COMMERCIAL STATION: European Space Agency managers are looking for a commercial partner to manage operations on the European portion of the International Space Station. A request for proposals to be issued soon will cover such Station-related tasks as payload integration, Ariane 5 launch service procurement, and producing and operating the Automated Transfer Vehicle, a space tug that will carry cargo from Ariane 5 separation to docking with the Station.
ENGINE COMPETITION:Joint Strike Fighter Program Office Director Maj. Gen. Michael A. Hough says that while Pratt&Whitney is the prime engine maker for the current phase of the effort, plans continue to call for General Electric to be involved in the future. "We're going to phase in a plug-and-play motor," he says.
JSF DELAY DISMISSED: H. Lee Buchanan, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, rejects the Congressional Budget Office's assessment that a two-year delay in the Joint Strike Fighter program could save money. Buchanan believes the JSF technologies will be mature and that it is "critical" to hold to the schedule. For example, he says, any delay in the vertical takeoff and landing JSF variant to replace the AV-8B will hurt the Marine Corps. "The Marine Corps does not have an option to delay for convenience," Buchanan says.
Production of the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) is continuing as enhancements keep the weapon popular with U.S. and 19 foreign customers. A $162 million award to Raytheon Co. on March 15 for Lot 14 was the latest in a series of contracts that have funded 10,000 of the missiles since delivery of the first production weapon in 1989. All current U.S. AMRAAMs are AIM-120Cs, while the AIM-120B is in production for other countries. The C model is also planned for in the F-22; its wings have been modified so it can be carried internally.
TACAIR STUDY: The Pentagon's tactical aviation modernization plan is one of the most important issues to be taken up in the next Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), says Rudy de Leon, sworn in Friday as the deputy secretary of defense. "I will do all I can to facilitate rigorous QDR examination of tactical aviation requirements and programs," he tells Congress. The Dept. of Defense believes the F/A-18E/F, F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter all "are affordable so long as they are properly phased and scoped," he says.
The Pentagon should create a one-stop shop for management of existing high energy laser (HEL) programs that also would serve as a clearinghouse for new technologies, according to a new independent review team. The High Energy Laser Executive Review Panel, in a much anticipated report, also said the Dept. of Defense should increase funding for HEL science and technology (S&T) to achieve a better balance between large demonstration efforts and enabling S&T programs.
Turkey has accepted an offer to participate in the engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) stage of the Joint Strike Fighter, U.S. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen announced Friday. In remarks before the American Turkish Council in Washington, Cohen said U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Mark Parris was to make an announcement later in the day that Turkey has been invited to participate in the development of the JSF.
U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen is traveling to Nigeria in part to offer assistance with "re-professionalizing" the nation's military, according to a senior defense official. The trip is to make up for Cohen's attempt to visit the country last month, which was aborted because of bad weather. The Secretary will see his counterpart and military and defense officials, and will discuss cooperation efforts.
WINNER-TAKE-ALL: Senior U.S. defense officials have said the Joint Strike Fighter program will continue to operate under a winner-take-all strategy for choosing between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Statements to that effect by Darleen Druyun, principal deputy assistant for Air Force acquisition and management, have been echoed by Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Michael A. Hough, JSF program director. But Jacques Gansler, the Pentagon acquisition chief, has said that options should be explored, and AF Secretary F.
Honeywell's Hardware Product Group (HPG), teaming with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) on a Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) contract, intends to take the hassle out of parts management at three U.S. Air Force sites. "Working with our partners at SAIC, we will reduce expenses at these defense supply centers in the areas of procurement, quality and planning," said James D. Taiclet Jr., president of Honeywell Aerospace Services.
The Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) program is running out of money, but program officials trying to keep it on track for a first test to shoot down a Katyusha rocket in the next two months, Space and Missile Defense Command Chief Lt. Gen. John Costello said Friday. Costello said he is working within the Dept. of Defense to find funding. He said "problems have slowed us down and increased costs."
