The National Reconnaissance Office plans to release its annual Director's Innovative Initiative (DII) solicitation on June 3, with proposals due by July 17, the NRO announced. Proposals selected for funding will be announced by Sept. 30. The DII program, which began in 1998, solicits research and development proposals focusing on new sensors, processing methods, business practices and sources, the NRO said. Previous solicitations occurred in October, but the timetable has been moved up this year to allow work on the proposals to begin sooner.
(Editor's note: The following is excerpted from the written responses by Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, who is nominated to be commander-in-chief, U.S. Pacific Command, to written questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee. Fargo testified April 26.) Q: In your view, what are the major challenges that will confront the next commander-in-chief, United States Pacific Command?
The European Aeronautic and Defence and Space Co. (EADS), stung by the U.S. Air Force's decision last month to explore tanker leasing options with Boeing instead of Airbus, is pressing ahead with development of an advanced refueling boom it says will be available beginning in 2005.
SPOT LAUNCH: The Spot 5 remote sensing satellite has been installed on its Ariane 4 booster, one of the last steps leading to its May 3 launch, according to Arianespace. Flight 151 will carry a pair of French amateur radio mini-satellites in addition to Spot 5.
PROPHET TEAM: Titan Systems Corp. of San Diego and Thales Defence Ltd. of the United Kingdom are teaming to pursue Block II/III upgrades to the U.S. Army's Prophet Ground System. The Prophet, or AN/MLQ-40, is a signals intelligence service mounted on a ground vehicle, which can be used to help create electronic maps of battlefields.
Members of the International Association of Machinists&Aerospace Workers Local 709 voted April 28 to ratify a three-year contract with Lockheed Martin Corp., ending a 44-day strike at Lockheed's Marietta, Ga., plant where workers assemble the F-22 Raptor fighter and the C-130J Hercules transport.
AIRPORT STUDY: Boeing Air Traffic Management (ATM) will conduct a six-month study of the Beijing Capital International Airport's maneuvering area and ground operations under a contract with Beijing Capital International Airport Company Limited, Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Air traffic levels at the airport are expected to double over the next eight years, according to Boeing, and a third runway will be added by 2004.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s X-47A Pegasus prototype has performed a successful autonomous start and shutdown of its Pratt & Whitney JT15D engine, the company announced April 29. During an April 18 test at Northrop Grumman facilities in El Segundo, Calif., the X-47A autonomously sequenced through its engine start series and came to idle. After subsystems and engine performance were checked out, the vehicle was allowed to perform an autonomous engine shutdown. This sequence was repeated several times.
NEW DELHI - The supersonic cruise missile BrahMos will be test-fired from a ship in the next six months after a successful second test held April 28. The 26-foot-long missile was launched vertically from a container at a missile test range at Balasore in eastern India. It next will be fired from a ship, said a senior scientist with India's Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), and serial production likely will begin next year. The BrahMos was first tested in June 2001.
The supersonic cruise missile BrahMos will be test-fired from a ship in the next six months after a successful second test held April 28. The 26-foot-long missile was launched vertically from a container at a missile test range at Balasore in eastern India. It next will be fired from a ship, said a senior scientist with India's Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), and serial production likely will begin next year. The BrahMos was first tested in June 2001.
The European Aeronautic and Defence and Space Co. (EADS), stung by the U.S. Air Force's decision last month to explore tanker leasing options with Boeing instead of Airbus, is pressing ahead with development of an advanced refueling boom it says will be available beginning in 2005.
The Czech government remains confident it can push through a bill opening the door for the purchase of 24 Jas-39 Gripen fighters, despite suffering a serious setback in parliament, officials told The DAILY. Opponents of the 60 billion Czech crown ($1.8 billion) deal narrowly succeeded April 24 in sending the bill back to parliament's defense and security committee.
MOSCOW - Sukhoi Design Bureau won the tender for Russia's fifth-generation fighter April 26 after its bid was approved by the government's commission on military industry. The decision came in a closed meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mikhail Kasianov, and the result was announced by Iliya Klebanov, the minister of industry, science and technology. Sukhoi's team on the program will include MiG and the Yakovlev Design Bureau. MiG had presented its own design for the fighter.
DRS Technologies plans to enter the market for unmanned aerial vehicles with its purchase of a UAV business from Meggitt Defense Systems-Texas, Inc. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but DRS chairman, president and CEO Mark Newman said in a statement that "the acquisition of this small UAV business positions DRS in the growing UAV market supporting special military operations and civil applications."
TECHSYS INC. of Florham Park, N.J., plans to commercialize portable fuel cell technology from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, Calif., for use in civil and defense applications. TechSys has an exclusive license on the development of micro-direct methanol fuel-cell technology, which it said could lead to portable fuel cells that could power electronic devices such as cell phones, laptop computers, camcorders for hours or even days.
A Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile successfully intercepted and destroyed an incoming tactical ballistic missile (TBM) target during an April 25 test, although a second PAC-3 failed to launch. The test was intended to be a simultaneous engagement using the first PAC-3 missile against a Patriot-as-a-Target (PAAT) TBM, and the second PAC-3 against a Storm II ballistic missile target. An investigation is underway to determine why the second missile didn't launch.
TRUE TECH TRANSFER: The true mechanism through which American aerospace technology is being transferred overseas is our system of higher education, according to Joseph Rothenberg, former head of NASA's Office of Human Spaceflight. "I contend that [technology is] leaving the country through the education system," Rothenberg says. "There's a diminishing number of people graduating from universities ... in science and engineering who are staying in the country. There are a lot of international students ... and many of them now are returning to their home countries.
JDAM TEST: Boeing's 500-pound MK-82 Joint Direct Attack Munition has been successfully flight tested at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Boeing announced April 26. The Air Force launched the MK-82 from an F-16 six miles from its target and at 20,000 feet. The JDAM flew to the target and made a direct hit, according to Boeing. The engineering, manufacturing and development phase of the 500-pound JDAM began in September 2000.
STUMP RETIRES: House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Chairman Bob Stump (R-Ariz.) says he will not seek re-election to the House in November due to unspecified "serious health problems." Stump, 75, has led the HASC since January 2001. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), the panel's No. 2 Republican in seniority, hopes to become the new chairman when Stump steps down at year's end. Hunter is "going to work hard to get it," a spokesman says. Another senior member of the committee, Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), who unsuccessfully ran for the chairmanship last year (DAILY, Jan.
A Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile successfully intercepted and destroyed an incoming tactical ballistic missile (TBM) target during an April 25 test, although a second PAC-3 failed to launch. The test was intended to be a simultaneous engagement using the first PAC-3 missile against a Patriot-as-a-Target (PAAT) TBM, and the second PAC-3 against a Storm II ballistic missile target. An investigation is underway to determine why the second missile didn't launch.
TECHNOLOGY BOOST: France soon will launch a satellite carrying technology the country hopes will boost its competitiveness in space telecommunications. The 2.4 ton Telecommunications Satellite for New Technology Experiments in Orbit (STENTOR) is slated to launch in July from the Kourou launch center in French Guiana. The satellite carries a host of new technologies, according to the French Technology Press office, including an active antenna and advanced thermal control and plasma thrusters. The government decided to build the satellite in 1994.
JSF DELAY: The Dutch cabinet April 26 postponed a decision on whether to reaffirm its recommendation to parliament to join the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. The delaying action follows two tie votes in the parliament on whether to reject the cabinet's recommendation.
