Lockheed Martin said it has completed all engine testing required for development and flight qualification of the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) and aircraft carrier variant (CV) versions of its Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstration aircraft. Remaining for the Pratt&Whitney JSF119-611 engine to be used in Lockheed Martin's X-35A CTOL and X-35C CV are engine tear down, inspection and data reviews. Flight certification is expected some time this May.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, Fla., will roll out the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) April 25 in a ceremony at its facility in Troy, Alabama. JASSM, an autonomous, long-range, conventional air-to-ground precision strike missile developed for U.S. Air Force and Navy fighters and bombers, entered the engineering, manufacturing and development phase in November 1998, and made its first powered flight last November (DAILY, Nov. 24, 1999).
C-17 STABILIZER: To ease field repairs on the C-17's composite/metal horizontal stabilizer, Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force are validating relevant procedures. So far, seven of the airlifters are flying with the new stabilizer, which is 20% lighter and eliminates 90% of the parts on the all-aluminum version. Production of the composite stabilizer began on the 51st aircraft. The U.S. Air Force plans to buy 120 C-17s.
B2B, OR NOT B2B: While General Dynamics will "take advantage" of information technology opportunities, it may not rush to join any of the mega e-marketplaces set to launch for the aerospace and defense industries. GD sees a "philosophical difference" with defense colleagues on the utility of e-commerce initiatives. Chairman and CEO Nicholas Chabraja doesn't see it as a way to make money or build equity per se. First and foremost, he says, IT should be a tool to drive efficiency and cost reduction.
The Joint Direct Attack Munition Extended Range (JDAM-ER) made its first flight Friday over the Gulf of Mexico following deployment from an F-16 fighter. The test, which used a 2,000-pound JDAM BLU-109 penetrator bomb, evaluated the "Diamond Back" wing kit made by Alenia Marconi, attached to increase performance and range of the JDAM.
The first South African-made component for the Gripen fighter aircraft has been delivered to state-owned company Denel, BAE Systems and Saab, the Swedish company announced. The underwing stores pylon was made by Denel subcontractor Comau-AIMS, based in Uitenhage, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Saab and BAE Systems, team partners on the Gripen multi-role fighter, awarded a R42 million ($6.24 million) contract to Denel last year to design, develop and prototype a NATO-interoperable stores pylon for the jet.
LABARGE INC. won a $2.1 million contract to make printed circuit board assemblies for the AN/TPS-59(V)3 Tactical Missile Defense (TMD) radar system, used by the U.S. Marine Corps for long-range surveillance and ground control intercept capabilities in mobile environments. The St. Louis-based company expects to begin production of the electronic assemblies next month.
MARKUP SCHEDULE: Senate Armed Services subcommittees will start marking up the fiscal 2001 defense authorization a week from tomorrow, on Tuesday, May 2. The following day, on May 3, the strategic, airland and seapower subcommittees will all mark up their portions of the '01 authorization with full committee markup expected later in the week and the following week. The House Armed Services Committee's schedule hasn't been released, but it is expected to overlap the SASC plan.
DIVE, DIVE: General Dynamics is upbeat on the "way" out-year chances for its marine business. Over the long term, it sees a possibility for the U.S. Navy to nudge the build-out rate on attack submarines. A report last year, suggesting an ultimate sub force of 68 versus the original plan of 50, prompted discussion in the Navy, Dept. of Defense and Congress. Conclusions on the report's recommendations are partially reflected in the Navy's build rate, which advances quite handsomely in 2007.
WINNER-TAKE-ALL: Joint Strike Fighter competitors Boeing and Lockheed Martin continue to wait for a decision from Pentagon acquisition chief Jacques Gansler on alternatives to the single-winner approach. Company officials say they have answered requests from Gansler for "more information." Program executives also say the decision needs to be announced within the next few weeks to keep the program on schedule.
The U.S. aerospace and defense industry is losing its expertise to dot-com startups, Wall Street and consulting firms, the fallout from a decade of crippling budget cuts, an aging workforce and a booming info-tech economy. And, says Aviation Week&Space Technology, unless the industry finds ways to stop this "brain drain" and attract new scientists, engineers and technicians, its future viability may be at risk.
ITT Industries received a $74 million contract from the U.S. Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization - Europe, to improve communications of American forces in the Balkans. "The unique attributes of ITT Industries' Systems division, combined with our newly acquired Stanford Telecommunications defense and space communications group, allows us to provide the design and engineering as well as operations and maintenance for this contract," said Jim Cameron president of the systems division.
