The second X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator successfully completed its first flight Nov. 21 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. After taking off from a dry lakebed, the demonstrator flew for 29 minutes, reaching an airspeed of 195 knots and an altitude of 7,500 feet. The purpose of the flight was to verify flight control software and ensure that vehicle performance was identical to the first demonstrator aircraft.
Taiwan has requested four Kidd-class guided missile destroyers, 248 SM-2 Block IIIA Standard missiles, 32 RGM-84L Block II Harpoon missiles and related equipment and services, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress Nov. 21. The estimated cost of the sale is $875 million, DSCA said, and the equipment will "continue [Taiwan's] naval modernization program and enhance its anti-submarine warfare capability.
(Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from a speech made Nov. 20 by Sen. Robert Smith (R-N.H.), who is leaving Congress. Smith served on the Armed Forces Committee.)
Efforts to rectify communications difficulties experienced by President Bush aboard Air Force One on Sept. 11, 2001, have required the obligation of about $58 million so far, and work is continuing, the Air Force said. The work is going into the Presidential Data System (PDS), "an 'office in the sky' environment for the president, staff, and other passengers aboard" Air Force One, a highly modified Boeing 747, the Air Force said Nov. 25 in response to a question from The DAILY.
NEW DELHI - India plans to conduct a crucial ship-based test of its anti-ship cruise missile BrahMos, also known as the PJ-10, by the end of the year, a senior Indian navy official told The DAILY. The test will be the BrahMos' first firing from a ship. The missile, which uses a propulsion system from Russia and a guidance system from India, is the product of a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organization and the Russian company NPO Mashinostroeniya.
FCS SYSTEM: Raytheon Co. successfully demonstrated the first low- and high-band directional, networked communication system for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems program, the company said Nov. 25. The company will move to Phase III of the program and is scheduled to hold two field demonstrations of the system, in March and April 2003.
SALE: The Boeing Co. has reached an agreement to sell its Spokane, Wash., plant to Triumph Group Inc., the company said Nov. 25. Boeing said in March it planned to sell the plant, which produces composite and thermoplastic aircraft parts. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and transfer of ownership is expected to occur by Dec. 31, the company said.
The Senate Nov. 18 approved a bill that would boost funding for several research and development activities at the FAA, including efforts to increase aviation safety, make the air traffic control system more efficient and reduce aviation's impact on the environment. However, the House did not take up the bill before the 107th Congress ended Nov. 22, so supporters of the legislation will have to reintroduce it next year.
TEST: Textron Systems' BLU-108 Sensor Fuzed submunition was successfully ejected from Lockheed Martin's Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) Universal Dispenser (UD), the company said Nov. 25. The ejection came during tests conducted Oct. 8 at Talley Defense Systems in Mesa, Ariz. The dispenser is designed to integrate submunitions of differing sizes into the ATACMS Block II missile. Each BLU-108 submunition carries four "smart" Skeet warheads equipped with dual-mode passive infrared and active laser sensors.
Financial analysts have adjusted their earnings estimates for Northrop Grumman Corp. in 2003 and 2004 after a Nov. 21 conference call with senior company officials about the proposed acquisition of TRW Inc. Paul Nisbet, senior aerospace and defense analyst for JSA Research Inc., said he now expects Northrop Grumman's 2003 earnings per share to total $7.10, down from JSA's initial estimate of $7.60. For 2004, JSA predicts earnings per share to reach $8.45, the same as originally predicted, Nisbet says in a new report.
Starting in 2005, NASA plans to begin testing technologies for safely ejecting crewmembers from its upcoming Orbital Space Plane (OSP) in the event of a failure on the launch pad. On Nov. 20, NASA the awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. a contract worth up to $53 million, including options through 2006, to develop a reusable launch pad abort demonstrator to test abort technologies for the OSP and beyond (DAILY, Nov. 22).
A new international agreement aimed at curbing ballistic missile proliferation will not impede American efforts to develop missile defense systems with other countries, a U.S. State Department official said Nov. 25.
Space Shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station Nov. 25, bringing the station's Expedition Six crew to their temporary home for a four-month stay. The shuttle will return the station's Expedition Five crew to Earth, including Peggy Whitson, who served as the station's first science officer (DAILY, Sept. 17).
RADAR COOPERATION: The U.S., France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain have agreed to develop a new radar that will be part of NATO's proposed Alliance Ground Surveillance capability (AGS), the alliance said Nov. 22. Technology and information sharing agreements have not yet been worked out among the cooperating nations, NATO said.
DEFENSE SPENDING: The National Defense Committee is being formed to build grass-roots support for the war on terrorism and for continued increases in defense and intelligence spending. The committee's chairman is Ret. Navy Rear Adm. James Carey, who also leads the National Defense Political Action Committee, which endorses likeminded congressional candidates. The new committee hopes to build a 2-million-member "grassroots army" to influence the 2004 elections.
With both Lockheed Martin and Boeing's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs) off to successful starts, analysts are generally positive about the long-term prospects for both, although they feel government support will be crucial to sustaining them through the current flat market period. The Air Force partially funded the development of Lockheed Martin's Atlas V and Boeing's Delta IV rocket families to reduce the cost of launch and provide the U.S. with assured access to space.
The Air Force's temporary removal of certification for testing of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) isn't expected to significantly boost its cost or delay its schedule, the Air Force said.
NO SALE: A senior Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs official says New Delhi has been assured the United States won't sell F-16s to Pakistan. Yashwant Sinha, India's foreign minister, told parliament that India has asked the U.S. to keep its security interests in mind while developing military ties with its neighbor and rival. Pakistan has been negotiating with the U.S. to buy F-16s and spare parts, P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft and Harpoon missiles.
LONDON - Britain's Tanker & Transport Service Company Ltd (TTSC), which is competing for the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence's 13 billion pound ($20.66 billion) Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) program, confirmed it has selected the new Smiths Aerospace air refueling system for its Boeing 767-based submission. Boeing chose Smiths in March to supply the same integrated system for its B767 tanker/transport. The system also has been selected by Italy and Japan, and is the U.S. Air Force's preferred air-to-air refueling (AAR) platform.
PRAGUE - Sweden was displeased by the Czech government's decision to cancel the purchase of 24 British-Swedish produced Gripen Jas-39 supersonic fighters and would like to see the tender process reopened, according to Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda. Svoboda made his comments after meeting with Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh during the NATO summit here on Nov. 22.
LONDON - Flight-testing of three two-seat Eurofighter instrumented production aircraft (IPAs) has been suspended pending investigation of the crash of a two-seat DA.6 developmental Eurofighter in Spain on Nov. 21. The crash was the first aircraft loss suffered in more than 2,000 hours of flying time by seven development and three IPAs. The remaining six developmental aircraft apparently have not been grounded, however.
Nov. 25 - 26 -- SMI presents the 4th Annual Global MilSatCom 2002, Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Heathrow Airport, London. For more information contact Jayesh Patel at +44 (0) 870 9090 711 or email [email protected]. Nov. 27 - 28 -- L'academie Nationale De L'air Et De L'espace presents International Colloquium: Europe and Space Debris. For more information email [email protected] or go to http://assoc.wanadoo.fr/anae.
The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) has begun to brief state and local officials about the importance of satellites for homeland security, as well as on their potential vulnerabilities.
