The NATO air campaign over Yugoslavia proved that air superiority remains a basic precondition for successful military operations, according to a report released yesterday by the Eaker Institute, a think tank affiliated with the Air Force Association.
ATLANTIC COAST AIRLINES ordered 25 more Fairchild Dornier 328 jets to be delivered from April 2000 through 2002. It took options for 30 more 328s or 428s.
Eaton Corp. is restructuring and consolidating its aerospace product lines to reduce overlapping capacity and realign its businesses by product family, Eaton reported. It also will sell its space components business and close its El Segundo, Calif., plant. The restructuring, a result of the acquisition of Aeroquip-Vickers Inc. in April, is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
Boeing Co., Kent, Wash., is being awarded an $8,825,070 modification to a previously awarded contract N00014-98-C-0127 for the integrated optical analog-to-digital converter. Boeing Company will develop a practical implementation of next generation analog-to-digital signal converter technology. Converting analog signals to high-resolution digital signals at rates significantly faster than currently available is considered the model for open system architectures for military platforms. With this modification, the cumulative value of this contract is $9,418,615.
Lockheed Martin Logistics Management, Greenville, S.C., is exercising an option to a $26,554,029 fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract, F41689-97-C0504-A00068, to provide for FY 2000 aircraft maintenance and related services in support of Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training in the T-37, T-38, and AT-38B aircraft. Expected contract completion date is Sept. 30, 2000. The 82nd Contracting Squadron, Sheppard AFB, Texas, is the contracting activity.
Orbit F/R Inc., agreed to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania charges of illegally selling technology to China. The company, based in Horsham, Pa., faces fines of up to $600,000 and could be banned from exporting products for up to ten years. The exact length of time is up to the Departments of Commerce and State, according to a U.S. attorney involved with the case. Orbit/FR also agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation of the matter, and further charges are expected to be filed against individuals.
Germany's top aerospace research organization plans to focus only on those areas where it holds an edge over most of the international competition or can gain it, leaving fields where it is weak to competitors as it tries to make the most of a flat budget, according to the organization's chief. Walter Kroell, chairman of the executive board of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) told a Washington audience yesterday his agency's DM 1.5 billion annual budget isn't like to grow for the foreseeable future in the present political climate.
Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $5,169,264 modification to previously awarded contract N00019-98-C-0114 for long lead items associated with the manufacture and delivery of 15 FY 2000 T-45 training systems. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed in September 2002. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics realigned its senior management responsibilities, in part due to early retirement of Senior Vice President Michael W. Wynne, the company reported yesterday. The company also outlined management responsibility for its four business groups: Information Systems and Technology, Combat Systems, Marine Systems, and Aerospace.
New Skies Satellites N.V., the commercial communications satellite spinoff set up by the Intelsat consortium last year with six existing spacecraft, has bought its first new satellite - a Lockheed Martin A2100 AX.
PRC, Inc., McLean, Va., is exercising an option to a $5,570,547 fixed-price-incentive contract, F05604-96-C-9004-P00026, to provide for FY2000 operation, maintenance, and logistical support of the Ground-Based Electro Optical Deep Space Surveillance System (GEODDS). Expected contract completion date is Sept. 30, 2000. The 21st Contracting Squadron, Peterson AFB, Colo., is the contracting activity. River, Md., is the contracting activity.
France's Dassault Aviation said in Paris yesterday that it was interested in acquiring a minority stake in Brazil's Embraer. A Dassault spokesman said that "there are a lot of issues still on the table," and that a final decision is unlikely for at least the coming week. The French company suggested earlier that the purchase might be made jointly with "an Anglo-Swedish group," but in Stockholm, Saab denied that it was interested in Embraer.
Sverdrup Technology, Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn., is exercising an option to a $29,887,478 cost-plus-award-fee contract, F08650-98-C-0035-P00012, to provide for FY2000 operation, maintenance, and sustaining engineering of launch and spacecraft service systems at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. Expected contract completion date is Sept. 30, 2000. The 45th Contacting Squadron, Patrick AFB, Fla., is the contracting activity. River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems and Aerostructures Sector (ISA), Melbourne, Fla., will lead a joint venture to pursue re-engining work on 707 aircraft, the company reported Friday. The team is comprised of United Technologies' Pratt&Whitney Large Military Engines Division, West Palm Beach, Fla., and Seven Q Seven Inc., an aircraft development company based in San Antonio, Tex. ISA will be the prime contractor.
