Herley Industries, Inc., has enjoyed a record year overall, but the Lancaster, Pa., company's margins came under pressure in the fourth quarter due to continuing investment in internal growth programs as well as acquisitions.
Two emerging information superiority technologies have been selected by the Joint Warrior Interoperability Demonstration (JWID) project office as "U.S. Gold Nuggets," and are scheduled for fielding some time next summer. Chosen out of a field of 18 mature technologies capable of being fielded within six months are "Silent Runner" from Raytheon Co. and "Reliability, Performance and Situational Awareness for C4ISR Systems" from BMC Software of Houston, Tex.
A successful night launch of an unarmed Lockheed Martin Trident II (D5) ballistic missile from the Royal Navy's nuclear submarine HMS Vengeance was the first from this recently-commissioned vessel. Last Thursday's firing, witnessed by U.K. Defense Procurement Minister Baroness Symons, was a key part of the vessel's Demonstration and Shake-Down Operation (DASO), and took place from the U.S. Navy's Eastern Test Range, off the coast of Florida.
Long-term efforts by Libya's Muammar Ghaddafi to acquire ballistic missiles from various Third World sources have finally been successful, according to press reports in London. In November 1998, 32 crates of alleged automotive parts routed via Taiwan for Libya were seized at London's Gatwick Airport after being identified as components for North Korean Nodong 1 intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Another similar consignment being shipped to Libya was intercepted last year by Indian customs officials.
Rebutting claims that readiness and modernization will suffer unless budget surplus dollars are shifted to defense coffers, Lawrence J. Korb, vice president and director of studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the Pentagon can cut spending by 20% and be in better shape than if it beefs up the budget.
SABURO SAKAI, a World War II Japanese fighter ace who downed 64 enemy aircraft, died Friday in Tokyo of a heart attack. He was 84. Despite his reputation as a fierce combat pilot, in later life Sakai used his fame to promote reconciliation with Japan's former enemies and to counter militarism. To that end, he was dining with U.S. Navy officers when he was stricken, according to press accounts from Tokyo.
The U.S. will ship UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters to Colombia in 2002 and 2003 for its army's anti-drug efforts, while 30 Huey II helicopters will be fully fielded in Colombia within two years, a top State Dept. official told the House International Relations subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere last week.
LEXCEL IMAGING SYSTEMS, a unit of Video Display Corporation, is buying Raytheon Company's cathode tube manufacturing operations. Lexcel plans to integrate the Quincy, Mass., manufacturing equipment, inventories, customer sales and service and all other assets of the Cathode Ray, Specialty Tube and Optical Filter divisions into the company's facilities in Lexington, Ky.
BOEING HAS BEEN AWARDED $470 million to provide for development and support of the Operational Control Segment for the Global Positioning System. The contract, awarded by the Air Force's Space and Missile Center, Los Angeles, Calif., includes operations and maintenance support; hardware and software maintenance, and depot and supply support. Work is expected to be completed by December 2012.
The government of Israel has requested the possible sale of eight AH-64D Apache attack helicopters, 10 AN/APG-78 AH-64D Longbow Fire Control Radar, configuration of 70 M272 Hellfire missile launchers to M299 Hellfire missile launchers, and supporting equipment at an estimated value of $509 million, the Pentagon announced Monday. Israel will use the helicopters, radar and missiles to upgrade its anti-armor day/night capability and provide for the defense of installations and close air support, according to the Pentagon.
A coalition claiming to represent a million U.S. scientists and engineers today called on lawmakers to boost federal spending on flight-related research, which the group contends is getting short-shrift in an economy dominated by Internet technology and a government research apparatus focused on aerospace and space travel.
Motorola Ltd. of the U.K. has been chosen by Raytheon Systems Ltd. to provide ground stations and software for Britain's Airborne Stand-Off Radar program (ASTOR) project in an effort valued at $85.5 million, Motorola Inc. said yesterday. Motorola Ltd. will initially use the engineering expertise of the military ground station business at Motorola's facility, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Over the course of the contract, Motorola will expand this engineering capability with Motorola Ltd.
NASA managers on the International Space Station program will decide in the next few weeks just how big they want the "U.S. Propulsion System" for Station to be, which in turn will drive the future course of the system's development.
DIRECTV AND ECHOSTAR have filed a First Amendment lawsuit in Alexandria, Va., challenging provisions of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHIVA) that will require direct broadcast satellite television vendors to transmit the signals of all broadcast television stations in a single market if they decide to broadcast one of them. "The marketplace should decide what programming satellite companies carry, not a federal mandate," stated Chuck Hewett, president of the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association, which is also a plaintiff in the suit.
