Saab and BAE Systems, the Swedish/British partnership that builds the JAS 39 Gripen, signed new Memorandums of Understanding with the Polish Aviation Co. in Mielec to bolster the Gripen's chances of being selected to upgrade the Polish air force. If Poland selects the fighter, final assembly of the Gripens would be done by Mielec, according to the MOUs, which also cover a wide range of manufacturing, engineering and technology work.
Investigators from Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science have concluded that an experimental re-entry vehicle called DASH did not separate correctly from its H-IIA booster after a recent launch due to faulty wiring. DASH had two wires that were connected incorrectly, investigators concluded, which meant a separation mechanism in the spacecraft could not be activated when the launch vehicle transmitted a separation signal. DASH was launched Feb. 4 on the new H-IIA booster, along with a satellite that was successfully deployed.
An upcoming Pentagon meeting will determine how government and industry will proceed with the Global Positioning System III program, which has been put on hold, the Air Force said. Air Force officials and the leadership of the Office of the Secretary of Defense will meet at the end of February "to determine when we'll be able to resume the program, and what its structure will be," the Space and Missiles System Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., said in a written response to a question.
Department of Defense's slice of the global research pie is dwindling, according to Ronald Sega, a former shuttle astronaut and DOD's director of defense research and engineering. "In 1965, roughly one quarter of the world's research, separated from research and development, was being done in U.S. DOD," Sega said, speaking at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' 2002 Defense Excellence conference in Washington Feb. 20. "Today, it represents less than about 5 percent of the world's total research."
ARIANE 4 DELAYED: Arianespace has postponed its next Ariane 44L launch, originally scheduled for Feb. 20, to allow additional checks of the vehicle. The launch of the Intelsat 904 satellite is now scheduled for Feb. 23.
The wave of defense mergers in the 1990s not only reduced the level of competition between defense companies, it also reduced the number of design approaches to weapon systems, according to a Northwestern University economist specializing in the defense and aerospace industries. William Rogerson, speaking at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' 2002 Defense Excellence conference in Washington, said competition in the aerospace industry has been driven by different approaches to designing and redesigning weapon systems.
India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will roll out its version of the two-seat, multirole Sukhoi Su-30 MKI by the end of 2004, according to HAL Chairman Nalini Ranjan Mohanty. India has signed a license agreement to build 140 of the aircraft, with an estimated cost of $4.9 billion. Each aircraft will cost about $35 million and HAL will have a peak production rate of 12 aircraft per year.
If the American public isn't educated on military transformation, it won't believe it's getting its tax dollar's worth, according to Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge, under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics (AT&L). "I see a need to renew efforts to educate the public on just what transformation is," Aldridge said during closing remarks at the 2002 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Defense Excellence conference in Washington Feb. 20.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark has approved the creation of the Naval Network Operations Command (NNOC) to oversee Navy information technology programs, the Navy Wire Service reported. The command will be a merger of the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Command (NAVTELCOM) and Task Force Navy Marine Corps Intranet and will be based in Washington. The wire service reported that Capt. Charles G. Cooper, the commander of NAVTELCOM, will initially head the new command.
The U.S. Air Force plans to spend $679 million in fiscal 2003 to jumpstart development of its proposed Multi-Sensor Command and Control Constellation (MC2C), which would integrate new and existing capabilities for command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C2ISR), according to service documents and officials.
Lockheed Martin is going to commercial and military markets with an oil analysis device for high-value rotating machinery that it says is more efficient than current systems. The device shines a laser through an oil sample to detect particles as small as four microns that could be an indication of trouble to come. It was developed under a 1997 contract with the Naval Research Lab, according to Dave Filicky, business development manager at Lockheed Martin's Naval Electronics Surveillance Systems unit in Akron, Ohio.
