About $58 billion has been provided for homeland security and the war on terrorism since Sept. 11, but the money's allocation is sometimes difficult to track, says a report issued by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington, D.C. think tank. The Jan. 24 says the $58 billion consists of about $18 billion provided in the fiscal year 2002 appropriations bill and another $40 billion from emergency supplemental appropriations.
Another Predator unmanned aerial vehicle has been lost while flying a routine mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, according to the Department of Defense. An RQ-1 Predator crashed Jan. 25 while returning to its base in the Central Command theater of operations, making it the third lost during Operation Enduring Freedom. The first was lost in November and a second was lost Jan. 21.
Although a direct hit was not the primary objective of the Jan. 25 test of the Sea-based Midcourse Missile Defense System, the "fly-by" missile test resulted in a hit-to-kill intercept, according to the Department of Defense. At 9 p.m. EST on Jan. 25, an Aries target missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. About eight minutes later, a developmental version of Raytheon's Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), which uses a kinetic warhead, was launched from the Aegis Cruiser USS Lake Erie.
NEW DELHI - The nuclear-capable Agni ballistic missile that India tested Jan. 25 is a new weapon in the country's inventory, according to sources. The missile, which has a payload capacity of 800-1,000 kilograms (1,764-2,205 pounds), has a range of 700 kilometers (435 miles). It will bridge the gap between the Prithvi, which has a range of 350 kilometers (217 miles) and the Agni-2, which has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles). Agni-2 missiles are now in production.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Birmingham, Ala., has decided not to prosecute the former manager of the Army's Kinetic Energy Anti-Satellite (KE-ASAT) program, possibly clearing the way for him to return to KE-ASAT and for $3 million in program funding to be released, according to sources.
Lockheed Martin Corp. posted a fourth-quarter 2001 net earnings loss of $1.5 billion, mostly due to charges from discontinued operations that totaled $1.4 billion.
A key U.S. senator is reacting skeptically to the Bush Administration's proposal for a 14.5 percent increase in the Defense Department's budget in fiscal 2003. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) said Jan. 24 that Congress should take a "close look" at the Administration's defense spending plans. The proposed $48 billion increase, which would bring DOD's budget to $379 billion (DAILY, Jan. 24), follows enactment of an FY '02 increase for DOD of about 10 percent.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. have begun static loads testing on the T-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer, part of the procedure leading to first flight later this year. Results from the static loads testing, which began Jan. 2, will be used to certify the flight worthiness of the aircraft and to validate the structural computer model used in the airframe's design, Lockheed Martin announced Jan. 24.
Although the financial outlook for General Dynamics is less certain in the short term, the company shows strong potential for medium-term growth, according to Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown analyst Christopher Mecray. Mecray notes the higher-than-expected fourth quarter 2001 sales in the company's Combat Systems and Aerospace (Gulfstream and Galaxy) sectors were offset by slightly lower margins in the Marine Systems sector. For FY 2002, "we assume 13 percent [growth] for revenue and 11 percent [growth] for EPS [earnings per share]," he says.
NASA has awarded its Distinguished Public Service Medal to Antonio Rodota, the director general of the European Space Agency. NASA European representative Karen Feldstein presented Rodota with the medal at a Jan. 24 ceremony at ESA's headquarters in Paris on behalf of former NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin, who signed the award letter before leaving office in November. In the letter, Goldin praised ESA's cooperation with NASA on the International Space Station and other programs.
The success of long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) may be shifting focus away from ship-based UAVs for oceangoing applications, according to Daryl Davidson, executive director of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). "If the Navy is any indication, doing away with Fire Scout (DAILY, Dec. 11, 2001), and looking more toward the high-altitude systems, you could probably make an argument that the success of Predator and Global Hawk are shifting some of the ideas," Davidson told The DAILY.
