AVIONICS: Rockwell Collins will provide the avionics for 25 new Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft for Independence Air, the company said March 31. Delivery is scheduled to begin this year. The contract includes options for an additional 50 aircraft, Rockwell Collins said.
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.
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.
NASA achieved the fastest flight of an air-breathing aircraft March 27 with the second flight attempt of its unmanned X-43A "Hyper-X" demonstrator, which reached speeds above Mach 7, according to the agency. "We can claim an air-breathing powered record today, no doubt about it," NASA Langley Hyper-X propulsion lead Larry Huebner said in a press conference March 27. "Bottom line is, it's time to roll up our sleeves and start looking at some data."
The Aerospace Industries Associ-ation (AIA) is drafting recommendations for dealing with challenges facing U.S. defense manufacturers, in re-sponse to a recent Commerce Depart-ment report, an AIA official told The DAILY. The AIA recommendations, due in about a month, add to suggestions made in the January 2004 Department of Commerce report, "Manufacturing in America: A Comprehensive Strategy to Address the Challenges to U.S. Manufacturers."
