The Senate late Monday passed its fiscal 2001 intelligence authorization bill, paving the way for a conference with the House, which approved its version in May (DAILY, May 24). Senate Select Committee on Intelligence ranking Democrat Richard Bryan (Nev.), who is retiring at year's end, urged Congress to declassify the total amount spent on intelligence. He said such a move wouldn't harm national security and "would allow for a healthy debate within the Congress about the priority we place on intelligence."
Exostar, the mega e-marketplace backed by aerospace and defense giants BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, "flawlessly" executed its first round of transactions on Monday, a spokesman said. The Web-based exchange lit up on Friday, just hitting the launch date announced by the partners last July. The site had been live for informational purposes since this summer.
Northrop Grumman Corp., Support Services, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., is being awarded a $9,999,634 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for engineering services for the F-14A/B upgrade and the F-14D. Work will be performed in Point Mugu, Calif., and is expected to be completed by September 2003. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Point Mugu, Calif., is the contracting activity (N68936-00-D-0064).
The Honeywell-General Electric partnership won a three-year, $196 million contract from the U.S. Army to develop, produce and test 24 LV100-5 gas turbine engines for the Crusader self-propelled artillery system and M1 Abrams main battle tank retrofits. "Honeywell is proud to continue its heritage of providing the U.S.
Three more loose bolts requiring replacement on two V-22 Ospreys have been found during inspections since Naval Aviation Systems Command called for the temporary suspension of flight by the tiltrotor planes on Sept. 27, a NAVAIR spokesperson said.
Through leadership, innovation and a strategy managing key international relationships, the U.S. will "stay the course," meeting challenges of the 21st century, Defense Secretary William Cohen said.
Orincon Industries, a San Diego-based information technology company, said it has acquired Sygenex Inc., a supplier of information and technology systems to the intelligence community. The value of the transaction was not disclosed, but Orincon said the acquisition puts it "in the vanguard of companies supplying leading-edge technology for intelligence purposes." Orincon will merge its Orincon Special Programs Div. with Sygenex, and the operating company will be called Sygenex. It will have about 60 employees.
Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $6,310,000 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract to provide for additional initial spares in support of the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System applicable to the F-18 aircraft. This effort supports Navy requirements. Expected contract completion date is Nov. 30, 2002. Solicitation issue date was July 6, 2000. Negotiation completion date was Sept. 15, 2000. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contacting activity.
This corrects an announcement issued by the Air Force on Sept. 25, 2000. Boeing Co., Berkeley, Mo., was awarded on Sept. 25, 2000 a $44,950,828 cost-plus-award-fee contract to provide for engineering and manufacturing development of a MK-82 (500 pound) variant of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) for the B-2 aircraft. The previous announcement erroneously announced the F-16 aircraft as the platform for this weapon.
DATRON Inc., Intercontinental Manufacturing Division, Garland, Texas, is being awarded an $18,496,935 modification to firm-fixed-price contract DAAA09-98-C-0074, for 8,078 bomb bodies (BDU-45, component of BDU-45 500 lb. Air Force practice bomb), and 7,716 bomb bodies (MK83, component of Navy MK83 1,000 lb. bomb). Work will be performed in Garland, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2003. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source contract initiated on March 30, 2000. The U.S.
Piasecki Aircraft Corp., Essington, Pa., is being awarded a $26,114,812 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the integration, testing, and flight demonstration of a YSH-60F helicopter modified with a Vectored Thrust Ducted Propeller. Work will be performed in Essington, Pa., and is expected to be completed by December 2004. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively selected through a Broad Agency Announcement as an Advanced Technology Demonstration effort.
Definition studies of a new light combat aircraft/trainer for the international export market are underway by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, according to Erwin Obermeier, director of military aircraft series production programs. EADS, aiming to capitalize on a potential market of some 2,500 jets of this type between 2005 and 2025, has "already invested quite a lot of time, effort and money into this project" Obermeier said in a company press release.
Class A aviation accident rates -- defined as those which result in a fatality, in which an aircraft is completely destroyed or sustains more than a million dollars in damage -- are at the lowest rate ever for the combined military services, the Pentagon reported yesterday. The rate has declined fairly steadily to 1.23 Class A mishaps per 100,000 flight hours from a 1991 peak of 2.1 per 100,000 over the past decade. The total number of DOD aviation class A's was pegged at 57 for FY 2000, down from 70 last fiscal year.
