The FAA has granted a supplemental type certificate to Airship Management Services' (AMS) Skyship 600 airship equipped with a new Textron Lycoming outboard propulsion system capable of providing greater thrust and maneuverability.
THE RIGHT PLACE: Lockheed Martin, following several big contract wins for the F/A-22 Raptor over the holiday season (see story on Page 7), remains one of the best-positioned defense companies for long-term growth, says senior aerospace and defense analyst Christopher Mecray of Deutsche Bank. "The company, simply put, is in the right place for today's spending priorities," he says. That should be confirmed in February, Mecray says, when the upcoming defense budget submission, which appears to fund all of the company's major programs, is released.
NEW DELHI - India plans to test a series of missile systems in 2003, according to the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The missiles include the shorter-range Agni-1, medium-range, surface-to-air Prithvi-2, medium-range air defense Akash, anti-tank Nag and the ship-launched, cruise missile BrahMos.
An industrial group representing the military's dwindling pool of sophisticated weapons fuze suppliers is attacking a Defense Department effort aimed at drawing more suppliers into the struggling market. In response to a request by The DAILY, Eric Guerrazzi, chairman of the Industrial Committee of Ammunition Producers [ICAP], published an issue white paper last week outlining the industry's concerns.
CONGRESS RETURNS: Lawmakers, who have been absent from Washington since late November, return Jan. 7 to kick off the 108th Congress. Matters they will try to resolve early include picking chairmen of the House Science Committee's space subcommittee and the Senate Armed Services Committee's airland and seapower subcommittees, and deciding whether to revamp the House Armed Services Committee to make its subcommittee structure more like that of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Lawmakers also will try to complete the fiscal 2003 NASA appropriations bill.
DECOY: The BAE Systems AN/ALE-55 Fiber Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) could gain a new customer within a few weeks. Already in testing with the B-1B, the F/A-18E/F and the F-15E, the towed device is expected to be added this month by Boeing to the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program, as part of upgrades for the AC-130 gunship, a corporate source says. A redesigned FOTD has passed a series of flight tests on the B-1B after a hardware problem was discovered last spring. The device is part of the U.S.
JAN. 6 - 8 -- The Association of the United States Army presents the AUSA Aviation Symposium and Exhibition, "Army Aviation - A Firm Foundation, Forging the Future." Fairview Park Marriott Falls Church, Va. For more information go to www.ausa.org. 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].
REBUTTAL: Missile defense pioneer Bill Davis says that despite claims to the contrary, nearly nine out of 10 tests of hit-to-kill technology are successful when unrelated mechanical failures aren't calculated. Davis, the Pentagon's former deputy program director for missile defense, sent The Daily a two-page rebuttal to a paper published last month by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which accused the Pentagon of inflating the historical success rate of its missile defense tests. The UCS says Lt. Gen.
NEW POST: Darleen Druyun, the principal architect of the U.S. Air Force's acquisition programs and policies, has joined the leadership team of Boeing Missile Defense Systems, Washington, D.C., according to the company. Druyun recently retired as principal deputy assistant secretary for Air Force acquisition and management. In her new role, she will report to James Evatt, the Boeing unit's senior vice president and general manager.
The Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems three contracts totaling more $443 million for the production of Aegis weapons systems, missiles and related equipment. The contracts, awarded Dec. 30, include one for $238 million for the production of six Aegis Weapons Systems and supporting equipment. Two of the systems will be produced for the U.S. Navy, while two others will be made for South Korea and a third for Japan. Work is to be completed by December 2005.
Although the State Department could fine the Boeing Co. and Hughes Electronics Corp. up to $61.5 million for allegedly committing 123 trade violations with China, it's unlikely the amount will be that high, according to industry analysts. Instead, the companies probably will work out a deal with the State Department that will include a lesser financial penalty, they said.
The Missile Defense Agency, which says it is fixing problems with the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptor missile, plans to conduct three tests of the Lockheed Martin-built missile over about the next 16 months.
WIDE-BODY STUDY: The Defense Department should study whether commercial wide-body aircraft that are smaller than the B-747 should get more of a role handling DOD's peacetime cargo, according to the General Accounting Office. DOD offers the peacetime business to encourage participation in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF), which consists of commercial aircraft that are available to DOD in an emergency.
LONDON - BAE Systems' anticipated losses on its Nimrod MRA.4 maritime patrol aircraft and Astute attack submarine programs, expected to total some 800 million pounds ($1.28 billion), could make it harder for the ailing United Kingdom group to secure future defense equipment contracts.
DDG 105: The U.S. Navy will provide about $400 million each for DDG 105 and DDG 106, new DDG 51-class Aegis guided-missile destroyers, according to the shipbuilders. Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems sector will get $401.5 million for building the DDG 105, and General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works will get $409 million for the DDG 106, the companies said Jan. 2. The money is part of previously awarded multiyear contracts.
SUPPLY: EMS Technologies will supply switch technology for signal routing to Alcatel Space for the SAR-Lupe imaging satellite mission, the company said Jan. 2. The work will be done under a $2.5 million contract. SAR-Lupe is a planned constellation of five satellites for space-based reconnaissance, set for launch in 2005-2007.
The General Accounting Office has endorsed NASA's decision to move space shuttle orbiter major modification (OMM) work from California to Florida, saying NASA's expectations of cost savings were based on "sound" reasoning.
The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) plans to host a conference this spring to bring together government and industry officials to discuss how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can support transportation security. The event will be "a fairly significant conference to bring in industry, bring in the military, and bring in the civilian government agencies to discuss this [issue]," according to RSPA Administrator Ellen Engleman.
Discussions with the State Department over possible fines for passing sensitive spacecraft technology to China during the mid- and late 1990s still are ongoing, officials with the Boeing Co. said Jan 2. The primary responsibility for paying any fines lies with Hughes Electronics Corp., Boeing officials said. Boeing bought the company's subsidiary, Hughes Space and Communications, in October 2000 and renamed it Boeing Satellite Systems.
A Russian failure investigation board is citing excess fuel in the upper stage as the culprit behind a recent Proton rocket failure, according to International Launch Services (ILS). The Nov. 26, 2002 failure of the Proton's Block DM upper stage left the Astra 1K satellite stranded in the wrong orbit. The largest commercial satellite ever built in Europe, Astra 1K subsequently was de-orbited (DAILY, Dec. 11, 2002).
Formed as a pioneering transatlantic partnership two years ago, ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS) enters 2003 more than one year behind schedule and with at least one corporate parent dissatisfied. "Are we as pleased with where we are today versus what our plan said?"Raytheon International CEO Thomas Culligan said in an interview. "The answer is no."
Cubic Defense Applications, owned by Cubic Corp. of San Diego, will provide an electronic warfare (EW) simulator to the Danish air force, the company said Jan. 2. The simulator, the High Density Signal Simulator (HIDESS), will allow the Danish air force to test advanced radar warning receivers and other EW equipment, the company said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. HIDESS, which can emulate standard radar, pulse Doppler or continuous waveform signals, is part of a line of new EW products the company is introducing.
LONDON - The Ministry of Defence (MOD) here announced a 1.2 billion pound ($1.92 billion) contract Dec. 23 for the MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, ending an air of uncertainty that has long swirled around the international project.
