McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems/The Boeing Co., Mesa, Ariz., is being awarded a $1,125,844 delivery order amount as part of a $9,213,327 firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, for various AH-64 Apache spares. Work will be performed in Mesa, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2004. This is a sole source contract initiated on Feb. 6, 2001. The U.S. Army Aviation&Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (DAAH23-01-D-0112).
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems/The Boeing Co., Mesa, Ariz., is being awarded a $254,319 delivery order amount as part of an $8,599,880 firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, for various AH-64 Apache spares. Work will be performed in Mesa, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2004. This is a sole source contract initiated on Feb. 6, 2001. The U.S. Army Aviation&Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (DAAH23-01-D-0113).
Rolls Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Ind., is being issued a $15,299,900 contract for seven AE2100D3 engines used on KC-130J aircraft. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Ind., and is expected to be completed by February 2003. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Inventory Control Point, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (N00383-01-C-005M). Software Technology Inc.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) hopes to pass the Bush Administration's fiscal 2001 supplemental spending bill without any changes, a spokesman told The DAILY late June 8. Byrd is pushing for a "clean bill" because "he doesn't want to see it become a Christmas tree for members," the spokesman said. "He will not be adding one thin dime." The $6.5 billion measure includes $5.6 billion for defense.
The Federal Aviation Administration, FedEx Express and the Cargo Airlines Association have scheduled a June 13 meeting in Memphis to demonstrate the progress made in the FAA Safe Flight 21 program and the use of the Local Area Augmentation System installed at Memphis International Airport. FAA said the demonstrations are important parts of its Operational Evolution Plan, Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported. The Safe Flight 21 demonstrations will include surface moving map technology installed in cockpit avionics.
The Boeing Co., Anaheim, Calif., was awarded a $7,263,102 modification firm-fixed-price/award fee contract on June 6th, 2001, to provide for the Period 5, Calendar Year 2000 earned award fee for performance of earned and low rate initial production effort in support of the Global Positioning System Satellite. Space and Missile Center, Los Angeles, Calif., is the contracting activity (F04701-96-C-0025, P00139).
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld should include a joint service assessment of antiarmor munitions capabilities, requirements and priorities in the Quadrennial Defense Review, according to the General Accounting Office. The Pentagon, in a response, said it will consider its requirements, plans and priorities for antiarmor munitions as part of the QDR.
GOING UP: Overall, Lyles expects the space S&T investment to grow in coming years. For fiscal 2002, he says, some $290 million is budgeted for space-unique technologies, $340 million for common air and space technologies, and $63 million for the Space Based Laser program. "But I'm not satisfied with that at all," Lyles says.
The Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche Prototype No. 1 has successfully flown with new, more powerful engines manufactured by the Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Co. (LHTEC), a consortium of Rolls-Royce and Honeywell. The prototype flew 1.2 hours on June 1 to evaluate the performance of the LHTEC T800-LHT-801 engines, which provided a 17 percent power increase over the Comanche's previous T800-LHT-800 engines, Boeing announced June 7.
A newspaper report that the Pentagon is considering rushing a bare-bones missile defense system into operation by 2004 is generating a mixture of skepticism and puzzlement among industry and government sources. The Washington Post reported June 8 that prime missile defense contractor Boeing is furnishing the Department of Defense with a number of ideas for near-term missile defense, including placing five interceptor missiles in Alaska by March 2004.
NOT HYPERBOLE: The Space Commission's much-discussed warning about the possibility of a "Pearl Harbor in space" (DAILY, Apr. 11) is not just hyperbole, says retired Air Force Gen. Thomas Moorman. Moorman was a member of the congressionally mandated commission, which examined U.S. national security needs and challenges in space. "What we were trying to say is our lack of preparedness for threats against our space systems are analogous to the U.S. military's lack of preparedness for Pearl Harbor," says Moorman.
MAKEOVER: Responding to the demands of limited conflict scenarios, the Israeli Air Force will continue to add more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to its aircraft arsenal, Israeli ambassador to the U.S. David Ivry says. The UAVs could be used in a variety of ways, including for reconnaissance, carrying weapons, and using directed energy weapons against opponents. "Directed energy is one of the issues I think should be looked at very seriously because in a limited conflict ...
