General Dynamics Corp. and The Boeing Co. may have to reimburse the federal government more than $1 billion as a result of an Aug. 31 decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The court ruled that the Navy was justified in canceling the $4.4 billion program to develop eight A-12 Avenger II carrier-borne stealth attack aircraft. The aircraft were to be designed to penetrate heavily defended positions.
GRAMM GOING: Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas), a major Senate player on export control policy, announced Sept. 4 that he would not seek re-election next year. Gramm has been in the Senate since 1985.
With the Fiscal Year 2002 budget showing only moderate increases in procurement, officials are acknowledging that rising personnel and management costs continue to compete with modernization accounts. "We've put a lot of effort into the people piece," outgoing Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan told a group of reporters on Aug. 28, "but we did that at the expense of modernization."
The Air Force will decide Sept. 7 whether to buy portable shelters for the B-2 bomber beyond the structure that has been used for testing. If the service decides to go ahead, it will convert the test article to production standard and buy four more, giving it a total of five, according to Maj. Ron Jobo, director of B-2 and F-117 programs in the Air Force Program Executive Office for Bombers and Fighters.
The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command awarded Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Fla., a $222 million production contract for 205 Lightweight Multiband Satellite Terminals (LMST), the company announced Sept. 4. The company has received $66 million in contracts since 1995 for the design, development and low-rate initial production of 36 LMST systems. The mobile LMST program provides deployed military forces with military X- and Ka-band communications, and commercial C- and Ku-band access for satellite voice, video and data communications.
A Defense Science Board team recently finished a study of the entire precision-targeting process, reviewing all planned precision weapons programs and existing and planned reconnaissance and surveillance systems, according to a study participant. The "summer study" team also was charged with examining precision-targeting "challenges," such as moving targets and enemy use of cover, concealment and deception, said Christopher Bolkcom, an aerospace analyst at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and one of about 50 people who took part in the study.
August 30, 2001 Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Information Systems, Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $25,367,771 cost-plus-fixed fee contract for research development and operation maintenance of the Theater Aerospace Command and Control Simulation Facility (TACCSF). At this time, $1,330,755 of the funds has been obligated. Lockheed Martin Corp. will perform this effort at the TACCSF at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. Detachment 8, Air Force Research Lab, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., is the contracting activity (F29601-01-C-0242).
BAE SYSTEMS will provide its AN/UPX-37 IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) Digital Interrogators for ITT Gilfillan's new Air Force Mobile Approach Control System, the company announced Sept. 4. This will mark the U.S. Air Force's first use of the AN/UPX-37, according to BAE Systems. The initial contract, valued at $500,000, was awarded to BAE Systems' Advanced Systems business unit in Greenlawn, N.Y.
August 30, 2001 McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $5,186,352 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00019-97-G-0167) for an increase in scope to the Advanced Crew Station development for the F/A-18F aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed in December 2003. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
The Boeing Co. began operations at its new world headquarters building in downtown Chicago on Sept. 4, while at the same time emphasizing its presence in the Puget Sound area. The company expects about 400 employees to be working in its new headquarters at 100 North Riverside by the end of the year. Boeing CEO Phil Condit will officially open the new headquarters Aug. 5, Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported.
L-3 Communications announced that its Electrodynamics, Inc. subsidiary, of Rolling Meadows, Ill., has been selected by the Boeing Co. as a partner to upgrade airborne data recorders for the T-45 Training System. The work is part of a Department of Defense Commercial Operations and Support Savings Initiative award, the New York-based company announced Sept. 4. L-3's part of the work is worth about $3 million, according to the company.
A prototype arc fault circuit breaker (AFCB) for aircraft use has begun flight tests aboard a Navy C-9 at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Va. and is performing flawlessly, according to NAVAIR. The AFCB's maiden flight Aug. 24 kicked off a six-month flight test phase, during which it will also fly on a 727 supplied by FAA. No major design changes are anticipated between the current prototypes and the eventual production models, which should start rolling off the assembly line next year.
GENERAL DYNAMICS extended its pending tender offer for Newport News Shipbuilding stock to midnight, Sept. 14, the company announced Sept. 4. Its previous tender offer was due to expire Aug. 31. The company is competing with Northrop Grumman Corp. to acquire Newport News.
House Armed Services Committee ranking Democrat Ike Skelton (Mo.) said Sept. 4 that the U.S. Air Force will need to acquire more long-range capabilities, such as those offered by the B-2 bomber, because far-away Asia will become more important in American military strategy in future years. Asia will demand increasing attention as countries in that region upgrade their militaries and retain sharp differences that could explode into armed conflict, Skelton predicted in a prepared speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
As the Senate began debate Sept. 4 on reauthorizing the Export Administration Act, which restricts the export of technology with both civilian and military applications, new allegations have emerged that a Chinese company was involved in exporting sensitive missile technology to a sanctioned state.
Raytheon Corp. has been awarded a low-rate initial production contract by the U.S. Navy to produce the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile. Under the contract, valued at $212.6 million, 255 missile systems will be produced. Engineering services will also be provided. The contract runs through January 2004, the company announced Aug. 30. The missile protects Navy ships by destroying incoming anti-ship missiles, particularly those that can fly at low altitudes and maneuver during their terminal flight stage.
SETTING STANDARDS: Export restrictions on dual-use technology will continue to put U.S. businesses at a disadvantage unless they are narrowed in scope or eliminated, says Jay Farrar, a co-director of a recently released study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The study, entitled "Technology and Security in the 21st Century: U.S. Military Export Control Reform," recommends setting standards to determine whether export restrictions should be placed on a product. Under current U.S.
A joint effort between Lockheed Martin and NASA has developed the first sub-scale composite fuel tank that is compatible with liquid hydrogen, a development that aerospace agency officials say could eventually help lower the cost of access to space. "This is, frankly, an attempt at some rather giant leaps," said Michael Phipps, the Pathfinder flight experiments project manager at Marshall Space Flight Center, Ala.
When the month-long congressional recess ends after Labor Day, lawmakers plan to tackle a host of aerospace-related legislation, including the annual defense authorization, defense appropriations and NASA appropriations bills and a major measure on export controls. The Senate will begin a burst of activity Sept. 4 by debating a bill to reauthorize the Export Administration Act (EAA), which restricts the export of dual-use goods and technology, or items that can have both civilian and military uses.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has for the sixth time announced it will extend its tender offer to purchase all outstanding common stock shares of Newport News Shipbuilding, Inc. The company announced Aug. 30 that its offer will be extended from Aug. 30 to midnight Sept. 13. As of 5 p.m. Aug. 30, nearly 1.8 million shares of Newport News stock had been tendered to Northrop Grumman, including 238,612 shares with notices of guaranteed delivery.
