surveillance System (SBSS) for the U.S. Air Force under a $189 million contract, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems said March 30. The SBSS detects and tracks space objects, including satellites and orbital debris. The contract calls for the companies to develop and launch a satellite and provide the ground segment. The team also will be responsible for mission planning, data processing and operation for one year, after which the program will be turned over to the Air Force.
Orbital Recovery Ltd. has approved production of its ConeXpress space tug to begin this September, in anticipation of a first launch in 2007, the company announced March 29. The primary mission of the ConeXpress Orbital Recovery System (ORS) would be to attach itself to a host satellite to maintain its proper orbit after the satellite's onboard fuel has run out. It also could be used to rescue spacecraft stranded in the wrong orbit, according to the company.
Flight tests of the Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) upgrade system are underway for use on three U.S. Army Special Operations Forces helicopter fleets. An MH-60K, MH-60L and MH47E were fitted with the system at the Bluegrass Army Depot, Ky. Two of the aircraft flew to Nashville for the Army Aviation Association of America's conference last week. Flight tests are expected to continue through the summer and the system is expected to become operational on the fleets by the end of the year.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Although the U.S. Army has not yet finished requirements for the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter it plans to acquire, there is no doubt it will want an aircraft that has a high degree of survivability, transportability and connectivity with other forces, according to a service official.
MOSCOW - Gregory Olsen, CEO of New Jersey-based Sensors Unlimited Inc., plans to become the latest "space tourist" to fly to the International Space Station on a Russian Soyuz vehicle. Olsen is scheduled to fly to the station in April 2005, according to Space Adventures of Arlington, Va., which brokered the deal and also organized the space flights of the previous private station visitors, Dennis Tito and Mark Shuttleworth.