Aerospace suppliers and prime contractors may have solved one quality management problem only to find themselves facing another. Two years ago, parts suppliers and aerospace prime contractors agreed to adopt ISO 9001 standards, a quality standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization in Switzerland. The aim was to simplify the number of quality control standards, decrease the number of quality control audits by prime contractors, and reduce add-on costs associated with having to meet a variety of standards.
LEAVING SPACE: Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) is leaving the House Science Committee, where he has been a member of the space and aeronautics subcommittee, to fill a vacancy on the House Transportation Committee.
SUPPLEMENTAL ACTION: House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young (R-Fla.) doesn't plan to add money to the Bush Administration's request for a $6.5 billion fiscal 2001 supplemental spending bill, spokesman John Scofield says. But Young does plan to make changes to the contents of the bill, which includes $5.6 billion for defense, Scofield says. According to a source, House GOP leaders want to keep the supplemental at $6.5 billion to stay within congressionally approved budget caps, despite bipartisan complaints that the amount for the military is too low. Rep.
LOGISTICS NIGHTMARE: The Defense Department must do a better job with logistics, says Jacques S. Gansler, former under secretary of defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. "We spend over $80 billion a year on DoD logistics, and we do not do a world class job," says Gansler.
The Navy is considering buying new helicopters instead of proceeding with remanufacturing its aging SH-60 Seahawks, Rear Adm. Michael McCabe, director of the Navy's Air Warfare Division, said June 7.
A BIT EXTRA: Israel will continue to seek a supplemental funding package for military projects to counter Iran's long-range missile program, according to Ivry. The two-year package, worth about $800 million, will go toward improving Israel's intelligence gathering capabilities and its long-range bomber capabilities, and acquiring a third battery of the Arrow ballistic missile defense system. "Iran is continuing with its (long-range ballistic missile) program very intensively," Ivry says. "The threat is becoming more and more realistic."
Pratt&Whitney and GE Aircraft Engines have solidified their agreement to work together on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, assuring both companies' engines are interchangeable across all variants of the JSF aircraft. The competition continues between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, with a source selection set for this fall. But both engine-makers have agreed - in writing - that their respective engines will be usable and exchangeable regardless which major contractor is chosen to build the JSF aircraft variants.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), a leading Senate proponent of space programs, said June 8 that NASA needs at least $100 million above the Bush Administration's fiscal 2002 budget request to have a fully operational International Space Station.
The U.S. Air Force is aiming to pick a contractor in September to deliver an initial system to protect transport planes from shoulder-fired heat-seeking missiles. The Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) program would first outfit 79 planes with currently available technology but ultimately could equip Air Mobility Command's entire fleet of 943 C-17s, C-130s, KC-135s, C-5s and KC-10s with more sophisticated defenses.
MORE TESTING: The Pentagon plans to step up testing for missile defense options, which does not come cheap. Rumsfeld is "an advocate of a very robust test and evaluation period to try out different means of intercepting ballistic missiles in flight," Department of Defense spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley says. "Some will be fruitful. Some will not." Those that are more productive will be pursued and those that "simply don't work out" will be abandoned, he adds.
The Air Force's Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has returned to the United States after a six week deployment in Australia - breaking an aviation record on the way back, just as it did on the way over. On its return trip, Global Hawk became the first unmanned craft to fly nonstop from Australia to the U.S. It landed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., last week.
President Bush intends to nominate a former member of Congress, a former astronaut, a consultant and a business executive for defense posts, the White House announced June 7: -- Michael Parker to be assistant secretary of the Army for civil works. -- Ronald M. Sega to be director of defense research and engineering. -- Reginald Jude Brown to be assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs.
AEROSPACE CAUCUS: The aerospace industry will promote the creation of an aerospace advocacy group in the Senate if efforts to revive the dormant House Aerospace Caucus are successful, says Bruce Mahone, director of space policy at the Aerospace Industries Association. On June 6, House members and AIA formally launched the revival of the House caucus, which has existed for about a decade but been inactive for the past four years.
