House panels have cast several votes on the proposed new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that could have implications for aerospace-related programs.
UAV POC: Each military service needs a single point of contact for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems, according to Dyke Weatherington, a member of the UAV task force currently developing the Defense Department's upcoming DOD roadmap (DAILY, July 11). "I personally am not entirely convinced that there's a single focal point within each of the services ... that understands everything that's going on with UAV programs," Weatherington says.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Marine Corps plans to make the Block III version of its Dragon Eye unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system, as opposed to the current fixed-wing version, according to Principal Investigator Joseph MacKrell.
A July 10 letter signed by seven members of Congress and sent to Secretary of the Navy Gordon England urges the Navy to continue procurement of T-45C Goshawk trainers and endorses a multiyear procurement plan. The T-45 is of "critical importance" to Navy training, the letter says, and "we write to advocate that funds be programmed to support a [fiscal years] 2004-2006 procurement of T-45Cs and for continuation of the ongoing "A" to "C" cockpit retrofit program."
JPATS IOC: Gen. Don Cook, commander of Air Education and Training Command, announced the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) achieved initial operational capability July 12. JPATS uses Raytheon Aircraft's Texan T-6A Texan II aircraft as its flying platform. "All components of JPATS are in place and operational at Moody [Air Force Base], Ga.," Cook said.
PLUTO PLUG: Sending a probe to the distant planet Pluto and the Kuiper Belt should be NASA's first priority in solar system exploration, the National Research Council says in a new report. The NRC praises NASA's plan to launch a series of "medium-sized" solar system missions costing no more than $650 million, but says the first should go to the Kuiper Belt, a region of primitive, icy objects beyond Neptune, and Pluto, the only solar system planet that has not been directly observed by a robotic probe.
DETERMINISM & FAA: The FAA's traditional insistence that unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems be deterministic in their behavior should be re-examined, according to Bruce Clough of the Air Force Research Laboratory. In a deterministic system, the outcome of a given situation will always be known with certainty.
LONDON - United Kingdom Treasury proposals leaked to the press July 10, which call for reducing Britain's commitment to buy 232 Eurofighters by as much as a third, are likely to meet fierce resistance from the other three program partners. Britain and Germany currently each have a 37 percent workshare, matching their investment in the program, followed by 19 percent for Italy and 14 percent for Spain. Any substantial reductions by any partner would result in accompanying cost increases and work distribution for the other nations involved.
NEW DELHI - The Indian air force has begun an experiment to study monsoon patterns over the Arabian Sea. The experiment also seeks to identify gaps between cloud layers which can be used for safe flying, to enhance air force operational preparedness and safety, the official said. Two Russian-built AN-32 aircraft will participate in the Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment (ARMEX), a senior air force official told The DAILY.
NEW DELHI - The government of Pakistan plans to lease its first geostationary commercial satellite, a Hughes Global Services satellite already in orbit. Pakistan plans to lease the HGS-3 satellite for five years for an initial cost of $4.5 million, plus $4.6 million a year. Negotiations on the deal still are underway, said Richard Dore, director of corporate communications for Hughes Electronics, which owns Hughes Global Services.
WEDGETAIL: The Boeing Co. successfully completed the preliminary design review of the 737 airborne early warning & control system for Australia's Project Wedgetail, and is "rapidly moving" toward releasing drawings and building parts, the company said July 11. A Boeing-led team is to deliver four 737 AEW&C systems to Australia.
Turkey joined the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program July 11, committing $175 million over the next 10 years to participate in the system development and demonstration (SDD) phase of the program.
The Air Force issued a pre-solicitation notice July 11 for a contract to develop the battle management system for its Multi-Sensor Command and Control Constellation (MC2A).
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Marine Corps' Dragon Warrior unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is expected to have its first flight before the end of this month in anticipation of a demonstration flight for Marine Corps officials at Quantico on Aug. 12.
The Marine Corps plans to pick a contractor in November to build hundreds of Dragon Eye unmanned aerial vehicles, a program representative said late July 10. AeroVironment and BAI Aerosystems are competing to produce the reconnaissance-surveillance aircraft, and the Marines hope to begin taking delivery from the winning company in the spring of 2003, Marine Corps Maj. John Cane said at a defense systems exhibit on Capitol Hill.
The White House has officially presented to the Senate Frederick D. Gregory's nomination to be NASA deputy administrator, NASA announced July 11. NASA announced earlier this year that President Bush intended to nominate Gregory for the post (DAILY, May 9).
NASA plans to move quickly to implement one recommendation of a task force that reviewed NASA's science plans for the International Space Station. The Research Maximization and Prioritization (REMAP) task force reported July 10 that science would be curtailed on the station if it isn't built beyond a limited "core complete" stage (DAILY, July 11).
The Air Force has awarded two contracts for work on a project intended to negate optical- and infrared-based air defenses, an accomplishment that would give U.S. aircraft the same dominance at low altitudes that anti-radar devices now give them at higher altitudes. BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin each will get $35 million under five-year Air Force Research Laboratory contracts announced by the Pentagon July 3.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The next unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) roadmap from the Department of Defense (DOD) is under review by the services in draft form and should be released by late summer or early fall, according to an official with the UAV Planning Task Force. The primary purpose of the roadmap, first issued last year (DAILY, April 27, 200), is to help DOD plan long-term acquisition and development cycles for UAV technology. The new roadmap will cover the next 25 years of UAV development, from 2002 to 2027.
The U.S. Army is expected to add "significantly more" money to its spending plans for developing a mobile version of TRW Inc.'s Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL), according to TRW program manager Josef Shwartz. About $118 million already is slated for the mobile THEL (MTHEL) from fiscal 2003 to FY '07, and the Army is expected to commit even more resources in the coming months, although just how much will be added is unclear, Shwartz said July 11 at the Lexington Institute's Capitol Hill forum on directed energy.
Senior Army and Air Force officials, who testified July 11 before House lawmakers, called for additional transport aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles to fight terrorist groups on foreign soil. Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee's oversight panel on terrorism, Lt. Gen. David McKiernan, director of Army operations, said the single biggest challenge for Army forces in Afghanistan was getting sufficient airlift to transport its forces to the battlefield.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Early hardware demonstrations and flight tests have been conducted on an acoustic sensor system capable of flying on a powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is sponsoring a demonstration next month in which a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will deploy a smaller expendable UAV equipped with chem/bio detection sensors as part of a homeland security exercise.
