The U.S. Army released new versions of two important field manuals (FMs) outlining its doctrinal foundation and showing an increased incorporation of new information technology as the service transforms itself for warfighting of the 21st century. The manuals, released June 14 to coincide with the Army's 226th birthday, form the framework for how the Army will conduct operations for the next five to seven years.
BROADBAND BEWARE: With broadband satellite capacity become a scarce and precious resource, satellite providers should be careful not to allocate too many resources to interactive, two-way data services, according to Jim Stratigos, vice president of EchoStar Data Networks. "There isn't enough capacity, planned or in orbit, to go after and serve every broadband end user in the country," he says. "You've got to really be careful where you put your money, [and] you've got to really be careful ... balancing the amount of capacity allocated to broadcast vs.
BOEING SATELLITE SYSTEMS announced that a specially modified Boeing 601 model, built for ICO Global Communications of Uxbridge, England, is slated to be launched on June 19 by International Launch Services (ILS). It is one of 15 under contract for construction by BSS. "This satellite design incorporates a number of unique design features," said Randy Brinkley, BSS president. "The satellites carry more computing power than 600 Pentium III-based computers.
Rolls-Royce plc has become the fifth founding partner in Exostar, bringing an engine maker's perspective to the industry's largest procurement and supply-chain management Internet exchange.
After a week of successful flight tests of their Retinal Scanning Display technology, Microvision Inc. may be looking to expand use of such technology beyond its core military clients to private pilots, defense and aerospace marketing manager Steve Whiston said.
While the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) is having technical problems of its own, troubles plaguing Raytheon's digital ASR-11 radar pose a "major risk" to FAA deployment of STARS, according to the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.
Congress has received its official notification of a possible foreign military sale of up to 60 Lockheed Martin-made F-16s to the government of Poland. The proposal lays the groundwork for the country to purchase the aircraft should it decide to do so, and may also open the door for future NATO nations to follow suit. A sale to Poland would mean equipping another NATO country with F-16s, and could provide a further entree into central Europe for Lockheed Martin.
FiatAvio and Agusta have signed a contract for production and logistics support of the T700/T6E1 engine for the Italian military's multi-role NH 90 helicopters, the companies announced June 13. FiatAvio is the aerospace division of the Fiat Group, and Agusta is an AgustaWestland company. The companies will produce 396 engines, plus spares, for 196 helicopters. The contract covers the initial procurement of 232 engines for 116 helicopters.
The U.S. Navy, which has spent years developing theater missile defenses, could produce a sea-based "global" missile defense system with relative ease, according to Rear Adm. Rodney Rempt, the assistant chief of naval operations for missile defense.
CAE of Toronto, which supplies commercial full flight simulators (FFS), announced contracts for three simulators to American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Lufthansa Flight Training. The company has also been awarded a major FFS upgrade contract by Delta Airlines. The total value of the contracts is $50 million Cdn ($33 million USD), the company announced June 14.
Some aerospace groups have said the licensing for commercial satellite exports should shift from the State Department back to the Commerce Department because State moves too slowly to approve them. A General Accounting Office report, released June 14, says export license review times between the two agencies are similar - but also says the State Department's approval time varies depending on the commodity being exported.
The technology is already in place for missile defense, and future success will simply be a matter of proper integration and testing, according to Lt. General Ronald T. Kadish, director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO). Testifying before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Research and Development June 14, Kadish said that despite some highly publicized failures, the ability does exist to, as some have phrased it, "hit a bullet with a bullet."
While acquiring more long-range B-2 Spirit bombers would add to the military's long-range strike capability, additional acquisitions of the aircraft are unlikely given current budgetary constraints and opposition among senior military officials, several defense analysts said June 14. The idea of buying more B-2s was raised by Northrop Grumman Corp. CEO Kent Kresa, who wrote a letter of offer to the Air Force and the Secretary of Defense committing to manufacturing 40 more aircraft at the company's Palmdale, Calif., facility.
Crewmembers onboard the International Space Station Alpha have activated or completed all the station's science payloads, NASA announced. One experiment is intended to measure the performance of equipment installed on the station to dampen vibrations caused by crews and equipment.
