ISS PLAN: NASA plans to release on Nov. 6 a plan for continuing flight to the International Space Station in the wake of the loss of the shuttle Columbia. The plan will demonstrate NASA's "commitment to implementing the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board," NASA said.
Harris Corp. and Raytheon Co. have received contracts to proceed with the first of a two-phase effort to field the U.S. Navy's Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Multi-band Terminal (NMT), the service's most advanced satellite communication system, industry officials said Nov. 5. One of the companies will be chosen after a 30-month development effort to produce 300 terminals through 2010. The winner would receive a total of $1.6 billion for both phases.
Two senators are urging the Pentagon to examine whether all National Guard and Reserve helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft being used in Iraq are adequately equipped with anti-missile defenses.
Congress should consider setting up an independent body to regulate the emerging commercial human space flight industry, one space observer told lawmakers Nov. 5.
U.S. defense policies are pushing European countries to create a "fortress Europe," according to Gordon Adams, director of the George Washington University's Security Policy Studies Program. "This global relationship, which is primarily transatlantic, has the opportunity to go in one of two directions," Adams said in a presentation at the Defense Symposium in Washington, organized by Deutsche Bank, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and Defense News.
A study conducted by the U.S. Air Force and the Boeing Co. concludes that an effort to put new engines on the Boeing bomber would pay for itself with future fuel savings.
Turkey may be close to deciding whether to buy Bell Helicopter Textron's King Cobra attack helicopter, industry and Turkish government sources said Nov. 4.
NASA has selected five candidate proposals for funding under its Explorer Program of lower cost, rapid-development scientific spacecraft, the aerospace agency said Nov. 4. NASA will select two of the proposals by fall 2004 for full development as Small Explorer (SMEX) missions, which would launch in 2007 and 2008.
TRAINING: Lockheed Martin will provide C-130J training systems and services to the U.S. Air Force under a contract that could total $287 million if all options are exercised, the company said Nov. 4. The deal includes simulators that have been subcontracted to CAE of Toronto, Lockheed Martin said.
U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) needs help from industry in developing nonlethal weapons for four purposes: incapacitating individuals in groups, clearing facilities without entering them, deterring or delaying pursuit by the enemy and stopping ground vehicles.
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems will provide management and technical support services to U.S. Joint Forces Command for advanced concepts technology demonstrations (ACTDs), the company said Nov. 4. Under the five-year contract, which could be worth $19.7 million, the company will analyze, validate and plan demonstrations and exercises for ACTDs, which help fast-track promising technologies.
Implementing new policies will not be enough to overhaul export licensing procedures, a necessity for facilitating closer transatlantic industry cooperation and involvement, according to a panel of defense analysts. Strong leadership will be needed to change the perspectives of the colonels in the Pentagon reviewing technology-sharing requests, they said.
PRAGUE - The F-16 Fighting Falcons that the United States has offered to sell to the Czech Republic will be fully NATO interoperable and upgraded to the level of many other F-16s sold throughout Europe, The DAILY has learned. The U.S. has offered 12 F-16A Block 15 Air Defense Fighter aircraft and two F-16B Block 10 Operational Capabilities Upgrade (OCU) aircraft for the contest to supply the Czech air force with 14 supersonic aircraft for temporary airspace cover beginning in 2005.
NEW DELHI - A U.S. Air Force team has begun a 10-day aerial survey of Sri Lanka's vital military installations, allowing the country to assess the security of its bases and ongoing military operations. The Air Force team is training local military forces to monitor the security of their bases, logistics and other operations, as part of military assistance to Sri Lanka that Washington agreed to after signing an Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) last year (DAILY, Aug. 27, 2002).
Wind-tunnel tests show that a Lockheed Martin-designed vehicle would be stable in the maneuvering required to save astronauts from a launch pad disaster, the company said. The tests conducted in September and October at Lockheed Martin's High Speed Wind Tunnel in Texas show that the vehicle would be able to fly the required profile, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company said Nov. 3.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is planning a new science and technology (S&T) program devoted to nonlethal weapons (NLWs) in fiscal year 2005, according to Alan Schafer, director for plans and programs for the DOD's Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E).
