BAE Systems Portal Solutions Inc., Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $49,854,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee (indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity) contract for system engineering, integration management and configuration management support for the Department of Defense Intelligence Information System (DoDIIS) and the U.S. intelligence community worldwide. This effort also includes technical support for the Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, N.Y., to assist in the integration, testing and evaluation of DoDIIS Migration Systems.
ADVANCED TECHNICAL PRODUCTS, Inc., has entered into a jet engine fan duct production contract with Honeywell Engines and Systems of Phoenix, Ariz., to fabricate jet engine fan ducts. The contract is for fabrication of a composite fan bypass duct produced by the company's resin transfer molding process.
The first prototype high-speed vertical take-off and landing car has moved from the assembly line into the first phase of multi-engine thrust testing, according to officials from Moller International, Inc. Jack Allison, vice-president of administration, said engineers have tested the vehicle's stability and control system by performing a partial lift-off with two engines.
The Boeing Co.'s Delta IV common booster core (CBC) has been shipped to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., where it will be used to help validate the design of the new Boeing launch facility, Space Launch Complex 37. The CBC has just emerged from testing at the John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss., where it completed a series of milestone hot fire tests (DAILY, May 10).
House Armed Services Committee member Tom Allen (D-Maine) is putting the finishing touches on a bill that would require the president to seek financial contributions from U.S. allies if they are going to be protected by an American-made missile defense system. The proposed Missile Defense Burdensharing Act of 2001, which Allen will probably introduce within a few weeks, is similar to other defense burdensharing arrangements the U.S. has had with Japan, NATO allies, and the coalition states involved in the Persian Gulf War, Allen said.
The first results of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's defense reviews will not likely be unveiled until the fiscal year 2002 budget amendment is submitted next month, and clear details may not appear until the next budget is built. The DAILY has learned that so far, Rumfeld's review panels have completed their reports in the following areas: acquisition reform; financial management; morale and quality of life; transformation and conventional force structure; space, and missile defense.
A story in The DAILY of May 29 gave incorrect specifications for the space shuttle's Reusable Solid Rocket Motors. Each motor is 126 feet long and 12 feet in diameter.
The Air Force is modifying a contract with Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems Co., Marietta, Ga. This action provides for Investment in Producibility Improvement Program (PIP). These projects will reduce the cost of F-22 aircraft. Lockheed Martin will perform this effort in Marietta, Ga. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contract activity (F33657-97-C-0030, P00026).
The Air Force is modifying a contract with the Boeing Co., Information and Communications Systems, Anaheim, Calif. This action adjusts the scope of the ongoing effort to design and develop modifications to incorporate new military and civilian signals into the Global Positioning System IIF satellite. This modification incorporates increase of signal power, a change in the generation of civilian signal and testing and other effort required for the attainment of the Final Design Verification milestone. The locations of performance are Boeing, Anaheim, Calif.
Air France became the launch customer for the GE-Pratt&Whitney Engine Alliance GP7200 turbofan on the new Airbus A380 with an order for 10 GP7200s valued - with options and spare engines - at nearly $900 million. Lloyd Thompson, president of the alliance, said the new powerplant will provide Air France with "industry-leading fuel efficiency and reliability and the best overall cost of ownership on the A380," Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported.
Pilots from the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School are testing Czech aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody's L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft, the company announced May 29. The tests are being conducted in the Czech Republic, and the pilots are flying with an Aero Vodochody test pilot. The tests are designed to evaluate the aircraft's performance during both routine flights and aerobatic maneuvers.
DRS Technologies Inc. has been awarded an $86.2 million multi-year contract by the U.S. Army for improvements to the M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, including producing fire control systems that incorporate second-generation forward looking infrared (FLIR) technology. This will enable gunners to detect, identify and engage tactical targets at longer operational ranges, the company announced May 29. The contract's initial funding is $24.7 million. Product deliveries are expected to begin in April 2002 and conclude in March 2005.
House Armed Services Committee Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.), whose congressional district has a heavy military aviation presence, announced May 25 in Florida that he will resign from Congress later this year due to chronic back pain and a desire to spend more time with his family. Scarborough's district includes Pensacola Naval Air Station, Eglin Air Force Base, the Air Force's Hurlburt Field and Whiting Field Naval Air Station.