RUDY DE LEON was sworn in Friday as the 27th Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon announced. De Leon comes to the position from the post of under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, which he has held since August 1997. He replaces John Hamre, who resigned in early January to become president and chief executive officer of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a public policy think-tank in Washington.
Boeing plans to make its customers' maintenance and repair problems easier to solve by moving detailed help tools to the Internet. After six months testing with an updated version of the Boeing On-Line Delivery (BOLD) service, the company is proceeding with the its online maintenance and flight operations support program.
GLOBALSTAR mobile satellite phone service kicked off in Australia last week through the Vodafone Globalstar gateway in the eastern portion of the country. The company, through its service provider and partner Vodafone Globalstar, will add two more gateways in the next couple of weeks, extending coverage across the entire nations and offshore.
Raytheon said its Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) destroyed a Firebee target drone during its first guided flight test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. EESM is being developed for the U.S. Navy and the 13 nations of the NATO SeaSparrow consortium, which have used the SeaSparrow surface-to-air ship self-defense missile system for more than 30 years.
HiQ International, Stockholm, received a $1.85 million contract from the Swedish Defense Material Administration to enhance simulators for training ground staff in maintenance of the JAS 39 Gripen fighter. "This assignment is a sure sign of our high quality as a consultancy services and advanced defense solutions supplier," said Lars Stugemo, CEO.
BUDGET CLASH: The Senate Appropriations Committee is slated to mark up its version of the fiscal year 2000 Kosovo supplemental bill passed last week by the House. But a clash on the bill within the GOP leadership is expected. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is opposed to passing supplemental legislation or even bringing a stand-alone bill of that sort to the floor for consideration.
The U.S. Navy has accepted a brief from the F/A-18 program manager certifying that all Milestone III exit criteria have been met by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and that the aircraft successfully completed Operational Evaluation with a grade of "operationally suitable, operationally effective," the Pentagon said Friday. With acceptance of the brief by Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition Lee Buchanan, the program moves one step closer to a full rate production decision.
BOOST-PHASE PARTNER: Israel Aircraft Industries is said to be seeking a U.S. partner to help it build a long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle for Israel's anti-missile system. Israel has worked for years with the Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization to mount high-speed missiles on a UAV to go after enemy missiles as they lift off the launch pad.
BOEING engineers in Wichita represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) have reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract. The 1,350 employees will vote Tuesday. Union negotiators unanimously recommended the deal, which has no benefit take-aways and gives all engineers a minimum 9% raise out of a 17% pool over three years. Talks in Wichita had been on hold since Dec. 5 when engineers turned down the company's offer by a 99% margin and voted for a strike authorization.
NASA Space Shuttle managers have slipped launch of the Shuttle Atlantis on a maintenance and repair mission to the International Space Station by a week to give Mission Commander Jim Halsell more time to complete pre-launch flight training, pushing liftoff of the STS-101 mission back to April 24.
Boeing and the U.S. Army have signed a $15 million contract for long-lead materials to be used on a proposed multi-year procurement of AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters, Boeing said yesterday. The company said it is in the third year of its first five-year, multi-year contract with the Army to remanufacture 232 Apaches into the Apache Longbow configuration. The Army is negotiating with Boeing for the remanufacture of 298 Apache Longbows for fiscal years 2001 through 2006, which would be the second five-year, multi-year procurement, Boeing said.
The question of technology flow to Iran and other so-called rogue states has been at the top of the agenda in discussions between U.S. and Russian officials, according to senior State Dept. officer. "We have probably spent more time on this issue in our bilateral dialog with the Russians over the past three years than any other single issue," said Stephen R. Sestanovich, ambassador-at-large and special advisor to the Secretary of State on newly independent states.
Russia is poised to launch a two-man cosmonaut crew back to the Mir space station next week to reactivate the 125-ton vehicle for commercial operations -- or prepare it for deorbit if the commercial venture fails. Success of the business strategy will depend on the condition of the 14-year-old station and whether MirCorp, which is partially funding the venture, can obtain more commercial users for downstream operations.
