Lockheed Martin reported the first flight of Raptor No. 4004, the first F-22 to fly with the Block 1.2 initial avionics software package. The plane, with Lockheed Martin test pilot Bret Luedke at the controls, made a 37-minute flight from Marietta, Ga., on Nov. 15. The flight accomplished a Defense Acquisition Board criterion, and will be followed by additional flights before the aircraft joins other F-22s being tested at Edwards AFB, Calif.
The House has re-passed the fiscal 2001 intelligence authorization bill after dropping a provision opposed by the White House, but the Senate hasn't decided how to proceed. Senators are still discussing what to do about the provision, which would criminalize the unauthorized disclosure of classified information. They also are trying to handle last-minute objections to a provision on the declassification process.
Lean manufacturing alone won't solve the aerospace industry's problems, a leading advocate of the process said Wednesday. "Solution thinking" is the next step for those seeking to cut costs and time-to-market by more efficiently managing the chain of actions that delivers value to the customer, said James Womack, president of the Lean Enterprise Institute. Womack was blunt as he spoke to aerospace industry executives at Aviation Week's Aerospace Expo 2000 conference and trade show here.
Russia launched another Progress supply vehicle to Space Station Alpha early yesterday, sending the three-man crew about two tons of propellant, food, water and gear they will need as they continue to set up the orbiting laboratory for long-term operations.
Russia's government decided yesterday to deorbit the Mir orbital station on Feb. 26 or 27, 2001, bringing down the curtain on an historic 15-year space saga that saw a triumph of Soviet technical prowess evolve into a proving ground for U.S. astronauts and Russian cosmonauts preparing for the International Space Station.
A group of investors led by aerospace veteran Dan Colussy has won bankruptcy court approval to buy the assets of Iridium LLC for $6.5 million in cash, and plans to "re-launch" the low-Earth orbit satellite service within 60 days.
A European Ariane 5 rocket orbited PanAmSat's PAS-1R and three smaller satellites Wednesday, setting a launch-weight record for commercial launches. Liftoff from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou came at 8:07 p.m. EST, and the four satellites reached orbit about 30 minutes later. At liftoff the satellites weighed 6,313 kilograms (13,889 pounds), some 2,629 pounds heavier than the previous record set last month by a Sea Launch Zenit with the 11,260-pound Thuraya-1 satellite (DAILY, Oct. 24).
Boeing's X-32A Joint Strike Fighter resumed flying yesterday at Edwards AFB, Calif., after a stand-down since Oct. 24 because of a hydraulic problem. The 30-minute flight began at 7:35 a.m. local time, with U.S. Navy Cdr. Philip Yates at the controls. Yates conducted Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) approach tests, a Boeing spokesman told The DAILY.
BFGoodrich agreed to buy Raytheon Optical Systems for an undisclosed price in a cash deal to be completed by year's end pending antitrust reviews. Raytheon's electro-optical systems company built components for the U-2 spy plane, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-Ray Observatory.
Significant obstacles would have to be overcome before the United States and North Korea could reap the benefits of cooperating on space operations, observers say. While some issues were clarified in three days of talks in Malaysia that ended Nov. 3, no substantive progress was reported. The talks explored the idea that North Korea could be allowed to launch non-military payloads on foreign rockets if it restrained development of ballistic missiles and the sale of missile components and technology.
Lockheed Martin's X-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) entry in the Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstration competition has completed 100% of its flight test objectives but will continue to fly until it is converted to the X-35B short takeoff and vertical takeoff and landing (STOVL) configuration to "burn down risk," company officials said. The X-35A accomplished the objectives when it completed its first in-flight refueling on Nov. 7, a spokesman said.
The House passed a tax bill Tuesday that would save defense exporters millions of dollars, as House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) backed down from his insistence that the bill be included in broader tax legislation (DAILY, Nov. 6). The bill would revise Foreign Sales Corporation laws to conform them with a World Trade Organization ruling and avoid trade sanctions. It also would eliminate a "discriminator" that limits arms exporters to half the tax reduction benefits that other U.S. exporters get from using FSCs.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. and Korea Aerospace Industry said they have signed a joint marketing agreement on the T-50 jet trainer. Each company will lead marketing efforts in its own country, and activity elsewhere will be conducted as a joint effort under the name "T-50 International."
