The U.S. Air Force agrees with Congress that the Space-Based Infrared System Low (SBIRS Low) should be designed for missile defense but some of the other services do not, according to Air Force Secretary F. Whitten Peters. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), in a hearing Wednesday, criticized the Air Force for stalling progress on SBIRS Low.
Republican lawmakers, faced with little wiggle room in this year's budget resolution to increase defense spending above the White House's plans, have turned to the Kosovo supplemental as the key vehicle for boosting military procurement accounts. The Senate Budget Committee yesterday passed its fiscal year 2001 budget resolution, providing about $307 billion in defense spending, about $1 billion over the White House request.
Orbital Sciences Corp. said yesterday it will delay its final audited 1999 financial statements because its current and previous auditors have not agreed on how the company's launch vehicle costs should have been handled in prior years. At issue is about $15 million in costs for the company's Pegasus and Taurus rockets. The question is whether certain costs capitalized in 1995, 1996 and 1997 should have been expensed as incurred instead, Orbital said in a statement issued late yesterday.
The Preston Group, a unit of Boeing, sold its second Total Airspace&Airport Modeller (TAAM) license to MITRE Corp.'s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAAD). TAAM, a tool to support gate-to-gate simulation, will help aviation authorities evaluate operations, redesign airspace and make airport facilities more efficient overall. CAAD's second license will support efforts underway since 1998 to aid FAA analysis.
Delegates to a symposium in Bonn, Germany, rejected dependence on a single navigation technology in favor of retaining a diversity of systems as advanced navigational technologies become operational. Discussions at the March 22-23 symposium -- initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, organized by the German Institute of Navigation and supported by the Northwest Europe Loran-C System (NELS) inter-governmental consortium -- focused on determining the optimum mix of satellite and terrestrial systems to assure safety while minimizing costs.
PACIFIC AEROSPACE AND ELECTRONICS shareholders elected to issue enough common stock to allow conversion of all the company's Series B convertible preferred stock. Of the original 170,000 Series B preferred shares, the Wenatchee, Wash., company said, 85,067 have been converted into 4,609,738 shares at prices ranging from $0.95 to $3.27 a share.
Boeing engineers reviewing this month's failure of a Sea Launch Zenit rocket are leaning toward the explanation for the mishap developed by the company's Ukrainian and Russian partners in the international joint venture. Sea Launch said the Boeing experts had heard "strong evidence" that the failure was caused by a ground-system software error that failed to configure the rocket's second stage propulsion system properly before liftoff. Ukraine's KB Yuzhnoye, which built the Zenit, had already reached that conclusion (DAILY, March 27).
Two systems being developed for the Pentagon by Raytheon Co. for air traffic control have won approval to enter low rate initial production (LRIP), boosting the Dept. of Defense's air traffic modernization program, the company said.
Aerospatiale Matra and DaimlerChrysler are expanding their alliance with Nortel Networks, the world's second largest telecommunications company, to advance Internet capabilities. Nortel Networks is upping its stake in Nortel DASA Network Systems GmbH and Co. KG (Nortel DASA), the company's joint venture with DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, from 50% to 58%. In addition, Nortel's ownership in Matra Nortel Communications SAS (MNC), the joint venture with Aerospatiale Matra, will increase from 50% to 55% to boost high-performance Internet access In Europe.
Space Shuttle astronauts, plus one cosmonaut, are scheduled to return to the International Space Station in April to handle critical maintenance that might not wait until after the Russian Service Module arrives in July, and to try to get a little ahead on the work that will await future Station assembly crews.
First launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., of the new Lockheed Martin/International Launch Services Atlas III booster will be delayed about a month to mid-May to allow additional checks on its Eutelsat satellite payload and verification of a vent system on the launcher's Centaur upper stage.
