The U.S. Air Force and Navy want input from industry on the possible development of a pod-mounted laser infrared countermeasures system for fighter aircraft, larger military planes, and possibly commercial planes. A modification of the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures system (LAIRCM), already in low-rate production by Northrop Grumman for the C-130 and C-17, could be a candidate, the Air Force said.
Congress is leaving open the possibility of adding war-related funding to the non-defense spending measure it hopes to pass this month. Lawmakers completed the fiscal 2003 defense and military construction appropriations bills last October, but still are wrestling with 11 FY '03 non-defense appropriations bills, which they hope to combine into a single "omnibus" package. The package could become a vehicle for additional defense spending, according to congressional sources.
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.
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.
In a company-funded effort, Boeing Phantom Works is developing a concept for a small, multipurpose vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) cargo aircraft that could replace some of the Army's traditional resupply trucks. Dubbed the Light Aerial Multipurpose Vehicle (LAMV), the aircraft is Boeing's answer to a stated Army requirement to be able to move 1,500 pounds of payload at a radius of 1,000 kilometers.
U.S. spending on missile defense could rise to as much as $13 billion near the end of the current decade as several systems under development move into procurement, the Congressional Budget Office said Jan. 8. The Defense Department now spends almost $8 billion a year on missile defense. Based on a five-year budget plan the Bush Administration unveiled a year ago, CBO initially projected that missile defense spending would peak at about $10 billion in 2009 and then gradually decline as systems finished procurement and became operational.
NEW DELHI - The United States will give the government of Nepal $17 million in military aid to combat Maoist rebels, according to a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Katmandu. The money will come from "various sources" and is to be used for "security and military assistance to Nepal," according to the spokeswoman. Nepal also received 3,000 M-16 rifles from the U.S. this week, and expects to get 2,000 more later this year.
Although contractors are working on concepts to fulfill the 20-ton vertical lift requirement for the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS), significant funding for their efforts probably won't be available in the near term, according to an Army official. Maj. Gen. William Bond, a senior Army systems management official, said the new heavy-lift vertical transport will have to compete with other funding priorities as the Army gears up for the first fielding of an FCS unit in 2008.
A war against Iraq could generate strong sales of military equipment by United Defense Industries and Alliant Techsystems, according to a report from Merrill Lynch. "Wars are audits of military capability and they have tended to provide surprises, some of which have investment consequences that are immediately apparent, and some of which are more subtle," senior aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan says in a Jan. 8 research report.
House leaders have agreed to restructure the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), and at least three new senators from states with major aerospace business - Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Jim Talent (R-Mo.) - tentatively have been approved for membership on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC). The changes are part of the new 108th Congress, which officially got underway Jan. 7.
Senior Arianespace officials said Jan. 7 that another heavier-lift Ariane 5 ECA, similar to one that had to be destroyed shortly after launch on Dec. 11, could fly in six months. The Ariane 5 ECA is an enhanced version of the company's baseline Ariane 5 launcher and features a new cryogenic upper stage and Vulcain 2 main engine. A report released Jan. 6 by an inquiry board investigating the Dec. 11 launch failure said the Vulcain 2's cooling circuit nozzle overheated after cracks developed in the nozzle's cooling tubes.
Echoing statements from Boeing, a Hughes Electronics Corp. spokesman told The DAILY Jan. 6 that the company is responsible for paying any fines that may result from alleged technology transfers to China in the mid- and late 1990s. The State Department on Dec. 26 charged Boeing Satellite Systems and Hughes Electronics with 123 violations of the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
The Army is developing a concept in which an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) such as the Shadow 200 would be used to deliver emergency medical supplies to soldiers in the field. The effort began at the request of the surgeon general of the Army, according to Maj. Gen. Joseph Bergantz, the Army's program executive officer for aviation.
NEW DELHI - India has set up a new Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) and a Strategic Forces Command (SFC) to manage its nuclear weapons, according to officials. The NCA is made up of a political council and executive council. The political council is chaired by the prime minister and is the sole body that can authorize the use of nuclear weapons. The executive council is chaired by the national security adviser and provides input to the NCA, and executives directives from the political council.
In the latest chapter of a nearly six-year-old dispute, Defense Department investigators have found Army officials violated no laws or regulations during a now-abandoned attempt to outsource logistics for the AH-64 Apache fleet. The Army's loose management controls during the review process, however, "created an appearance of a lack of fairness or impartiality on the evaluation of proposals," according to a new report by the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General (OIG).
An Air Force contract to Boeing Co. for system development and demonstration of a fiber optic towed decoy for the C-130 should be formally executed this month, according to the Air Force's project director. Boeing is getting $20 million to develop the decoy for MC-130 AC-130 Hercules of the Special Operations Forces, said Scott Warren, chief of the acquisition management division of the electronic warfare manaement directorate at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
The Army plans to push for a higher procurement of the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter at the milestone B meeting for its Future Combat Systems (FCS) program in May, according to Army officials. The Army's original plan called for buying 1,213 Comanches for reconnaissance and attack, although the service subsequently proposed a compromise level of 819 helicopters to the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB). The DAB approved the purchase of 650 Comanches last October, following the sixth restructuring for the troubled program (DAILY, Oct. 21, 2002).
Pentagon planners may push the CV-22 Osprey into the U.S. Special Operations Command's (USSOC) fleet faster than planned if this spring's make-or-break flight tests prove successful, a senior defense official said Jan. 7. The CV-22 and the Marine Corps MV-22 share 85 percent of their parts, but the special operations variant also carries extra fuel tanks, a terrain-following radar, dispensers for flares and chaff, a radar warning receiver and jammer and infrared countermeasures.
PAC-3 BUY: Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control will build 88 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles under a $341 million Army contract, the company said Jan. 7. The work will be completed by mid-2005, according to a company spokesman. The contract does not represent the Pentagon's plan to accelerate PAC-3 production and add more missiles, which will be contracted separately, the spokesman said.
Honeywell has acquired the assets of Baker Electronics Inc., which supplies business jet aircraft cabin management systems for tasks like high-speed Internet connections and audio/video conferencing. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The business will remain in Sarasota, Fla., and will be known as Honeywell Cabin Management Systems and Services, the company said Jan. 7.
