DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY GE American Communications, Inc., Princeton, N.J., is today being awarded a firm fixed-price contract to provide one 8MB commercial broadcast satellite circuit from Thule AFB, Greenland, to Schriever AFB, Colo., and Onizuka AS, Calif., in support of the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN). The total life-cycle cost of contract is $8,616,458 for an estimated service life of sixty months. Competitive procedures were the basis for award by utilizing the Defense Information Systems Agency Contracting Opportunities web site.
Ball Aerospace&Technologies Corp. said it has been selected as a subcontractor under ITN Energy Systems Inc. of Denver to participate in the $35 million TechSat 21 Air Force satellite program. Ball, based in Boulder, Colo., will provide leadership and support to the integrated product teams for systems engineering and assembly, integration and test.
THOMSON TRAINING&SIMULATION has been named winner of a program worth up to 300 million euros to supply the training and simulation equipment for aircrew of the Tiger helicopter. The effort includes the range of crew training devices and systems for all Tiger variants, from the computer-aided training system and cockpit procedures training, to full mission simulators, Thomson said.
Rolls-Royce announced business deals at last week's Farnborough Air Show worth more than $1.6 billion. "Not only is $1.6 billion significant business for Rolls-Royce, it will also benefit many other aerospace companies, particularly in the U.K.," said Rolls-Royce Chief Executive John Rose. "Rolls-Royce has about 22,000 employees in its aerospace businesses, including civil, defense and maintenance. With our suppliers and subcontractors, it means our announcements at Farnborough...will benefit about one third of the 155,000 employees in the UK's aerospace industry."
NORTH KOREAN THREAT: The House International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific urges North Korea in a resolution passed last week to make permanent its moratorium on flight testing long-range missiles, and to suspend its nuclear and ballistic missile programs entirely. Meanwhile, a new report from the House Republican policy committee says North Korea can't be expected to fully comply with its promises to curb the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Defense Dept. doesn't have enough airlift and aerial refueling capability to carry out the national military strategy of fighting and winning two nearly simultaneous major theater wars, the General Accounting Office says in a new report. The GAO estimated that DOD is over 29% short of the needed airlift capability and nearly 19% short of the needed refueling aircraft.
Britain has decided not to continue with the industrialization and production phases of the European collaborative crew-portable medium-range anti-tank guided weapon (MR TriGAT), U.K. Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon announced Friday.
CHINA PNTR: The Senate plans to take up a bill to establish permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with China when it returns in early September from a month-long recess. Before leaving for the recess Thursday, the Senate voted to proceed with debate on PNTR. Several senators, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), are threatening to offer amendments to the bill. PNTR supporters want to avoid amending the bill so it doesn't have to go back to the House for a second vote. The House approved PNTR in May (DAILY May 25).
ICM MODS: NASA's Interim Control Module for the International Space Station returns to the Naval Research Laboratory this week after completing tests at the Patuxent River naval air test center. With the Russian Zvezda Service Module safely docked to the Station, NRL will have time to modify the ICM so it can be attached to the Station's No. 3 Pressurized Mating Adapter (DAILY, June 19). Launch date for the ICM remains open, since it has an on-orbit service life of only three years and it isn't clear when the U.S. Propulsion Module will be available to replace it.
The current stock valuation for the newly incorporated European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company is lower than it deserves to be, the company's top executives said at air show here this week. EADS started trading on the Paris, Munich, Madrid, and Paris stock exchanges on July 10 and is currently valued at roughly $16 per share. "We had hoped for a higher initial value for our stock," said Philippe Camus, co-CEO for EADS. Nevertheless, he said, the current base is stable and offers investors "significant upside potential."
Defense ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the U.K. penned a new chapter in Europe's defense and security policy here Thursday, signing the so-called "Framework Agreement" setting out specific areas of defense industrial reform. Among provisions of the document are streamlined export controls, better coordination of military research and development and improved intelligence sharing.
The Senate late Thursday approved the fiscal 2001 defense appropriations conference report by a 91-9 vote, clearing it for presidential consideration. Six Republicans and three Democrats voted against the conference report, which the House passed July 18 by a 367-58 vote. President Clinton has raised objections to the bill but hasn't threatened to veto it.
