OFFICERS: Boeing's Alan R. Mulally has been named chairman of the board of governors of the Aerospace Industries Association, AIA said Jan. 16. Mulally is president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Robert D. Johnson, president and CEO of Honeywell Aerospace, has been named vice chairman. John Douglass was re-elected president and CEO and Ginette C. Colot was elected treasurer-secretary.
SPACE PRIORITIES: The European Space Agency (ESA) should increase its activities by 30 percent through 2007, agency Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain says. "Europe is already a key actor in space but more can be and must be done to answer the needs of European citizens and of an enlarging Europe," he says. ESA welcomes the Bush Administration's new plans for missions to the moon and Mars, and its Aurora program already is exploring technologies that would be needed for such missions, according to Dordain.
NASA BUDGET: When Congress returns from its month-long recess Jan. 20, the Senate hopes to complete action on the fiscal 2004 omnibus appropriations conference report, which includes several appropriations measures, including the one that would fund NASA. The House approved the omnibus package Dec. 8 (DAILY, Dec. 9, 2003). The conference report fully funds the Bush Administration's $3.97 billion request for the space shuttle but cuts the $1.7 billion request for the International Space Station by $200 million.
Jan. 20 - 22 -- Network Centric Warfare 2004, "Meeting the Challenges of Warfare in the Information Age," Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, DC. Call (800) 882-8684, fax (973) 256-0205, email [email protected] or go to www.ncw2004.com. Jan. 21 -- PSA Winter Roundtable, "Global Military Strategy in Support of Precision Strike," Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Va. Contact Dawn Campbell, (703) 247-2590, email [email protected] or go to www.precisionstrike.org.
Aerospace and defense industries likely did well in the fourth quarter of 2003 and the outlook remains positive for 2004, two aerospace and defense industry analysts said in recent reports. "Coming on the heels of a broadly tumultuous year in which performance was mixed for the aerospace and defense universe, we believe we are heading towards the light, to be exhibited by smoother results in 2004," Christopher Mecray of Deutsche Bank said in a Jan. 14 aerospace and defense earnings preview.
CORRECTION: A story in the Jan. 14 issue of Aerospace Daily should have said that H.R. 375, which calls for a 375-ship Navy, has received endorsements from 80 House members. It also should have said the six largest shipyards are operating at only 60 percent of their capacity.
Lockheed Martin has received a U.S. Army contract for the second low-rate initial production run of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), intended to support lighter, more mobile future forces, the company said Jan. 15. The $88.9 million contract covers 25 launchers for the Army and one for the Marine Corps, according to the company. The first low-rate HIMARS contract, for $96 million and 29 launchers, was awarded in April 2003, said Craig Vanbebber, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin.
Lockheed Martin's Maritime Systems & Sensors Tactical Systems (MS2) and DRS Technologies' Electronic Systems Group have formed a consortium to research and develop a new generation of advanced naval displays, the companies announced Jan. 15. The companies will compete for the U.S. Navy's Naval Display Systems contract, a follow-on to the AN/UYQ-70 Advanced Display Systems contract that Lockheed Martin has had since 1994. The Navy has issued a request for proposals, with responses due in March and a contract award expected this year.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" drove off its lander platform early on Jan. 15 and has touched down on Martian soil to begin studying rocks for clues to the history of water on the planet. Before the roll-off, Spirit performed a three-stage turn on its platform Jan. 14, which pointed it in a north-northwest direction. Mission managers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., sent the command for the golf cart-sized rover to move forward at 3:21 a.m. EST Jan. 15.
SAAB BUY: Saab has acquired a 21 percent share in the South African electronics company Grintek, which supplies the defense, avionics and other markets. South Africa's selection of the JAS-39 Gripen fighter for its air defense "created the basis for Saab's relationship with Grintek," Saab said Jan. 15.
Improving close air support (CAS) will be a top goal of a major exercise that U.S. Joint Forces Command is sponsoring later this month. The Jan. 18-30 Western Range Complex Horizontal Training Exercise, which will consist of live forces in the western United States and simulated activities at 12 sites across the nation, will seek to increase CAS interoperability among the services.
Airbus Industrie delivered 305 airliners in 2003, the European consortium said Jan. 15. Rival Boeing said earlier this month that it delivered 281 airliners. "2003 was a landmark year for Airbus, the year in which it became number one," Airbus said. For 2004, Boeing has forecast delivery of 275 to 290 airliners. Noel Forgeard, president and CEO of Airbus, said that "for 2004, we expect the market to remain soft, with deliveries close to 300."
Boeing Capital Co. is considering selling its Commercial Financial Services business, saying the unit is not a core part of the company's strategic focus. The company may sell the unit or sell all or part of its commercial finance portfolio, Boeing said Jan. 15. The Commercial Financial Services unit handles financing for a range of industry equipment. Other units within Boeing Capital arrange financing for Boeing aircraft, satellites and launch vehicles.
Secretary of the Navy Gordon England said he is optimistic that the Navy-Marine Corps' fiscal 2005 budget numbers will be good news for the service, and that its plans for next-generation surface combatants will stay on schedule.
The Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program is trying to determine why a simulated exo-atmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) failed to separate from its interceptor booster during a Jan. 9 test, according to MDA.
The U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater project will need a significantly greater number of large and medium-sized cutters than currently planned to fully meet its traditional and emerging mission demands, a pending RAND Corp. study says, according to an analyst. The Deepwater project's plans to modernize and replace the Coast Guard's aging ships, aircraft, command and control and logistics systems include purchasing eight large National Security Cutters and 25 medium-sized Offshore Patrol Cutters.
The contractor teams led by Boeing and Lockheed Martin that have been working on NASA's Orbital Space Plane (OSP) will spend the remainder of their time under existing contracts determining how much of their work could be applied to the agency's more ambitious Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV).
HOLIDAY NOTICE: In observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, Aerospace Daily will not published Jan. 19. The next issue will be dated Jan. 20.
PAYLOAD DELIVERED: Alcatel Space has delivered the payload for the AM11 telecommunications satellite to the Russian company NPO-PM, which is prime contractor for the Express AM satellites deployed by national operator Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC). It is the seventh payload that Alcatel Space has delivered to NPO-PM, according to Alcatel.
NEW DELHI - Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including the Heron and Searcher II, will be produced in India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), a defense ministry official said. The details of the agreement have been completed and it is awaiting only a formal signing, the official said. India will stand to benefit from the deal because almost all of its UAV requirements are being met by Israeli companies, particularly the Haifa-based Israel Aircraft Industries, the official said.
