NASA released on Nov. 24 preliminary cost estimates for the space shuttle's return to flight as part of an update to its evolving return-to-flight (RTF) implementation plan. The RTF initiatives that have begun so far totaled $60 million in fiscal 2003 and are projected to cost $175 million in FY '04, according to NASA (see chart).
The U.S. Marine Corps' UH-1Y utility helicopter completed testing of its Special Warfare Kit Nov. 21 at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., according to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). The 10-day evaluation tested the helicopter's ability to insert Marines into special warfare situations where landing the helicopter would be impossible. During the tests, Marines deployed from the aircraft via rappelling, fast rope and parachute from altitudes up to 10,000 feet.
LAW: President Bush signed the $401 billion fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill on Nov. 24. The bill includes $9.1 billion for ballistic missile defense, $74 billion for procurement, $63 billion for research and development, and approves the U.S. Air Force plan to acquire 100 Boeing KC-767A tanker aircraft by leasing 20 and buying the rest.
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - The U.S. Air Force is pondering what could replace the QF-4 as the next aerial target for testing and fighter pilot training, a service official said at the National Defense Industrial Association's Targets, UAVs and Range Operations Symposium here last week.
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International has formed a new committee that will develop safety and performance standards for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems, ASTM announced Nov. 24. The committee includes manufacturers of UAVs and their components, federal agencies, design professionals, professional societies, maintenance professionals, trade associations, financial organizations and academia, according to ASTM.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - City officials and civic planners here like the idea of the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) moving to nearby Peterson Air Force Base if Los Angeles Air Force Base closes - but an Air Force spokesman said that's a big if.
Two senior officials with the Boeing Co. were dismissed Nov. 24 after an internal investigation revealed they had acted improperly, Boeing said. The company's board of directors recommended that Chief Financial Officer Mike Sears and Darleen Druyun, a former Air Force acquisitions official serving as general manager of Missile Defense Systems, be dismissed.
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) announced Nov. 24. it is buying two hypersonic flight businesses in a bid to expand into hypersonic flight and propulsion. The businesses are GASL, of Ronkonkoma, N.Y., and Micro Craft, of Tullahoma, Tenn., which are both owned by Allied Aerospace. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but an ATK spokesman said the company paid "in the neighborhood of around $40 million cash" for GASL and Micro Craft.
(The following is excerpted from the written responses by Michael W. Wynne, who has been nominated to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, to written questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee. Wynne testified Nov. 18.)
NEW DELHI - India and the United States have reached an agreement that would allow New Delhi to obtain dual-use technology from U.S. companies for aerospace and defense use. Indian officials said the decision came at the third Indo-U.S. High Technology Cooperation Group meeting, held here Nov. 20 and co-chaired by Indian foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal and Kenneth Juster, U.S. undersecretary of commerce for industry and security.
Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems sector (NGSS) is joining the industry team led by Raytheon to compete for the contract to design the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). Northrop Grumman was eliminated from the design competition in July when officials with the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) chose teams led by General Dynamics, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to submit final designs (July 21). Navy officials expect to make a decision on the final design or designs next year.
SHIELD WORK: The homeland security market is a "growing opportunity for Thales" that has led it to create a "security board" to coordinate activities across its defense, aerospace and commercial information technology business areas, a company official says. Tim Robinson, senior vice president of Thales' Secure Operations Business Group, says Thales is proposing the Strategic Homeland Intelligence and Electronic Deterrence (SHIELD) system, which he says is broader and more complete than systems offered by competitors (DAILY, Nov. 20).
Spacehab Inc. said Nov. 20 that it has been awarded a new mission under the Research and Logistics Mission Support (ReALMS) contract to provide NASA with cargo services to the International Space Station. The contract has been modified to add the use of Spacehab's Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) to shuttle mission STS-121, scheduled to launch in November 2004.
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The Czech ministry of defense is to start work on an installation for a $19 million Fixed Air Defense Radar (FADR) system in eastern Bohemia within the next two weeks, according to the ministry. NATO is paying for the RAT 31DL 3D long-range FADR system under its security investment program. The system was to have been the second of two installed, but it was moved to the head of the line after plans to build a FADR system at Slavkov, south Moravia, were halted by objections from local villages.
ON THE FLY: In addition to transforming the military, the Pentagon should transform its acquisition processes to allow for more innovation, according to Ashton Carter, former assistant secretary of defense for International Security Policy. "In addition to 'big T' transformation, there needs to be a 'little t' transformation that works inside cycle times and gives people the latitude and resources ... to do innovation on the fly as the need requires," he says. As it is now, service members in the theater almost have to innovate covertly, according to Carter.
The Defense Department is making a series of technological fixes to improve the sharing of intelligence information among coalition forces in Iraq, a DOD official said Nov. 21. Stephen Cambone, undersecretary of defense for intelligence, told the Defense Writers Group that it became evident over the summer that greater intelligence support was needed for stability operations in Iraq. In August, DOD sent a team to Iraq to assess the situation, which resulted in about 80 to 90 recommendations for improvement.
NEW ASAP: With a new staff and a new charter, NASA's revamped Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) plans to hold its first meeting shortly, according to the agency. The previous membership of the ASAP resigned following the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's (CAIB) assessment that the panel was "not very influential" within NASA (DAILY, Sept. 24). "We spent a lot of time over the last few weeks recruiting the right kinds of people," NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe says. "Not one of the new members ...
Lockheed Martin has reorganized its newly formed Integrated Systems and Solutions unit to better "address customer needs for horizontally integrated, net-centric solutions," the company said Nov. 21. When Lockheed Martin announced formation of IS&S last June, it said the new business area would leverage "existing and emerging capabilities to address customers' growing need for highly integrated systems and solutions."
The Defense Department announced Nov. 21 that Clusters 3 and 4 of the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) will be merged to improve interoperability and gain cost-saving efficiencies in development and production. The Air Force and Navy have formed a joint management and oversight structure to handle the combined program. Cluster 3, which has been managed by the Navy, is intended for maritime and fixed-site platforms. Cluster 4, which has been led by the Air Force, is designed for airborne platforms.
DEFENSE BILL: President Bush is expected to sign the fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill into law Nov. 24, completing action on the regular FY '04 defense bills. Bush signed the FY '04 defense appropriations bill Sept. 30 (DAILY, Oct. 2). Congress formally delivered the authorization bill to the president Nov. 20.
MIDEAST SPENDING: Military spending by countries in the Middle East is expected to rise from about $52 billion in 2003 to $55 billion by 2007, according to a report by Forecast International/DMS. Saudi Arabia, which is expected to spend $18 billion annually through 2007, will lead the region, the report says. Israel is expected to spend $9 billion annually, followed by Iran at $4.5 billion. "The Middle East, which is one of the world's largest single regional arms buyers, will continue to dominate the market," according to the report's author, Thalif Deen.
SOLD: BAE Systems North America on Nov. 21 completed the sale of its Ocean Systems acoustics systems facility in Braintree, Mass., for $10 million to Ultra Electronics Holdings of the United Kingdom. The company produces acoustic and radio frequency devices for submarines, surface ships and acoustic test ranges.