Australian defense officials, after several months of tabulating findings of various public forums and written comments, have concluded that the public supports increased investment in defense as a "prudent insurance measure" but also expects "greater discipline in defense expenditure." The government earlier this year launched an unprecedented process to give citizens a voice in crafting the direction of a new defense policy, laying the foundation for the Defense White Paper 2000, which is slated to be issued in December.
Raytheon executives, saying this has been a "very, very good year" for the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) system, highlighted plans to boost the naval missile attack-warning system and its potential derivatives. CEC was primarily designed to give the U.S. Navy real-time integration of fire control quality sensor data into a single composite data track to allow ships and aircraft to simultaneously engage missiles attacking the fleet.
Ball Aerospace&Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo., acquired a minority interest in Vexcel Corp. to extend the company's reach into space remote-sensing systems and information products. Vexcel, based in Boulder, Colo., supplies remote-sensing data processing systems to international space agencies, research organizations and emerging markets for space-derived information, such as telecommunications firms.
The next president, defense secretary and director of central intelligence should pay closer attention to the financial needs and other demands of the National Reconnaissance Office to ensure the U.S. doesn't lose its technological "eyes and ears," according to a report released yesterday by a congressionally charted commission.
Hawker Pacific Aerospace said it has closed a $65 million debt facility with two German banks. Proceeds have been used to retire obligations, leaving the Sun Valley, Calif., company with about $3.2 million that it said will be used for general working capital purposes. "This transaction will provide a number of very favorable improvements to the company's financial results and cash liquidity going forward," said Phil Panzera, executive vice president.
A go-ahead is expected next week in Brussels for the formation of a new and unified European Rapid Reaction Force, on which agreement was reached by 15 European Union members in Helsinki last December.
Sea Launch, the Boeing-led floating launch venture, faces some tough challenges ahead - responding fast enough to market demands; rebuilding customer confidence after a failed mission last spring, and solving export licensing issues - but the man at the helm - launch veteran Will Trafton - believes the company is ready for the long haul.
Russia may send two cosmonauts and California businessman Dennis Tito to the Mir orbital station in January, either to conduct experiments or prepare the station for deorbiting, the head of the cosmonaut training center at Star City, near Moscow, said yesterday. Col. Gen. Pyotr Klimuk said four cosmonauts - two primary and two backup - are training for a January mission along with Tito, who has paid a reported $20 million to MirCorp for a ride to space as the first "citizen explorer."
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) said yesterday that he will pursue a host of changes to the House Armed Services Committee if he becomes chairman, ranging from creating a new air power subcommittee to passing more legislation. Weldon's proposal, released yesterday, says the committee needs to be overhauled and become more aggressive to better handle such challenges as a "budgetary train wreck in procurement and modernization" and potential threats from Russia, China and rogue nations.
Lt. Gen. Michael C. Short (USAF-ret.), commander of the allied air forces during last year's Kosovo conflict, spoke bluntly yesterday about shortfalls during the operation, and said unmanned aerial vehicles could fill many of the requirements. "I went into this war with a lukewarm approach to UAVs...," Short said, "and I came out of this conflict as an enormous fan of the unmanned aerial vehicle."
NATO's three newest members are all investing in aerospace equipment as they try to integrate their militaries into the alliance, but funding is lacking for some of their most ambitious modernization plans, the Congressional Budget Office says in a new paper.
Lockheed Martin said it has begun testing a laser guidance system that it plans to bid in a $64 million program to buy about 4,000 guidance kits for GBU-16 Paveway II bombs. The kits, which convert standard bombs into laser-guided weapons, are needed to replace stocks drawn down during Operation Allied Force in Kosovo last year. A request for proposals is slated for release before the end of the year, and a contract is anticipated next March.