ROLLS-ROYCE signed an agreement with Aircelle to procure nacelles for future military engine applications of the Trent 500. Aircelle is a joint venture between Airbus Industrie and Hispano-Suiza Aerostructures.
The Slovak Republic, undertaking a massive effort to reform its military, hopes to be the next member of NATO, the country's minister of defense said last week at the Pentagon.
PARADOX: The Russians continue to say they "have a better system" for missile defense, but still haven't elaborated, according to Defense Secretary William S. Cohen. He says they have talked about an "umbrella over areas of concern," and Russian newspapers have reported "between five and eight [such] emerging areas." It's a paradox, he says, because the Russians acknowledge the threat, but once the issue is raised and U.S.
STRETCHED TOO THIN: The Marine Corps joins other U.S. military services in calling for an increase in electronic warfare assets. Lt. Gen. Fred McCorkle, Marine Corps deputy commandant for aviation, says EW needs to be a focus in the next Quadrennial Defense Review.
EB-52 OPTION: The Defense Dept. is studying the B-52 as a potential electronic warfare platform to supplement the EA-6B Prowler, according to Sens. John Warner (R-Va.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the chairman and ranking Democrat, respectively, on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Warner says the fiscal 2000 defense authorization bill called for a study of potential additional EW platforms, and that DOD has assured him that it's looking at the B-52.
MARS ROCKS: Tourists with more than a little disposable cash won't have to wait for the planned Mars '03 lander to search for evidence of life on the Red Planet (DAILY, July 28). For about $30,000 they can book a trip in December to the Thiel Mountains of Antarctica to look for more Martian meteorites like the one that set off a flurry of excitement four years ago when researchers found what appeared to be fossil bacteria inside (DAILY, Aug. 7, 1996).
Spurred by sales of the proposed Airbus A3XX superjumbo, Boeing airliners and smaller regional jets, the world's commercial aircraft manufactures logged at least $40 billion in orders during last week's Farnborough Air Show. As of Wednesday, Airbus and Boeing led the pack with 209 and 131 orders, respectively. Airbus's totals included 23 key launch orders for the A3XX, and Boeing padded its 777 backlog, picking up 66 new orders.
HARD LANDING: NASA's flight test program won't suffer as a result of last week's landing gear failure on an agency F-18 at Dryden Flight Research Center. The airplane in question is one of five used for chase and other support roles, and there are no flight test programs underway at Dryden at the moment. Thanks to NASA test pilot James Barrilleaux, the F-18 can be repaired and returned to service. Barrilleaux was returning to the facility at Edwards AFB, Calif., from a proficiency flight to Albuquerque, N.M., when the right main landing gear failed to deploy.
Sixty House Democrats and one House Republican have joined a growing chorus of members of Congress urging President Clinton to postpone a deployment decision for National Missile Defense. In a letter sent to Clinton Tuesday and released Thursday, the House members said that Clinton should let the next president decide whether to deploy NMD. They said NMD technology hasn't been proven effective enough for a commitment to deployment, and that moving forward with deployment now could spur a global arms race.
Teledyne Brown Engineering said it has completed negotiations with Boeing Co. for options on the National Missile Defense-Lead Systems Integrator (NMD-LSI) contract that, if exercised, could generate revenue for Teledyne Brown Engineering of about $500 million.
Switzerland wants 8-11 additional Boeing F/A-18C/Ds to supplement the 34 it already has, Swiss President Adolf Ogi said Friday during a visit to the Pentagon. "The F/A-18 business is very important," Ogi said. "We have to replace more than 40 Mirage fighters ...." He said Switzerland bought 34 Hornets several years ago and "we would like, if we find a solution, to have more of these F/A-18s."
The Defense Dept. is urging a House-Senate conference committee to reject a Senate-passed cut in procurement funding for the Global Hawk high-altitude endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, saying the reduction would delay initial operational capability by a year and fuel "further cost growth."
Airbus Industrie has made 11 separate announcements at the Farnborough Air Show for a total of 230 aircraft, valued at $18 billion. Included were the first sales of the A3XX superjumbo airliner, with commitments for a total of 22 aircraft from three customers, Emirates, Air France and ILFC. Airbus also announced 37 orders for the A330/A340 widebody family, and 171 new sales for the A320.
