The Euromil partners launched development of a new 30-passenger twin-engine heavy helicopter, the Mi-38, at the Moscow Air Show in August, Pratt&Whitney Canada reported.
NASA MANAGERS expanded their probe into wiring problems on the Space Shuttle fleet yesterday, directing technicians to begin examining wire harnesses under the cargo bay floors on the four orbiters in search of fraying like that which caused two main engine controllers to shut down during the most recent Shuttle launch (DAILY, Aug. 13, 27). An agency spokesperson said it will be "a couple of weeks" before managers get a clear idea of when a return to flight will be possible, and noted that "technically no orbiter can be ready for launch before mid-October."
Researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are seeking private-sector input into two advanced projects they are conducting for NASA - a deep-space Internet that would link sensors aboard scientific probes with the "net" on Earth, and a two-and-a-half-pound micro-rover to explore the surface of an asteroid.
NASA has picked an advanced airship, an unpiloted flying wing and a Mach 3 pulse-detonation engine as projects for its "Revolutionary Concepts" (REVCON) effort to give a quick start to ideas that could lead to new kinds of aircraft. Overall the REVCON program, managed by Dryden Flight Research Center, plans to spend $21.1 million on the three projects through 2002. The agency's Office of Aero-Space Technology also plans to solicit new ideas for future REVCON projects as the first three mature.
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems, Gaithersburg, Md., won a three-year, $45.6 million contract to provide research and engineering services to support development of information warfare systems for the U.S. Navy's Information Warfare Mission Support (IWMS) program, the company reported. Including options, the contract could have a total value of $78.9 million.
The General Accounting Office says the Pentagon should buy fewer Raytheon AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapons (JSOWs) because the air-launched missile doesn't offer a notable improvement over other weapons already in the U.S. arsenal.
GENERAL ELECTRIC has won a $25 million contract to develop and demonstrate a next-generation engine for U.S. fighter aircraft, the Pentagon announced. The Joint Technology Demonstrator Engine program is a three-year effort to double the thrust-to-weight output of a turbine engine and reduce production and maintenance costs by a third. General Electric beat out Pratt&Whitney, which is building the F129 engine for the Joint Strike Fighter.
A U.S. Army intelligence officer reported growth in the number of land attack cruise missiles around the world, and said proliferation and use of the weapons could increase significantly in the next decade. "Land attack cruise missiles are continuing to gain popularity," Col. James Ward, an Army Space and Missile Defense Command intelligence official, said at an SMDC conference here on Aug. 24. "Producers are increasing and proliferation is likely."
NATO allies are not technologically behind U.S. military forces as some have charged, according to U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark, Supreme Allied Commander-Europe, who led the NATO air campaign against Yugoslavia. Procedures to buy common, precision weapons are in place, and the nations must follow through and commit the resources to buy needed equipment, he said.
DERLAN AEROSPACE CANADA won a three-year, $25.2 million order from Team Cormorant to supply of bolted main rotor heads for the GKN Westland Lynx helicopter. Work will be done in Milton and Cambridge.
NASA has recently funded several advanced propulsion research projects that may hold promise for getting spacecraft to the speeds that would be required for practical interstellar travel. Six grants awarded by the agency's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and another from NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts, all will support experiments and theoretical work aimed at punching out of the solar system with systems based on physical principals only dimly understood today.
Boeing and the U.S. Army have launched development of a new low maintenance rotor hub that will reduce operating costs for CH-47 Chinook helicopters, the company announced.
Shareholders of AlliedSignal Inc. and Honeywell Inc. approved the companies' proposed merger, the companies reported yesterday. AlliedSignal shareowners approved the deal and the related issuance of shares of common stock, with about 98% in favor of the proposal. AlliedSignal's shareowners also approved amending the company's certificate of incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of AlliedSignal common and preferred stock. About 76% of Honeywell voters were in favor of the merger.
GENERAL DYNAMICS completed its acquisition of GTE Government Systems Corp. for $1.05 billion in cash, GD reported yesterday. The company also named the current leaders of the three Government Systems businesses as unit presidents. The three business units are: General Dynamics Communication Systems, Taunton, Mass., Jerry DeMuro, president; General Dynamics Worldwide Telecommunication Systems, Needham Heights, Mass., Mike Chandler, president; General Dynamics Electronic Systems, Mountain View, Calif., John Stewart, president.
Funding deficiencies resulting from the extra cost of the Kosovo operations are likely to affect the U.K. Defense Ministry's procurement budget, according to unofficial reports circulating over the weekend.
COMSAT CHINA's new general manager and managing director is Sun Wen, Comsat International said. Sun will direct Comsat China's digital and satellite networking services throughout China. "Mr. Sun brings substantial hands-on industry experience and knowledge of China's telecommunications market," said Jim Welch, president and general manager of Comsat International, Bethesda, Md. "We believe Mr.
Boeing's 717-200 jetliner received joint certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities for the airplane's type design, Boeing reported yesterday. The FAA also granted production certification.
PanAmSat has urged the Federal Communications Commission not to be pushed into making a decision on giving Lockheed Martin the status it needs to move forward with a buy of Comsat. Lockheed Martin last month requested FCC approval of the "authorized common carrier" status that would allow it to purchase up to 49% of Comsat without legislative measures from Congress. Lockheed Martin gave the FCC a Sept. 18 deadline for its decision, warning that the deal could not go through otherwise.
The U.S. Navy took its first official step towards buying a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by formally asking contractors to submit proposals for a vertical take-off (VTOL) system that would also be used by the Marine Corps.
LOCKHEED MARTIN has given the go-ahead to ship the Lockheed Martin-Intersputnik's LMI-1 satellite to Kazakhstan for launch by a Proton rocket, following the lifting yesterday of a ban on Proton launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Proton had been grounded by Kazakh authorities since July 5, when a fire in the No. 3 engine on the big rocket's second stage led to a launch failure with a Russian Raduga satellite aboard that showered debris and toxic fuel over populated portions of the former Soviet republic (DAILY, July 7, 8).
The first major orders to be received by the Russian aerospace industry for some time, announced at the recent Moscow Air Show (MAKS '99), include an estimated $1.95 billion contract from China for up to 60 Sukhoi Su-30 multi-role two-seat long-range combat aircraft.
With major U.S. consolidation winding down in the U.S., the focus is shifting to Europe, both internally and in terms of transatlantic deals, and the defense industry has "been given almost all the clues to figure out how it will occur," industry analysts said.
A Boeing proposal to take over depot maintenance of the U.S. Army Apache helicopter fleet remains on the desk of Paul Hoeper, Army acquisition chief, while the service attempts to hash out the possible effects it could have on the military and business practices.
