The F-22's flight test problems haven't lessened since the General Accounting Office issued a report on the subject in March, says Donald Springman, senior evaluator with the GAO's national security and international affairs division. In fact, they've worsened, Springman says. Delays in delivering aircraft for flight testing are among the reasons, Springman says in testimony to the House Government Reform national security subcommittee. Canopy cracks that halted flight testing from May 9 to June 5 are another, and the problem isn't resolved yet, Springman says.
Senate Democrats are prepared to stop trying to attach non-defense amendments to the fiscal 2001 defense authorization bill if they can find another legislative vehicle for their non-defense proposals, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said Friday. Daschle told reporters that he hopes to reach agreement with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) on "another vehicle" or bill to which Democrats could try to attach non-defense amendments. Such an agreement could pave the way for passing the authorization bill this week, he said.
U.S. ARMY'S Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle, developed by TRW and Israel Aircraft Industries, has passed the 15,000 flight hour mark. The system "has met or exceeded all of our expectations," said Lt. Col. Kevin Stoleson, Army TUAV assistant program manager.
Despite evidence that investigators on the Egyptian side believe indicates plausible alternatives, the National Transportation Safety Board is sticking with its original theory that the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 was a deliberate act. Sources close to the Egyptian side say the board hasn't fully exhausted all possible mechanical anomalies, including an elevator problem that could lead to a sudden dive if two actuators on one elevator fail in a certain way.
Another classified satellite propulsion system already picked for Space Station reboost duties is lagging about four months behind schedule, says Hawes. The Interim Control Module, under development by the Naval Research Laboratory based on a Shuttle-compatible upper stage for spy satellites, has slipped for a variety of reasons, including the need to rework some electronics after Goddard Space Flight Center found problems with similar components on another spacecraft.
Formulating an e-commerce strategy is giving many aerospace and defense suppliers an e-headache. One problem, according to many who attended last week's E-Business for Aerospace Industry Conference in Bellevue, Wash., is that the big companies haven't clued them in on their overall e-business strategy. Aerospace giants may talk a good talk when it comes to e-commerce, conference attendees said, but they're just not there yet, or at least aren't sharing plans with suppliers.
The head of NASA's X-38 program to develop a Crew Rescue Vehicle (CRV) as a replacement for the Russian Soyuz lifeboats on the International Space Station believes it might make more sense for that vehicle to evolve into a two-way "rescue and retrieval" human-rated spaceship rather than the full-fledged Crew Transfer Vehicle (CTV) currently under consideration.
Some cost reductions used by the Air Force to estimate F-22 production costs depend on decisions beyond the service's control, a General Accounting Office official said yesterday. Allen Li, GAO associate director of defense acquisition issues, told the House Government Reform national security subcommittee that the Air Force's $40.8 billion cost estimate assumes $10.8 billion in reductions that haven't been implemented yet. Some of the reductions depend on congressional or Defense Dept. action, Li said.
BAE Systems said it will eliminate 3,800 jobs from its U.K. work force of about 70,000 as part of a restructuring effort following last year's merger with Marconi Electronic Systems. About 600 jobs will be cut from the avionics sector, with facilities being closed in York, Ilford, Blackburn and Edinburgh. Another 700 jobs will be eliminated at aerostructures facilities at Warton and Samesbury. Hawk trainer manufacturing work will account for 850 losses, largely due to uncertain prospects for further sales of the aircraft.
Radio Shack has become the first corporate sponsor signed by LunaCorp, which has spent the past 11 years promoting a commercial lunar rover that would make money by selling science data and entertainment. Jim McDonald, Radio Shack's marketing senior vice president, told reporters in Washington yesterday his company plans to spend on the order of $1 million this year as the first installment in a "multi-year" investment designed to associate the Radio Shack brand with cutting-edge technology.
