Lockheed Martin and Rafael of Israel are showing the Python 4 short-range air-to-air missile at the Asian Aerospace 2000 exhibition in Singapore, courting potential Asian customers. "The F-16 market all over the world is our primary focus," David Lundquist, Python program manager for Lockheed Martin Electronics and Missiles, told The DAILY, "because there are lots of them out there" and as the jets are made by Lockheed Martin, system integration doesn't pose a problem.
PENTACON INC., Houston, Tex., will supply fasteners for Lockheed Martin military aircraft, missile and satellite manufacturing programs at 12 facilities around the country. The initial contract period, worth an estimated $10.8 million in revenues for Pentacon, covers six years of support for Lockheed Martin's Marietta, Ga., and Forth Worth, Tex., plants with a two-year term at the other 10 plants. Pentacon Chairman and CEO Mark Baldwin said the partnership is an important opportunity for the company "to diversify into the defense sector."
The pace of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) production should be accelerated, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization Director Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish has told lawmakers. "I am not satisfied we are building inventories as quickly as we should," Kadish said last week at a joint hearing of the House Armed Services Committee's panels on research and development and procurement.
Orbital Sciences Corp. is scheduled to launch an experimental Earth monitoring satellite Monday aboard its ground-launched Taurus rocket. Liftoff of the Taurus from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., is set for a window opening at 4:23 p.m. EST and closing and 4:50 p.m. EST. The solid-fuel rocket will carry the Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) spacecraft, developed by DOE's Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M.
Raytheon disclosed formation of a new partnership between its Missile Systems Div. and Germany's BGT to further the claims of its AMRAAM air-to-air missile and its beyond-visual-range derivative, BVRAAM, to orders of the U.K., Germany and other countries. The alliance, announced Wednesday in London, is based on 25 years of experience in co-development and co-production programs between BGT (Bodenseewerk) and the Hughes Aircraft and Texas Instruments units, now part of Raytheon.
The Senate, in a 98-0 vote, yesterday passed the Iran Non-Proliferation Bill of 1999, intended to punish Russia and other countries that assist Iran in development of weapons of mass destruction. The bill prevents the U.S. from providing financial assistance to help Russia build its portion of the International Space Station if the county continues to transfer technology to Iran (DAILY, Feb. 24). This version of the bill takes a softer stance on punishing Russia than some lawmakers initially wanted.
L-3 COMMUNICATIONS completed its purchase of Raytheon Co.'s Training Devices and Training Services (TDTS) unit for $160 million. The division, dubbed L-3 Communications Link Simulation and Training, is expected to be accretive to L-3's fiscal 2000 earnings.
French Defense Minister Alain Richard made his first comprehensive statement in Washington this week on the European Security and Defense Initiative (ESDI) after eight months of "open consultation" among European Union members.
Boeing Co. and BFGoodrich Aerospace Aviation Services plan to establish a Landing Gear Overhaul alliance to provide customers with a cost-effective resource for repairs and overhaul, according to a Letter of Intent signed by both companies. The agreement follows announcement of a deal between BFGoodrich Aerospace and Rockwell Collins to provide airlines with a range of equipment, parts and maintenance services (DAILY, Feb. 24).
Matra BAE Dynamics debuted its Vertical Launch Mica, a short-range air defense system designed to simultaneously take on multiple targets, regardless of weather or electronic warfare conditions. The Vertical Launch Mica is an "all-weather fire and forget missile" with thrust vector control (TVC). It is capable of a high firing rate and platform integration is straight forward, the company said.
West Indian Space Ltd., an Israeli/U.S. joint venture that plans to begin selling images collected by a commercial version of Israel's Ofeq military reconnaissance satellites, has already booked some $286 million in government business and hopes to double that by the time its first satellite gets off the ground, according to the company's chief executive officer. Steve Wilson told The DAILY yesterday his company's "national security" customers will underpin its plans to sell high-resolution black-and-white imagery to all comers via the Internet.
Matra BAe Dynamics won a $379.26 million, eight-year contract to supply the final lot of Seawolf missiles to the U.K.'s Royal Navy, a deal that the British government said is expected to secure the jobs of 300 workers at MBD and its U.K. subcontractors.
House Appropriations Committee leaders have asked the General Accounting Office to review the U.S. military's inventory of spare parts and report on any shortages or other problems.
Boeing Co. said it has organized a "New Ventures" activity to exploit emerging areas in the global aerospace market, such as e-business initiatives. Phil Condit, Boeing's chairman and CEO, noted the new program will enable the company to take advantage of opportunities created by the "intersection of technology and market dynamics" and provide "an incubator" for e-commerce ideas.
ISRAEL has inked a letter of offer and acceptance with the U.S. Dept. of Defense to remanufacture 12 Apache helicopters into the AH-64D configuration, Boeing Co. said. This is the first step in the procurement process between the two governments, according to Boeing.
John M. (Mike) Lounge, a Space Shuttle astronaut who serves as executive vice president of Spacehab Inc.'s Johnson Engineering unit, will head Spacehab's program to develop a commercial module for the Russian side of the International Space Station. As program manager for the "Enterprise" module, Lounge will be responsible for managing contracts with Russia's RSC Energia and others building the pressurized module, and for working with potential customers to see that the module meets their requirements.
Names and titles of two executives named to the board of directors of Ducommun Inc., Los Angeles, were reversed in The DAILY of Feb. 22. Eugene P. Conese Jr. is president and chief executive officer of Aero Capital LLC, a private investment and holding company. Ralph D. Crosby Jr. is president of the Integrated Systems and Aerostructures Sector of Northrop Grumman Corp.
The Senate today is expected to pass a new version of the Iran Non-Proliferation Bill of 1999 that would punish Russia and other countries which offer to help Iran in the development of weapons of mass destruction. The bill prevents the U.S. from providing financial assistance to Russia to build its portions of the International Space Station if Moscow continues to transfer technology to Iran. Under the bill, the Russians must demonstrate a sustained commitment to non-proliferation.
Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten Peters believes Congress will support the F-22 fighter program this year, but cautioned that the quantity should not be cut any further. "I think 333, which is the current number, is realistically how low you can go if you want an air-to-air capability," Peters said, speaking before a group of Air Force officers and media at a breakfast on Capitol Hill last week. "Any further cut is simply going to exacerbate the problem with rising unit costs."
China's air force is shifting from its original strategy of "active defense" to one that combines "defense with offense," its commander said at a conference here. "China will never invade or threaten any sovereign state," said Lt. Gen. Liu Shunyao, "but it will definitely not allow any other country to invade [it]." He said the shift is being made to better implement the goals of active defense.
Engineered Support Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: EASI), for first quarter of fiscal 2000 ended Jan. 31, reported a 206% boost in revenues to $86.5 million versus $28.2 million, and a 267% increase in funded backlog to $364.429 million.
South Korea's Samsung tapped TRW Inc. to supply 10 prototype Power Take-Off (PTO) shafts for the KTX-2, the supersonic trainer and light attack aircraft co-developed and produced by Lockheed Martin and Samsung. TRW Aeronautical Systems said it is the market leader in drive systems, supplying to "95% of the fighter and bomber aircraft in the Western world." South Korea has indicated plans to purchase 94 KTX-2s. First flight is expected next year. Export sales could reach 500 to 700 units if the aircraft replaces the U.S. Air Force's T-38.