Litton Industries is streamlining its Advanced Electronics Systems Group (AESG), targeting divisions for realignment or consolidation and rearranging senior level executives.
The government of Israel has requested the possible sale of eight AH-64D Apache attack helicopters, 10 AN/APG-78 AH-64D Longbow Fire Control Radars, the reconfiguration of 70 M272 Hellfire missile launchers to M299 Hellfire missile launchers, and supporting equipment at an estimated value of $509 million, the Pentagon said yesterday.
Northrop Grumman Corp., Rolling Meadows, Ill., is being awarded a $14,534,907 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract to provide for 8 Low Altitude Infrared Targeting and Navigating (LITENING) II pods applicable to the F-16 aircraft for the Air National Guard, and War Readiness Spares for the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve. Expected contract completion date is February 2002. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity. Kenneth Lang, (937) 255-4001 is the POC. Contracting Number: F33657-98-C-2020-P00013.
NASA has established an Internet service to notify prospective bidders of all business opportunities with the agency worth more than $25,000. Based at Marshall Space Flight Center, the NASA Acquisition Internet Service also supplies indexes sorted by date posted, field center and type of product or service required, as well as a search function and other services. It can be activated at http://procurement.nasa.gov/.
TRW SPACE&ELECTRONICS GROUP is setting up the first high-volume production line for indium phosphide (InP) semiconductor chips that promise performance improvements in applications ranging from satellites to cell phones. The Redondo Beach, Calif., unit already makes InP chips on three-inch wafers, and is now installing equipment for producing 4-inch wafers.
TRIUMPH GROUP, INC of Wayne, Pa., is buying hydraulics product related-assets used in the design, manufacture and overhaul of hydraulic pumps, motors and power transfer units from Honeywell International, Inc. The company is targeting potential markets such as transport aircraft, as well as existing and next-generation fighters and rotorcraft. The hydraulics product lines will be produced at Triumph's Frisby Aerospace, Inc. subsidiary, in Clemmons, N.C. The deal is slated to close by the end of the month.
EUROPE*STAR and France Telecom have set up a joint venture to provide two-way satellite Internet access in Europe, Africa and the Middle-East. Dubbed Stellat, the venture plans to develop and launch a 250-million-euro communications satellite to the 5 degrees West longitude orbital slot. The planned satellite will carry 10 C-band and 35 Ku-band transponders for video and high-speed Internet delivery. The satellite will also provide C-band connectivity across the Atlantic. France Telecom is the majority stakeholder with a 70% share.
Kellstrom Industries, Inc. of Sunrise, Fla., inked a licensing deal with Lockheed Martin Aircraft&Logistics Centers (LMALC), which will allow the Kellstrom Certified Division to sell its Auxiliary Power Unit upgrade kits for C-130 transporters and L-100s under the name "Kellstrom Certified/Lockheed Martin C-130 Short Pod Upgrade Kit". "The Lockheed Martin and Kellstrom co-branding should enhance the reputation and marketability of our Short Pod APU upgrade kits," said Zivi R. Nedivi, president and CEO.
Countries targeted by arms trade sanctions have seen their weapons imports drop dramatically, according to a new report released by the Center for Strategic&International Studies. "The idea that sanctions don't work doesn't apply to the arms trade," said the report, "Trends in U.S. Arms Exports Since the Cold War," which was prepared by CSIS Senior Fellow Anthony Cordesman.
MirCorp has funded another Progress resupply capsule mission to the 14-year-old orbital station it leased from Russia's RSC Energia, but the commercial space venture's long-term prospects are uncertain. The company's Western backers agreed to finance the Oct. 15 mission, which is needed to raise the station's orbit before the unusually active sun pushes it back into the atmosphere. Without the Progress mission, the station could fall perilously close to an uncontrolled reentry as early as next February, according to press accounts from Moscow.
Britain's Cobham plc earnings per share grew more than 25% in the first half of fiscal 2000, with "record results" helped by acquisitions, and the company continues to look for more. Sales rose 23.1% year-over-year to 252.1 million pounds, approximately $362.5 million. Profit before tax and goodwill amortization were 21.3% higher at 40.5 million pounds, or $58.3 million. Acquisitions contributed about 16.6 million pounds, or $23.9 million, in sales and 1.1 million pounds, or $1.9 million, in operating profits to the six-month period.
