The Russian government has outlined its latest plan for supporting production of civilian transport aircraft. The plan calls for five aircraft types, said Vice Premier Ilya Klebanov. Of the five aircraft mentioned, four are Tupolev airliners, namely the Tu-204, Tu-214, Tu-324 and Tu-334. The four Tupolev transports are to replace the older Tu-134 and Tu-154. The last is the heavier Ilyushin Il-96, which is operational on mid-range commercial air routes.
A months-long study by a government agency has concluded that unlicensed use of ultrawideband (UBW) devices could cause GPS receivers to lose contact with GPS satellites and hinder the reacquisition of the satellites once the contact is lost. The study by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) prompted the Air Transport Association to express concern for airline and passenger safety, Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded a $8,475,368 modification to a cost plus award/cost plus fee contract to provide for the reactivation and related support activities of Defense Satellite Communication System (DSCS) III Satellite B6. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity (F04701-96-C-0023-P00084).
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Boeing Company, St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $9,056,966 modification to previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-00-C-0307) to exercise an option for engineering and manufacturing development for the Advanced Multi-Purpose Color Display for use on the F/A-18C/D and AV-8B platforms. Work will be performed in Albuquerque, N.M. (61%) and St. Louis, Mo. (39%), and is expected to be completed by December 2002. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
United Technologies Corp., Pratt&Whitney, San Antonio, Texas, is being awarded a $6,098,578 modification to a firm-fixed price contract to provide for performance of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on modules in support of the F100 engines on the F-15 and F-16 aircraft. Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center is the contracting activity (F41608-00-D-0149-P00003).
An engineering team led by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is perfecting an air-breathing engine capable of propelling hypersonic missiles at speeds up to 4,700 mph. The dual-combustor ramjet (DCR) engine is being developed in support of the Navy's Hypersonic Weapon Technology Program, which is dedicated to developing and demonstrating hypersonic air-breathing propulsion technology for use in long-range missiles.
Lockheed Martin's Atlas V - the first U.S. rocket in 26 years to have a new type of liquid-fueled engine - is nearing completion at an assembly plant near Denver, Colo., and is on track to be shipped to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at the end of April. The 205-foot-long rocket, with the powerful Russian-built RD-180 engine, will undergo final processing at the Cape's Launch Complex 41 for a launch early next year, Aerospace Daily affiliate AviationNow.com reported.
NASA has objected to allowing space tourist Dennis Tito to fly to the International Space Station in April, according to NASA. "...Based on incomplete crew criteria and unresolved operational and legal considerations, there is not enough time to prepare Tito for a safe Soyuz flight to the Station in April," NASA said in a press release late yesterday.
Litton Laser Systems, Apopka, Fla., was awarded on March 9, a $9,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide for 184 Mark VII Eyesafe Laser Range Finders, in supportof the Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) Modernization Program. The range finders are small, hand-held devices used by TACP weapons controllers to precisely locate, measure and record potential enemy targets. In conjunction with other Tactical Air Control Party equipment, these units will communicate this information to other groundand air control mission personnel.
Northrop Grumman Corp., Integrated Systems Sector, Airborne Ground Surveillance and Battle Management Systems, Melbourne, Fla., is being awarded a $38,219,323 (not-to-exceed) fixed price incentive (firm target)/cost plus fixed-fee contract, to provide for the advanced procurement in support of one (Lot X) Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft. Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (F-19628-01-C-0015).
Space shuttle Discovery's four astronauts, along with the first crew of the International Space Station Alpha, are preparing to return to Earth early Wednesday after bidding farewell to the second station crew and undocking from the orbital outpost Sunday night. The Station's Expedition Two crew had some excitement yesterday morning at about 9:45 EST when one of the three smoke detectors in the U.S. Destiny laboratory module went off, but the crew determined there was no fire.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a $6,977,400 modification to firm-fixed-price contract N00383-99-D-016N, to overhaul 50 UH-60 Black Hawk main rotor blades. Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn., and is expected to be completed by Aug. 30, 2002. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source contract initiated on July 30, 1999. The U.S. Army Aviation&Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.