Sonalysts, Inc., Waterford, Conn., is being awarded a $25,566,130 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for systems analysis and systems engineering services to provide large-scale naval warfare simulation support for command, control, communications, computer and intelligence (C4I) system research and development and command/control training.
Boeing North American, Inc., Electronic Systems and Missile Defense, Anaheim, Calif., is being awarded a $15,607,000 time and materials contract for design agent and technical engineering services for the AN/USQ-82(V) data multiplex system/fiber optic data multiplex system (DMS/FODMS). The An/USQ-82(V) DMS/FODMS is a complete ship's information transfer system used to transfer data to and from the navigation system damage control, alarm, propulsion plant, steering and various other systems. Work will be performed in Anaheim, Calif.
BACK TO BACK technical glitches twice thwarted Japan's efforts to launch its latest H-2 rocket over the weekend, delaying the planned mission to launch a satellite until later in the week. Problems began on Friday when a cable detached from the Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT) atop the H-2, leaving a one-centimeter scratch on the fairing. After repairs, a fuel-depletion sensor developed problems, forcing another delay on Sunday, according to the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA).
Boeing Co., Seattle, Wash., is being awarded an $11,480,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the integration, installation, and test of the multi-functional display system, and a flight management system for 16 E-6B production aircraft; the design and fabrication of one operational flight trainer and one integrated avionics trainer; training services; contractor engineering technical services; integrated logistics support; four spare sets; and data. Work will be performed in Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. (50%); Wichita, Kansas (35%); and Seattle, Wash.
Rocketdyne Technical Services Company, Albuquerque, N.M., is exercising an option to a $7,700,000 cost-plus-award-fee contract, F05604-95-C-9011-P00072, to provide for FY 2000 Operation, Maintenance, and Support and Research and Development at the Maui Space Surveillance System, Maui, Hawaii. Expected contract completion date is Sept. 30, 2000. The 21st Contracting Squadron, Peterson AFB, Colo., is the contracting activity. River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Raytheon Systems Company, Aircraft Integration Systems Segment, Waco Operations, Waco, Tex., is being awarded an $8,194,079 firm-fixed-price contract for the design, fabrication, and integration of cryptographic modification kits for 10 E-6B Airborne Command Post aircraft, two laboratory assets, and one trainer, including training, training material, a Logistics Management Information Program and data. Work will be performed in Waco, Texas, and is expected to be completed by September 2000. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
ROLLS-ROYCE has won a maintenance contract for the V2500 engines powering British Midland's new fleet of Airbus A320 series aircraft. Rolls said yesterday that the contract is worth $64.8 million over ten years. The work will take place at East Kilbride, near Glasgow. Rolls said the facility already handles the Tay, which powers British Midland's fleet of Fokker jets.
Pacific Century Group of Hong Kong and Daimler Chrysler Aerospace AG formed a joint venture company to provide end-to-end broadband connectivity via space-based and terrestrial distribution networks, the companies reported yesterday. Pacific Century holds 70% of the new Pacific Century Matrix Ltd (PC Matrix), with DASA holding the remaining 30%. The joint venture will locate its operations center in Hong Kong. The primary objective is to provide and operate end-to-end connectivity networks.
NASA and the Air Force battened down yesterday for the arrival of Hurricane Floyd at Cape Canaveral, Fla., where all four U.S. Space Shuttles and six big expendable launch vehicles - four of them erected on launch pads - were threatened by the powerful storm. Although Floyd's eye was not predicted yesterday to be headed directly ashore near the Cape Canaveral Air Station and Kennedy Space Center, the 155-mph winds it packed would be more than a match for many space-related structures if it comes close enough to strike a glancing blow at the coast.
NASA managers have leapfrogged an emergency mission to replace the aging gyros on the Hubble Space Telescope ahead of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission as the schedule for the Space Shuttle fleet continues to shift for wiring inspections and repairs.