Although one company has been awarded a contract with a potential value of $88 million for support of the Air Force's Space Warfare Center at Schreiver Air Force Base, Colo., another company has protested the award, but its protest has been overruled. This company, which the Air Force wouldn't identify, has until Feb. 6 to appeal. The company receiving the contract is RS Information Systems (RSIS) of McLean, Va. It competed with two incumbents, ACS Defense, formerly DTAC Corp., and ITAC Corp., according to a Space Warfare Center spokeswoman.
A delegation of government officials from Australia held initial discussions with the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program office to discuss joining the U.S. and other international partners in development of the JSF, according to a Department of Defense spokeswoman.
POSITIVE OUTLOOK: Although the financial outlook for General Dynamics is less certain in the short term, the company shows strong potential for medium-term growth, according to Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown analyst Christopher Mecray. Mecray notes the higher-than-expected fourth quarter 2001 sales in the company's Combat Systems and Aerospace (Gulfstream and Galaxy) sectors were offset by slightly lower margins in the Marine Systems sector. For FY 2002, "we assume 13 percent [growth] for revenue and 11 percent [growth] for EPS [earnings per share]," he says.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), a colonel and lawyer in the Army National Guard, is getting a seat on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). Wilson, who represents several military bases, including Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and McEntire Air National Guard Station, was elected to the House in December to replace Rep. Floyd Spence (R-S.C.), who chaired the HASC procurement subcommittee until his death in August (DAILY, Aug. 16).
A key U.S. senator is reacting skeptically to the Bush Administration's proposal for a 14.5 percent increase in the Defense Department's budget in fiscal 2003. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) said Jan. 24 that Congress should take a "close look" at the Administration's defense spending plans. The proposed $48 billion increase, which would bring DOD's budget to $379 billion (DAILY, Jan. 24), follows enactment of an FY '02 increase for DOD of about 10 percent.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. have begun static loads testing on the T-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer, part of the procedure leading to first flight later this year. Results from the static loads testing, which began Jan. 2, will be used to certify the flight worthiness of the aircraft and to validate the structural computer model used in the airframe's design, Lockheed Martin announced Jan. 24.
CONTINGENCY FUND: A $10 billion contingency fund the Bush Administration has requested would be used to pay for a variety of costs related to possible future military operations, according to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. President Bush announced Jan. 23 that he would ask Congress for the fund as part of his fiscal year 2003 budget request package. The war against terrorism "doesn't lend itself to precise calibration as to exactly what it will cost and how it might be conducted and how long it might take," Rumsfeld says.
A directive that established an interagency working group to develop a national transportation plan has been withdrawn without explanation by the White House, Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported.
The European Space Agency's long-lived maritime communications satellite Marecs B2 is being taken out of service. The satellite has provided 18 years of service to sea-going vessels, but in the aftermath of Sept. 11 ESA was unable to get commercial backing for the satellite to continue its use. The U.S. National Science Foundation had considered using it as a link to an Antarctic research station, but withdrew that plan. Marecs B2, launched in 1984, will be raised to a "retirement" orbit and will be switched off.
HASC SEAT: Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), a colonel and lawyer in the Army National Guard, is getting a seat on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). Wilson, who represents several military bases, including Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and McEntire Air National Guard Station, was elected to the House in December to replace Rep. Floyd Spence (R-S.C.), who chaired the HASC procurement subcommittee until his death in August (DAILY, Aug. 16).
Although one company has been awarded a contract with a potential value of $88 million for support of the Air Force's Space Warfare Center at Schreiver Air Force Base, Colo., another company has protested the award, but its protest has been overruled. This company, which the Air Force wouldn't identify, has until Feb. 6 to appeal. The company receiving the contract is RS Information Systems (RSIS) of McLean, Va. It competed with two incumbents, ACS Defense, formerly DTAC Corp., and ITAC Corp., according to a Space Warfare Center spokeswoman.
INTEL POST: Rep. Terry Everett (R-Ala.), who served as an Air Force intelligence analyst in the 1950s, will fill a vacancy on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Everett, who will keep his seat on the House Armed Services Committee, represents a congressional district that includes Maxwell Air Force Base, the Army's Fort Rucker and Lockheed Martin's missile assembly plant in Pike County.
