FIND A MISSION: Although he thinks NASA's Helios high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program will continue for the time being, "I think that's kind of a science project still looking for valid applications," says Daryl Davidson, executive director of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).
MEDICOMP INC., a subsidiary of United Therapeutics Corp., will supply cardiac monitoring equipment to the International Space Station, the company announced Jan. 4. Medicomp will supply its new generation of Holter Monitors, a pager-sized electro-cardiogram (ECG) computer worn by a patient while going about his or her daily activities. The equipment is being acquired for Germany's space agency by Astrium for use in the European module of the station.
The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. a $49 million Pre-Systems Development and Demonstration (Pre-SDD) contract for the E-2C Hawkeye Radar Modernization Program (RMP), the company announced Jan. 3. The contract marks the beginning of a $1 billion-plus development effort to deliver early warning and battle management capabilities by the end of the decade, and could lead to a multibillion-dollar program for production of the next-generation Advanced Hawkeye, according to the company.
SPAR BUY: L-3 Communications Corp. said Jan. 4 that its offer to buy Canada's Spar Aerospace Ltd. has expired. About 72 percent of Spar stock has been tendered, and the company said it plans to buy the rest of the stock for its announced price of Canadian $15.50 per share. Spar provides aviation management services, engineering and upgrades for military and commercial aviation programs.
Job Security is the biggest concern for members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in the new year, union officials say. "Job security is clearly the overriding issue, whether it's in jet engines or airframes or sub-assembly work," said Matt Bates, spokesman for the IAMAW, which represents nearly 150,000 aerospace workers and machinists in the U.S. Bates said larger aerospace companies are attempting to boost short-term profits at the expense of long-term gain.
The Pentagon's senior acquisition advisory group, the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB), will rely on costs assessed by the Pentagon's internal Cost Analysis Improvement Group (CAIG) rather than the services' program-derived cost estimates, according to E.C. "Pete" Aldridge, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Speaking in December at the Pentagon, Aldridge told reporters, "We're insisting that these programs, when they go through a DAB process, when I have to approve them, are priced to the CAIG estimate. ..."
EMS Technologies Inc.'s SATCOM division has won a $4.2 million contract from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide ground-based equipment to support search-and-rescue operations over the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system. NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service will use the system to quickly determine the location of distress beacons for U.S. search-and-rescue authorities.
NUCLEAR POSTURE: The Department of Defense has completed the Nuclear Posture Review and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is considering releasing an unclassified version. "It is a significant change in U.S. offensive nuclear weapon approach, and it is a different strategy, as well as the deep reductions that are proposed in it," Rumsfeld says. After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in November, President Bush announced reductions in the U.S.
Air Force Space and Missiles System Center will brief industry representatives Jan. 16 on the Space Based Radar (SBR) program. During the session, at Aerospace Corp. in El Segundo, Calif., officials will outline the program's acquisition strategy and technology requirements. First launch of SBR is planned for fiscal year 2010. SMC Commander Lt. Gen. Brian A. Arnold, who will give an overview of the program at the meeting, has said that if SBR were available today, U.S.
Although he thinks NASA's Helios high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program will continue for the time being, "I think that's kind of a science project still looking for valid applications," says Daryl Davidson, executive director of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).
EW OPTIONS: Although the Marine Corps is still deliberating options for upgrading its manned aircraft jamming capabilities, a contractor official says it seems likely the Marines won't go with the F/A-18F Super Hornet-based EA-18, the most likely option for the Navy. "Their posture right now is that they want to keep the EA-6B until the last possible minute," says Doug Herd, a business development manager at Northrop Grumman Corp., which is working with the Boeing Co. to develop the EA-18 Electronic Attack aircraft.
L-3 Communications Corp. said Jan. 4 that its offer to buy Canada's Spar Aerospace Ltd. has expired. About 72 percent of Spar stock has been tendered, and the company said it plans to buy the rest of the stock for its announced price of Canadian $15.50 per share. Spar provides aviation management services, engineering and upgrades for military and commercial aviation programs.
1-800-DIAL-UAV: Telecommunications could be a major emerging application for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the coming years, according to Davidson. "I really think that telecommunications is going to be a big part of it," he says.
