E-security partnership: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded four contracts to Secure Computing to develop advanced security technologies to provide the Defense Dept. and other government agencies with safe, secure extranets. The contracts were designed to help protect critical infrastructure from cyber attack. Ultimately, DARPA and Secure Computing plan to transfer the technology into "commercially viable e-business" tools.
This week's congressional elections reaffirmed expectations that the Defense Dept. will get more money over the next two years, but they did little to shore up support for building the Joint Strike Fighter or a National Missile Defense, sources told The DAILY yesterday.
E-debut: TRW Aeronautical Systems' Lucas Aerospace unit went live with its global aerospace portal, accessible through the company's intranet. The company said it is in talks with customers, suppliers and peers to provide beta access to the portal. Large suppliers like Secome, Lentern, Gardner Aerospace, Langford Lodge, MPM, Risoud and Muirhead Aerospace have expressed "firm interest," according to TRW. It has talked with Thomson-CSF Sextant about joining the e-marketplace.
Real-time cockpits: Spirent Systems' Aerospace Solutions is partnering with Jouvre Data Management to deliver real-time technical documents and create task cards for civil and military aviators. The two companies have inked a memorandum of understanding to develop an e-business tool to offer transactions between pilots, mechanics, purchasers and vendors to improve flight efficiency and communications.
Dr. Rozalie Schachter has been promoted to president of Herley Wireless Technologies. Allan Coon has been promoted to president of the Microwave Products Group. Howard Eckstein has been promoted to senior vice president of the Space&Communications Group. John Kelly, vice president, director of corporate development, has been promoted to senior vice president. Mitchell Tuckman, president and general manager of General Microwave, has been promoted to senior vice president.
Robert C. Atwell has been named vice president, marketing - Army programs. Kip L. Hansen has joined the firm as vice-president of government relations. Dennis J. Reimer, former cheif of staff, U.S. Army, has joined the firm's board of directors.
Brazil's Embraer and Russia's TsAGI, or Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, have signed a cooperation agreement that they said strengthens ties between the two countries. Embraer said it has been using TsAGI's wind tunnel since last June to fine-tune design of the ERJ 170/190 regional jetliner family. It has also used the research center's aerodynamic and aeroelastic laboratories.
SWALES AEROSPACE has won a support services contract from NASA's Langley Research Center, Va., potentially worth $240 million over five years. Under the contract Swales, based in Beltsville, Md., will support Langley engineering activities and research programs in aeronautics and aerospace and Earth and space sciences. Project areas include full-spectrum aerodynamics, gas dynamics, fluid dynamics, aerothermodynamics, acoustics and aeroacoustics, metallic and non-metallic structure and materials, and space and airborne systems. Work is expected to begin Jan.
Seventeen Republican senators have sent President Clinton a letter urging him to stop considering the removal of North Korea from the State Dept.'s list of state sponsors of terrorism, since removal would automatically end sanctions that ban U.S. sales to North Korea of munitions and items that have both military and commercial uses.
The three-man Expedition One crew on Space Station Alpha plans to begin a series of fundamental plasma experiments early next year that could lead to a wide range of commercial applications on the ground in such areas as coatings and microstructures.
Despite President Clinton's veto of the fiscal 2001 intelligence authorization bill, the intelligence agencies can keep running because the FY 2001 defense appropriations act contains a "backstop" provision authorizing spending on intelligence activities, a congressional source said.
RAYTHEON CO. said Richard F. (Dick) Gildea has been promoted to the position of VP for Navy Programs, Corporate Business Development. He succeeds William C. Francis, who is retiring. Gildea was most recently director of Naval Aviation programs for Raytheon. Before the Raytheon-Hughes merger in 1997, he was director, Navy Business Development for Hughes Aircraft Co.
While Lockheed Martin continues progress toward meeting its congressionally mandated F-22 Defense Acquisition Board criteria, questions remains as to the true importance of meeting those requirements by Dec. 31, now that Congress appears to be willing to provide "bridge language" until they are complete.
NASA'S GLENN RESEARCH CENTER has awarded support contracts worth $18 million together to Modern Technologies Corp., Dayton, Ohio, and Georgia Tech Research Corp., Atlanta, for systems analysis research on advanced and unconventional aeropropulsion technologies for engine and aircraft systems. The contractors will provide support in such areas as propulsion cycle and flow path studies and conceptual design; metrics assessments; cost estimation; aircraft sizing; emission and acoustic analyses, and technology benefits assessments.
Several congressional incumbents active in aerospace-related issues were defeated in Tuesday's elections, while the fate of a key senator from Washington state remained up in the air yesterday.
ALCATEL SPACE will supply payloads to the Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) for the Express A1-R, AM11 and AM22 satellites under a deal announced in Paris Nov. 3. Russia's NPO-PM will work with Alcatel Space to integrate the payloads and satellites, beginning at the end of 2001 with Express A1-R and continuing with the other two 17 and 22 months, respectively, from the date of the agreement.
EUROKOT Launch Services is offering piggyback launch opportunities on its Rockot launch vehicle beginning in the second half of 2001. The joint venture of Germany's Astrium and Russia's Khrunichev is looking for customers with commercial micro and mini satellites to launch with a small Russian satellite it will launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the third or fourth quarter of next year.
Computer Sciences Corp. turned in earnings of $109 million, or $0.64 a share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2001, hitting Wall Street estimates on the nose. The company boosted revenues 12%, to $2.5 billion, over the prior year's results, driven by strength in the U.S. federal government sector, commercial outsourcing and Asia Pacific activities. Gross margins declined slightly compared with the prior year, from 21.0% to 20.8% in the second quarter of fiscal 2001.
Defense shareholders have generally had a boom year, but with no substantial Pentagon spending boosts likely in the near-term, one Wall Street analyst said it's time to wait for the dips.