MODIFICATIONS to the cockpit voice recorders on Raytheon Beech 1900s are being required by the FAA. There have been "instances where the recording quality of the CVR...was so poor that the information was practically unrecoverable," the agency said yesterday. It said it has received reports of six instances of poor recording quality. Raytheon has issued a service bulletin on the problem.
Skyfish.com and Sabre Computer Holdings are teaming up to go live on yet another business-to-business (B2B) e-marketplace, this one geared specifically to the aerospace and transportation industries. The combination of Skyfish's experience and technology in the aviation industry with Sabre's nearly 40 years of transaction processing and information technology expertise for travel and transportation "is a winning combination for the aerospace industry," said Tom Woods, VP of Sabre Marketplace.
NASA has decided to drop its plans for refueling the International Space Station with the Space Shuttle fleet, opting instead for total changeouts of the planned U.S. Propulsion Module when it runs out of fuel, according to the top Station manager at agency headquarters.
L-3 Communications said its Communication Systems-East division and Ampex Data Systems Corp. have signed a letter of intent on marketing of recorders for military and reconnaissance aircraft. L-3 said Ampex will use and market a system solution based on L-3's Strategic/Tactical Airborne Recorder (S/TAR) and Ampex's ground archiving systems.
A software problem forced the U.S. Navy to delay a June 15 test of its lower-tier missile defense interceptor at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The software flaw is associated with the Standard Missile-2 Block IVA interceptor, rather than the radar system, and was discovered during ground testing. The Navy so far hasn't rescheduled the test, called Control Test Vehicle One (CTV-1). Service officials acknowledge it will delay overall flight testing for the Navy Area Wide program, but don't believe the slip will be extensive.
United Defense acquired Bofors Weapon Systems, a unit of Sweden's Saab/Celsius, establishing a transatlantic defense link and solidifying a relationship between the two companies. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but United Defense will acquire 100% of BWS's stock when the transaction is approved by Swedish and American government officials.
The accelerating pace of change is creating a global community where travelers will be able to stay connected nearly all the time and manufacturers will drastically cut transaction costs, Boeing Chairman and CEO Phil Condit told the Wings Club here Wednesday.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Henry H. Shelton said the United States must preserve its ability to fight two major theater wars. "A force that is sized to fight and win two major theater wars is an essential element of our national military strategy and allows us to protect America's interests worldwide and our commitment to our allies," Shelton said Wednesday at Ft. Myer in Arlington, Va.
The U.S. Marine Corps' fiscal year 2001 request for the Advanced Tactical Air Reconnaissance System (ATARS) is $55.8 million, not $54.6 million as reported in The DAILY of June 15 (page 421).
Development problems encountered by the Wide Area Augmentation System, primarily related to integrity requirements, "will raise costs, making it unclear whether quantified benefits still exceed the cost of the new system," the General Accounting Office told the Senate Appropriations Committee transportation subcommittee on transportation.
Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) yesterday voiced concern about the capabilities of the Joint Strike Fighter and said he plans on "monitoring every single milestone" of the program. Cunningham, a Vietnam ace and former Navy Top Gun instructor, said at a Capitol Hill breakfast that he "will not support an aircraft that is inferior to what we already have." Boeing and Lockheed Martin are competing in the JSF program. First flights are expected this year.
After failing an April 27 operational evaluation of its Advanced Tactical Air Reconnaissance System (ATARS), the U.S. Marine Corps fixed problems with the systems' Squadron Ground Stations (SGS), had the correction verified, and passed its OPEVAL on June 12.
Primex Technologies, Inc. said it has completed its acquisition of the bi-propellant rocket engine and related businesses of Kaiser Marquardt Inc., a subsidiary of Kaiser Aerospace&Electronics, for $22.4 million. Kaiser Marquardt, based in Van Nuys, Calif., had 1999 sales of $18.1 million.
The Senate passed its fiscal 2001 defense appropriations bill by a 95-3 vote late Tuesday after approving an amendment by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) making up to $50 million available for directed energy technology and weapons.
