The success of the second flight test of the Brimstone anti-armor weapon last month at Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz., was announced this week by Boeing Co. Three missiles, mounted on a smart three-rail launcher, make up the Brimstone system. The system tested included the Alenia Marconi Systems Brimstone missile with its advanced millimeter wave seeker and a launcher designed and manufactured by Boeing. The Harrier, Tornado and Eurofighter 2000 aircraft are to operate the missile.
Russia is standing down its Proton flight operations to upgrade engines in the big rocket's second stage, blamed for the past two Proton launch failures, and won't have upgraded engines ready until March 2000. The impact of that decision on the upcoming Proton launch of the critical Zvezda Service Module for the International Space Station, if any, won't be known until a General Designers Review here on Dec. 2, a NASA spokesperson said yesterday.
JAPAN AIR SYSTEM signed a 10-year maintenance program for JT8D-200-powered MD-80 aircraft with Pratt&Whitney Engine Services. The agreement covers 63 engines and is valued at almost $150 million. The work will be done at Pratt's facility in Columbus, Ga.
A third-stage rocket motor (TSRM) developed for the Navy's Theater Wide missile defense program completed a static test firing this month, Raytheon reported yesterday. The motor, developed by Thiokol Propulsion, Elkton, Md., is being tested for the Raytheon Standard Missile-3, which made its first successful flight on Sept. 23. The test firing was the fourth consecutive test of the flight-weight, two-pulse motor. Future tests are planned to integrate an attitude control system to verify the complete assembly configuration prior to flight.
Boeing is concentrating on making the 717-200 jetliner a "best-selling aircraft program," including consolidating production into a smaller part of its Long Beach facility. Jim Phillips, Long Beach Division VP, said, "Our aim is to make the 717 a wildly successful program that will last 20 years and sell at least 1,000 airplanes."
The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), built by Lockheed Martin, successfully flew its first engine-powered flight yesterday, the company announced. The advanced cruise missile was launched from a U.S. Air Force F-16, flying at Mach .7 at 15,000 feet above the White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The JASSM then deployed its wings and tail and, under control of its on-board computer for approximately 22 minutes, successfully accomplished maneuvers similar to those required for an attack mission, Lockheed Martin said.
Brazilian and Canadian officials yesterday traded barbed comments over a World Trade Organization ruling on aircraft subsidies in a dispute that could go beyond the aerospace industries of the two nations. Officials of both have asked the WTO to determine whether Brazil's Embraer and Canada's Bombardier have complied with rulings.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. will keep its Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., the company reported yesterday. We decided to continue our flight test operations in Florida after a thorough analysis of moving to other sites," Dean Borgman, president, said in a statement. "The West Palm facility best suits the company's needs in terms of cost, scheduling and performance. This decision is a positive development for the company and our employees."
Stellex Microwave Systems Inc., New York, will supply advanced millimeter-wave transmitters to Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control for use in the Longbow missile guidance systems, Stellex announced. The agreement is for the first two years of a five-year Longbow procurement by the U.S. Army. The transmitter order for the first year exceeds $13 million and will be shipped beginning in February 2000.
British Aerospace stock soared yesterday on the news of U.S. regulatory approval for BAe's acquisition of GEC's Marconi Electronic Systems. The stock was the strongest performer on the FTSE 100 index by 08:25 GMT, having risen 6.4%, Reuters reported. It said volume hit 2.2 million shares in active trading.
A Lockheed Martin Atlas IIA launch vehicle orbited the latest UFH Follow-On communications satellite for the U.S. Navy late Monday, bringing to 10 the number of the so-called "UFO" spacecraft launched. Monday's launch from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla., which came at 11:06 p.m. EST, followed a one-day delay while ground crews replaced the main battery on the Atlas. The original battery was pulled after it produced low voltage during a countdown for a launch Sunday night.
Airbus Industries' supervisory board is expected to give the European consortium the green light to start sounding out potential airline customers for its projected A3XX aircraft at its next meeting in December. A spokesman said that "all aspects" of the program will be examined at the meeting, which the French daily newspaper Le Monde said will be held Dec. 8. Airbus declined to confirm the date.
