GROUNDED: The Navy's 156 F-14 Tomcats have been grounded until a problem with the aircraft's nose wheel assembly is checked out, according to Naval Air Systems (NAVAIR) Command. Corrosion in a component of an F-14's nose landing gear has been faulted for the March 2 crash of an F-14 in the Mediterranean. The F-14's pilot was killed in the accident. "An engineering investigation of the mishap discovered corrosion on the outer cylinder at the site where the failure occurred," NAVAIR says.
June 13 - 14 --Aerospace America International Airshow hosts the Aviation Conference and Exposition (ACE 2002), the Westin Hotel, Oklahoma City, Okla. For additional information contact Don L. Schmidt or Carl Whittle, Aerospace America International Airshow at (405) 685-9546.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is modifying the Boeing Co.'s missile defense contract to allow the company to develop a sea-based X-band radar for the missile defense test bed, according to Department of Defense documents and officials. Boeing, the prime systems integrator for the U.S. ballistic missile defense system, will have its contract modified to allow the company to "develop a Sea-Based Test X-band Radar (XBR) capability in support of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Program," according to a contract notice issued June 4.
SINGLE ASOC: The United States is hoping to convince Russia to cooperate on developing a single air sovereignty operations center (ASOC), according to a senior defense official. "I know we have been looking at and pushing [for] the development of an air sovereignty operations center for the entire European and Russian area of operations," the official told reporters.
UAV EXPORTS: Key Senate and House lawmakers say they would support the sale of General Atomics Predator and Northrop Grumman Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles to Australia, Japan, New Zealand and NATO members. In a June 5 letter, they tell Secretary of State Colin Powell they would support the sales as long as those countries have a clear national security requirement for the UAVs, won't arm the aircraft or re-export them without U.S. approval, and will adhere to the international Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
A Missile Defense Agency team charged with recommending ways to defeat countermeasures on hostile missiles has been told by another MDA team, led by Retired Air Force Gen. Larry Welch, to redo some its proposals, Welch said June 7. MDA has formed a red team to develop countermeasures and a blue team to propose ways to overcome those countermeasures. A third, or white team, chaired by Welch, acts as a referee, judging the realism of the red team's ideas and the viability of the blue team's suggestions.
TRW will upgrade the launch command centers that control Minuteman III missiles under a $65 million contract from the U.S. Air Force. The company will begin the system design and development phase of the ICBM Rapid Execution and Combat Targeting Service Life Extension Program (REACT SLEP), which will upgrade command and control hardware, software and support equipment.
During a meeting in Brussels of NATO defense ministers, members of the alliance agreed to work on four military capabilities, according to a senior U.S. defense official. "There was widespread agreement among allies that we need to develop a new approach involving major capabilities in four key areas, that could then be endorsed by heads of state at the Prague Summit," said the defense official, speaking to reporters June 6.
Boeing Service Co. was awarded a $508 million contract by the Transportation Security Administration to deploy Explosive Detection System (EDS) and Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) machines in the nation's airports. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta announced the contract June 7. Boeing had been vying for the work with Lockheed Martin Corp., Tyco International Ltd., TRW Systems; General Dynamics Inc., Raytheon Corp., and Siemens Corp.
TURF BATTLES: Establishing a new Department of Homeland Security may lead to the same turf and budgetary battles that ensued after the creation of specialized agencies like the Drug Enforcement Agency, according to James Lewis, director of the Public Policy Program for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Agencies have trouble adjusting to new priorities, so just as the war on drugs led to the creation of the DEA, the war on terrorism has led to a new cabinet-level domestic security office," Lewis says.
The lead systems integrator (LSI) for the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) announced the first 30 of what eventually will be about 89 FCS contracts June 5. The contracts cover combat systems, supportability and command, control, computers, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, according to the Boeing Co.
The Defense Department wants to cancel the Crusader self-propelled howitzer without knowing whether existing alternatives can meet the Army's requirements, a group of pro-Crusader supporters said June 6. Philip Coyle, former director of the Defense Department's Office of Operational Test & Evaluation, said the alternatives being considered for Crusader aren't suitable substitutes.
The House June 6 blocked an attempt by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) to have lawmakers consider a resolution urging President Bush to seek congressional approval before pulling out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
The Coast Guard, transportation security and countermeasures for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) would become part of a new Department of Homeland Security under a proposal unveiled by the Bush Administration June 6. The Coast Guard and transportation security would be part of the department's border and transportation security division. Biological, chemical, nuclear and radiological countermeasures, including science and technology development, would make up another division.
An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is scheduled for a test launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on June 7. A Peacekeeper ICBM test was held June 3. Both tests are part of the Force Development Evaluation Program. The Minuteman launch, scheduled between 1:01 a.m. and 7:01 a.m. Pacific Time, is intended to test the reliability and accuracy of the weapon system.
The Navy and Air Force have presented their options for replacing the EA-6B Prowler electronic attack aircraft, but so far no decision has been made, according to Pentagon sources. In a June 4 meeting with E.C. "Pete" Aldridge, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, senior Navy and Air Force officials presented their options, according to Cheryl Irwin, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense. However, a follow-up meeting is planned and Aldridge has not made a final decision, she told The DAILY.
The sale of business jets will continue to decline over the next two years and then pick up near the middle of the decade, according to a recently released report from Forecast International/DMS. The report, entitled "The World Market for Business Jet Aircraft," projects that 8,199 business jets, worth nearly $135 million, will be produced between 2002 and 2011. Although the market is in a downturn following the boom that began in the mid-1990s, production should begin growing again in 2004, according to the report.
The House voted 397-25 on June 5 to pass a bill that would increase the National Science Foundation's budget by 15 percent a year for three years and set a goal to double the agency's funding in five years. The bill includes significant funding increases for nanotechnology research.
Under a NASA contract, Raytheon Co. is working with universities and state and local governments around the country to explore innovative, non-research applications for remote sensing data, including everything from precision agriculture to infectious disease monitoring.
PRAGUE - Czech aircraft producer Aero Vodochody has revealed that its new L-159B two-seat jet is to go on public display for the first time next month. Two jets, one static and one airborne, will be shown at the Farnborough International 2002 air show in Great Britain in late July. The rollout ceremony will take place in the Czech Republic after Farnborough. The L-159B was airborne for the first time this week, flying for almost an hour and reaching an altitude of 11,000 meters (36,000 feet).
L-3 Communications' Communications Systems-East division will provide solid-state reconnaissance recorders for Sweden's JAS-39 Gripen fighters, the company said June 6. The contract, with Saab Avionics AB of Stockholm, is a "multi-million dollar" deal, the New York-based company said, although it did not reveal further details. L-3 will provide its RM-8000R model recording system for the Gripen. The company said it has a high-speed interface, simultaneous record and play and target event marking, and is interoperable with NATO forces.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - U.S. Space Command expects an increase this year in the number of attempts by hackers to break into Defense Department computer networks, according to Lt. Gen. Ed Anderson, deputy commander in chief. One of the command's responsibilities is to meet all of the department's current and future cyber threats and requirements, and Anderson said the importance of the task can't be overemphasized.
If the Air Force's Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite communications system needs to be restructured to contain costs, the service probably would follow a course similar to that taken with the Space Based Infrared System High (SBIRS High) program, according to the head of Air Force Space Command. "I can't speak right now on the specifics of what it is dollar-wise," Gen. Lance Lord, the head of Air Force Space Command, said after a June 5 speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
