Lockheed Martin has completed testing of its RD-180 engine for the new Atlas V rockets, the company announced Dec. 19. Completion of the tests has established that the RD-180's design and performance will meet all Atlas V mission requirements for commercial and government satellite customers, according to the company. The engine, designed and built by Russia's NPO Energomash, is now qualified for performance on all configurations of the company's Atlas III and V launch vehicles, including the Atlas V Heavy Lift Vehicle.
Officials with Northrop Grumman Corp. confirmed previously announced financial guidance for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 on Dec. 19. Company officials are meeting with investors Dec. 20 to discuss the company's financial outlook. Company officials said sales for FY 2001 would reach approximately $13 billion, and that FY 2002 sales are expected to total about $18 billion. Sales for FY 2003 are expected to total nearly 20 billion, company officials said.
Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc., Columbia, Md., was awarded on Dec. 14, 2001, a $552,099,747 (maximum) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quality contract to provide for systems engineering and integration, development, sustainment, program management and operations and maintenance of the Air Force Satellite Control Network. Funds will be obligated as individual delivery orders are issued. The Air Force can issue delivery orders totaling up to the maximum amount indicted above, although actual requirements may necessitate less than the amount.
Hungary's department of defense and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration signed the final agreement on Dec. 20 in Budapest for Hungary's 10-year lease of 14 Swedish air force JAS 39 Gripens. Delivery of 12 single-seat and two twin-seat Gripens is due in batches between late 2004 and June 2005, after they are adapted to NATO-interoperable standards. Hungary picked the Gripen to modernize its air force in September (DAILY, Sept. 11) and the two countries' defense ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the deal last month (DAILY, Nov. 27).
O'KEEFE OK'D: The Senate Commerce Committee Dec. 19 voted 23-0 to approve White House budget official Sean O'Keefe as NASA administrator. But O'Keefe's appointment faced an uncertain fate in the Senate, where Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) was reportedly blocking dozens of nominations to force the Senate to act on a small business bill.
F-16 BUY: Officials with Lockheed Martin Corp. announced Dec. 20 that Israel has signed a contract with the company to buy 52 F-16I aircraft. The estimated contract value for Lockheed Martin is $1.3 billion out of a total program value of about $2 billion. The action follows an agreement signed by the parties on Sept. 4 covering the cost of the aircraft, logistics support and training and U.S. government management and support as part of the Foreign Military Sales program (DAILY, Sept. 6).
Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Squire, the United Kingdom's chief of air staff, made a recent hour-long flight in BAE Systems' DA4 two-seat Eurofighter development aircraft, the first non-Royal Air Force test pilot to fly the aircraft. The flight was made at speeds of up to 780 knots and demonstrated the aircraft's supersonic cruise and computerized handling capabilities. "Eurofighter has remarkable excess thrust and handling characteristics," Squire said upon landing.
The Government of Greece signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance earlier this week for the purchase of 90 AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and associated equipment, according to a spokesperson for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Raytheon Missile Systems will be the prime contractor for the sale, worth an estimated $48.5 million.
The Navy Area Theater Ballistic Missile Defense System, the first major program cancellation of the Bush Administration, may be resurrected as a new program after the Navy and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization conduct studies on missile alternatives for a sea-based area defense program, according to sources.
The German government signed a contract Dec. 17 with OHB Systems to build five Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)-Lupe military reconnaissance satellites, which are expected to provide Germany with its first space-based military reconnaissance capability. Germany, which currently has no military satellite assets of its own, is hoping that the SAR-Lupe will help overcome its complete dependence on foreign reconnaissance data, which is mostly from the United States.
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) will develop the propulsion system and warhead for the Spike shoulder-fired missile under a $4 million contract from the Naval Air Systems Command, China Lake, Calif., the company announced Dec. 19. Under the three-year program, ATK Thiokol Propulsion Co. of Promontory, Utah, will develop and test the Spike propulsion system and deliver systems to the Navy for flight testing.
House Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) insisted Dec. 19 that the fiscal 2002 defense appropriations conference report would provide enough funding to sustain the Space Based Laser despite indications earlier in the day that program would be derailed.
A joint venture of Loral Space&Communications and Hisdesat announced that retired Spanish air force Gen. Miguel Valverde Gomez has been named president for European and Latin American operations.
DOOR MATERIAL: Telair International Inc., which builds commercial aircraft baggage and cargo handling systems, has started production of a ballistics-tested, flammability qualified material for aircraft cockpit door and other cabin security applications. The material passed the National Institute of Justice level IIIA threat test and FAA flammability requirements in October, the company announced Dec. 18. The material is a multilayer composite of Kevlar, Nomex and Phenolic materials.
Recently announced three new members of the board of directors: Leon Krantz, president and CEO of Weber Metals, Inc., Scott Roeper, managing director of the Facilitator Capital Fund and Marget Hampton, a manager at Grace Brothers Ltd.
The Kuwaiti government has made a request to buy AH-64D Apache helicopters and F/A-18 fighter aircraft, according to press reports from the Middle East. The Middle East Newsline reported Dec. 19 that Kuwaiti Minister of Defense Jaber Mubarak al Sabah, has forwarded a request to the Department of Defense to purchase the aircraft. The exact numbers of aircraft had not been determined.
An article in The DAILY of Dec. 13 incorrectly stated the number of recent B-1B crashes in addition to the Dec. 12 accident. There were two, one in 1998 and one in 1997.
Ivory Tucker has been appointed vice president of its Norden Systems business unit within its Electronic Systems sector. William Mitchell has been appointed vice president, assistant general counsel and sector counsel for Newport News operations. TRW, Cleveland, Ohio Alan Baratz, Phd., chief executive officer of Zaplet, Inc., has been appointed to the company's board of directors. Wesley G. Bush has been appointed executive vice president, TRW, Inc.
L-3 COMMUNICATIONS has acquired the defense business of Bulova Technologies for about $44 million in cash. Headquartered in Lancaster, Pa., Bulova Technologies' defense business manufactures military fuzes and safe and arm devices for domestic and international customers. L-3 Chairman and CEO Frank Lanza said the company's precision manufacturing capabilities will fit well with L-3's division that handles microelectromechanical technology and and Global Positioning System products.
Despite recent indications to the contrary, the desire of European nations to develop a military transport aircraft like the A400M for its expeditionary force will likely remain only a vision, according to two U.S. aerospace analysts. "The A400M is Europe's vision of a military transport for tomorrow, and it probably always will be," said Joel Johnson, vice-president of international affairs for the Aerospace Industry Association.
Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) says he is "puzzled" by the recent cancellation of the Navy Area theater ballistic missile defense program and plans to press military officials for an explanation.
Pratt&Whitney and Rolls-Royce signed the contract for Rolls-Royce's short takeoff/vertical landing development work on the F135 propulsion system for Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter. The contract is worth about $1 billion to Rolls-Royce over 10 years, the company announced.
Avionics hardware being developed for autonomous formation flight (AFF) could play a critical role in making future unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems safer to test and fly, according to Boeing's AFF Program Manager Greg Larson. The AFF program - a joint effort of Boeing, NASA, and UCLA - is investigating the potential benefits of flying aircraft in birdlike formations to reduce drag, thus saving fuel and reducing emissions (DAILY, Nov. 26).
