The House Armed Services Committee's procurement and research and development subcommittees will mark up the fiscal 2002 defense authorization bill on July 31, the committee announced. The full committee will consider the bill Aug. 1. The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to consider its version of the bill in September.
The Federal Aviation Administration on July 26 ordered operators of aircraft powered by Pratt&Whitney PW4000 engines to remove and rebuild them within a certain period of time. The order impacts nearly 500 engines on 747s, 767s, MD-11s and Airbus A300s and A310s in the U.S. fleet, Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported. FAA estimated the cost of removing and replacing the engines at $2 million.
Several government officials testifying July 26 before a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee said their agencies are looking into whether European governments are providing an unfair level of support to their airlines and aerospace manufacturers. Those officials, as well as industry experts, academicians and association leaders said that while some government assistance is permissible under current international agreements, other types might be prohibited.
AIRBUS selected Parker Hannifin Corp.'s Electronic Systems Division to provide the fuel measurement and management systems for its new A380 airliner. Airbus said the contract has a potential value of $200 million, including original equipment sales to Airbus and aftermarket spares and service.
SHUTTLE BACK: Space Shuttle Atlantis wrapped up its mission to bring the International Space Station its new airlock. The shuttle landed at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at 11:39 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 24.
The Air Force bomber force faces a $4 billion shortfall for needed upgrades over the next few years, a factor that contributed to a Defense Department proposal to cut the B-1B fleet, which accounts for half of that funding "disconnect," service officials told the Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee July 25.
Upcoming parliamentary elections, a slowing economy and a Ministry of Defense corruption scandal could all contribute to delays in Poland's decision on its fighter aircraft modernization program, several sources said July 25. Poland had hoped to make a decision on the sale before the national elections in September (DAILY, Jun 15). In mid-July, however, the head of the Polish bidding commission, Romuald Szeremietiew, was forced to resign after allegations emerged that his assistant had solicited a bribe in a previous Polish defense purchase.
The 21st Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite is slated for launch on July 27 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., atop a Titan IVB, TRW Inc. announced July 25. A TRW-Aerojet team built the satellite, which will join the existing DSP constellation to provide early warning of strategic and tactical ballistic missile launches to the North American Defense Command and U.S. Space Command centers. DSP 21 will be launched into a geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth.
Rockwell Collins, the newly-created avionics and communications company spun off from the former Rockwell International Corp., reported flat sales income for the third quarter, which ended June 30. Company officials reported July 25 that net income rose from $66 million, or 35 cents per share at the end of the third quarter 2000, to $67 million, or 36 cents per share in 2001.
The European Space Agency's Artemis satellite has been boosted to a 31,000 kilometer (19,300 mile) "parking orbit" after an Ariane 5 rocket suffered a malfunction and initially left it in a too-low orbit (DAILY, July 16). ESA used the satellite's chemical boosters to increase the apogee of its orbit to 31,000 kilometers, and then put it in the parking orbit and fully deployed its solar arrays and its antennas, the agency announced July 25.
The U.S. Air Force is asking $6.8 million in the fiscal year 2002 budget to continue an effort to extend the service life of its Boeing AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missile. The ALCM entered service in 1982, and the current effort, begun in FY 2000, is intended to keep the nuclear-tipped weapons in operation until FY 2030, according to a newly released budget justification document prepared for congressional staffers.
Atlantis Systems Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlantis Systems International of Brampton, Ontario, signed a data-licensing agreement July 25 with aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The agreement enables Atlantis to use Airbus technical data in the design, qualification, deployment and support of flight-training devices and simulators. The financial terms were not disclosed. The agreement also gives Atlantis access to simulator software developed by Airbus as well as all future software upgrades.
Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.) hopes to offer an amendment to a fiscal 2002 spending bill to terminate NASA participation in the International Space Station, according to a spokesman. But Roemer faces an uphill battle in getting his proposal enacted. He has failed with similar legislation in many previous attempts. His amendment would eliminate $1.8 billion for space station activities and $275 million for development of the Crew Return Vehicle.
Rather than sparking another arms race, the Bush Administration's ongoing effort to develop a multi-layered missile defense system will be a powerful counter-proliferation tool, according to Ambassador David J. Smith. Speaking at a recent missile defense media conference in Huntsville, Ala., Smith said the lack of defensive systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles is, in fact, the very reason why countries want to acquire missiles.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics has shipped the first eight modification kits for the U.S. Air Force's Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP), an extensive F-16 retrofit that involves major changes to the aircraft avionics and cockpit. The first eight kits were shipped on June 29, fulfilling both the July and August contractual requirements, the company announced July 25. They were shipped early at the request of the Ogden Air Logistics Center, Utah, the location of the F-16 CCIP modification line.
THALES AVIONICS said its flight deck displays were chosen by Airbus for the A380. Thales and German subsidiary Diehl Avionik Systeme will supply the displays, which are comprised of eight liquid-crystal displays versus six for the previous generation.
The chairman of the House Science space subcommittee said July 25 that he plans to hold a hearing, "romance" congressional leaders and solicit Bush Administration support in hopes of passing legislation that would offer tax incentives to encourage greater commercial investment in space.
RAF BRIZE NORTON, OXFORDSHIRE - The Ministry of Defence is praising the Royal Air Force's lease of four Boeing C-17s as a model of military procurement, because the program came in a month ahead of schedule and 25 percent below its projected cost.
Northrop Grumman Corp. reported a 14 percent increase in earnings for the second quarter of 2001, but its net profits dropped 35 percent for the same period due to lower returns from the company's pension fund income. Officials of the Los Angeles-based company reported July 25 that second-quarter earnings rose from $120 million, or $1.71 per share during the second quarter of 2000, to $137 million this year, or $1.57 per share. Those numbers reflect the operations of Litton Industries Inc., which Northrop Grumman acquired April 3, 2001.
The Defense Department may know in less than a week whether three missile defense activities proposed by the Bush Administration would violate the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith said July 24. Feith testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that DOD's ABM Treaty compliance review group is expected to complete a 10-day initial assessment of those activities by July 30. The group's findings will determine whether a more detailed review is needed.
Despite positive sales in its aerospace segment, Honeywell International Inc. on July 24 posted a 92 percent drop in net profit for the second quarter due largely to charges the company took related to its failed merger with General Electric Co. Company officials reported net quarterly earnings of $50 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with $617 million, or 76 cents per share a year ago at this time.
The non-profit Foundation for Advancing Science and Technology Education announced July 24 it is developing what it says will be the first piloted aircraft powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The foundation is converting a French DynAero Lafayette III to electric propulsion and is exhibiting the airplane this week at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture 2001 show in Oshkosh, Wis. First flight is slated for next year using lithium ion batteries.
The Lockheed Martin-led team's X-35B Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstrator will complete its flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., rather than flying cross-country for additional test flights at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., a company spokesman said July 24. Flight tests are likely to end this week, said John Kent, the spokesman.
NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss., successfully conducted the second of three tests of the Electro-Mechanical Actuator (EMA) technology used on the former X-33 program, the space agency announced July 24. The space center conducted the test of the X-33's Linear Aerospike XRS-2200 flight engine set on July 23. The test achieved an 80 percent power level and lasted for the full planned duration of 25 seconds, NASA reported. All of the test objectives appear to have been met, pending a final review, according to NASA.
