A Kolibri 2000 microsatellite was deployed from a Progress M1-7 spacecraft on March 19, marking the possible beginning of a series of space experiments sponsored by university and high school student reseachers. The Kolibri (hummingbird) was built by the Tarusa Special Design Bureau for a research team that included Russian and Australian high school groups.
The latest operational test of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile defense system resulted in the successful destruction of both targets over White Sands Missile Range, N.M., March 21. The test involved two PAC-3 missiles fired against a Hera missile target, as well as the "shoot-look-shoot" intercept of an MQM-107 subscale drone aircraft using PAC-2 missiles. Shoot-look-shoot involves firing one missile, then firing another if the first doesn't hit its target.
The FAA's Operational Evolution Plan (OEP) to increase air traffic capacity in the U.S. doesn't go far enough, according to the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. Recent studies have documented the annual loss associated with flight delays at over $8 billion, according to the Commission's latest interim report (DAILY, March 21).
LOCKHEED MARTIN COMMERCIAL SPACE SYSTEM'S NSS-7 telecommunications satellite, built for New Skies Satellites N.V., has been shipped from production facilities in Sunnyvale, Calif., to Kourou, French Guiana, where it will be prepared for its scheduled mid-April launch. NSS-7 is a hybrid Ku-band and C-band satellite which can provide video distribution, Internet access, telephony and data services. It has 72 transponders and will operate at 338.5 east longitude over the Atlantic Ocean, to provide coverage to Europe, Africa and the Americas.
TEST LAUNCH: Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control and the U.S. Army conducted a successful engineering and development test for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS). The test involved ripple-firing two GMLRS rockets, which flew less than 12.5 miles and dispensed their submunition payloads. The test was the fourth of six for the program, which is a cooperative program between the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany.
The Air Force's top two officials said March 20 they are studying the possibility of expanding competition in the unmanned aerial vehicle industry, jointly developing a prototype-sized reusable launch vehicle with NASA, and giving KC-135 tankers the additional role of intelligence gathering.
Volumetric weapons (VW), which use high amounts of pressure to damage their targets, appear to be growing in popularity and could be used against the U.S. within the next decade, according to Navy Vice Adm. Thomas Wilson, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Problems with NASA's most recent audit point to an outdated and inadequate financial management structure at the agency, according to the General Accounting Office (GAO). From fiscal years 1996 through 2000, NASA received unqualified, or "clean," audit opinions from its former auditor, Arthur Andersen, making it one of the few federal agencies to consistently receive such a rating.
A panel of industry leaders testifying before the House Armed Services Subcommittee for Military Procurement March 19 disagreed over whether the "buy American" clauses inserted into many defense contracts are helping or hindering the defense industry. John Douglass, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, said the clauses for many aerospace-related contracts occasionally must be waived to ensure compatibility and reciprocity.
Britain will deploy 1,700 more military personnel for operations against al Qaeda and Taliban troops in Afghanistan, bringing its total in-theater forces to around 6,400. The latest deployment, announced March 18, includes mountain combat-trained Royal Marines from No. 45 Commando. When he announced the deployment in Parliament, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said this would be the largest British military deployment into an active combat zone since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
In its second interim report, released March 20, the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry recommends the Bush Administration create a multi-agency task force to revamp the nation's overtaxed air traffic management system.
AMRAAM SALE: The Department of Defense notified Congress March 20 of a possible sale to Spain of 31 AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and associated equipment. The total sale could be worth as much as $19 million, according to the DOD.
Integral Systems Inc.'s win of a competition for the Air Force's Command and Control System-Consolidated (CCS-C) program puts it in a good position to get contracts for similar programs, Steve Chamberlain, CEO of the Lanham, Md., company said March 20.
The demands of ongoing military operations in Southwest Asia are creating shortages in other regional command areas, particularly for the availability of aircraft carriers, according to the European and Pacific commanders-in-chief (CINCs).
OSPREY AWARD: The Bell-Boeing Joint Program Office was awarded a $770 million contract modification March 19 for work on 11 low-rate initial production V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Work is to be completed by August 2005, according to the Department of Defense.
If the U.S. Navy's ship-buying rate isn't increased soon, shipbuilding funds may have to compete with other pressing military modernization programs down the road, a House lawmaker warned Navy officials March 20.
Raytheon's Joint Tactical Terminal (JTT) is meeting its new schedule for deliveries and is moving forward to operational testing, according to company officials, after its acquisition track experienced a protest and delays. Production was almost two years behind schedule in 2000, but Raytheon has made up some of the lost time and is delivering units to the services, according to Patrick Luna, a senior program manager at Raytheon Corp. "The bottom line is we're back on track," he told reporters at a March 18 press briefing.
German lawmakers passed a compromise deal to buy 40 Airbus A400M transport planes, clearing a key hurdle for Europe's largest joint defense program ever, Aerospace Daily affiliate AviationNow.com reported. The German parliament's budget committee approved a 5.1 billion euro ($4.5 billion) outlay March 20 to buy 40 planes, 33 short of the country's full commitment to the 18 billion-euro program.
George Ferito has been named manager of Flight Safety's Fort Worth learning center. Mike King has been named manager for its tw learning centers at St. Louis Lambert International airport.
A high-level Navy official said March 19 that he is trying to secure significantly more money for new weapon systems in the service's fiscal 2004 budget, which the Bush Administration is scheduled to release in about 11 months.
Standard&Poor's has lowered the corporate credit rating for aviation component supplier Fairchild Corp. but removed the company from CreditWatch, where it had been placed Sept. 21, 2001. In a report released March 18, S&P aerospace analyst Roman Szuper lowered the rating for the Dulles, Va.-based company from "B" to "B-" out of concern that the continued softness in the commercial aviation market would weaken its financial profile. The company's ratings outlook is negative.
ROCKWELL BUY: Rockwell Collins Inc. has acquired Communication Solutions Inc. for $23 million, the company announced March 19. The buy will expand Rockwell Collins' portfolio for customers in the areas of signals intelligence and surveillance, according to the company. Maryland-based Communications Solutions reported $16 million in 2001 revenues from its defense and security-related SIGINT products.
