The U.S. State Department's new electronic licensing system for defense exports is up and running, a department spokeswoman said Feb. 17. The D-Trade system is designed as an eventual replacement for the department's time-consuming, paper-based licensing process. Reducing the time it takes to get export licenses reviewed has been a major priority for the U.S. aerospace industry.
February 10, 2004 ARMY Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., was awarded on Feb. 6, 2004, a $47,887,050 firm-fixed-price contract for 976 tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided 2B Aero Generation II missiles. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2006. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole-source contract initiated on Sept. 15, 2003. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q04-C-0061).
MOSCOW - The head of Rosaviakosmos, Russia's aviation and space agency, said contractor RSC Energia is proposing to build a new, six-seat spacecraft with a multiple-use return capsule that would be launched atop a modified Soyuz booster called Onega. Rosaviakosmos chief Yuri Koptev did not reveal any details at a Feb. 17 news conference. In the past, Energia has proposed the "Zarya" spacecraft, which would be a an enlarged Soyuz re-entry capsule, and reports here said the company also is pondering a "mini shuttle."
Goodrich Corp. will equip the latest version of BAE System's Hawk advanced jet trainer with its SmartProbe integrated air data system, the company said Feb. 17. The Hawk MK 128 is the latest variant in BAE System's family of jet trainers. It has a fully digital cockpit and will train pilots to fly aircraft including the Eurofighter Typhoon and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The U.S. Army is set to begin testing in Iraq of peel-and-stick armor for wheeled vehicles that are vulnerable to small arms fire and blasts from improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Armor Systems International (ASI) of Vancouver, Wash., is shipping 15 kits at the beginning of March to the Army's Rapid Equipping Force (REF) in Iraq for feedback on its performance. The REF team is charged with channeling promising new equipment and technology into the war zone as quickly as possible.
Lockheed Martin's Titan IV rocket had its next-to-last Cape Canaveral launch at 1:50 p.m. EST on Feb. 14, when it successfully orbited a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite for the Air Force. Built by Northrop Grumman, DSP satellites provide early warning of missile launches worldwide (DAILY, Nov. 18, 2003). The first DSP spacecraft was launched in 1970. They are to be replaced by Space Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High) spacecraft starting in 2006 (DAILY, Nov. 3, 2003).
Israel is set to receive its first two F-16I aircraft on Feb. 19, according to a Lockheed Martin spokesman. The jets, the first of 102 to be delivered to Israel by the end of 2008, "left here early this morning," Mark Lewis of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth, TexaS, said Feb. 17. They are en route and will "make at an intermediate stop in Europe to allow appropriate crew rest," he said.
ORLANDO, Fla. - The head of Air Force Space Command is expressing confidence that the service will be able to ease concerns in Congress and elsewhere about the planned Space Based Radar (SBR). During a Feb. 13 press briefing at an Air Force Association conference, Gen. Lance Lord said he believes SBR will be affordable, although lawmakers have suggested that the satellite constellation may end up being too expensive.
S&T FUTURE: The defense industry must make science and technology careers more attractive to counteract the anticipated shortage of scientists and engineers in the near future, according to the CEOs of several large firms who spoke last week at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' conference in Washington. "Scientists and engineers are an aging part of the workforce," says Northrop Grumman CEO Ronald Sugar. "There's been a lull in the tech industry, but the lull will end shortly and we'll face a wave a competition with the commercial economy.
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Boeing will negotiate its departure from struggling Czech aerospace company Aero Vodochody, citing a "significant difference of opinion" with state shareholders over Aero's future direction.
HUMVEE FIRES: The U.S. Army's Tank, Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) is investigating three Humvee fires aboard transport ships headed to Iraq. The U.S. Army Safety Center issued a Feb. 11 safety notification alerting users that an electrical system defect was suspected. One fire was categorized as Class A, an incident resulting in more than $1 million in losses. That incident occurred in a ship hold where a suspected "protective control box" allowed a starter to overheat and catch fire destroying four communication Humvees and damaging four others.
ORLANDO, Fla. - The U.S. Air Force is "negotiating" with lawmakers over how many B-1B Lancers should be brought out of retirement, a general said Feb. 13.
Lockheed Martin Corp.'s planned acquisition of Titan Corp. could be delayed by investigations the companies have initiated with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The agencies will investigate "certain agreements between Titan and international consultants and related payments in foreign countries," Lockheed Martin said in a Feb. 13 statement. The investigations will delve into Titan's sale of radio products, a Titan representative told The DAILY.
Feb. 16 - 17 -- DTH World Summit for Satellite TV Platforms & Channels, Hotel Inter-Continental, Paris. Contact Karine Gallula at +33 1 4923 7524, email [email protected], or go to www.euroconsult-ec.com. Feb. 17 - 19 -- 2004 Munitions Executive Summit, "The Ammunition Enterprise - Ready Today? Ready Tomorrow?", Hyatt Regency Tampa, Tampa, Fla. To register go to http://register.ndia.org/interview/register.ndia?~Brochure~4650.
WON'T SHARE: Israel has told India it still has reservations about sharing data from its Ofeq-5 reconnaissance satellite, although the Israeli government may approve a new Indian plan to jointly build a military satellite for India. A diplomat in Tel Aviv's embassy in India says Israel would have to reverse a longstanding policy before sharing data or images from the satellite, which India has sought to lease (DAILY, March 21, 2003).
LOW-POWER COM: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is kicking off the first phase of its Connectionless Networks program, an effort to develop high-efficiency, low-power radio communications. The U.S. military is expanding the role of low duty cycle radio frequency transmissions systems for the battlefield. The goal of the program is to develop technology that will require less energy for data transmission.
Naval Sea Systems Command plans to release a request for proposals late this month for development of a single-track management function for the Navy's Open Architecture (OA) program, according to a Feb. 11 FedBizOpps notice. The RFP would lead to a five-year contract. NAVSEA wants a "system integrator/design agent" to implement the function "with a model driven architecture framework on Navy platforms and address evolving Open Architecture initiatives related to track management and sensor netting," the notice says.
SHUTTLE DRILL: NASA will conduct a drill at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Feb. 18 to test the readiness of emergency personnel, equipment and facilities during a scenario in which astronauts must be rescued from a downed space shuttle, according to NASA. In the simulated scenario, an orbiter crash-lands in a wooded area south of the shuttle runway. Emergency personnel will care for injured astronauts inside a shuttle crew compartment mock-up, provide emergency on-site treatment, and transport them by ambulance or helicopter to one of three hospitals.
INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS: Defense industry leaders are working to overcome barriers that "stovepiped" capabilities within their companies can cause, industry leaders say. "We mirror our customers [DOD] when it comes to this issue," says Jim Albaugh, Boeing's executive vice president and president and CEO of the company's Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) segment. "Stovepiped capabilities within our organization compete within the company for resources and don't work together. Now we have an integrated solution, which is a significant change for us." Lockheed Martin Corp.
Sikorsky's S-92 helicopter will begin two weeks of evaluation at Naval Air Patuxent River early this week, as the Navy gathers more information before its downselect decision in the VXX presidential helicopter competition. The other helicopter in the running for the program, Lockheed Martin/AgustaWestland's US101, already had its NPE (Naval Preliminary Evaluation) at Patuxent River last month, according to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) spokesman John Milliman.
