'POLITICAL PROBLEM': Poland's decision to buy 48 F-16 Block 52 Fighting Falcons is of "no consequence" to Dassault Aviation, Dassault spokesman Gerard David says. Poland on Dec. 27 chose the F-16 over Dassault's Mirage 2000-5 MK 2 and Gripen International's JAS-39. The Polish decision represents a problem for Europe, David says. "For Dassault at this time, 75 percent of our turnover is for the Falcon business jet. We have lot of deliveries expected for the Rafale and the Mirage 2000-5, including the [United Arab] Emirates and Greece," he says.
With funding support from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is proposing a fiscal year 2004 Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) that would develop a football field-length hybrid airship capable of carrying 30 tons of military cargo. The Joint Chiefs and various logistics organizations within the Defense Department are interested in the hybrid airship as a means of carrying large loads directly into the theater of operations, according to Steve Huett of NAVAIR.
CLASSIFIED SESSION: The Senate Commerce Committee may meet in closed session on the potential problem of U.S. airliners coming under attack by shoulder-fired missiles. Sen. Bill Nelson (R-Fla.) said in a Jan. 9 committee hearing on the future of the airline industry that he favors "such a discussion in an appropriate classified fashion because that's something we've got to face." Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who will assume chairmanship of the committee, apparently agreed.
L MINUS TWO: NASA will decide Jan. 14 whether the crack found in a fuel line support assembly during a routine inspection of the shuttle Discovery merits scrubbing the scheduled Jan. 16 launch of shuttle Columbia on STS-107 - a pure science mission that will carry Israel's first astronaut. The space agency has spent the past few weeks reproducing the cracks in test articles to determine whether the shuttles can fly safely with them (DAILY, Jan. 6). "They're in the home stretch," Johnson Space Center spokesman James Hartsfield says. "There's optimism that we can ...
Jan. 14 - 16 -- Naval Institute and AFCEA West 2002-From Change to Transformation, San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, Calif. For more information contact Kim Couranz at (410) 295-1067 or visit [email protected]. Jan. 23 -- Precision Strike Association presents Winter Roundtable 2003 - Global Strategy for Joint Precision Strike. Crystal Gateway Marriott, Salon A, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Va. For more information call Leslie Mueller at (301) 475-6513 or email [email protected].
NEW DELHI - India's short-range Agni-1 was test-fired Jan. 9 from a mobile launcher on Wheeler's Island in the Bay of Bengal, according to a senior official with the Indian defense ministry. "The launch of the one-stage missile is expected to help defense scientists validate some crucial technologies, like guidance and telemetry systems," the official said.
JSF WORK: Rolls-Royce has contracted with Philips Aerospace of the Netherlands to supply fan cases for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's F136 engine, the company said Jan. 9. The companies had signed a memorandum of understanding to work together during the Paris Air Show in 1999. The first F136 engine is to begin testing in 2004, with production units available beginning in 2010, according to the company.
Boeing Phantom Works has demonstrated that the 20-year-old Link 16 airborne network can be converted into an "Internet-like" connection for dramatically improving collaboration on time critical strikes, the company said. Capping a nearly four-year development effort, a recent demonstration involved a link between a strike node aboard the F-15E1 Advanced Technology Demonstrator and a command and control node (C2) on the 737 Avionics Flying Laboratory, said Don Winter, director of network-centric operations at Phantom Works.
The Army's special operations aviation component will expand its capability by removing some current non-core duties, according to a senior defense official. A shortage of Army special operations pilots and aircraft has hampered plans to increase the size of the force, which has been in high demand in the war on terror and stands to play a key role in a potential conflict in Iraq.
Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee, is threatening to oppose some of the Defense Department's missile defense programs if the Air Force does not get enough money to buy the Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor.
NOMINATIONS: President Bush will nominate former congressman Paul McHale of Pennsylvania to be assistant secretary of defense for homeland security, the White House said Jan. 9. Bush also will nominate Christopher Ryan Henry, the corporate vice president for strategic assessment and development at Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), to be deputy undersecretary of defense for policy.
Through its proposed Advanced Theater Transport (ATT) and Light Aerial Multipurpose Vehicle (LAMV) concepts, Boeing is offering the Army alternatives to rotorcraft for battlefield mobility, according to company officials. Boeing is marketing the ATT to meet the Army's Advanced Maneuver Transport (AMT) requirement, which translates to the ability to vertically lift one 20-ton vehicle in the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. Sikorsky and Bell Helicopter Textron are working on large rotorcraft concepts for AMT (DAILY, Jan. 9).
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) has acquired Composite Optics Inc. (COI), of San Diego, the company said Jan. 9. COI builds telescope structures, mirrors, satellite structures, antenna reflectors and other equipment, which is in place on spacecraft such as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and Mars Global Surveyor and the U.S. Air Force's Airborne Laser.
The replacement of Goodrich Chairman and CEO David Burner by current Chief Operating Officer Marshall Larsen is unlikely to result in significant changes for the company over the next two years, according to a U.S. aerospace analyst. Goodrich announced Jan. 9 that Larsen would replace Burner as CEO on April 15 during a company board of directors meeting. The board approved the succession plan early last year, Goodrich officials said.
In its latest Operational Evolution Plan (OEP), the FAA calls on the air travel industry to help foot the bill for equipment modernizations that will help the National Airspace System (NAS) keep pace with future demand. Although air traffic demand has been down following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the FAA expects traffic will return to pre-Sept. 11 growth patterns between 2005 and 2007. FAA estimates the OEP will allow for a 45 percent capacity increase by 2013.
RAISED: Standard & Poor's changed its outlook on Rockwell Collins from negative to stable, the ratings service said Jan. 9. "Rockwell's strong balance sheet, fairly conservative financial policy, and growing military business are expected to offset the impact of the continued decline in the commercial aerospace market on the firm's solid credit profile," S&P analyst Christopher DeNicolo said in a statement. S&P affirmed the company's ratings, including its "A" long-term corporate credit rating and "A-1" short-term rating.
One of the biggest challenges for Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems over the next five years will be driving the cost down on its cutting-edge aerospace products, according to Jack Kelble, president of the business unit. "It's a very competitive market. Northrop Grumman does an excellent job of producing [radar] arrays at a reasonable costs," Kelble said in an interview Jan. 9. "We're both working to drive down the costs of arrays."
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), the new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), said Jan. 9 that he hopes to boost funding and oversight for weapons programs and that he has appointed new subcommittee overseers for aircraft, missile defense and military space. The existing five subcommittees will be replaced with six new ones: tactical air and land forces; strategic forces; projection forces; readiness; terrorism, unconventional threats and capabilities; and total force.
NEW DELHI - Indian and U.S. officials plan to hold a space conference in India later this year to foster space cooperation between the two countries. The conference will build on an agreement made last year during Indian Prime Minister Atal Behair Vajpayee's visit to Washington, when the two countries decided to foster cooperation in space technologies such as satellite navigation services, environmental monitoring and the Global Positioning System.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) and Rockwell Collins Inc. have signed a long-term agreement for the production and purchase of avionics equipment. Under the agreement, Rockwell Collins will supply avionics equipment to several EADS business segments. The move is part of EADS' sourcing strategy to develop long-term relationships with international suppliers for its business units, according to the company.
NASA has set the planned launch of the ICESat and CHIPSat spacecraft for Jan. 11, the aerospace agency said Jan. 8. ICESat, which stands for Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite, will gather data on ice sheet elevation. CHIPSat, which stands for Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer, is to study gases and dust in space.
