Starting in the fiscal 2004 budget, U.S. Defense Department officials plan to shift more than $90 billion from sustaining current weapons and hardware to more futuristic programs, including laser satellite transmissions and unmanned combat aerial vehicles, a senior defense official said Dec. 19. The "significant" tilt in investment patterns also reflects the increasing strength of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's transformation agenda, a frequent cause of bitter disputes with service officials concerned about diversion of funds from existing programs.
Raytheon Co. will provide five Phalanx Block 1A Close-In Weapon Systems under a direct commercial contract with the Greek navy, the company said Dec. 19. Phalanx is an autonomous, computer-controlled radar and 20mm rapid-fire gun system intended to acquire, track and destroy enemy threats that have penetrated other ship defense systems. One Phalanx system will be mounted on a new oiler being fitted out in Greece and the others will be mounted on Adrias-class frigates. Realignment
The evolving art of cyberwarfare is in an era similar to that of nuclear warfare in the late 1950s before U.S. nuclear doctrine was established, according to White House cybersecurity chief Richard Clarke.
Lockheed Martin says technology from a program it is working on for the Air Force could be used to help protect commercial airliners from attack by heat-seeking missiles. The target price per system would be $1 million or less, and devices could be available next year, according to the company. BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman also have said they could offer such systems.
General Dynamics Corp. announced Dec. 19 it had reached an agreement with General Motors to acquire that company's defense business for $1.1 billion in cash. The deal does not include General Motors' military trucks business, which is located in Troy, Mich. GM Defense, headquartered in London, Ontario, produces wheeled armored vehicles and turrets for military forces worldwide. Products include the Piranha combat vehicle as well as the Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) for Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia.
LAUNCHERS: Lockheed Martin has received the first full-rate production contract for 34 Multiple Launch Rocket System M270A1 launchers, the company said Dec. 19. The launchers include improvements to the M270, including a new Improved Fire Control System and Improved Launcher Mechanical System. The contract, from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, is worth $63.7 million.
Two weeks before Poland is set to decide a $3.5 billion fighter competition, Lockheed Martin, a candidate, signed up the Poland Aviation Company (PZL) in Mielec for a minor spare parts contract. PZL Mielec has signed a $380,000 deal with the U.S. aerospace company to supply 69 small manufacturing parts over the next two years. But the deal is described by both companies as independent from Poland's scheduled decision on a multirole fighter on Dec. 27.
AIM WORK: Raytheon Co. will continue production of the AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile under the third low-rate initial production contract from the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., the company said Dec. 17. The AIM-9X is in operational evaluation (OPEVAL) by the U.S. Navy and Air Force. The company will build 599 tactical and training missiles and related equipment under the $96.2 million contract.
A freshly installed network originally designed to beam F/A-22 Raptor test data from White Sands, N.M., to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in real time is gaining widespread interest across the U.S. Air Force procurement community, according to a senior testing official. Program managers for the Airborne Laser and the bomber fleet are considering the potential of the $4.5 million network designed in-house by engineers at the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC), said Steven Cronk, the center's operations chief.
LONDON - Upgrading the early warning radar at Royal Air Force Base Fylingdales for use in a missile defense system, as the U.S. has proposed, would be "a key building block in the extension of missile defense to Europe, should we and other European allies so desire," Geoff Hoon, the United Kingdom secretary of state for defense, said in a statement Dec. 17.
EL PASO, Texas - The Joint Theater Air and Missile Defense Organization (JTAMDO) is conducting a study to determine what systems the Defense Department will need to protect U.S. territory and American forces overseas against cruise missile attacks, according to JTAMDO acting director Barry Fridling.
MOSCOW - Russia's ORT-First Channel TV and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, or Rosaviakosmos, confirmed plans to launch the winner of a planned "reality" show to the International Space Station next fall. The TV channel reportedly already has paid about 10 percent of the $20 million for the flight on a Soyuz crew rescue vehicle, which are rotated for station duty every six months.
Goodrich Corp. will reorganize into three business segments - Airframe Systems, Engine Systems and Electronic Systems, the company said Dec. 17. The move will streamline the organization and "enhance the company's alignment and communications with its global customer base," the company said in a statement. The reorganization will take effect Jan. 1.
BAE SYSTEMS NORTH AMERICA, Rockville, Md. Richard Ashooh has been appointed vice president of legislative affairs. BOMBARDIER, Montreal Paul Tellier has been appointed president and CEO. EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY Jean-Jacques Dordain has been appointed director general of ESA. GOODRICH, Charlotte, N.C. Tom Fitch has been appointed vice president and controller in the new Engine Systems segment. Jerry LaReau has been appointed vice president, government programs, based in Washington.
Less than a week after closing its acquisition of TRW Inc., Northrop Grumman Corp. has made another acquisition, the company said Dec. 18. The acquisition, Fibersense Technology Corp., designs and manufactures precision fiber optic gyroscopes (FOGs), inertial measurement units and sensor components for missiles, aircraft, sea and land applications.
In partnership with NASA, Space Imaging of Thornton, Colo., is developing a synthetic cockpit vision system based on remote sensing data that the company hopes will reduce accident rates for first-response helicopter crews across the country. The system is an outgrowth of NASA's Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) project, which combines Global Positioning System (GPS) data with digital terrain and elevation data stored onboard the aircraft to create real-time digital renderings of landscapes over which pilots are flying (DAILY, Sept. 17, 2001).
NEW DELHI - Russia will allow India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. to export Russian aeronautics systems, built under license in India, to third countries. The countries signed a protocol to allow such exports on a case-by-case basis, an Indian defense ministry official said Dec. 17. The Indian government has asked HAL to mount an export drive to boost defense exports. The company's aim is to achieve $200 million in annual exports within a decade, HAL chairman Nalini Ranjan Mohanty said.
GETTING READY: A Boeing Delta IV booster that will conduct the first Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle mission for the U.S. Air Force has been erected on its launch pad, Boeing said Dec. 18. The booster is scheduled to launch a Defense Satellite Communications System III A3 spacecraft in February, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, said Dec. 18 that he expects Congress ultimately will approve the Bush Administration's new plan for deploying missile defenses. Although some lawmakers have criticized or expressed concern about the Administration's proposal (DAILY, Dec. 18), Weldon said he does not believe the opposition will be strong enough to defeat the missile defense plan.
Lockheed Martin Corp. plans to bid its Snake Eyes multispectral infrared targeting system for several proposals next year relating to the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. Snake Eyes, originally developed for the Tactical Reconnaissance Armored Combat Equipment Requirement (TRACER)/Future Scout and Cavalry System (FSCS) program, leverages the advanced sensing and signal processing technology of the Apache Arrowhead and Comanche electro-optical sensor programs.
