Efforts to streamline the Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office's space programs have resulted in a number of "best practices" being adopted by both organizations, according to an Air Force official involved in the effort. Over the past several months, industry and government officials involved in NRO and Air Force space programs have conducted a series of working group meetings to examine how the two organizations run their space programs. The goal is to identify new procedures that can be adopted in contracting, budgeting and planning.
COMANCHE SITE: The Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche team has picked an industrial site in Bridgeport, Conn., for the first phase of assembly and delivery of the helicopter, the companies announced March 12.The site will also house the program's office headquarters. About 350 employees working in Trumbull, Conn., will relocate, and up to 150 new jobs are expected to be created as the program moves to preliminary production. The Army has restructured the program and delayed its initial operational capability by two years, from fiscal 2006 to 2008 (DAILY, March 1).
The market for consolidations among second- and third-tier defense contractors has not reached its peak and may involve non-defense related companies, according to several industry leaders. "I don't think we've had the level of consolidation, particularly in the second and third tiers, that we need to have," said Lucy Fitch, vice president of acquisitions and strategies for BAE Systems North America Inc.
Lufthansa Technik AG of Hamburg, Germany, will acquire Hawker Pacific Aerospace of Sun Valley, Calif., which provides landing gear maintenance services, in a cash tender offer, Hawker announced March 11. Lufthansa Technik AG already owns 72.7 percent of the company, and has initiated a cash tender offer to acquire the remaining shares, in association with LHT Acquisition Corp., a new company formed by Lufthansa for the tender offer.
The U.S. could and should be doing a lot more to exploit space for military and commercial use, according to several speakers at a March 12 space policy conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The U.S. Army's fiscal 2003 unfunded requirements list contains hundreds of millions of dollars for aerospace systems, including helicopters, missile systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. The list includes $109.4 million to develop and modify the Patriot missile defense system; $76.2 million for moving target indicator improvements and other upgrades to UAVs; $62.3 million for aircrew integrated systems, such as production of crash-activated inflatable airbags to protect helicopter crews; and $124.2 million to develop new defenses for rotorcraft.
Researchers plan to integrate miniaturized camera payloads into the solar-powered Pathfinder-Plus unmanned aerial vehicle later this month, in preparation for flights this fall to test how digital imagery from the UAV can aid coffee growers in Hawaii. NASA-funded researchers plan three 12-hour flights in September at 20,000 feet to provide digital imagery of a coffee plantation, so crop managers can tell which fields are the ripest.
The Air Force's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battlelab plans to demonstrate the use of infrared technology to instantly detect and track enemy missiles, and possibly even small-arms fire, from a UAV. IR systems now carried on UAVs have limited range and relatively low sensitivity. More powerful systems that still fit the size and weight constraints of UAVs and allow instantaneous sensing and cuing may be possible with newer technology.
Northrop Grumman Corp. announced March 11 it has formally notified the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission of its intention to acquire TRW Inc. The action follows a Feb. 22 announcement to TRW shareholders offering to exchange each outstanding share of TRW common stock for $47 of Northrop Grumman stock (DAILY, Feb. 25, 2002).
ENGINE TEST: Atlantic Research Corp. (ARC) conducted a successful ground test of a high-energy Variable Flow Ducted Rocket, the company announced March 11. The engine could lead to the development of lighter, higher-performance airbreathing engines, ARC said.
Countries that are developing missiles capable of hitting the U.S. are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to fielding countermeasures, an American intelligence official told a Senate panel March 11.
The C-130 Hercules will provide the tactical airlift for the Army's Future Combat Systems, according to senior Army officials, relegating plans for the development of a Future Transport Rotorcraft to the back burner. "We've already picked the box size and our box size is a C-130," Claude Bolton, the Army's lead acquisition official, told reporters at a March 8 press briefing. "That's been the workhorse, it has been for years, and we don't see that changing."
The Navy and Marine Corps' proposed fiscal 2003 budget has raised questions as to whether the services are proposing to spend too much money to maintain aging weapon systems, according to Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
NASA Missions - Kennedy Space Center - Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida (NET indicates a tentative launch date) Date/2002Vehicle Pad Mission April 4 OV-104 (Atlantis) 39B KSC STS-110/International Space Station (ITS SO, MT) T0: TBD May 6 OV-105 (Endeavour) 39-A KSC STS-111/International Space
The Bush Administration's fiscal 2003 defense budget would not be a historically high level of defense spending, according to a report by the ratings agency Fitch Inc. As a percentage of total federal outlays, defense spending is projected to be 17 percent for FY '03, rising to about 17.2 percent in FY '07, according to the March 7 report. "Other than the fiscal years 1996 [through] 2002, these current percentages are lower than any other year in the post World War II-era," the report says.
An Atlas IIA rocket placed NASA's latest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-I, into orbit on March 8. The satellite, a Boeing 601 built by Boeing Satellite Systems, is one of three advanced TDRS satellites NASA is adding to the on-orbit TDRS fleet to provide high data rate communications to the space shuttle, International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope and other spacecraft (DAILY, March 6). TDRS-H was launched in 2000 and NASA plans to launch TDRS-J in November (see launch schedule on Page 7).
Work will continue at the Lockheed Martin military aircraft plant in Marietta, Ga., even though nearly 40 percent of its workforce voted to go on strike over the weekend, according to a Lockheed Martin spokesman. Employees of local 709 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers overwhelmingly voted March 10 to reject the company's latest salary and benefits proposal. About 2,700 of the plant's 6,800 workers voted to go on strike.
Pending approval by the Army, the Boeing Co. immediately will begin issuing broad industry announcements for platform and system architecture proposals for the Army's Future Combat Systems, senior Boeing officials said March 11. Late last week, Boeing and its partner, Science Applications International Corp., were awarded a 16-month, $154 million contract to be the lead systems integrator for the concept and technology development phase of the Army's Future Combat Systems (DAILY, March 8).
Raytheon Co.'s former Aircraft Integration Systems unit has been Integrated into L-3 Communications Corp. and renamed L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, company officials said March 11. Senior officials with the New York-based defense electronics firm announced in January they had agreed to acquire AIS from Raytheon for $1.13 billion in cash. AIS manufactures intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment for military aircraft.
Boeing has elevated three executives to its office of the chairman, the company announced March 11. Joining Boeing Chairman and CEO Phil Condit in the office of the chairman are Michael M. Sears, chief financial officer; David O. Swain, chief technology officer; and Laurette T. Koellner, who has been elected to the new position of chief people and administration officer. The changes are effective March 15, according to Boeing.
