Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., under terms of a new, one-year pilot program aimed at cutting costs, will provide electronic technical data to the air forces of all 19 countries flying the F-16.
CLARIFICATION: Astrium GmBH has decided to make a strategic investment in Spacehab's Space Media subsidiary, not in the Enermedia partnership as reported in The DAILY on Oct. 16. Enermedia LLC is a partnership of Space Media and Russia's RSC Energia.
Spacesuited astronauts from the Space Shuttle Discovery have attached a third docking port and the first element of the big U.S.-built truss structure that will hold the International Space Station's main solar arrays in the first two of four planned spacewalks in the ongoing STS-92 mission.
H. Koch and Sons Company, Anaheim, Calif., is being awarded a $5,218,680 fixed-price, delivery order under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for 4,910 MA-16 Inertia Reels that will replace the current MA-1, MA-2, MA-6 and MA-8 Inertia Reels used in Navy and Marine Corps rotary wing aircraft. Work will be performed in Anaheim, Calif., and is expected to be completed by December 2001. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured.
Despite the increase in tensions in the Middle East, Israel has no plans for an early deployment of the Tactical High Energy Laser to protect its borders. "There have been no changes in the THEL program," said a spokesman for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. THEL, a joint program of the U.S. and Israel, uses a laser to destroy Katyusha and other short-range rockets in flight. Testing has been successful, with the laser shooting down sets of rockets at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
LIBERTY AEROSPACE of Lakeland, Fla., awarded a contract worth more than $60 million in the first four years to Scaled Technology Works, a unit of Precision Castparts Corp., to make components for as many as 400 single-engine planes a year. Studies estimate the market for the aircraft, the Liberty XL-2, could grow to more than $150 million. Scaled Technology Works, based in Montrose, Colo., will use advanced composite materials to manufacture about 50% of the aircraft's structure, including the fuselage.
United Technologies Corp., West Palm Beach, Fla., is being awarded a $352,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide for various spares through December 2008 for the TF33 engine on the B-52 aircraft. Funds will be obligated as individual delivery orders are issued. Expected contract completion date is Dec. 31, 2008. Solicitation issue date was July 12, 2000. Negotiation completion date was Oct. 4, 2000. Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker AFB, Okla., is the contracting activity. Avis Franklin, (405) 739-5391 is the POC. Contract Number: F34601-00-D-0334.
BAE Systems was picked as the preferred strategic equity partner for the aerospace and ordnance units of South Africa's Denel. "We are delighted to have been selected as the preferred strategic equity partner for Denel," said Nick Franks, BAE's managing director for Gripen and South Africa. "This partnership will allow both companies to further expand their breadth and scope of activity," said Franks, emphasizing BAE was committed to building partnerships at all levels in South Africa.
Newport News Shipbuilding has received a $161 million contract for research and design development engineering services in support of the Future Aircraft Carrier Program, or CVNX. The work, according to the Pentagon, will include systems specifications, design weight estimates, preliminary logistics data, electromagnetic aircraft launching system design integration, and preliminary construction planning. The contract was awarded by Naval Sea Systems Command. Work is slated to be finished by September 2002.
The Pentagon's senior acquisition official acknowledged that since the military's electronic warfare (EW) assets are stretched thin and underfunded, and that things will likely only get worse, more funding is needed to increase force protection. "We clearly do need more jamming equipment," Jacques Gansler, under secretary for defense acquisition, told reporters in Washington last week.
PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles were fired at two targets at the same time Saturday in a test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., according to the U.S. Army and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. One of the targets, an MQM-107 drone representing a cruise missile, was damaged by the Patriot Advanced Capability-2 missile that was aimed at it, but was not destroyed. The other target, a Storm II that simulated a maneuvering tactical ballistic missile re-entry vehicle, was destroyed by the PAC-3.
Uncertainty over the future of Russia's 14-year-old Mir space station grew more uncertain last week, as Prime Minister Mikhail Kasianov signed a new government decree earmarking 70% of the revenue from state-owned intellectual property for military and dual-purpose research and development, including manned Mir operations.
Suspension of basic flying training Sept. 1 by the Royal Air Force on the Shorts Tucano T.1, following discovery of a fatigue problem in the rudder pedal system, has resulted in the transfer of 10 student pilots to Australia, where they will continue training on the Pilatus PC-9A.
The fiscal 2001 defense authorization bill that Congress completed last week would require the Defense Dept. and other agencies to write dozens of reports in the coming months and beyond on missile defense, aircraft and other aerospace programs. The reports highlight some of the issues that will be on lawmakers' radar screens in the future.