TRW INC.'s Radio Systems Division in San Diego has conducted a successful preliminary design review of the Aviation Integrated Radio System, the company announced May 29. AIRS will provide the secure voice and data communications for the Army's new RAH-66 Comanche reconnaissance/attack helicopter now being developed by a Boeing/Sikorsky-led team.
Russian Aviation and Space Agency officials proposed joint Russian-Japanese development of a new advanced rocket engine at a recent space conference between the two countries. The proposal calls for using three existing Russian rocket engines as platforms for the new engine. Japan's Ministry of Education and Science is expected to reply to the proposal within three months.
Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories, Camden, N.J., is being awarded a $6,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a cost-plus-fixed-fee pricing arrangement to define, develop, evaluate and demonstrate anytime multi-modal interface infrastructure technology and domain applications for the advanced technologies for human and information system interactions program located at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego.
Hoping to build a national consensus for tackling the U.S. military's readiness problems, Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) is proposing to create a commission of nonpartisan military experts to conduct an "objective" review of the matter. Bond, whose bill would create a Military Readiness Investigation Board, said in a speech on the Senate floor May 25 that the military is plagued by a host of readiness problems, yet readiness "has received far more words than deeds" because there is no national consensus on a solution.
The Boeing Co., Military Aircraft&Missile Systems Group, Philadelphia, Pa., was awarded on May 18, 2001, a $26,767,342 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for ICH-47F (Improved Chinook Cargo helicopter) initial production facilitation. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pa. (88%); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (10%); and Middletown, Del. (2%), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 29, 2004. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source contract initiated on May 15, 2000. The U.S.
The Thales Group announced May 29 it plans to buy two subsidiaries of Orbital Sciences Corp. that are involved with the manufacture and servicing of global positioning systems, a deal that would make the Paris-based aerospace and defense electronics company one of the top GPS suppliers worldwide.
Kongsberg Defence&Aerospace of Kongsberg, Norway, has signed a contract worth about 64 million Norwegian Kroners (about $7 million USD) for the delivery and attachment of separation mechanisms for 20 Ariane 5 launches, the company announced May 28. Ten units are included in a production contract, while the remaining 10 will be available as an option, according to Kongsberg. The attachment and separation mechanisms developed by the company connect the solid fuel booster rockets to the main hull of the Ariane 5.
McDonnell Douglas Corp., Saint Louis, Miss., is being awarded a $25,095,770 modification to firm-fixed-price contract. This action provides for 202 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) kits in the 2000-pound MK-84 configuration and 948 JDAM bits in the 2,000-pound BLU-109 configuration. JDAM is a strap-on kit with Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System capability that will provide an improved aerial delivery capability for existing 1000- and 2000-pound bombs.
The Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile, produced by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control of Dallas, has been presented the Daedalian's Weapons System Award, the Col. Franklin C. Wolfe Memorial Trophy for 2000, the company announced May 29. The trophy, presented last week at the annual Daedalian Convention in Las Vegas, is presented annually to individuals, groups or organizations judged to have contributed the most outstanding weapons system development for programs that operate in the aerospace environment.
It's far from clear that the U.S. Air Force will get the $20-$30 billion extra per year it says it needs for recapitalization, but plans are in place to wisely spend whatever amount is eventually approved, according to Maj. Gen. John J. Barry, director of strategic planning in the office of the deputy chief of staff for plans and programs.
The Pentagon yesterday skirted the issue of whether technology or equipment exchanges or some type of economic offset would be offered to Russia for its cooperation on a missile defense system. Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, Defense Department spokesman, told reporters only that "It is a very complex arrangement that the National Security Council has the lead on," and that the Pentagon is making its views known through the interagency process.
SPACEPORT BONDS: Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) is trying again this year to pass a bill that would allow state and local governments to issue tax-exempt bonds for spaceport construction. The proposed Spaceport Equality Act, which has at least a dozen co-sponsors, is intended to give spaceports the same benefit enjoyed by airports. Although the legislation failed to win congressional approval last year, Weldon believes one of the many tax bills under consideration in the House this year could serve as a vehicle for his proposal.
