The U.S. Air Force has proposed a $258 million cut in the Airborne Laser (ABL) program, a move that would slip the program up to two years and increase its cost by as much as $700 million, Pentagon, congressional and industry officials said. Senior Air Force leaders in closed meetings late Friday contemplated the cut, an internal USAF move to offset bills in a host of other programs, including personnel, readiness and infrastructure reductions, The DAILY was told by Air Force officials who requested anonymity.
Geo-Seis Helicopters, Inc., Fort Collins, Colo., is being awarded a $20,300,000 fixed-price contract for the services of two SA-330J Puma helicopters to provide ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore logistics services supporting a U.S. Navy combat stores ship (T-AFS class). This contract contains options, which, if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $31,200,000. Work will be performed in the Mediterranean Ocean and Atlantic Ocean areas of operation, and is expected to be completed by December 2002.
AlliedSignal Inc. said yesterday that it has agreed to acquire TriStar Aerospace Co. for $291 million. Acquisition of the Dallas-based company is part of AlliedSignal's strategy to grow its offerings in the aerospace consumable hardware and aftermarket services areas. TriStar, with annual sales of about $200 million and 500 employees in North America and Europe, provides fasteners, fastening systems and related hardware as well as just-in-time and automatic parts replenishment and other customized inventory management services.
An article in the Nov. 1 issue of The DAILY should have said that Lockheed Martin reported third quarter results that were lower than those of the previous year.
Raytheon Systems Company, McKinney, Texas, is being awarded a $21,088,988 modification to previously awarded contract N00383-98-G-006J to manufacture 41 spare parts for the AN/AAS-44 (V) radar system used on H-60 aircraft. The spares include radar turrets, electronic units, and hand controls. Work will be performed McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed by August 2001. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Inventory Control Point, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.
Northrop Grumman Corp., Melbourne, Fla., was awarded on Oct. 22, a $199,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, F19628-99-D-0012, to provide for ten Computer Replacement Program Retrofit Kits, associated installation and spares, for the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar Systems (JSTARS) aircraft. There was one firm solicited and one proposal received. Expected contract completion date was December 2001. Negotiation completion date was Oct. 14, 1999. Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, Mass., is the contracting activity.
The Arrow missile system intercepted a target for the third time yesterday, the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Army reported. It was the first complete system-wide test of the anti-tactical ballistic missile system, they said, adding that if the results are confirmed, it will be ready for fielding. The test, conducted in Israel at 11:42 a.m. Israel time, marked the seventh flight of the Arrow II.
TRW Tactical Systems, Systems&Information Technology, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $900,000 increment as part of a $17,768,503 modification to cost-plus-fixed-fee contract DAAH01-99-C-0003, for continuation of the contractor logistics support effort, including engineering support, flight operations support, and depot maintenance activity. Work will be performed in Sierra Vista, Ariz. (60%), and San Diego, Calif. (40%), and is expected to be completed by Oct. 29, 2000. Of the total contract funds, $900,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
L-3 Communications, Salt Lake City, Utah, is being awarded a $1,382,000 increment of a $12,892,000 modification to a section 845 prototype agreement for additional Tactical Common Data Link prototype terminals, Sensor Interface Definition tasking and development of the LAMPS Hawklink Ku-band prototype. The Government is funding $10,492,000 of the modification; the balance is cost-shared with L-3 Communications. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is expected to be completed by October 2001. Funds will expire at the end of the fiscal year.
The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) is assisting in the creation of a new non-profit association dedicated to the defense acquisition and technology business. The new Association of Defense Acquisition&Technology Professionals (ADATP) will be organized with its own board of directors to establish policy, but will share support and administrative structure with NDIA. Both are based in Arlington, Va.
The fifth production Northrop Grumman E-8C aircraft was delivered Oct. 21 to the U.S. Air Force's 93rd Air Control Wing at Robins AFB, Ga., a step toward doubling the size of the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) fleet. "Delivering four platforms of this incredible weapons system in one year, a 100% increase in the size of the fleet, will greatly enhance the capabilities available to the warfighter," said Col. Gary Connor, Joint STARS program director at USAF Electronic Systems Center.