The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded on March 9, a $9,194,413 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract. This action increases the not-to-exceed amount on an undefinitized contract action (UCA) providing for restructure of the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) effort for the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System for the F-15, F-16, F-22 and F/A-18 aircrafts and the AIM-9X missile. The restructure provides for the further maturation of critical technologies and extension of the EMD phase to March 31, 2002.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, Sunnyvale, Calif.; TRW Inc., Space and Electronics Group, Redondo Beach, Calif.; and Boeing Satellites and Space, El Segundo, Calif., are being awarded a $86,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract modification, for additional preliminary design effort and extending the system definition phase of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite communication system. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity (F-04701-99-C-0027-P00010).
Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Fla. announced it has been awarded $12.5 million in contracts for advanced avionics work supporting the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps' F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft. The company said the new avionics will provide smaller, lighter, faster, higher-capacity fiber-optic networking on the F/A-18E/F and enhance the situational awareness of its crews.
Northrop Grumman Corp., Ryan Aeronautical Center, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $45,000,000 cost-plus-award-fee contract to provide for engineering and manufacturing activities in support of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle program. At this time, $5,500,000 of the contract funds has been obligated. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-01-C-4600).
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Boeing Company, St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $270,200,000 (not-to-exceed) modification to a firm-fixed price/cost plus fixed fee contract to provide for the fiscal year 2001 acquisition of five F-15E aircraft, and associated components, parts, materiel, and support. At this time $56,700,000 of the contract funds have been obligated. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-00-C-0013-P00004).
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $16,608,062 modification to a firm-fixed price contract to provide for Recurring Manufacturing Support for the U.S. Air Force fiscal year 1999-2000 and Egyptian Peace Vector VI, F-16 aircraft production programs. This contract provided tool engineering and tool manufacturing required to support F-16 aircraft. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-96-C-0034-P00045).
Senate Armed Services Committee member Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is proposing a defense spending increase of $100 billion over 10 years to reduce spare parts shortages, boost investment on joint experimentation and transformation, and improve living standards for military personnel. In a statement yesterday, Landrieu said she particularly supports increased joint experimentation to reduce wasteful duplication among the services.
It is still unclear if the final atmospheric burns to deorbit the Russian space station Mir will begin on Thursday or Friday of this week, according to flight controllers here. The Mir's orbit has continued to decline and is now at about 142 miles.
Raytheon Electronic Systems, El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded an $8,383,905 firm-fixed-price order for 54 components of the AN/APG-73 radar used on F/A-18 aircraft. These components include antenna assemblies and transmitters. This purchase is for the Royal Australian Air Force under Foreign Military Sale Program. Work will be performed in El Segundo, Calif., and is expected to be completed by April 2003. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured.
XM Satellite Radio has launched its first satellite, the XM "Rock," to provide satellite radio programming, the company announced Sunday. The Rock was launched at 5:33 EST on Sunday by a Zenit-3SL rocket off the Sea Launch Odyssey Launch Platform in the Pacific Ocean, the company said. The first signals from the satellite were captured by a ground station in Australia at 6:43 p.m. EST.
Boeing has been awarded a $69 million low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract by the U.S. Navy for 15 Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) systems and spares. The contract is for 14 ATFLIRS for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and one for the F/A-18C/D Hornet, built by prime contractor Boeing. The ATFLIR is expected to be much more capable than the current FLIR system, providing greater detection, designation and standoff ranges.
Boeing's Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) was given the go-ahead for full rate production by the Defense Acquisition Board March on 12. The DAB decision approves a lot 5 award and paves the way for the Pentagon to buy 66,640 remaining kits for just over $1.46 billion through fiscal year 2008.
A disagreement over penalties contributed to last week's postponement of a Senate Banking Committee vote on a bill to update export controls for dual-use goods and technology, a Bush Administration official told The DAILY yesterday.