Belgium has requested LANTIRN targeting pods, associated aircraft integration, support equipment and spare parts for an estimated cost of $25 million. Lockheed Martin Electronics and Missiles Corp., Orlando, Fla., is the prime contractor. No offset agreements are proposed in connection with this potential sale. The low altitude navigation and targeting system pods will help Belgian F-16s conduct night operations. The U.S. Defense Dept. said the sale would improve military capabilities of Belgium in fulfillment of its NATO obligations.
The "most challenging variant" of Boeing's Joint Strike Fighter development program is turning out to be the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) version, which puts heavy demand on software, says Boeing's Michael Heinz, deputy JSF program manager. Complicating the issue is the loss of two weeks' software development time -- time that must be absorbed, not made up -- when Boeing's engineers went on strike, adds Boeing JSF chief Frank Statkus.
Lockheed Martin Information Systems, Orlando, Fla., won a U.S. Navy contract worth up to $375 million for training equipment, analysis and support of all naval aircraft. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division awarded the FY 2000 Training Systems Contract Lots I and III contract. Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will support training of naval aircraft in Orlando through March 2008. The company will focus initially on the F-18, KC-130, EA-6B and F-14 aircraft.
The European Commission approved a request of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace Airbus to expand its facilities in Hamburg, Germany, to handle final assembly of the planned Airbus A3XX there. DaimlerChrysler Aerospace Airbus would have to expand into an environmentally sensitive area, a move that has been sharply criticized by local environmentalists. The approval puts Hamburg on an equal footing with the competing A3XX manufacturing site in Toulouse, France. Airbus is expected to decide next month whether to launch the A3XX.
Boeing Co. managed to turn in respectable operating performance for the first quarter of 2000 despite a 40-day strike that held up delivery of 50 commercial airplanes. "This quarter we've demonstrated improved performance in all three of our business units, which gives me confidence in our ability to meet our original targets for the year," said Phil Condit, chairman and CEO.
LMI Aerospace clinched a four-year contract, worth an estimated $55 million, to make commercial aircraft components for Boeing. "This contract provides a solid foundation for our business over the next four years," said Ronald S. Saks, president and CEO of LMI. "It also signals a positive change in the difficult business environment facing commercial aircraft suppliers such as LMI."
The president of the world's largest independent third-party aero engine maintenance shop believes that PMA parts -- spare parts built by manufacturers other than the OEM under special FAA approval -- are an endangered species for modern engine lines. Speaking at Aviation Week's MRO 2000 conference here on Tuesday, Standard Aero President David Shaw said the growth of power-by-the-hour deals will allow only the OEMs to craft parts for the new generation of engines.
Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters at Shaw AFB, S.C., will be the first in the U.S. Air Force to field the Raytheon AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon, and pilots and maintainers at Shaw began training with the system April 5. "We are getting this technology five or six months earlier than we planned," says Maj. David Hlatky, weapons officer of the 20th Fighter Wing. "Test squadrons across the United States have picked up the workload to finish testing in about a month's time."
In the Internet era when economic power can rise and fall in minutes and when affected countries no longer neatly fit into allegiances with superpower camps, U.S. security strategy must evolve to deal better with small-scale contingencies, economic upheavals and public-health and welfare crises, concludes a Blue Ribbon panel commissioned by Defense Secretary William Cohen.
There are no indications that a mechanical failure caused the April 8 crash of a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 in Arizona that claimed the lives of all 19 people aboard, the service's top aviation officer said yesterday. Lt. Gen. Fred McCorkle, deputy chief of staff for aviation, also said investigators will try to simulate the mission and conditions at the time of the crash. And, he said, he and Marine Commandant Gen. James L. Jones will be the first passengers on an MV-22 when flying of the type resumes. Taxi and other tests are underway now, he said.
Condor Electronic Systems Div. has begun follow-on production of the Shortstop Electronic Protection System at its Simi Valley, Calif., plant, the company reported. Shortstop is intended to give ground troops electronic protection against proximity-fuzed warheads. Under a $17.9 million contract awarded late last year, Condor said it is building 42 production units that could reduce ground troop casualties by 80% during the initial stages of an enemy attack. Condor said the contract also exercises an option to build 48 additional units.
