Northrop Grumman's X-47A Pegasus unmanned aircraft had its second low-speed taxi test at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, Calif., Sept. 6. The test was intended to demonstrate more extensively the aircraft's integrated navigation and control. Controllers also measured steering performance as the Pegasus moved down the runway in a zig-zag pattern. The Pegasus had its first taxi test July 19, during which the vehicles' command and control, steering, brakes, and navigation were evaluated (DAILY, July 22).
LONDON - Sweden's Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) received the first of the Swedish air force's upgraded JAS 39C Gripens on Sept. 6. In addition to in-flight refueling capabilities and on-board oxygen generating systems, the latest versions of the Gripen incorporate large-screen, full-color cockpit displays, new computer software and strengthened wing structures to accommodate advanced weapons pylons.
The cost of launching a satellite into orbit will have to continue to drop significantly to generate additional demand for commercial space launch services, according to a report from the Futron Corp. From 1990 to 2000, the cost of launching a commercial payload to geosynchronous orbit (GSO) fell 35 percent, from $18,158 per pound to $11,729 per pound, according to Futron, a Bethesda, Md.-based technology management consulting firm.
With the latest life cycle cost estimates for the International Space Station (ISS) complete, NASA now has a firm financial roadmap for completing the station with a three-person crew capacity, although "significant reductions" in cost will have to occur in fiscal 2004-2005, according to Program Manager William Gerstenmaier. "From a program standpoint, we've got a plan that lives within the budget guidelines that we've been given ... that looks pretty good to us," Gerstenmaier said during a press briefing Sept. 6.
SILENCE: More than 700,000 aerospace employees have been asked to observe a moment of silence on Sept. 11 to commemorate the loss of life in last year's terrorist attacks, the Aerospace Industries Association said Sept. 5. The observance of the moment of silence will take place at 1 p.m. Eastern, noon Central, 11 a.m. Mountain and 10 a.m. Pacific.
SEASPARROW ARRIVES: Raytheon Co. delivered the first production Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM) to the U.S. Navy on Sept. 4, the company said Sept. 5. ESSM is an upgrade of the RIM-7 NATO Seasparrow Missile. The new missile will provide the primary air defense for the capital ships of 10 navies, Raytheon said. Raytheon heads a team of 18 companies from 10 countries that developed and are producing the missile.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency has notified Congress of several military sales to key U.S. allies, including Malaysia, Taiwan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. The Malaysian government has requested 18 Boeing F/A-18F aircraft with 36 F414-GE-400 engines and three spare F414-GE-400 engines, DSCA officials said in a Sept. 4 statement.
Jim Carter's position at Raytheon Co. was stated incorrectly in the Sept. 5 "People on the Move" section. He is vice president and deputy of Network Centric Systems.
The Air Force's ambitious plan to begin work on a sensor system that can track ground targets from space won't start for at least another year, according to the Defense Department's top space official.
The rising costs of missile defense could partially be offset by engaging U.S. allies in some of the programs, according to a senior Missile Defense Agency official. Speaking Sept. 4 at a conference in Washington, David Martin, MDA's deputy director for strategic relations, said international cooperation would help defray some of the expenses involved in developing missile defense.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has spent the past year meeting with senior managers within the Department of Defense (DOD) to create a comprehensive briefing on the often ill-understood term "transformation," according to Ken Krieg, the special assistant to the secretary of defense. Standing in for Rumsfeld, Krieg gave a presentation on transformation at a Navy/Marine Corps symposium in Crystal City, Va., Sept. 5., entirely devoted to the subject.
The Office of Homeland Security is convening an interagency meeting Sept. 6 to polish a $3 billion plan to upgrade the U.S. airspace surveillance system, a Federal Aviation Administration official told The DAILY. Later this month, he said, the deputy secretaries of the agencies that will use the upgraded system will meet to approve the plan, which covers the period to fiscal year 2006. It then will be formally submitted to OHS and the Office of Management and Budget. From there, it will go to Congress.
The ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee is urging President Bush to give Congress more information about U.S. military readiness before lawmakers vote on whether to authorize an attack on Iraq. In a Sept. 4 letter to Bush, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) wrote that American forces already are "actively engaged throughout the world in a range of missions," so the U.S. needs to make sure it can execute action against Iraq without jeopardizing other military missions.
The European Union is unlikely to apply sanctions on U.S. exports soon for fear of igniting a political backlash in November, according to an industry observer with the Aerospace Industries Association. "Probably nothing will happen until after the elections," Joel Johnson, vice president of International Affairs for AIA, said. "They don't want to ignite a full-fledged trade war."
NEW DELHI - Troops from the Indian Parachute Brigade, and an Ilyushin IL-76 Indian air force transport aircraft, will participate in joint military exercises with the United States in Alaska from Sept. 29-Oct. 2. The U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment "Geronimo," based in Alaska, will take part in the exercise, along with a C-130 Hercules and U.S. Pacific Command CH-47D Chinook helicopters.
THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY'S Mars Express, slated to be launched in May or June 2003, is being tested at the contractor Intespace's Toulouse facility in France, ESA said. The main objective of the Mars Express mission will be to detect water below the martian surface. During its nearly two-year mission, the spacecraft is expected to view the martian surface with a range of instruments, and also is to eject the Beagle 2 lander, which is scheduled to carry out rock and soil analysis, according to ESA.
Congress is not expected to provide funding to revive the next-generation shipboard electronic warfare system that the Navy terminated earlier this year, a Capitol Hill source said Sept. 5.
After more than three years of developmental work, the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab will see its experimental targeting tool be integrated into operational equipment, according to a lab official.
Aerospace and defense companies likely will continue to be more international in their outlook, an industry analyst said during the ComDef 2002 conference in Washington. One reason for that is because "you don't know where the next technology is going to come from," Pierre Chao, managing director of Credit Suisse First Boston's aerospace/defense group, said Sept. 4. Chao said the jet engine was created in England, missile technology in Germany, and wireless communication technology by Scandinavian and Japanese firms.
NEW DELHI - Uzbekistan will train Indian pilots and technicians on Ilyushin IL-78 tanker aircraft it is supplying to the Indian air force. The sale of six IL-78 aircraft will be completed during the visit of Indian air force Chief Marshal Shriniwaspuram Krishnaswamy's Sept. 4-7 visit to Uzbekistan.
The Air Force has awarded two contracts, worth a total of nearly $10 million, for research to develop and validate security technology for its Joint Battlespace Infosphere (JBI) program. The Boeing Co. and BBNT Solutions of Cambridge, Mass., each got one-year contracts of about $4.9 million from the Information Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, N.Y.
