Through its acquisition of Steyr Spezialfahrzeug, General Dynamics has obtained the production rights to a combat vehicle with a strong export potential, according to weapons analyst Dean Lockwood of Forecast International/DMS. Steyr Spezialfahrzeug manufactures the Pandur family of 6x6 combat vehicles (DAILY, Oct. 1), which are used by Austria, Belgium, Kuwait, and Slovenia. In May 1999 the U.S. Army awarded a $51 million contract for Pandur vehicles as part of its Armored Ground Mobility System program.
EO MARKET: Defense agencies worldwide are expected to spend nearly $12.8 billion over the next 10 years to develop and buy electro-optical (EO) technology, according to a new report from Forecast International/DMS. The report estimates that the annual production of electro-optical systems will peak at 63,589 in 2005, with an estimated total of 545,026 individual systems being produced through 2012.
Lockheed Martin will build 140 Block 1A Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) variants with unitary warheads under a $108 million contract awarded last week by the Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. The sole-source contract was initiated Aug. 25. Work is expected to be completed by the end of 2005. The ATACMS Block 1A missile, which is fired from the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) family of launchers, is a long-range, surface-to-surface artillery weapon.
SHADOW WEAPONS: Drop-type munitions would have to be used if the U.S. Army decided to equip the Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle with weapons, according to Frederick Strader, president and CEO of AAI Corp., which makes the Shadow. "Anything that would be more of a gun or missile, unless it's dropped first and then takes off, would be a real problem for the aerodynamics of the vehicle," Strader says. AAI is trying to develop a sensor payload package for the Shadow with a laser rangefinder that could be upgraded to a laser target designator, he says.
Oct. 6 - 8 -- Association of the United States Army 2003 Annual Meeting, "The Army - At War and Transforming," New Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.ausa.org. Oct. 8 -- Aviation Week's NetCentric Conference, National Press Club, Washington D.C. For more information contact Ryan Leeds at (800) 240-7645 x7 or go to http://www.Aviationnow.com/conferences.
The Senate agreed late Oct. 2 to amend the fiscal 2004 supplemental appropriations bill to buy 800 more "up-armored" High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs). The amendment, offered by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), provides $191 million for the additional vehicles, which have extra armor to protect against small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The supplemental already contained $177 million for 747 up-armored HMMWVs. Reed said his recent visit to Iraq convinced him that the vehicles should be procured at a faster pace.
The House Science Committee's space panel is expected to consider several space-related bills Oct. 8, including one aimed at clarifying which federal entity will regulate the emerging field of suborbital reusable launch vehicles (RLVs), congressional sources told The DAILY Oct. 3.
In a prelude to the release of its national strategy document later this year, the Defense Department's Joint Council on Aging Aircraft (JCAA) has identified its top 12 concerns, ranging from technical issues such as corrosion to management issues such as changing the way maintainers are trained to deal with older aircraft.
CRUISE MISSILES: Air Force Gen. Ralph "Ed" Eberhart, commander of Northern Command (NORTHCOM), says he is concerned that there is no clear "way ahead" for the U.S. to develop defenses against cruise missile attacks. Cruise missiles are a particularly difficult problem because unlike intercontinental ballistic missiles, they leave no "return address," are much easier to launch, and are relatively inexpensive. Although he says he thinks the wide-area surveillance provided by platforms such as the Missile Defense Agency's High-Altitude Airship (DAILY, Oct.
IN RESERVE: Russian President Vladimir Putin says the country retains a large supply of UR-100N missiles (NATO designation SS-19 Stiletto) that it will put on combat duty as older missiles are retired. "These rockets have not been on military duty for a single day, they have been kept dry, and ... in a certain sense they are new rockets, and the time frame of their possible use is very significant," Putin says. It's not clear what impact this could have on Russia's aerospace industry.
BOOSTER PROBLEMS? The Missile Defense Agency is encountering considerable difficulty in developing a new three-stage interceptor booster for its Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, according to a congressman who received a classified report on the program from the General Accounting Office. Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) says he is trying to declassify the report so he can release details on those problems. MDA is declining to comment on the report but insists it remains on track for deploying GMD by September 2004.
Two companies are working on a "robust scramjet" under Air Force contracts. GASL Inc. of Ronkonkoma, N.Y., and Pratt & Whitney's West Palm Beach, Fla., unit are involved in the five-year effort, aimed at making scramjet technology more applicable to weapons like missiles. Both companies have received task-order contracts of $49.4 million, with initial funding to each of several hundred thousand dollars.
The U.S. Air Force has exercised its first order for a Minotaur space launch vehicle from Orbital Sciences Corp. under the Orbital/Suborbital Program-2 (OSP-2) contract the company was awarded earlier this year. The OSP-2 contract is worth up to $475 million over 10 years (DAILY, Feb. 3). The order is for the launch of a classified payload scheduled to launch in 2005, Orbital Sciences said Oct. 2.
RAPTOR EQUIPMENT: REMEC Inc. of Del Mar, Calif., will supply 49 types of filters and modular integrated microwave assemblies for the F/A-22 Raptor's AN/APG-77 Fire Control Radar System, the company said Oct. 2. The work, for the F/A-22 radar low-rate initial production program, is being done under a $4.7 million contract from Northrop Grumman Corp. The company is scheduled to begin shipments in 2004 and complete deliveries in 2005. The work will be performed by REMEC's Defense & Space Group, based in San Diego.
Senate consideration of a $655 million proposal to equip commercial airliners with anti-missile devices could be delayed until at least mid-October because of a protracted debate over funding for Iraq's reconstruction. For the second straight day, the Senate Oct. 2 discussed an $87 billion supplemental appropriations bill to pay for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. But progress was slow, as lawmakers split over whether U.S. taxpayers should foot the bill for rebuilding Iraq.
The provisions of the Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Act of 2003 pertaining to the aerospace and defense industry survived an Oct. 1 markup by the Senate Finance Committee. The JOBS bill was introduced Sept. 18 by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), in response to threats by the European Union (EU) to levy more than $4 billion of trade sanctions against some U.S. exports (DAILY, Nov. 20, 2000).
COMPLETED BUY: General Dynamics has completed its buy of Austria's Steyr Spezialfahrzeug and its parent company, SSF-Holding GmBH, the company said Oct. 2. The company builds the Pandur family of wheeled combat vehicles and Ulan tracked infantry fighting vehicles and will generate about $230 million in sales in 2003, General Dynamics said.
NASA and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) signed a memorandum of agreement to exchange information and collaborate on "crucial matters affecting safety and mission success," NASA announced Oct. 2. The agencies will exchange information about safety and quality methodology and hold work groups, studies, analyses and supplier audit and assessment activities, NASA said. They also will share data on topics including mission assurance practices and risk in parts and materiel supply chains.
Although Northern Command (NORTHCOM) is preparing itself rigorously for another Sept. 11-style hijacking scenario, NORTHCOM commander Air Force Gen. Ralph "Ed" Eberhart said he is concerned about the possibility of "trigger hesitancy" on the part of pilots or air defense controllers who might have to shoot down a commercial jet.
NEW DELHI - India has decided to relinquish transponders on Thaicom-3 and Intelsat IS 702 satellites after the successful launch of its INSAT-3E satellite on Sept. 27. The INSAT-3E, developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was launched by an Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guiana (DAILY, Sept. 30) and is expected to become operational around Oct. 10. An ISRO official said about 16 leased C-band transponders on Intelsat IS 702 and seven on Thaicom-3 will be returned next month after the INSAT-3E becomes fully operational.
