Unless Congress passes the fiscal 2002 supplemental appropriations bill before leaving town for the August recess, the Defense Department will face critical funding shortfalls that could endanger aircraft maintenance, precision munition production and military training, according to the Pentagon's chief financial officer. The roughly $14 billion the Pentagon expects from the 2002 supplemental is needed to cover the mounting bills due for Operation Enduring Freedom, DOD Comptroller Dov Zakheim told reporters at the Pentagon July 12.
House panels have cast several votes on the proposed new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that could have implications for aerospace-related programs.
The House Science Committee will delay consideration of a NASA authorization bill until early 2003 to give it more time to study key matters, including a recent report that could affect decisions about the design of the International Space Station, according to committee aides.
JSF CUTS: A final decision on Navy and Marine Corps plans to reduce their buy of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will be made by the time the fiscal year 2004 budgets are submitted, according to acquisition czar E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr. The Navy and Marine Corps are "looking at a total number of about 400 reduction from the 3,000, which would bring us down to 2,600," Aldridge, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, says.
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.
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.
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).
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).
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 House Armed Services Committee voted July 10 to transfer a satellite-based program for detecting forest fires to the proposed new Department of Homeland Security. Committee members said the Hazard Support System (HSS), whose primary contractor has been the Raytheon Co., could detect forest fires that are less than a quarter of an acre in size, helping firefighters extinguish them before they spread out of control. But the system, now overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has not been fielded due to a lack of funding.
NASA should stop describing the International Space Station as a "science-driven" program if the station isn't expanded beyond a "core complete" stage, a review panel told the NASA Advisory Council July 10.