The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended to several government agencies that they participate in a task force to work on reducing the number of bird strikes by aircraft (DAILY, Nov. 23). It called for a "permanent bird strike working group to facilitate conflict resolution and improve communication between aviation safety agencies and wildlife conservation interests." The agencies the board recommended participate in the task force include the FAA, Agriculture, Defense, Interior and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Aerojet said it has signed an agreement to provide support for the TRW/Raytheon Space Based Infrared System Low (SBIRS Low), the low-Earth orbit component of the SBIRS system. Aerojet has primary responsibilities on the ground segment, systems engineering and space segment. The company will provide mission data processing, logistics, software, production planning and launch operations support for the SBIRS Low element of SBIRS, the next-generation ballistic missile early warning system.
NASA'S STENNIS Space Center ran another hot-fire test of the Rocketdyne linear aerospike engine late Monday, pushing the unique rocket engine to 75% of full power during the 18-second closed-loop test. The linear aerospike engine is the first of four to be tested for the NASA/Lockheed Martin X-33 reusable launch vehicle prototype, which has been delayed by the debonding of a composite liquid hydrogen tank in a separate test at Marshall Space Flight Center (DAILY, Nov. 5, 8, 9).
Some members of the House Intelligence Committee, before leaving for the year, told Defense Secretary William Cohen they remain worried about the possibility of future satellite launch failures. Three members - Michael N. Castle (R-Del.), chairman of the Intelligence Subcommittee on technical and tactical intelligence, Ranking Member of the panel Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) and Tim Roemer (D-Ind.) - urged Cohen in a letter Nov. 10 to meet DOD's Dec. 15 deadline of outlining preliminary steps to help prevent future failures.
TRW Inc. has delivered two adaptive nulling antennas for the sixth Milstar satellite to Hughes Space and Communications, the Redondo Beach, Calif.-based company reported yesterday. The antennas will provide the spacecraft's medium data rate payload with automatic protection against electronic jamming, detecting the jamming signal and nulling it without breaking the communications flow.
Brazil's Embraer said it will sell a minority stake in its component manufacturer subsidiary, Embraer Divisao de Equipamentos (EDE), to Germany's Liebherr International. The deal involves the sale of 49% of EDE, which manufactures landing gear and other components for Embraer. Other details were not announced. Last month, Embraer sold 20% of its shares for over $200 million to a French aerospace group consisting of Dassault Aviation, Aerospatiale Matra, Thomson-CSF and Snecma.
Rockwell International Corp., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is being awarded a $124,153,831 option to a firm-fixed-price contract, F34601-00-C-0042, to provide for 175 Pacer CRAG (Compass, Radar and Global Positioning System)/Ground Collision Avoidance System upgrade kits, 212 Interphone Modernization System upgrade kits, associated warranties, data, and program support for the program for the KC-135 aircraft. Approximately 5 percent of this effort supports foreign military sales to Singapore and Turkey. Expected contract completion date is March 2001.
Marconi Aerospace Defense Systems, Inc., Austin, Texas, is being awarded a $24,007,049 requirements contract, F42620-00-D-0004, to provide for repair support for the Heads-Up Display on the F-16 aircraft through Nov. 14, 2001. Solicitation issue date was Aug. 24, 1999. Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity.
Boeing Defense and Space Group, Wichita, Kansas, is being awarded a $46,173,000 modification to previously awarded contract F34601-97-C-0001-P00055, to provide for two Group A re-engineering kits for the RC-135 aircraft, associated engineering, and data; and six re-engineering kit installations (two for RC-135, two for KC-135A, and one for KC-135E). The two installations for the KC-135A support foreign military sales to Singapore. Expected contract completion date is Feb. 7, 2001. Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker AFB, OK, is the contracting activity.
United Technologies Corp., Springdale, Ark., is being awarded a $13,725,000 firm-fixed-price contract, F41608-00-C-0016, to provide for repair and overhaul of 900 turbine cases applicable to the F100PWA200/220E engines on the F-15 and F-16 aircraft. There was one firm solicited and one proposal received. Expected contract completion date is March 2001. Solicitation issue date was Oct. 26, 1999. Negotiation completion date was Nov. 12, 1999. San Antonio Air Logistics Center, Kelly AFB, Texas, is the contracting activity.
Saudi Arabia has completed the single largest financing ever supported by the Export-Import Bank, the bank said yesterday. The $1.94 billion deal, arranged by Chase Manhattan, will be used for the acquisition of 22 Boeing MD-90 aircraft, 11 Boeing 777-200 aircraft and two Boeing 747-400 aircraft. The entire financing amount is to be drawn before yearend, by which time all 35 aircraft will have been delivered. The deliveries are part of a 61-aircraft order - 29 MD-90s, 4 MD-11Fs, 23 777s and 5 747s - placed by Saudi Arabia in October 1995.
