UP FOR REVIEW: The Army's Crusader artillery system isn't the only big-ticket weapon system being reviewed, says Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense. The Department of Defense announced it wants to cancel the Crusader, but Wolfowitz says other programs also are facing scrutiny, including the V-22 Osprey, the F-22 Raptor and "several" helicopter programs. Wolfowitz says the programs are "good things ... but when you make projections out to FY '08, '09 ... you start to see that we aren't going to be able to afford them all.
Eight House members have proposed legislation that would set specific goals for space exploration, including development within 20 years of a reusable space vehicle that could take people to Mars.
Poor weather and a procedural error were determined to be the causes of two crashes of the RQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, according to official accident reports released May 17 by Air Force Air Combat Command. The two crashes, which took place less than a week apart earlier this year, involved Predator aircraft flying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The Senate Armed Services Committee is questioning the Army's cancellation of its Hydra-70 rocket system program, saying in a new report on the fiscal 2003 defense authorization bill that the panel "does not understand" the service's decision because the General Dynamics system has been valuable in the war on terrorism. "The committee finds that the Army may be incurring a significantly high level of risk by this action," the report says.
DAYTON, Ohio -- The Air Force's command, control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C2ISR) planners want to give future joint commanders "instant pre-play" of battlefield scenarios, according to Maj. Gen. Robert F. Behler, head of C2ISR at Langley Air Force Base, Va. Instant pre-play would involve computer analysis of the battlespace, and prediction of the enemy's most likely course of action in response to a given tactic.
The cost of Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle may have gone up, but replacing it with another surveillance aircraft and a corresponding sensor package would be even more expensive, company Chairman and CEO Kent Kresa said. Speaking at the Aerospace and Defense Finance Conference in New York last week, Kresa acknowledged that the cost of manufacturing the sophisticated sensor package for the aircraft is driving up the overall cost.
The Bush Administration soon will send a fiscal 2003 budget amendment to Capitol Hill to shift funds from the Army's canceled Crusader artillery program to precision munitions and rocket systems, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said May 16. The Administration is putting the finishing touches on the proposed legislation and plans to give it to Congress by May 20, as promised earlier, Wolfowitz told the Senate Armed Services Committee at a hearing on the Crusader.
Putting new engines on the Air Force's KC-135E Stratotankers might increase the operational capability of the Boeing air refuelers but would fail to remove other age-related deficiencies with the aircraft, including corrosion, "technical obsolescence," and supportability problems, according to the service.
The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to release its new science program and implementation plan May 27 in Paris. David Southwood, ESA's director of science, said last year that the agency would have to revamp its science program to fit within budgets that are going to be smaller than the agency had hoped. ESA officials and members of European industry and scientific communities were consulted to find ways to maximize the agency's science value for its money.
The Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry issued a draft interim report May 16 that included several recommendations for near-term action on issues related to space, the industrial base and the aerospace workforce. The commission's recommendations included: * The Defense Science Board should review the long-term viability of the nation's fighter aircraft and solid-rocket booster development design capability.
GUARD CONFIRMATION: The Senate has confirmed Lt. Gen. Daniel James III as director of the Air National Guard. James has been adjutant general of the Texas National Guard.
DAYTON, Ohio - The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is working "extremely actively" to develop aerial refueling technology that could be incorporated into the X-45 Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV), according to David Lanman, focus area lead for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology at AFRL. The lab is working closely with X-45 manufacturer the Boeing Co., the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Aeronautical Systems Center, Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command, the Navy, and NASA on the effort, according to Lanman.
BUYING RAM: The Navy has awarded Raytheon two Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) production contracts worth more than $75 million. One, worth $39.7 million, is for the production of 10 RAM launcher systems for the German Navy. The other contract, worth $35.7 million, is for RAM missiles for the U.S. Navy.
Experts in aircraft aging from across the military and government have formed a joint council to coordinate and leverage their efforts to keep the country's fleet of legacy aircraft flying safely. The Joint Council on Aging Aircraft's (JCAA) purpose is to identify, investigate, and implement programs that will field products to improve the availability and affordability of aging aircraft systems. Its members include specialists in aging aircraft from the Navy, Air Force, Army, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and the FAA.
In the latest consolidation of aerospace suppliers, LMI Aerospace and Versaform have joined forces. LMI Aerospace, based in St. Charles, Mo., which makes, finishes and integrates aluminum and specialty alloy components for aircraft, has acquired Versaform Corp. and affiliates, which are privately held aerospace metal forming companies based in Southern California and British Columbia, Canada. LMI acquired the common stock of Versaform, but no detailed terms were released.
Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems Co. announced May 16 it has begun work on a contract awarded in 2000 to build two geosynchronous satellites for SES Americom. But the company's future may be in doubt, in light of comments this week from Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Vance Coffman, who said the company might sell the unit. The Ku/Ka-band satellites, designated AMC-15 and AMC-16, will provide video channel distribution and broadband data and Internet services across North America.
Lockheed Martin's U.K. Integrated Systems aims to provide the technologies at heart of Project Watchkeeper, in which unmanned aerial vehicles linked to ground stations could provide British forces real-time imagery. The company said May 14 that it had submitted a bid for the Systems Integration and Assurance Phase of the program. This phase involves system design definition and risk reduction. Lockheed Martin is one of four companies competing. Downselection is expected in September.
Orincon Corporation International has won a contract in the Air Force's Targets Under Trees (TUT) program. The San Diego company's defense unit beat General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman for the Intelligence Fusion System (IFS) portion of the four-part program, intended to defeat mobile targets hiding under foliage.
Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Vance Coffman said his company is exploring the possibility of managing a portion of the Defense Department's operations and maintenance work. Roughly 35 percent of DOD's proposed budget for FY '03 goes for operations and maintenance (O&M), as compared with 18 percent for procurement and 14 percent for research and development.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The U.S. Army again is interested in an intratheater transport aircraft as part of its future force, after nearly discarding it as a requirement.
The Defense Department should allow government and industry managers of space programs to set aside reserve funds "that can allow them to immediately solve problems" that arise in a system's development, according to Air Force Undersecretary Peter Teets. Testifying before the congressionally chartered U.S. aerospace commission May 14, Teets said the appropriate reserve for a "risky" project could be as much as 20 percent of the program's cost.
F-22 TESTING: The Lockheed Martin-led industry team building the F-22 Raptor has successfully completed all planned static testing of the aircraft, Lockheed Martin announced May 15. The tests demonstrated that the F-22's structural integrity can withstand forces 50 percent higher than those expected in its service life, according to the company.