Rolls-Royce won contracts worth an estimated $530 million to supply AE 3007 engines for Embraer regional jets from American Eagle and seven European airlines, including five new customers. The orders cover 27 Embraer RJ 135 and ERJ 145 aircraft for European operators, as well announcements of intended purchases through the conversion of 66 aircraft options by American Eagle.
The House International Relations Committee yesterday approved a Sense-of-the-House resolution on the so-called Armenian genocide despite warnings that House passage of the legislation could hurt U.S.-Turkish relations, including Bell Helicopter Textron's proposed sale of up to $4 billion worth of King Cobra helicopters to Ankara.
DATRON Inc., Intercontinental Manufacturing Division, Garland, Texas, is being awarded an $8,468,134 modification to firm-fixed-price contract DAAA09-98-C-0026, for 1,776 bomb bodies (MK84-4, component of Air Force 2,000 lb. Bomb) and 2,001 bomb bodies (MK84-6, component of NAVY
BFGoodrich Aerospace has been chosen by Lockheed Martin to supply a wheel and carbon brake system for 80 F-16 Block 60 fighters slated for delivery to the United Arab Emirates beginning in 2004. The newly designed system was chosen because of its proven performance, maintainability, reliability and lower operating cost, BFGoodrich said.
TI Group plc of the U.K. said it has acquired Impervia S.A., a French specialist aerospace sealing company, for $10.5 million. Impervia, based in Paris and Conde-sur-Noireau, is the second largest manufacturer of aerospace seals in France.
PartsBase.com Inc.'s board of directors gave the green light for repurchase of up to 500,000 common shares over the next 12 months. CEO Robert Hammond said the stock's current levels "represent an attractive investment opportunity." He also said the buyback demonstrated the company's confidence in its long-term prospects. Since reaching a high of $14.88 a share following an IPO last March, the stock has been in a steep dive - hitting a bottom of $2.75 - as investor interest has waned in e-commerce plays following a spate of bankruptcies.
Recently approved House bills that would toughen penalties for export control violations and reauthorize the Defense Production Act are facing uncertain futures in the Senate. The House passed a bill last week that would raise fines for violating export controls on dual-use goods and technologies, but the legislation is getting resistance in the Senate from a key lawmaker.
Aerosonic Corp. subsidiary Avionics Specialties Inc., Charlottesville, Va., will supply its Integrated Multifunction Probe (IMFP) for the F-16 Block 60 fighter, under terms of a memorandum of agreement with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. "After four years of intense research and development, this is very significant for Aerosonic and ASI, and well positions the company for the future of this product in the worldwide aviation market," said J. Mervyn Nabors, chairman of Aerosonic.
Baan won its first contract since it was bought by Invensys plc in August. The Defense Aviation Repair Agency (DARA), part of the U.K.'s Ministry of Defense and the largest aerospace and defense facility in Europe, tapped Baan after a 15-month trial for its "unrivalled functionality in aerospace and defense" and suite of e-products. Under the 3,000-user, multi-million pound order, DARA will provide enterprise management and e-products to help cut costs and boost production turnaround. Baan said it is confident there will be "many more" such deals in coming months.
MaterialNet.com is urging its business-to-business (B2B) peers to adopt a disclosure policy to "ensure a level playing field." President David Centner wants other e-marketers to the implement what MaterialNet.com calls the Users' Bill of Rights, which requires full disclosure of an Internet company's operational and ownership structure. That way, claims Centner, participants have an idea whether a marketplace is truly "neutral."
The FY 2001 budget allocates $2.3 billion to the Information Technology R&D program, including $89 million for the "Next Generation Internet." The souped-up net connects 1,000 times faster than today's Internet. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), in fact, plans to invest about $30 million per year for the next five years to get next-generation Net.
NASA Ames Research Center has signed on with the Air Show Network to create an air show information technologies and aeronautics exposition at Moffett Field. E-AirExpo, debuting next August, will feature a traditional military aircraft showcase and a business-to-consumer (B2C) expo. A business-to-business (B2B) exposition will be included in 2002. Through the e-AirExpo, NASA is angling to develop a strategic partnership with private companies, according to Henry McDonald, Ames' director.
