ORINCON CORP. a defense contractor, announced April 11 it is opening an office in Manchester, England, to enable it to seek new business opportunities in the United Kingdom for defense and related markets and to be closer to NATO allies. It has hired Paul Wilmott, a former executive with Thompson Marconi Sonar Ltd., to run its European operations, called Orincon (UK) Ltd. The company, founded in 1973 and headquartered in San Diego, also has satellite offices in Hawaii and Virginia. Manchester is the company's first international office.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency airworthiness directive on CFM International CFM56-5C engines concerning a report of a "significant engine fuel leak" under the thrust reverser cowls at the fuel manifold level, Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported. FAA said the leak was confirmed to be coming from a hole in the fuel manifold pigtail. The hole was a result of interference and chafing and is the second such fuel leak event, FAA said. The engines are installed primarily on Airbus A340 aircraft.
The Pentagon needs to change its acquisition process to avoid problems with fielding single-service systems with outdated technology, Admiral Dennis C. Blair, commander in chief U.S. Pacific Command, urged yesterday. It is the military's responsibility to "think through better ways of doing business at whatever level of resources are decided," Blair said during his address at the U.S. Navy League's annual exposition in Washington yesterday.
BAE Systems Canada Inc. and ONCAP L.P. announced that an investor group led by ONCAP has successful completed the acquisition of 100% of the common shares of BAE Systems Canada, in accordance with a plan approved by company shareholders at a meeting on April 3. BAE Systems Canada will now conduct business under the new name CMC Electronics Inc. in English form and CMC Electronique in its French form, and will apply for the delisting of its common shares from the TSE and AMEX.
The U.S. Navy, which is being assigned more tasks despite significant constraints on the resources needed to accomplish them, is mounting a major drive to integrate its resources into networks. "If we had one more dollar to spend on meeting naval warfare requirements, we would spend it first on networks," VADM Dennis V. McGinn said at an April 10 Navy League meeting in Washington. "Because networks allow the existing nodes of naval capability - whether they are ships, airplanes, submarines or weapons - to be tied to one another."
THE BOEING CO. announced it has signed a five-year lease with developer Opus Northwest for 157,540 square feet of new office space at Eastpointe Corporate Center in Issaquah, Wash. Boeing Airplane Services will occupy the building, the company said.
These are budget figures, in millions of dollars, for the Dept. of Defense from the Bush Administration's Fiscal Year 2002 budget, which was submitted to Congress on April 9. However, the budget notes that a military spending review is underway.
Contractor MATRA BAe Dynamics (MBD) must rectify shortfalls in the U.K.'s new Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile to achieve the capability needed by the Royal Air Force, United Kingdom Defence Procurement Minister Baroness Elizabeth Symons said April 10. According to the Ministry of Defence, the contractors have not yet delivered the performance standards specified when ASRAAM was ordered in 1992. The MoD has now made it clear it will take delivery of missiles only when it can be shown that an acceptable standard can be met.
House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) believes the aerospace industry "has some legitimate concerns" about a proposed federal rule on space launch safety, but he is still reviewing the matter, the congressman told The DAILY through a spokesman April 10. "We are still reviewing what the most effective way is of promoting safety and estimate that this will take some time, perhaps even into the summer," Boehlert said.
Alexander Medvedev, the new head of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, said the recent successful launch of the new Proton M booster means the center can shift away from using the Block D upper stage provided by RSC Energia and can shift to using its own design, the new Breeze M upper stage. The Proton M launched on April 7, carrying an Ekran-M satellite for the Russian government (DAILY, April 10).
U.S. aerospace companies, especially Boeing Co. and its suppliers, could suffer if Beijing and Washington don't resolve their dispute over an American Navy EP-3E reconnaissance plane that made an emergency landing in China April 1, aerospace experts said April 10.
The Aerospace Industries Association is "not pleased" with the Bush Administration's proposal to increase NASA's budget in fiscal 2002 by less than the inflation rate, according to Christopher Lombardi, AIA's manager of international affairs. The Administration, which released its proposed budget April 9, wants to increase NASA spending by 1.8%, which is effectively a cut because the inflation rate is projected at 2.6%, Lombardi told The DAILY April 10. Rep. Boehlert's welcomes space station goals
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) has been awarded a $1.2 million contract from Thales Air Defense, of Bagneux, France, to produce launch pod containers for the Crotale NG (next generation) air defense system, the company announced April 10. Deliveries under the contract will continue through April 2002. The Crotale NG is an all-weather, short-range air defense system effective against air threats such as fixed-wing aircraft, attack helicopters, cruise missiles, tactical missiles and stand-off weapons released from aircraft and helicopters.
Raytheon plans to raise some quick cash by selling a majority stake of its aviation support business to Veritas Capital Inc. for $270 million, including $153 million cash, Aerospace Daily affiliate AviationNow.com reported. Under the deal announced late last week, New York-based investment firm Veritas will buy a 70% ownership of the Raytheon Aerospace Company, a subsidiary of Raytheon's $3.2 billion aircraft unit. Raytheon would keep a 30% interest in the Madison, Miss.-based subsidiary.
The remanufacture of the U.S. Marine Corps' AH-1W attack and UH-1N light utility helicopters is on schedule, according to program officials, although the program has experienced a non-recurring cost increase between $100 million and $150 million.
AEROTELUB of Sweden, DANISH AEROTECH of Denmark and ASTEC HELICOPTER SERVICES of Norway have formed a joint venture to develop an international logistics support organization for defense helicopters, the companies announced April 10.
An article in The DAILY of April 10 misstated how NASA will treat congressionally earmarked programs. NASA has not requested any funds in its fiscal year 2002 budget to continue funding for congressional earmarks included by Congress in the fiscal year 2001 Appropriations Act. NASA said this action is consistent with the direction it has been given by the Bush Administration.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN received a $23.6 million U.S. Navy contract to build 78 BQM-74E aerial targets, which emulate anti-ship cruise missiles or enemy fighters.
A planned budget boost for NASA's Mars program will help the space agency map out its revamped series of exploration missions, the head of the program said April 10. The Bush Administration's fiscal 2002 NASA budget contains about $430 million for the program, slightly larger than this year's budget, but program director Scott Hubbard said that curve is expected to rise to around $600 million a year in the near future and eventually will total around half a billion in extra money.
Pratt&Whitney Space Propulsion operations plans to begin development of a full-scale engine demonstrator for a next-generation rocket engine, the RL60, that would be the same size as the company's current upper-stage booster but would pack more punch. "The RL60 will be the highest performing upper-stage engine in the world," said Robert Bullock, the project manager for the program. The company had announced a similar high-thrust engine, called the RL50, two years ago (June 16, 1999), but Bullock said the new engine supersedes that.
The Bush Administration must give space and satellite technology a much higher priority if the United States is to remain a strong military power, according to current and former military leaders. Speakers at the 17th National Space Symposium said Tuesday that the nation is becoming more vulnerable even as it increases its dependence on space systems, Aerospace Daily affiliate AviationNow.com reported.
The McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $14,269,998 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-97-C-0046) for integrated logistics support for the AV-8B Harrier II Plus Program for the United States Marine Corps. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed by September 2003. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS (ATK) has been awarded two contracts worth $15 million from the U.S. Army Operations Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., to produce medium-caliber training ammunition for use by tactical aircraft, the company reported.
INTEGRAL SYSTEMS, INC. has opened an office in Colorado Springs, Colo. The office will serve as the focal point for the support of the company's U.S. Air Force business.
