Qantas has expressed an interest in becoming an A3XX launch customer with an initial require for as many as 10 aircraft for delivery beginning in 2006, according to Airbus. The Australian airline, which has always been a Boeing operator, would use the A3XX on its routes from Australia to London and Los Angeles. Qantas Chief Executive James Strong said the economics of the aircraft and passenger comfort make the A3XX an appealing option.
Royal Ordnance North America Inc., Kingsport, Tenn., is being awarded a $19,506,343 delivery order amount as part of firm-fixed-price contract DAAA09-98-D-0005, for the manufacture of 1,995,183 pounds of Comp C-4, Class 3 (tagged) and 647,953 pounds of CXM-7 explosives, to support ammunition requirements for all military services. Work will be performed at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Kingsport, Tenn., and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2001. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
The ability of the U.K. Defense Ministry to handle major equipment projects was challenged by MP David Davis, chairman of the parliamentary all-party Public Accounts Committee. He made his comments after receiving the latest annual report from the National Audit Office (NAO), slated to be published today.
Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems, Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $75,300,000 modification to a cost-plus-award-fee contract to finalize the contract restructure of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) engineering and manufacturing development program. This effort provides for a ten month extension of engineering and manufacturing development of the JASSM, additional test support, instrumentation changes in developmental test vehicles, and acquisition of 21 additional Production Prove-out Test Units. Work is expected to be completed February 2003.
Lockheed Martin's Information Systems unit will deliver the first third-generation Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) to an Eastern European country, the Czech Republic. Lockheed Martin said it will supply infantry, combat vehicle and anti-tank simulation systems, plus spares and logistics support. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Simulation, Training Instrumentation Command (STRICOM) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
Raytheon Company, Bedford, Mass., is being awarded a $7,321,193 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide for research support and data for the Steered Agile Beams (STAB) program. This program will develop chip-scale, laser beam control components for revolutionary beam control system concepts for a variety of military applications. Expected contract completion date is June 26, 2004. Solicitation issue date was May 10, 1999. Negotiation completion date was June 19, 2000.
SPACEWALK: A challenging spacewalk will be the first order of business for the next Shuttle crew scheduled to visit ISS. Once the Zvezda module is in place - docked to the Zarya control module either automatically or by a special Russian "Crew Zero" standing by to fly to the Station and do the job manually (DAILY, June 29) - the Space Shuttle Atlantis is down for a Sept. 8 mission to get it ready for the first crew. On the first day after the Shuttle docks, the crew will venture outside to connect power and data cables linking Zarya and Zvezda.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Local communities are beginning to vie to become home for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle, set to become operational in November 2001. Although the process is in "very preliminary stages," an AF spokeswoman says, "scoping meetings" have begun in prospective areas. Sites under consideration include Beale AFB and Edwards AFB, Calif.; Ellsworth AFB, S.D.; Tinker AFB, Okla., and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
The U.S. Navy last week presented a mockup of its new Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) outside the Pentagon during a ceremony to mark the missile's May approval for full rate production. The ceremony, attended by military and civilian program personnel, and a handful of reporters, heralded a new age of standoff precision strike capability for both land and sea targets for the Navy's F/A-18 fleet.
DREAMTIME UPDATE: NASA's Silicon Valley business partner is setting up shop at Ames Research Center, but most of its early work digitizing agency archives probably will be done at Johnson Space Center, Tex. Carlton Ruthling, co-founder and chief operating officer of Dreamtime, says JSC already has some equipment in place to digitize images and other material for the World Wide Web, as well as rich archives of U.S. human spaceflight.
Orders from Bombardier Aerospace, as prime contractor for the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program, for two more Hawk 115 advanced/lead-in fighter trainers - with an option for a third, increasing its overall total to 20 - have been confirmed by BAE Systems.
The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin have signed a $41 million contract for about 3,000 Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD) kits. The contract, signed Friday, is the third and largest low rate initial production (LRIP) award for the program, and signals a ramp-up toward a decision on full rate production expected after the first of next year.
