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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
CRUNCH TIME: The dispute between the U.S. and the European Commission over the U.S. system of taxing aerospace exports probably will come to a head in the spring, says Joel Johnson, vice president of International Affairs for the Aerospace Industries Association. European countries have complained to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that tax breaks given to major U.S. exporters are unfair. The WTO has agreed the tax breaks are unfair under current international trade guidelines. But "hitting the U.S.
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.
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 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.
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.
DELAY: A $700 million fighter competition in Brazil may be in jeopardy as a newly elected government reportedly has suspended it for a year to pay for famine relief. Brazil's F-X program calls for 12 to 24 fighter planes but could reach a total of 120 fighters and a worth of $6 billion. Bidders include the Lockheed Martin F-16, the Saab/BAE Systems JAS-39 Gripen, the Embraer/Dassault variant of the Mirage and the Sukhoi Su-35.
FAA PLAN: FAA's latest Operational Evolution Plan (OEP) will be released on FAA's website (www.faa.gov) later this week. The OEP is FAA's regularly updated 10-year plan for air traffic control and technology enhancements. FAA estimates the improvements covered in the latest plan will cost the administration $13 billion through 2013, and could cost the airline industry up to $11 billion if all are implemented. Members of the Commission on the Future of the U.S.
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.
GLONASS BOOST: The recent launch of three Uragan satellites is the latest step in Russia's effort to revitalize its ailing Glonass navigation system, which currently can provide data for as little as two hours a day. The satellites will join the existing seven operational satellites, plus another Glonass spacecraft undergoing on-orbit testing. Russia hopes to launch as many as 30 Glonass satellites through 2011, including older model Uragans, newer Uragan-Ms and Glonass-K satellites, which are expected to have an on-orbit life of up to 12 years.
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.
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).
Israeli government officials have been talking to officials of the U.S. government about using an Israeli system on U.S. airlines to deflect heat-seeking missiles, sources said. The discussions, spurred by a failed attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner with such missiles as it departed Mombasa, Kenya, on Nov. 28, are said to have centered on the Flight Guard system, which already is installed on 150 airplanes, some of them commercial aircraft.
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.
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.
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.
Launch of the comet rendezvous spacecraft Rosetta will be delayed by several days as an inquiry board continues to investigate the failure of Arianespace's heavier-lift Ariane 5, the company said Dec. 30. A board, named by Arianespace, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French space agency CNES, is to submit its report to Arianespace on Jan. 6.
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.