Alliant Techsystems said it test-fired a Titan IV Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) booster last week using a new nozzle material. The test of the 11-story, three-segment space launch booster, conducted at Edwards AFB, Calif., lasted 140 seconds and generated 1.7 million pounds of thrust. "The test firing will provide the Titan IV program with a wealth of data to validate the performance of new materials that will be used in the booster's carbon-phenolic nozzle," said Dale Busath, Alliant Aerospace Propulsion's Titan program director.
A mobile Air Combat Training System is allowing U.S. Air Force pilots to maintain their skills while deployed to a combat theater of operations, according to Metric Systems Corp. of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., the manufacturer of the system.
The government of Italy has signed a contract with Lockheed Martin to buy two additional C-130J-30 aircraft and upgrade six already on order, the manufacturer announced yesterday. The aircraft upgrades will convert C-130Js already on order to the longer -30 version. Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics company executive vice president for customer requirements, said, "The longer version of the aircraft will give the [Italian air force] unparalleled capability in terms of flexible tactical and strategic airlift.
Lockheed Martin's Sanders, Nashua, N.H., working with the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Air Force Material Laboratory, has developed a high power infrared multi-band laser designed to fit the Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures (ATIRCM) system. The laser system, in the infrared spectrum where IR missiles' guidance units commonly operate, demonstrated simultaneous output of 5 watts in infrared band I; 0.5 watts in band II, and 5 watts in band IV, according to company executives.
Greater reliance on precision-guided munitions and reduced collateral damage are key for future warfighting strategies, according to officials of the U.S. Air Force's Air Armament Center, Eglin AFB, Fla. Lester McFawn, director of plans and programs at the center, said a key lesson from last year's Operation Allied Force was that precision-guided munitions are now the weapon of choice for the U.S. Air Force.
BAE SYSTEMS AVIONICS, Plymouth, England, will supply Kokusai Electric of Japan with crash protected enclosures for use in helicopter flight data recorders. The initial contract, BAE said, covers the first batch of enclosures and advanced procurement of material for the total requirement, the full value of which is expected to reach about $795,000 over a four-year period. Kokusai, BAE said, will populate the enclosures with their own electronics to provide the Japanese Defense Agency with flight data recorders for a number of helicopter programs.
Air Force Secretary F. Whitten Peters came under fire at a Senate hearing yesterday for defending the service's decision to cut the Airborne Laser (ABL) program despite vows made a year ago to fully fund the program. Peters told the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee that the Air Force had to cut ABL in this year's budget request "because of the high priorities of other items. But Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) blasted Peters for cutting a program that is on schedule and cost.
Aviation Groups jointly asked the FCC to thoroughly review issues related to GPS and ultra-wideband (UWB) communications and radar systems. They voiced concern over any activity that could interfere with use of GPS for navigation, positioning and timing. Domestic UWB applications can raise the noise floor in the band used by GPS at critical phases of flight, they said.
BFGoodrich, which has moved to acquire a big chunk of the ejection seat business, estimates it will deliver more than 400 seats during the next five years. The United Arab Emirates order for 80 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters contributed to what the company called a "healthy outlook." The seat has also been picked for the U.S. Air Force's F-22 program.
PACIFIC AEROSPACE&ELECTRONICS, Wenatchee, Wash., won new orders worth over $2 million for precision relays. The electronic aerospace switching devices will be used in both commercial and military applications, including communications, earth observation and military reconnaissance satellites. The space-qualified relays, manufactured by the company's U.S. Electronics Group, are expected to be delivered by the fall.
Raytheon Co. said it has delivered the primary and backup tracking, telemetry and command (TT&C) satellite ground systems to operate the Superbird-4 satellite.
Bombardier Aerospace's $2 billion-plus pact to build 94 CRJ200 and CRJ700 regional jets for two Delta Airlines subsidiaries, announced yesterday, will prompt the Canadian airframer to boost production rates and add 600 people. In addition to the firm orders, Atlantic Southeast Airlines and Comair took options on an additional 406 CRJs. After final approval is received, total CRJ aircraft ordered by the two Delta subsidiaries will reach 281, of which 125 have been delivered.
