House Armed Services Committee member Tom Allen (D-Maine) is considering offering an amendment to the fiscal 2002 defense authorization bill in September to require the president to seek financial contributions from American allies if they are going to be protected by U.S.-made missile defenses, a spokesman told The DAILY Aug. 7. Allen hasn't committed to offering the amendment because the House isn't expected to consider the authorization bill for another month or so, Allen spokesman Jim DeWan said.
THE BOEING CO. has received a second order from the U.S. Air Force for a C-40 aircraft, as part of a program to replace the Air National Guard's C-22B fleet. The order, announced Aug. 6, is the second C-40 order under an Air Force contract awarded to the company in February. The C-40, based on the 737, has a 5,000 nautical mile range, compared with the C-22B, which has a range of 2,000 n.m. The Air National Guard will operate the aircraft at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
Researchers at the Human-Automation Integration Research Branch of NASA Ames Research Center are working to reconcile ground-based and aircraft-based flight automation systems in an effort to make airport arrivals more efficient. Systems in the air traffic control tower and on the aircraft itself are often at cross purposes when it comes to descent and arrival, according to Ames Branch Chief Rose Ashford.
NASA completed the third and final hot-fire test of the mothballed X-33 program's aerospike engine set to test its Electro-Mechanical Actuator technology, which is expected to find a home in future spacecraft (DAILY, July 19). The engines were fired for 90 seconds at 85 percent power.
As South Korea nears a decision on its $3.3 billion F-X fighter program, tentatively scheduled for the fall, sources and news reports say the competition - once considered a done deal for the Boeing Co. - may still be up for grabs. It is widely expected that Boeing will win the competition with its F-15K, an updated version of the F-15E. However, recent reports indicate South Korea has been giving at least some consideration to the competing Eurofighter, the French Rafale, and the Russian Sukhoi Su-35.
Senate aide Marshall Billingslea has been appointed deputy assistant secretary of defense for negotiations policy in the Pentagon's Office of International Security Policy, sources told The DAILY Aug. 7. Billingslea, whose new responsibilities are still being defined, began his Pentagon job on Aug. 7. The position doesn't require Senate confirmation.
THE BOEING CO. projects the world freighter fleet will more than double over the next 20 years, from 1,742 to 3,523 aircraft. Boeing's Current Market Outlook 2001, released Aug. 7, forecasts that 1,238 cargo aircraft will be retired, for a net gain of 1,781 airplanes.
Aircraft idled by spare parts shortages and troops training with obsolete equipment are among the military readiness problems that members of Congress will examine during a late August trip being organized by Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee.
Japanese manufacturers sold nearly $8.4 billion worth of aerospace products in fiscal year 2000, which ran from April 2000 to March 2001, according to the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies. The total sales were up 5.8 percent from fiscal year 1999, according to the society. The total includes $6.8 billion earned by production and $1.6 billion from overhauls and repair work.
General Dynamics Corp. of Falls Church, Va., announced Aug. 6 it plans to acquire Motorola Inc.'s Integrated Information Systems Group for $825 million in cash. Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., the Integrated Information Systems Group manufactures products and systems for secure communication, information assurances, situational awareness and integrated communication systems for defense and government customers.
As tomorrow's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) become more autonomous and less deterministic in their behavior, safety regulations may prevent them from ever flying, according to Bruce Clough of the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). "In my humble opinion, if we want to go ahead and do what we want to do with UAVs we've got to give them more autonomy," said Clough at an unmanned vehicle conference here Aug. 2.
The Boeing Co. will sell its Sensors&Electronic Systems business in Anaheim, Calif., to DRS Technologies Inc., of Parsippany, N.J. Boeing announced Aug. 3. The $84 million sale is expected to be completed later this year. The unit is part of the Battle Management Command, Control and Communications&Strategic Systems business, which is a component of Boeing Space&Communications.
India's Akash and Trishul missile programs are running almost two years behind schedule, according to sources here. The medium-range, ground-to-air Akash and surface-to-air Trishul are behind due to problems with their guidance and propulsion systems, officials said. According to earlier schedules, the programs should have almost completed test firings by now. Officials said this means the Indian government's plan to replace its aging, Russian-built SAM system by 2002 has suffered a major setback.
TRW Inc. was awarded a seven-year, $564 million follow-on contract to develop and deliver battle management command, control and communications equipment for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense Segment (the former National Missile Defense program) by its prime contractor, the Boeing Co.
Rolls-Royce will deliver Gem turboshaft engines and spare parts worth $10 million under a new Brazilian government contract. Brazil will use the equipment for its fleet of 14 Westland Super Lynx Mk 21A naval helicopters, which are operated from destroyers, corvettes and frigates for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, transport and other roles.
ITT Industries said it has won a $580 million contract from the FAA to provide new, digital radios for Air Traffic Control. The radios will help the agency provide communications services to the U.S. National Airspace System. With the NAS growing at a rate of 4 percent a year, ITT said, the current analog ATC radios will reach full capacity in the next decade. In high-traffic areas like Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, they will reach full capacity even earlier.
Senate Armed Services Committee members Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and Robert Smith (R-N.H.) introduced a bill Aug. 3 aimed at improving the Defense Department's management of military space activities.
The Senate has confirmed Jack Dyer Crouch II to be assistant secretary of defense for international security policy. Crouch, who received Senate approval Aug. 1, was deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security policy from 1990 to 1992.
A recent feasibility study examining the possibility of sending an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to explore Saturn's moon Titan points out a number of areas of technical overlap that could benefit UAV operations on Earth. "What we tried to do here is identify some overlap between the space community and the UAV community, and see how we can leverage those for the benefit of all," said Ryan Shaefer of Adroit Systems, Inc., co-author of the study. Shaefer made his remarks at an unmanned vehicles conference in Baltimore, Md. last week.
