NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Although the U.S. Army has not yet finished requirements for the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter it plans to acquire, there is no doubt it will want an aircraft that has a high degree of survivability, transportability and connectivity with other forces, according to a service official.
MOSCOW - Gregory Olsen, CEO of New Jersey-based Sensors Unlimited Inc., plans to become the latest "space tourist" to fly to the International Space Station on a Russian Soyuz vehicle. Olsen is scheduled to fly to the station in April 2005, according to Space Adventures of Arlington, Va., which brokered the deal and also organized the space flights of the previous private station visitors, Dennis Tito and Mark Shuttleworth.
The global undersea warfare market is projected to increase 13.1 percent from 2004 to 2013 compared with a prediction made just last year, according to research group Forecast International (FI). The projected increase is due to advances in weapons and sensor technologies for submarines, FI senior naval analyst Stuart Slade says in the March 29 report. The projection issued last year covered the period 2003 to 2012.
JCM TESTS: Lockheed Martin and EDO Corp. successfully conducted additional Joint Common Missile (JCM) launcher and missile integration tests on F/A-18 E/F and C/D aircraft earlier this month, Lockheed Martin said March 29. The company is competing with teams led by Boeing-Northrop Grumman and Raytheon to build the JCM, which is to replace the Maverick and Hellfire missiles.
NATO efforts to develop surveillance aircraft and cooperate with Russia on missile defense are advancing as planned, the head of the alliance said March 29.
NASA achieved the fastest flight of an air-breathing aircraft March 27 with the second flight attempt of its unmanned X-43A "Hyper-X" demonstrator, which reached speeds above Mach 7, according to the agency. "We can claim an air-breathing powered record today, no doubt about it," NASA Langley Hyper-X propulsion lead Larry Huebner said in a press conference March 27. "Bottom line is, it's time to roll up our sleeves and start looking at some data."
AIR DEFENSE: Russia's minister of defense, Sergey Ivanov, says the country's future air and space defense system will "consolidate all the state's resources, including civilian aviation." This could mean that civil air traffic management will be consolidated under military control, Russian observers say. Some military officials have complained about Western countries competing to provide air traffic management systems in Russia's far east and central region. Ivanov spoke to the media last week after observing an air attack simulation in the Tver region.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - U.S. Army researchers say they plan to expand the kinds of weapons fired in tests from unmanned aerial vehicles. The use of armed Predator UAVs by non-Army U.S. forces in recent military operations has helped fuel the Army's interest in such platforms. "Certainly, the weaponization of UAVs is a very hot and interesting topic right now, and we're doing some things along those lines, too," said Col. William Gavora, commander of the Army's Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD), based at Fort Eustis, Va.
The NATO Response Force (NRF) will serve as a "forcing mechanism" for military transformation within NATO member countries by requiring interoperability between the systems that are contributed to it, according to Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Boeing conducted the latest in a series of successful tests and demonstrations last week of the company's prototype future battle management system for joint military commanders. The tests focus on reducing the risk of fielding the complex, network-centric systems, Boeing said in a statement. The risk reduction events began in 2003.
S&T: The U.S. Department of Defense increased the amount for hypersonics research in the fiscal 2005 budget request primarily to support the Single Engine Demonstration (SED), says Ronald Sega, director of defense research and engineering. The SED will integrate the Air Force's Hypersonic Technology (HyTech) engine with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency air vehicle technology (DAILY, March 22).
SPACE COMMAND: Air Force Space Command has awarded SI International, Inc. a contract to support Space Command, U.S. Strategic Command, North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Northern Command and other government agencies. The contract has a 3.5-year base period, with options that could boost its value to $800 million.
Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers equipped with the Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) system now are flying, making the tankers the first Air Mobility Command (AMC) aircraft to be fitted with the system, which enhances navigation and surveillance capabilities and makes the aircraft compliant with civilian air traffic management systems.
Boeing will provide Harpoon Block II missile retrofit kits to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) under a $20 million contract, the company said March 25. "The Harpoon Block II will definitely expand their ability to meet a wide range of missions, including a great improvement in coastal sea operations," John Lockard, senior vice president of Boeing naval systems, said in a statement.
STILL WAITING: The defense industry still is waiting for the Bush Administration to complete and release the results of an export control study that was due out last July, says Joel Johnson, vice president of international affairs at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). Meanwhile, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, who is skeptical of the idea of easing export controls, sent a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell requesting a private briefing on the study, Johnson says.
RESPONSIVE LAUNCH: The U.S. Air Force has narrowed the field to nine competing contractors in its effort to develop an operationally responsive small launch vehicle, according to Air Force Undersecretary for Space Peter Teets. The new launch vehicle is being designed to launch 1,000 pounds to low-Earth orbit for less than $10 million, "and do it in a matter of days and hours, not months, weeks, or years," Teets says.
ARMY AVIATION: The U.S. Army is considering appointing a two- or three-star general to oversee all of the service's aviation efforts, says Lt. Gen. Richard Cody, Army deputy chief of staff. With aviation accounting for a big chunk of the Army's budget, and in light of the recently announced restructuring of aviation programs, such a position may be warranted to ensure aviation receives adequate high-level attention, Cody says.
NEW DELHI - Russia has assured India that work on the first of three upgraded Ilyushin Il-38 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft scheduled for delivery to the Indian navy will be completed within six months. Work will begin on the aircraft in the next two months, a navy official said. The upgrades include the installation of Ilyushin Design Bureau's new Sea Dragon mission system. The remaining two aircraft will be completed next year.
VTOL NEEDS: The technology needs of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft will be examined at the 11th biennial Helicopter Military Operations Technology Specialists Meeting (HELMOT XI). The conference aims to "stimulate dialogue among military, civilian and industry technologists, developers and operators concerning the development, transition and use of critical technologies that enhance and sustain joint service VTOL aviation," according to an announcement of the event. The conference is scheduled for Oct.