Hyundai Space&Aircraft Co. Ltd., Seoul, has become Space Imaging's newest regional affiliate. The agreement was signed on April 27, but terms were not disclosed, Space Imaging said.
Declining earnings at Lockheed Martin claimed Peter B. Teets, president and chief operating officer, while James A. "Micky" Blackwell, executive vice president of aeronautical systems will retire after 30 years with the company. Lockheed Martin announced both changes on Friday.
Germany's DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (DASA) will no longer buy U.S.-made components because obtaining export approval is too difficult to provide a reliable supply, a company spokesman said Friday.
PROP MOD: Station engineers at Boeing and Marshall Space Flight Center are moving ahead with preliminary design review for the U.S. Propulsion Module, a backstop to the Russian Service Module scheduled to be stuck to the front of the Space Station in the fall of 2002, and earlier if required. The module is to provide as much as half of the reboost and collision avoidance capability for the Station for 10 years after the orbiting facility is completed, drawing as much as 9,000 pounds of propellant per Shuttle visit.
FIXING ATLANTIS: United Space Alliance technicians working on the Space Shuttle Atlantis have plenty of time to repair elevon push rods damaged in a testing mishap last week. Replacing the actuator rods, apparently bent when workers attempted to move the flaps while they were latched, will take "several days," NASA says, but Atlantis isn't set to supply the Russian Service Module on the International Space Station until Feb. 10 at the earliest.
NEW X-VEHICLE: NASA is tentatively planning to solicit proposals for another $100 million "Pathfinder" flying technology testbed next spring, with a contract award and authority to proceed expected by October 2000. Like its predecessors, the X-34 and X-37, the new vehicle will demonstrate advanced space transportation technology in its operational environment, although the agency hasn't decided whether that will be Earth-to-orbit like the X-34 or on-orbit like the X-37.
The Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle on Oct. 20 completed its first flight over water and beyond the continental U.S. The 24.8 hour mission took the UAV from Edwards AFB, Calif., to Alaska and back, the U.S. Air Force reported. "This mission was designed to demonstrate Global Hawk's long-dwell over-water capabilities in supporting multiple theaters of operation," said Lt. Col. John Wellman, chief of Joint Forces Command's Joint Reconnaissance Operations.
FlightSafety Boeing Training International LLC said it has broken ground for a 32,800-square-foot U.K. flight training center near London's Luton Airport. The London-Luton Regional Training Center initially will serve Monarch Airlines Limited, easyJet Airline Co. Ltd., and Britannia Airways, Ltd., all of which are based at the airport. FlightSafety Boeing will provide 737-300, 737-700/-800 and 757-200 full-flight simulators, classrooms, instructors and related services.
NASA's new Integrated Space Technology Plan (ISTP) includes a strong role for research into a "Shuttle-derived" vehicle to replace the existing fleet of four Space Shuttles, but those second-generation Shuttles would bear scant resemblance to Columbia, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour.
ACROSS-THE-BOARD CUT: Even if Congress makes an across-the-board cut in the fiscal 2000 budget, as voted by the House on Thursday, the Defense Dept. will still be ahead, according to the two top congressional appropriators. Even with the 1% cut, which Republicans say is required to protect Social Security funds, "the defense appropriations bill is still almost $2 billion above the level requested by the president," according to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and House Appropriations Committee Chairman C.W. "Bill" Young (R-Fla.).
Lockheed Martin announced third quarter losses Friday - earnings of $217 million on sales of $6.2 billion, down from earnings of $318 million on sales of $6.3 billion in the same period a year ago - and reaffirmed its lowered expectations for 2000.
AeroAstro, Inc., Herndon, Va., announced its acceptance in the Mississippi Space Commerce Initiative (MSCI), which funds commercial remote sensing research through an industry cooperative that includes nationwide member companies. MSCI is supported by matching grants from NASA of $3 million per year for five years.