The University of Texas at Austin, Applied Research Laboratory, Austin, Texas, is executing a not-to-exceed $27,191,719 modification to previously awarded contract N00039-96-D-0051 to exercise an option that will provide support for specific Navy and other government programs through research, development, engineering, test and evaluation. Areas contracted for include the study of naval warfare and Department of Defense problems involving acoustics, electromagnetics, and other related essential capabilities.
Russia orbited three Uragan-type satellites for the Russian national Glonass global positioning system constellation last week in a Proton launch delayed more than two weeks by a railroad collision while the satellites were being transported. The collision damaged the satellites, but they were repaired at the Polyot Association plant in Omsk, Siberia. The 29th launch in the Glonass program since Oct. 12, 1982, delivered the trio of satellites into their nominal 19,000-kilometer circular orbit, where they are expected to become operational in a month.
GLOBALSTAR USA, a subsidiary of Vodafone Group plc, introduced "Time or Money," a satellite phone promotion. Under the new deal, customers purchasing a handheld or fixed satellite phone and signing on for Globalstar service can choose either 300 free minutes of satellite airtime or a $300 equipment rebate. The company has been trying to build its customer base and minutes per use to quell investor concerns that it will suffer a fate similar to that of its two failed competitors, Iridium and ICO.
MERCURY COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC., based in Chelmsford, Mass., delivered a $1.4 million RACE++ system, a PowerPC "G4" based system, to Aeromet, Inc. Aeromet will use the system in upgrading the High Altitude Observatory (HALO) aircraft, a modified Gulfstream II-B, for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC). Mercury's system, which provides high-precision ballistic missile tracking, will give the HALO aircraft faster image recording, a clearer display and more archival storage.
Michelin Aircraft Tire Corp., Greenville, S.C., has won a $70.3 million U.S. Navy contract for 23 types of naval aviation tires. The contract, if all options are exercised, will be worth $266.5 million. It supports the AV-8B, C-2, F-14, F/A-18, E-2, EA-6B, H-3, H-46, H-53, H-60, P-3, T-2, TA-4, S-3 and V-22 aircraft. The Navy expects to purchase a total of 163,581 tires during the base period of the contract. While 90% of the purchases are for the U.S.
DYNAMICS RESEARCH CORP., Andover, Mass., won a $1.8 million, 15-month contract to develop aircrew training programs for the U.S. Army at Ft. Rucker, Ala.
TRW, Columbia, Md., was awarded on Oct. 6, 2000, a $16,000,000 cost-plus-award-fee/level-of-effort contract for engineering support. Work will be performed in Columbia, Md., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2001. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source contract initiated on June 8, 2000 The Maryland Procurement Office, Fort George G. Meade, Md., is the contracting activity (MDA904-96-C-0035).
Lockheed Martin Electronics&Missiles, Orlando, Fla., was awarded a $2,700,000 delivery order amount on Oct. 6, 2000, for a firm-fixed-price contract with cost reimbursable contract line options, with a cumulative total of $10,514,000. The contractor will perform Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor contractor engineering technical services and logistics engineering technical services for fiscal year 2001 in support of the AH-64A Apache program. Work will be performed in Orlando, Fla., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2001.
Boeing Co., St. Louis, is being awarded a $5,828,115 ceiling priced modification to previously awarded fixed-price incentive-fee contract N00019-00-C-0367 for the procurement of developmental "O" level ground support equipment to support five carrier and shore-based F/A-18 squadrons. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., (35%) and Melbourne, Fla. (14%) with remaining 51% to be determined. Work is expected to be completed in January 2002. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
Talley Defense Systems Inc., Mesa, Ariz., was awarded an $8,599,997 firm-fixed-price contract on Sept. 26, 2000, for 1,104 Bunker-Defeat Munition Multi-purpose Assault Weapons, Shoulder Launched. Work will be performed in Mesa, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by July 1, 2002. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source contract initiated on June 26, 2000. The U.S. ARMY Tank-Automotive&Armaments Command, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (DAAE30-00-C-1103).
The low-tech attack on the USS Cole isn't the only threat to Aegis-class ships. Some of the ships currently deployed may not be fully prepared to defend themselves against supersonic sea-skimming missiles, such as the air-launched Exocet that crippled the USS Stark in the Persian Gulf in 1987, Navy Capt. Michael W. Mentas warned.
