If anyone knows how to create a defensive system that would guarantee the United States and its people never again would be subjected to barbaric and cowardly terrorist attacks like those the nation suffered Tuesday, let him come forth. Unfortunately, ironclad security against suicidal terrorists is virtually impossible, even in nations having less regard for civil liberties than the United States does. But there is much that can and must be done to strengthen defenses against terrorism.
Japan's National Space Development Agency announced that the Laser Ranging Equipment (LRE) payload that was lofted by the H-IIA on its maiden launch (DAILY, Aug. 30) has been located. NASDA has been searching for the LRE since the launch, but was hampered by bad weather. It was located on Sept. 4 by observation stations in Japan and Germany. The LRE is flying on a 250 by 36,000 kilometer (155 by 22,369 mile) elliptical orbit, exactly as planned, according to NASDA.
Onboard security systems provide only limited effectiveness against knowledgeable hijackers such as those who apparently perpetrated the Sept. 11 attacks, and cannot substitute for proper security on the ground, say aviation and security analysts. "There's not a whole lot of technology on the aircraft itself [for thwarting hijackers]," Dr. Dale Oderman, assistant professor of aviation technology at Purdue University and a retired Air Force colonel, told The DAILY.
The Air Force has agreed to offset the economic effects of cuts in the B-1B Lancer bomber force by assigning new missions to Air National Guard members of two bomb wings that are set to lose their B-1Bs, members of Congress have announced.
In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, security has been stepped up at NASA centers across the country, with all but non-essential personnel asked to remain home. NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs said no decision has yet been made as to any permanent changes in NASA's security procedures. "The administrator recognized early that there was a need for comprehensive security coordination, which was why we recently named a security director for the agency," he said.
The Sept. 11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center underscore the need for the U.S. to continue modernizing its intelligence capabilities, according to several members of Congress.
An unmanned aerial vehicle may be used for the first time in coming weeks to spot forest fires. A Sept. 6 demonstration in southern California, sponsored by NASA, helped clear the way for General Atomics' Altus II UAV to more efficiently do a mission that is now performed by manned aircraft.
APPEAL: The Boeing Co. and General Dynamics said Sept. 10 they plan to appeal a federal court ruling Aug. 31 that ordered the aerospace giants to refund more than $2 billion paid to them before the Pentagon cancelled the A-12 stealth fighter program in 1991 (DAILY, Sept. 5).
Gripen International, the Swedish-British joint venture, scored an upset victory in Hungary, announcing Sept. 10 that the Hungarian government had chosen the Gripen JAS-39 aircraft to upgrade its Air Force to NATO standards. While neither Gripen International nor the Hungarian government have released details of the contract, Hungarian press reports say it involves the lease of 14 Gripen aircraft for 12 years.
TITAN SYSTEMS CORP. has been awarded a contract worth up to $39 million to provide avionics systems integration services to the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. Under the five-year contract, Titan Systems will provide integration support to the presidential helicopter fleet and programs including the H-3, H-60 and CH-53 helicopter programs. Service work will be performed mostly at Titan Systems' Lexington Park, Md., facility.
The Air Force has approved production of transportable shelters for the B-2 fleet, intended to make it easier to deploy the bombers to overseas bases. In a Sept. 7 meeting at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Maj. Gen. Michael Mushala, Program Executive Officer for Fighter and Bomber Programs, gave the green light to the effort, moving it out of the engineering and manufacturing development phase. He met with Col. Janet Wolfenbarger, the B-2 system program director.
September 4, 2001 Boeing Aerospace Operations Inc., Midwest City, Okla., is being awarded a $6,494,005 firm-fixed-price, time and materials contract modification to provide for fiscal year 2002 E-3 aircraft mission crew training to include mission simulator operations support, courseware development and academic instruction. At this time, no funds have been obligated. This work is to be completed September 2002. Headquarters Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (F34601-97-C-0421, P00040).
The Air Force doesn't have enough data to tell if it is saving as much money as it expected, and getting the results it wants, by contracting out some weapon system logistics support, according to a new General Accounting Office report. In one instance where it does have enough data - depot maintenance on the B-2 bomber - the costs are more than twice as high as the Air Force originally estimated, the report says. $59 billion a year on logistics support
September 4, 2001 Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., is being awarded a $10,700,000 firm-fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract modification to provide for defensive systems integration in support of the C-130J/C and C-130J-3 aircraft. At this time, the total amount of funds has been obligated. This work is to be completed April 2004. The Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-00-C-00187, P00011).
An amendment that would require removing the warheads from 50 Peacekeeper (MX) intercontinental ballistic missiles will likely face an uphill battle in Congress, according to congressional sources. The MX Missile Stand-Down Act, introduced by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), instructs the secretary of defense to remove the warheads, or take other actions necessary to remove the missiles from "high alert," or launch-ready status, during fiscal year 2002.
Speaking the language of the private sector, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced Sept. 10 a new battle aimed at DOD bureaucracy. In addition to military transformation, DOD "must recognize another transformation: the revolution in management, technology and business practices," Rumsfeld said in a speech opening the 2001 Acquisition and Logistics Excellence Week.
Two senior Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee said Sept. 10 that they hope to offer an amendment on the House floor to cut $919 million from the missile defense part of the fiscal 2002 defense authorization bill. Committee ranking Democrat Ike Skelton (Mo.) and Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) asked the House Rules Committee for permission to offer their amendment when the full House takes up the authorization bill later in the week.
The Department of Defense's Joint Strike Fighter program office is not aware of any delay in the engineering, manufacturing and development phase of the program, a spokesperson said Sept. 10. "No, we haven't slipped, we're still on target," said V. J. Harrison. "We don't have a delay." Cheryl Irwin, a DOD spokesperson, said JSF program officials "have no knowledge of any plan that has a late start date for EMD."
RAYTHEON CO. and the Air Force have successfully completed the initial phase of flight testing for a system they said provides accurate and reliable landing guidance for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft during low visibility approaches. Known as the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS), it works with GPS and is a joint Department of Defense development to provide an all weather, all mission, all user capability for the armed services.
The Navy Theater Wide (NTW), Ground-Based Midcourse and Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) programs would bear about two-thirds of the missile defense cuts contained in the Senate version of the fiscal 2002 defense authorization bill, according to defense sources.
L-3 Communications announced its Link Simulation and Training division of Arlington, Texas, has been awarded a contract to provide training, support and management for the U.S. Air Force's C-141 Total Training System. Under the agreement, the Air Force can exercise 10 one-year options, which would bring the total program value to about $67 million, L-3 announced on Sept. 5. About 2,500 C-141 Starlifter aircrew and maintenance personnel a year will rotate through the training system at six U.S. military bases.