Boeing will restructure its Space and Communications business to better compete in the satellite market, the company announced Feb. 21. Boeing will eliminate 900 jobs at its Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) operations in El Segundo, Calif., and 150 at its Boeing Electronic Dynamic Devices operation in Torrance, Calif. Further reductions could be announced by the end of the year, depending on market conditions, according to the company. Boeing also will consolidate its facilities and streamline design and production, BSS president Randy Brinkley said.
SONIC CRUISER TEAM: Boeing Commercial Airplanes has added Vought Aircraft Industries to its Sonic Cruiser development team, the company announced Feb. 21. Boeing has been naming companies to its supplier team (DAILY, Jan. 29, Feb. 13). "Vought's experience in aerostructures will be an asset to the team," Jeff Luckey, the director of supplier management for the Sonic Cruiser program, said in a company release.
The U.S. Air Force, which is reassessing its plans for fielding a next-generation bomber (DAILY, Feb. 21), expects to complete the study a little less than two years from now, the service said Feb. 21. The study, which recently got underway, is scheduled to end in January 2004, the Air Force wrote in a statement responding to questions.
SATELLITE LAUNCHED: EchoStar Orbital Corp.'s EchoStar VII telecommunications satellite was launched Feb. 21 on an International Launch Services Atlas IIIB rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The satellite was designed and built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems.
Disagreements between the U.S. and Europe over defense policy, coupled with the flat level of defense expenditures European governments are expected to make over the next four years, will likely hamper efforts at transatlantic interoperability, according to a London-based defense analyst with Goldman Sachs.
Feb. 15 story on a proposed demonstration of the Low Cost Autonomous Attack System incorrectly stated the type of engine used on the Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle. The Air Force's Predator B uses a turboprop engine.
E.C. "Pete" Aldridge, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, has begun appointing staff to the recently created Missile Defense Support Group (MDSG), according to Department of Defense sources. The creation of the new group is part of an ongoing reorganization of missile defense programs. The support group will be responsible for reviewing missile defense technologies and systems, which will now treated as a single defense procurement program.
Lockheed Martin's Naval Electronic&Surveillance Systems (NE&SS) is being awarded a $420 million cost-plus-award-fee contract to continue work on the S-Band radar for the Sea-based Midcourse (SMD) missile defense system, the Navy announced Feb. 19. Lockheed Martin originally won a contract to develop S-band radar systems for sea-based missile defense in 1999. The new award represents the transition of that contract into a standard FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) contract.
A network of satellites connected by lasers will provide the bandwidth needed for future military communications, according to John Stenbit, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for command, control and communications. The new wideband system scheduled to begin the concept exploration phase in fiscal year 2003 would be based on using lasers to transmit communications between satellites as well as between ground stations and satellites.
The U.S. Air Force plans to spend about $2.8 billion to buy 40 more Lockheed Martin C-130Js from fiscal 2004 to FY '08, according to the service. Asked to provide details on the multi-year procurement plan, which was announced Feb. 4 (DAILY, Feb. 5), the Air Force said in a statement it intends to buy four C-130Js in FY '04 and nine a year from FY '05 to FY '08. The cost of the 40 planes could decrease if the Marine Corps decides to enter into a multiyear procurement for KC-130J tankers.
The demarcation line between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) will continue to blur as the Department of Defense's requirements for autonomous systems evolve, according to Mike Heinz, head of Boeing's Unmanned Systems unit.
SCIENCE BEGINS: NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft has started its mapping mission, according to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The spacecraft's thermal emission imaging system has been turned on and its camera is being calibrated. However, its radiation-monitoring experiment ceased communicating in August and was turned off.
With more than 800 sales or orders for the Hawk advanced and lead-in fighter trainers (LIFTs) from 16 air forces to date, BAE Systems officials say they are convinced there is still a lot of mileage left in the basic design. In a briefing at the group's Warton facility, Dave Potter, the head of Hawk sales, told The DAILY that BAE Systems is studying ways to maintain the Hawk's viability to meet next-generation military training requirements.
In spite of enthusiastic support from military and civilian leaders, some of the Defense Department's unmanned aerial vehicles programs are severely criticized in this year's annual testing report.