BOEING SATELLITE SYSTEMS has awarded the launch of the U.S. Navy's UFO F-11 satellite to International Launch Services after receiving a contract modification allowing it to contract for the launch. UFO F-11 is the latest in a series of Navy UHF Follow-On (UFO) satellites the company has built under a contract awarded in 1998. The satellite is now scheduled to launch in late 2003 on an Atlas IIIB. ILS launched the first 10 UFO satellites.
The Pentagon's senior acquisition advisory group, the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB), will rely on costs assessed by the Pentagon's internal Cost Analysis Improvement Group (CAIG) rather than the services' program-derived cost estimates, according to E.C. "Pete" Aldridge, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Speaking in December at the Pentagon, Aldridge told reporters, "We're insisting that these programs, when they go through a DAB process, when I have to approve them, are priced to the CAIG estimate. ..."
SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL will build the MBSAT communications satellite for Japan's Mobile Broadcasting Corp. (MBC). MBSAT will deliver digital multimedia services such as CD-quality audio, MPEG-4 video and data to mobile users in Japan. On-orbit delivery of the spacecraft is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2003, with service expected to begin in early 2004. According to Space Systems/Loral, MBC will deliver music, video and data to various kinds of receivers, including those in cars, ships, trains, handheld terminals, personal digital assistants and cellular phones.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has awarded the first design contract for the Integrated System Test of an Air-breathing Rocket (ISTAR) - the hybrid engine that could power the X-43B hypersonic demonstrator by decade's end. The $16.6 million contract, awarded Jan. 4, is expected to lead to the development by 2006 of a ground test version of ISTAR, with a flight demonstration by 2010.
AID REVIEW: The U.S. should consider conditioning military aid and other foreign assistance to Middle East countries on whether they adequately support a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.). Foreign assistance to the Middle East includes annual military aid of about $2 billion to Israel and $1.3 billion to Egypt. "We must stop rewarding the status quo with an uninterrupted flow of foreign aid dollars and instead use foreign assistance as a tool to leverage peace," Byrd says.
SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL will build the MBSAT communications satellite for Japan's Mobile Broadcasting Corp. (MBC). MBSAT will deliver digital multimedia services such as CD-quality audio, MPEG-4 video and data to mobile users in Japan. On-orbit delivery of the spacecraft is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2003, with service expected to begin in early 2004. According to Space Systems/Loral, MBC will deliver music, video and data to various kinds of receivers, including those in cars, ships, trains, handheld terminals, personal digital assistants and cellular phones.
Sens. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) have introduced a bill that would set up a bipartisan commission to study the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and determine whether the federal government should be restructured to prevent and respond to future attacks. The bill has been referred to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, which Lieberman chairs.
The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) has been elevated to agency status and will now be designated the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the Pentagon announced Jan. 4. The new agency's mission areas will be roughly similar to those of BMDO, but elevation to agency status "recognizes the national priority and mission emphasis on missile defense," according to a Pentagon release.
BALL AEROSPACE&TECHNOLOGIES CORP.'s QuickBird satellite is providing the highest-resolution Earth imagery that is commercially available, according to the company. The imagery was made public in December by DigitalGlobe, the owner and operator of QuickBird, which provides two-foot panchromatic and 8.2-foot multispectral resolutions. QuickBird launched Oct. 18, 2001 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. (DAILY, Oct. 19). QuickBird consists of a Ball High-Resolution Camera 60 integrated with a Ball Commercial Platform 2000 bus.
The Senate Dec. 20 passed a bill that would authorize Israel to spend $200 million in U.S. military aid to set up an American production line for the Arrow missile, the interceptor for the Arrow missile defense system. The security assistance bill would allow Israel, which gets about $2 billion a year in U.S. military aid, to spend $100 million of that money in fiscal 2002 and another $100 million in FY '03 to set up the production line in cooperation with a U.S. company.
NASA has selected two missions to launch in 2006 as part of its Discovery Program, the aerospace agency announced Dec. 21. The first, Dawn, will orbit the two largest asteroids in the solar system. The second, Kepler, will be a spaceborne telescope that will search for Earth-like planets around stars outside the solar system.
BOLTON CONFIRMED: The Senate late last month confirmed Air Force Maj. Gen. Claude Bolton to be assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, technology and logistics.
