NUKE PUSH: An Energy Department official is signaling he intends to exploit a new law repealing a ban on research and development of new, low-yield nuclear weapons. In a Dec.
RISING COSTS: The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been rebutting British shipbuilding officials who warn that the country's new aircraft carrier (CVF) program will be over budget and behind schedule. Swan Hunter shipyard owner Jaap Kroese has been quoted in the British press as saying he doesn't expect to begin carrier construction until 2008, although program prime contractor BAE Systems has said there will be only a few months' delay to the original spring 2004 deadline for awarding subcontracts.
GMD TEST: A new interceptor booster for the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system successfully lifted off during its first launch test Jan. 9 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., officials said. The Lockheed Martin rocket was launched about 1:40 p.m. Eastern time. Bad weather had threatened to delay the test, but conditions eventually improved. The booster is one of two being developed for GMD. The other, produced by Orbital Sciences Corp., was successfully launched for the first time in August.
The chairman of the House Science Committee's space panel said Jan. 9 that the Bush Administration should consider asking Russia to join its expected program for manned missions to the moon and Mars. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) has been an advocate for U.S. space cooperation with Russia as a way to improve ties between the former Cold War adversaries and encourage democratic and capitalist forces in Russia.
MOSCOW - Russia will lease the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan through 2050 for $115 million a year, according to an agreement signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Kazakhstan Jan. 9. Russian media reports say the agreement is a compromise between initial proposals from both countries for the lease. Documents released Jan. 9, which is the tenth anniversary of Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, include green lights for a number of joint programs between Khrunichev and Kazakhstan.
Correction: A story in the Jan. 6 issue of THE DAILY incorrectly reported some details concerning the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). Last July, the teams headed by General Dynamics' Bath Ironworks, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon were awarded $9-10 million each for preliminary design contracts for the first ship of the class. The Navy will buy one LCS in fiscal 2005, two in fiscal 2006, three in 2008 and four in 2009. In May, the Navy will award a final design and option for construction contract to one or two of the industry groups.
Under a $2 million contract from the FAA, General Dynamics plans to use Iridium satellite links to help fill coverage gaps in the FAA's Capstone Communications Control System in Alaska. Installed in selected aircraft, the experimental Capstone system regularly broadcasts GPS-based position information about the aircraft to ground terminals through line-of-sight communications links. The system was credited with saving the life of a downed pilot in November 2002 when rescuers used Capstone data to find the last known location of his plane.
Jan. 20 - 22 -- Network Centric Warfare 2004, "Meeting the Challenges of Warfare in the Information Age," Sheraton National Hotel, Arlington, Va. 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.
NEW DELHI - After six months of bargaining, Russian officials have convinced the India defense ministry to agree to their price for MiG-29K fighters for use on an aircraft carrier India is buying from Russia. The Indian navy has been negotiating with RAC MiG to buy 16 MiG-29K multi-role fighters for use on the Admiral Gorshkov carrier. MiG wanted $35 million per aircraft, but Indian officials unsuccessfully sought a 20 percent price cut.
SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORP. (SAIC) of San Diego will perform agency-wide information technology (IT) management services for NASA under the five-year, $823.6 million Unified NASA Information Technology Services (UNITeS) contract, NASA said. Services will include the Integrated Financial Management Program, wide-area network support, IT security and digital television services.
The General Accounting Office is nearing completion of two reports that will scrutinize national security challenges posed by international trade in cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and military software, a congressional source said Jan. 8. One report, slated for public release by the end of January, will assess the effectiveness of U.S. and international efforts to limit the spread of cruise missile and UAV technology.
PRAGUE - The Czech army has received the first batch of modernized T-72 tanks as part of a $156 million upgrade program involving a total of 30 tanks, according to ministry of defense officials. Defense spokesman Ladislav Sticha said Jan. 8 that the Czech Military Repair Company had delivered nine upgraded T-72s equipped with night vision and improved targeting capability over longer distances. The Czech military originally planned to upgrade more than 100 T-72s but scaled back the proposals last year following cutbacks to the military budget.
FLIR Systems, Inc., based in Portland, Ore., completed its previously announced acquisition of California-based Indigo Systems Corp., the company announced Jan. 6. FLIR Systems develops and manufactures thermal imaging systems that include infrared cameras, aerial broadcast cameras and machine vision systems. It has been supplying thermography and night vision equipment to the military for more than 30 years. FLIR announced the merger in October (DAILY, Oct. 23, 2003).
SpaceDev of Poway, Calif., has completed the first phase of a privately funded study to design a low-cost robotic mission that would land a radio astronomy dish near the moon's south pole.
SUPPORT: A joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. will supply support, spares and repairs to in-service U.S. Navy H-60 helicopters under a $417 million contract. The Maritime Helicopter Support Co. will support 540 of the helicopters over five years, the companies said Jan. 8.
European aerospace company EADS, the world's second largest aerospace and defense group, said it expects a 20 percent increase in operating profit in 2004. In 2003, EADS' operating profit, or EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes, pre-goodwill amortization and exceptionals) was 1.4 billion Euros ($1.8 billion), the company said in a Jan. 8 statement.
The U.S. has proposed a compromise to the European Union (EU) on the civil signal structure for Europe's planned Galileo constellation that American officials say will preserve the integrity of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) for military users. Galileo is a constellation of 30 positioning satellites intended to free European users from exclusive dependence on GPS. Like GPS, Galileo would broadcast an open signal to civil users and an encrypted signal for government use. Galileo is scheduled to be operational by 2008.
Lockheed Martin Corp.'s winning design for the U.S. Miniature Kill Vehicle (MKVs) program envisions placing as many as "several dozen" small kill vehicles atop a single interceptor missile, a company official said Jan. 8.
The U.S. Defense Department's top weapons tester did not send a classified letter to DOD warning that the Army's Stryker Interim Armored Vehicle wasn't ready for deployment in Iraq, a defense official said Jan. 8. The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) watchdog group said in a statement Jan. 6 that Tom Christie, director of operational test and evaluation, sent a letter saying the Stryker "was vulnerable to rocket propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices, both of which are commonly being used against U.S. forces" (DAILY, Jan. 8).
MUNITIONS WORK: Alliant Techsystems (ATK) will produce lightweight 30mm M789 High Explosive Dual Purpose (HEDP) tactical ammunition for the U.S. Joint Munitions Command, Rock Island, Ill., under a $30 million contract, the company said Jan. 8. The ammunition primarily is used in Apache AH-64 helicopters, and is in use in Afghanistan and Iraq. The M789 HEDP can be used to penetrate armor or against soft targets, the company said. "Whether U.S.
