PRAGUE - The purchase of used supersonic fighters for the Czech military may help reduce the large number of pilots planning to leave the air force to take up civilian flying jobs, according to Czech defense officials. About 60 pilots indicated recently that they planned to leave the air force before the end of the year. Many of them are concerned about their futures in the face of cutbacks being forced upon the military by planned budget reductions.
Raytheon said last week that the unitary warhead variant of its Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) successfully completed the U.S. Navy's developmental testing requirements. The tests, which occurred Oct. 21 at the Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR) Pacific Land Range at China Lake, Calif., included seven free-flight demonstrations of the AGM-154C unitary multi-stage warhead variant of the JSOW.
Lawmakers were awaiting a proposal from the Bush Administration late Oct. 24 aimed at reaching a compromise on controversial Buy American provisions in the House fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill, congressional and industry sources said.
Oct. 27 - 28 -- Light Armored Vehicles 2003, "Improving the Lethality, Survivability and Mobility of the Warfighter," Doubletree Hotel, Crystal City, Arlington, Va. For more information call 800-882-8684, email [email protected] or go to www.idga.org. Oct. 28 - 29 -- Nanotech Venture Fair 2003, Loews Coronado Bay Resort, Coronado, Calif. For more information call (818) 888-4444, email [email protected], or go to www.nanotechventurefair.com.
MARGINALLY INTEROPERABLE: Combat support applications like the Theater Battle Management Core System (TBMCS), the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS), the Automated Deep Operations Coordination System (ADOCCS), the All-Source Analysis System (ASAS), and the Intelligence-Operations Systems (IOS) were "very valuable" in Iraq, says Marine Corps Gen. Keith Stalder, deputy commanding general for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. "But all those systems are only marginally interoperable.
A LARGER PROBLEM: The $187 million third-quarter charge taken by Raytheon Co. for 10 programs handled by its Network Centric Systems (NCS) may point to a larger problem, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan of Merrill Lynch. "Clearly, there are going to be occasions in defense contracting when changes to the scope of work, or programs canceled, or technical hurdles, simply prove too high to clear," Callan says. "But the sorts of problems uncovered at NCS suggest to us that a larger problem regarding internal control and planning existed.
The Iraq war showed that the U.S. military needs to improve its missile warning capabilities and its management of electronic signals in the battlespace, according to a new assessment by the Army's 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AAMDC).
GROUND EFFECT: Control problems continue to delay the first flight of the X-50A Dragonfly unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), according to Tony Tether, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). A joint effort by DARPA and Boeing, the Dragonfly is a unique hybrid helicopter that can transition to a fixed-wing jet by stopping its rotor in flight (DAILY, Aug. 21). "When you only have one vehicle, you're very cautious," Tether says.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) announced Oct. 24 it is seeking U.S. suppliers to help build its A400M military transport. The announcement followed an A400M supplier conference held in Washington last week. More than 30 U.S. companies attended the event, as did representatives from the departments of State, Commerce and Defense.
SPACE HEARINGS: Several congressional hearings the week of Oct. 27-31 will scrutinize space programs. On Oct. 29, the Senate Commerce Committee's space panel will examine the International Space Station, including safety concerns that have surfaced recently (DAILY, Oct. 24). Also on Oct. 29, the House Science Committee will look at organizational and management challenges at NASA in the wake of the Columbia space shuttle disaster. The House Science Committee's technology panel will meet Oct.
SUPPLEMENTAL CONFERENCE: House and Senate negotiators tentatively are scheduled to meet Oct. 28 to finish the $87 billion fiscal 2004 supplemental appropriations conference report, which would fund military operations and reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq. Completion of the FY '04 energy and water appropriations conference report, which could include funding for nuclear weapons development, may occur later in the week.
ATK Thiokol Propulsion engineers have started detailed analyses of the first test of a space shuttle solid rocket motor with five segments instead of the usual four, according to a company spokesman. The goal of the Oct. 23 static test, which apparently met or exceeded all objectives, was to push various components of the motor beyond normal limits to help engineers verify safety predictions for the four-segment motor, the company said in an Oct. 24 announcement.
ASSISTING TECHNOLOGY: The European Space Agency's SMART-1 lunar scout spacecraft will become the first to use gravity assists in conjunction with a solar-electric ion engine, ESA says. Gravity assists, which use planetary gravity to accelerate or brake spacecraft, first were used by NASA's Pioneer 10 in 1973 and have become a standard part of spaceflight used by all ESA interplanetary missions. SMART-1 will combine gravity assists from Earth with its ion engine, which uses electrically charged gas for propulsion.
EADS Astrium of the United Kingdom will build the Aeolus satellite for the European Space Agency, the U.K.'s Department of Trade and Industry said last week. Aeolus is intended to study the Earth's wind patterns and is due to be launched in 2007 for a three-year mission, the department said. Data from the satellite could help improve predictions of extreme weather conditions, including major storms.
NEW DELHI - As part of a move for closer defense ties, China has agreed to train Pakistani air force pilots at bases in both countries. An agreement on training was completed Oct. 23 in Beijing by Cao Gangchuan, China's defense minister, and Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat, head of Pakistan's air force, who is visiting China, according to a Pakistani diplomat here. Under the agreement, China also will train Pakistani air force engineers to overhaul and maintain the jointly produced JF-17 Thunder fighter, training that will take place in China.
Honeywell will provide network services, operations and support to NASA under two contracts that could total $1.7 billion, the company said Oct. 23. One contract, for mission operation and support to the Goddard Space Flight Center, Md., has a five-year performance period with a limited two-year extension, Honeywell said. The Earth network services contract is for five years. The mission support work includes pre-launch conceptual studies and planning for missions such as the Solar Heliospheric (SOHO) spacecraft and the Hubble Space Telescope.
A key Senate panel is considering a proposal to have the U.S. Air Force lease 20 KC-767A tankers and buy 80 of the Boeing-made planes, instead of leasing all 100 aircraft as the Air Force wants to do, congressional sources said Oct. 23. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has begun pitching the 20/80 proposal to other committee members in one-on-one meetings, a Senate source told The DAILY.
Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory is in line for a five-year U.S. Air Force contract worth up to $10 million to support concept development of the Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) system-of-systems and other Air Force electronic warfare projects.
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman say they have successfully tested mine countermeasure systems that could be adapted for use aboard the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship. Officials with Northrop Grumman's Oceanic and Naval Systems business unit said Oct. 23 that earlier this month they successfully tested the company's AN/AQS-24 mine detection system. The test was conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in the waters off Corpus Christi, Texas, and involved the USS Scout (MCM-8), an Avenger-class minesweeper.
Raytheon Co. posted a $35 million loss for the third quarter on Oct. 23 due to cost growth on key defense electronics programs and changes on technical service contracts. The $35 million net loss for the quarter compares with a $147 million net profit a year ago. Net sales for the quarter totaled $4.4 billion, compared with $4.1 billion a year ago. Overall government and defense sales for the quarter increased 3 percent, from $3.6 billion a year ago to $3.7 billion.
FCS WORK: Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems has been awarded two prime and two subcontractor contracts totaling $260 million for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems. The company will serve as prime for the Logistics Decision Support System, providing logistical command and control software, and the Network Management System, providing network management software.