General Electric and Honeywell gave the European Commission a final package of actions they are willing to take to get approval for their proposed $40 billion merger, although company officials said the package is short of the EC's demands and they don't expect it to be approved. The package proposes divestitures in Honeywell's aerospace business, including a new business and regional jet engine program, air turbine starters and some avionics products. The divestitures would be worth $2.2 billion in revenue, according to the companies.
A preliminary version of the congressionally mandated Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) will be ready in about mid July, a senior defense official said at the Pentagon June 14. Whether it will be for public release is another issue. The QDR is officially due September 30, but Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld found the timeline "out of sync" with that of preparing the next budget, according to the official.
Air Force Space Command is surveying industry to help determine the availability of new electronic warfare technologies for protection of aircraft. Capt. John Allison, an acquisition program manager at Schriever AFB, Colo., the command's headquarters, said yesterday in a telephone interview that "... a lot of our systems are very old and we're curious as to what's the new technology and the art of the possible for electronic warfare at this point."
The second Boeing C-17 Globemaster III for the United Kingdom became Royal Air Force property on June 13, Boeing announced. RAF Air Commodore David Vass accepted the aircraft, called UK2, at the Boeing C-17 production facility in Long Beach, Calif. The first C-17, UK1, was delivered to the RAF in May (DAILY, May 24). The airplanes are stationed at Brize Norton, north of London. UK2 is the second of four C-17s to be delivered to the U.K. They are leased under a seven-year contract, with two separate one-year term extensions available.
The House Appropriations Committee June 14 revamped the Bush Administration's request for supplemental defense spending, approving a bigger cut in V-22 production funding while adding money for Osprey research and development and shifting part of a proposed increase for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle to other priorities. The committee, which approved the fiscal 2001 supplemental spending bill by voice vote, cut $590 million in previously approved V-22 production money, $115 million more than the Administration's requested cut of $475 million.
Age and a lack of money are taking a toll on Russia's 90 orbiting satellites - 68 of which are at or near the end of their operational lifetimes, the head of Russia's space agency told the Russian parliament June 13. Yuri Koptev, head of Rosaviakosmos, said many of the country's 43 military satellites are now so old that they can no longer be considered reliable, Aerospace Daily affiliate AviationNow.com reported. "There is a real chance that we will no longer be operational in this regard," Koptev said.
A joint venture by Boeing, American, Delta and United to offer broadband Internet connections, which one airline executive described as "one of the most exciting innovations that has come to air travel in a long time," was announced June 13 in Washington. The three airlines are to kick off the venture by installing broadband communications and data services on 500 aircraft each, or about 10 percent of the world's fleet, providing a huge impetus to the venture at an early stage.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden (D-Del.) said June 13 that he is putting together teams of technical experts, treaty lawyers, policy specialists and others to advise lawmakers on missile defense. Biden said some of the advisers will help answer "the tough questions," such as how much missile defense testing can be done without violating the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which is designed to limit missile defense testing and deployment by the U.S. and Russia.
The Defense Morale and Quality of Life (QOL) study, chartered as one of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's reviews, recommends numerous changes that will make the working conditions of the military more closely mirror the civilian sector. However, the changes don't come cheap.
Changes in the acquisition process of the Pentagon could mean more stability and a brighter future for the U.S. defense industry, which had fallen out of investment favor in recent years but appears to be on the rebound in the last year. "If you talk to people on Wall Street, the last place they want to invest their money is in the aerospace industry," the Pentagon's new acquisition chief, Edward "Pete" Aldridge, said at a recent acquisition reform conference. "I think that's a problem for the Department of Defense."
Astronautics Corp. of America has received contracts worth $20 million for work on advanced avionics for the Israeli and Singapore F-16 production programs, the Milwaukee-based company announced. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, of Fort Worth, and the U.S. Air Force contracted with the company for its four-inch multifunction color displays, aft seat HUD (heads-up display) monitors and air data computers. The contracts also call for primary flight instruments, including three-axis attitude indicators and horizontal situation indicators (HSI).