GET IT TOGETHER: The Administration and Congress don't always see eye to eye, but when it come to China and Taiwan they're sometimes on different planets. A Stimson Center study, "Theater Missile Defenses in the Asia-Pacific Region" warns that the "continued absence of bipartisan, coordinated China policy between the executive and legislative branches" will jeopardize not only security in the region but U.S. national security as well.
WAIT AND SEE: NASA managers are scheduled to meet again this week on options for the planned U.S. Propulsion Module for the International Space Station, but don't expect a decision until after Russia launches the Zvezda Service Module on or about July 12. The U.S. space agency may put the Prop Mod out for bids rather than accept cost growth and schedule slippage on Boeing's version of the Station element (DAILY, June 16), but first they want to see whether Zvezda makes it to orbit. That makes sense, because the U.S.
VIASAT, INC. and its teammates Harris Corp. and the Xetron subsidiary of Northrop Grumman have won a $7.59 million modification to a previously awarded contract for first article qualification and initial production of the Multifunctional Information Distribution System - Low Volume Terminal (MIDS LVT). The contract covers 11 first article units and spares for the U.S. Army variant of the MIDS LVT, or MIDS LVT(2), according to ViaSat, based in Carlsbad, Calif. The award follows a competition. MIDS is a line-of-sight tactical radio system.
COUNTDOWN: NASA scuttlebutt sees Administrator Daniel S. Goldin leaving the agency after the STS-106 mission to ISS concludes in September. At that point, the thinking goes, the Station will be ready for its first crew and Goldin can say, "my work here is finished." Betting at NASA headquarters has Joe Rothenberg, associate administrator for space fight, taking over the helm at least for the remainder of the Clinton Administration.
The Army's Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) missile defense program will receive $5.7 million to continue testing this year under a fiscal 2000 supplemental appropriations bill that has gained congressional approval. The supplemental measure is included in the fiscal 2001 military construction appropriations conference report, which the House and Senate passed last week.
NASA's latest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-H) reached its geosynchronous transfer orbit Friday after launch aboard a Lockheed Martin-built Atlas IIA rocket. Liftoff of the advanced government communications satellite came at 8:56 a.m. EDT Friday, delayed 18 minutes after its launch window opened while authorities escorted a boater out of the danger zone down range from launch pad 36A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
The U.S. Navy on June 29 conducted the first engineering and manufacturing development test of the Standard Missile SM-2 Block IVA air and missile defense interceptor. The launch of Control Test Vehicle (CTV-1) took place at 11:20 a.m. EDT at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. No intercept was attempted. The purpose of the test was to validate the missile's guidance controls, autopilot and aerodynamic performance. The test had been delayed because of software and other problems with the missile.
Pacific Aerospace&Electronics boosted its role in U.S. Army's Hellfire anti-armor missile program, part of the AH-64D Longbow Apache attack helicopter weapon system. Lockheed Martin's Sanders unit and Northrop Grumman placed follow-on orders with the Wenatchee, Wash., company for modular missile system components and assemblies for the Hellfire. Northrop Grumman's order is estimated at $1.8 million and the Sanders order is worth about $1 million. Pacific Aerospace&Electronics will ship components under the orders this year.
SUB-LAUNCHED UAVS: Converting four Trident ballistic missile submarines to cruise-missile submarines not only would help the Navy meet its submarine needs but would give the Navy "an unprecedented opportunity to examine advanced submarine payloads in new and innovative ways," including modifying tubes to carry Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Rear Admirals Malcolm Fages and John Davis tell the House Armed Services Committee.
TMD TURF BATTLES? The report also says that if Japan deploys a theater missile defense system, there could be serious repercussions. For one thing, it says, the big budget item would strain Japan's ability to procure other needed systems -- F-2 fighters and intelligence satellites, among others. It also could produce bad vibes between Japanese and American defense contractors because it would be a windfall for U.S. companies. Finally, it could spark turf battles in Japan for scare funds, heating up inter-service rivalries.
