PRAGUE - The Czech government decided Oct. 20 to fast-track the purchase of 14 used supersonic fighter aircraft. The cabinet agreed to bypass standard tender procedures by defining the process as a strategic order, allowing the government to select a winning bid before the end of the year as planned, according to Czech defense officials.
Raytheon Co.'s Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) system has completed operational evaluation and is in service with U.S. Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 squadrons, the company said Oct. 20. A Navy decision to move the targeting pod to full-rate production is expected in coming weeks, it said.
October 14, 2003 ARMY EAI Corp., Abingdon, Md., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2003, a $22,683,224 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for Antiterrorism/Force Protection Tier 3 Upgrades. Work will be performed in Abingdon, Md., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2004. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Sept. 12, 2003. The U.S. Army Robert Morris Acquisition Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity (DAAD13-03-C-0042).
In an effort to persuade naysayers and help military leaders make investments that will better support network-centric warfare (NCW), the Pentagon's Office of Force Transformation (OFT) is sponsoring a series of case studies that will refine the theory behind NCW and quantify its benefits. Armed with the studies, OFT will then be able to "tell the story" of NCW to military leaders who still are focused on platforms rather than networked capabilities, according to John Garstka, assistant director for concepts and operations at OFT.
TEAM SHADOW: BAE Systems Australia and AAI Corp. will compete as Team Shadow for the Australian Defence Force's JP 129 program, which seeks to use unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance, the companies said Oct. 20. Their entry is based on AAI's Shadow 200 tactical UAV.
After launching from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 18, the Expedition 8 crew has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) to begin their six-month tour in orbit.
Spacehab Inc., the maker of specialized space modules and cargo containers, said Oct. 20 that its chief financial officer, Julia Pulzone, will resign Dec. 31. The resignation is related to Spacehab's decision to close its Washington office to cut expenses (DAILY, Oct. 2). Spacehab plans to relocate its Washington office and personnel to company headquarters near Houston.
General Dynamics is creating a new combat vehicle business unit in Vienna, Austria, called General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems, company officials announced Oct. 20. The unit, which will be part of General Dynamics' Combat Systems business group, will consist of Mowag AG, in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland; General Dynamics Santa Barbara Sistemas, in Madrid, Spain; and Steyr Spezialfahrzeug, based in Vienna, Austria.
TWO DIVISIONS: Talk in Congress about creating two additional active Army divisions isn't likely to result in the purchase of new equipment, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan of Merrill Lynch. "One of the central issues facing the Army today is that units providing military police, medical and administrative functions that would be useful in building civil security tend to be reserve formations," he says. "If the Army increased in size, it is not likely that these sorts of units would be equipped with M-1 [Abrams] tanks," Callan says.
After arriving at the German navy's Nordholz Air Base on Oct. 15, the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle is preparing for the first in a series of electronics intelligence (ELINT) demonstration flights being conducted by the U.S. Air Force for the German ministry of defense (MOD).
LIBRARY VISITS: The future "smart pull" vision of network-centric warfare envisioned by the U.S. Department of Defense will be akin to giving the warfighter library privileges, according to John Stenbit, assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration. "I refer to where we are today, as you can subscribe to any magazine you'd like, but you're not allowed to go to the library," Stenbit says.
NEW DELHI - India has launched a new Earth observing satellite mainly intended for agricultural monitoring, disaster response and land and water resource management. India launched Resourcesat-1, its most sophisticated and heaviest remote sensing satellite, on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), on Oct. 15 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in southern India.
Aviation electronics and communications company Rockwell Collins will acquire NLX of Sterling, Va., which provides training and simulation systems, for $125 million in cash. The transaction is scheduled to close by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval, Rockwell Collins said Oct. 17. NLX, bought from Arlington Capital Partners, provides training systems, upgrades, modifications and engineering for programs that include the U.S. Navy's E-2C Hawkeye 2000 upgrade program and the U.S. Army's Stryker light armored vehicle.
The number of manned and unmanned space launches by China is expected to increase through 2021, while launches conducted by the U.S. are likely to remain flat, according to a report from the Futron Corp. China through 2021 is expected to conduct up to 10 launches a year, a 50 percent increase from previous years, the report says. "China appears ready to enter space with a degree of ambition matching the Americans and Soviets during the 1960s," according to the report.
757 SHUTDOWN: The closing of Boeing's 757 production line was not unexpected, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Christopher Mecray of Deutsche Bank. The shutdown will result in a third-quarter pre-tax charge of about $184 million, which will support supplier guarantees and facility closures, but the closures are expected to be few because Boeing had integrated the 757 and 737 production lines, Mecray says. "The long-term production outlook is also not severely impacted as the 757 aircraft had minimal firm delivery slots slated after 2004," he says.
CHINA SPACE: Could U.S. astronauts and Chinese taikonauts one day work together in space? Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) seems to think so. Nelson, a leading congressional advocate of space exploration, says he hopes the recent successful launch of China's human space flight program will pave the way for the Asian country to participate in international space efforts, including the International Space Station. "China's program will provide additional resources, fresh ideas and renewed enthusiasm for space exploration," Nelson says.
FORCE RECONSTITUTION: Officials from the four military services are slated to appear before the House Armed Services Committee's readiness panel Oct. 21 to discuss what it will take to reset and reconstitute their forces following recent military operations, including the Iraq war. Scheduled to testify are Adm. Michael Mullen, vice chief of naval operations; Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force vice chief of staff; Gen. William Nyland, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps; and Lt. Gen. Richard Cody, deputy chief of staff of the Army.
SELLING GALILEO: The Galileo Joint Undertaking, which oversees Europe's planned satellite navigation system, is inviting industry to tender for operating the system. The undertaking, established by the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA), will shortlist companies or consortia bidding to become the Galileo Operating Co., slated to take charge of the program in its operating phase.
The U.S. Army is moving forward with its Compact Kinetic Energy Missile (CKEM) program, awarding contracts to Lockheed Martin Corp. and Miltec Corp. for a 36-month advanced technology development program intended to further refine the concept of a lightweight hit-to-kill, vehicle-mounted battlefield missile.
XXXOct. 20 - 21 -- Public Safety & Security Committe Fall Meeting, Safety Harbor Resort & Spa, Tampa, Fla. Contact Dawn Lucini at 202-293-8500 x 3039, email [email protected] or go to www.aci-na.aero. Oct. 20 - 23 -- 8th Annual Expeditionary Warfare Conference, "Expeditionary Warfare...Projecting Joint Operational Independence," Marriott Bay Point Resort & Conference Center, Panama City, Fla. Contact Simone Baldwin at (703) 247-2596, email [email protected] or go to www.ndia.org.
TRAINING TOGETHER: CAE of Toronto and Iberia Airlines have created an aviation training joint venture in Spain, which should bring in Cdn$30 million ($22.8 million) in its first year and grow after that, CAE says. CAE owns 80 percent of the joint venture's equity and will use its Airbus A320, CRJ200, MD-82 and Dash 8 aircraft simulators. Iberia will contribute its Airbus A320-200, A340-300, Boeing 747-200 and MD-87/88 simulators.
Implementing lean manufacturing techniques has enabled Ace Clearwater Enterprises, a small California supplier, to retain jobs and thrive in today's depressed aerospace market, according to company vice president Gary Johnson. "[Lean] has been a godsend," Johnson told The DAILY in an Oct. 17 interview. Ace Clearwater Enterprises, located in Torrance, Calif., is a $24 million manufacturer of complex welded assemblies. Key customers include Honeywell International, Lockheed Martin, Textron, Airbus, Boeing and GKN Westland.
