A congressional delegation and members of the Rumsfeld Commission briefed the Russian Duma on the ballistic missile threat posed by rogue nations to both Russian and American citizens. The commission reported last year that the U.S. could have little or no warning of a missile attack.
A link between the U.S. Army's Patriot missile system and the U.S. Navy's Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) system has completed its first round of testing. Prime contractor Raytheon Systems Co. unveiled the new link at the All Service Combined Identification Evaluation Team (ASCIET) exercise in Georgia. During the two-week exercise, the Patriot system exchanged data with an Aegis-class cruiser via links with P-3 aircraft and netted sensors.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Science space and aeronautics subcommittee, yesterday invited the aerospace industry to work with him to fix problems with the State Dept.'s slow handling of requests for satellite export licenses. He also came down hard on the industry for arguing that export licensing authority should be returned to the Dept. of Commerce. He said efforts to "float" the idea would be "the mother of all lead balloons."
Lockheed Martin has begun final assembly of the first of five KC-130J tanker aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps. The new planes will replace the KC-130s that entered the fleet in 1960. Deliveries of the KC-130Js are set to begin next year. "The KC-130J is an excellent example of how the basic C-130J enhancements can be fully exploited to dramatically improve the performance for this critical mission," said Gene Elmore, vice president of Hercules programs for Lockheed Martin.
HELLFIRE SYSTEMS, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, won a $6.7 million contract from the government of Turkey for 84 Hellfire II air-to-ground tactical missiles with an anti-ship warhead configuration. The order marks the first international sale of this configuration.
LOCKHEED MARTIN received a $32 million increase to its Phase 2 U.S. Air Force contract for the F-22 Raptor program. The additional money will cover redesign of 18 avionics components for continued procurement.
The U.S. Dept. of Defense has extended two worldwide satellite service contracts with Comsat Mobile Communications with a combined value of more than $5.7 million over the coming year, Comsat Corp. reported. The contract options cover low-priority communications with ships and remote land locations, and Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) radio broadcasts to Navy ships at sea.
The special House committee which investigated technology transfer to China plans to release an unclassified version of its findings within three weeks, Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.) told attendees at a Washington luncheon yesterday.
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), a subsidiary of Orbital Sciences Corp., will buy the robotics division of Canada's Spar Aerospace Ltd. for C$60 million (about US$53 million). Average annual revenue for the division is about C$80 million. Spar is best known for providing the Canadarm for the U.S. Space Shuttle and is building the Mobile Servicing System for the International Space Station.
March 19, 1999 Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Company, King of Prussia, Pa., is being awarded a $36,300,000 face value increase to a fixed-price-with-economic-price-adjustment contract to provide for retrofit upgrades to the Crosslink Transponder Data Unit on six Global Positioning System Block IIR spacecraft. Expected contract completion date is January 2001. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif., is the contracting activity (F04701-89-C-0073-P00182).
Bug-sized helicopters, lightsails for deep-space travel and new propulsion systems for planetary exploration are among the cutting-edge ideas picked for additional study by the new NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) that will be described at a technical session at the agency's Washington headquarters on Thursday.
From Commerce Business Daily: Posted in CBDNet on March 19, 1999; Printed Issue Date: March 23, 1999; PART: U.S. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENTS; SUBPART: SERVICES; CLASSCOD: A-Research and Development; OFFADD: R&D Contracting Directorate, Bldg 7, 2530 C Street, WPAFB, OH 45433-7607; SOL PRDA BAA NO. 99-02-SNK; DUE 050799; POC Contact Traci O. Dietz, Contract Negotiator, (937) 255-2976, or Contracting Officer, Nancy F.J. Stormer, (937) 255-5311
A Russian Proton rocket launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan orbited the U.S.-built AsiaSat 3S communications satellite early Sunday for Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong.
Bell Helicopter Textron and Bombardier Aerospace are prepared to take their vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to sea for separate shipboard demonstrations this year. The events, scheduled for this summer and February 2000, are the last steps before the technology demonstration becomes a Defense Dept. acquisition program. U.S. Naval Air System Command plans to release a request for proposals this August with low rate initial production and operational testing scheduled for 2002, a Navy spokesperson said.
Orbital Sciences Corp. faces at least 16 separate class action lawsuits filed since the company's announcement of accounting changes in February led to a dramatic drop in its stock price. In general the suits allege that Orbital issued false and misleading financial statements that inflated the value of its stock.
The Senate this week takes up the budget resolution passed last week by the Senate Budget Committee that adds $8.3 billion to the White House request for defense spending in fiscal year 2000. Both the Senate and House Budget Committees include the $8 billion increase (DAILY, March 18). The Senate measure adds $8.3 billion in budget authority to the president's $280.5 billion request, for a total of $288.8 billion.
The Senate Commerce Committee this week will hold a hearing on legislation geared to privatization of Intelsat, the quasi-governmental body that controls much of the satellite industry. Last month, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) introduced the Open-market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications (ORBIT) bill, which would privatize the industry using a combination of market incentives and penalties for failure to fully comply by Jan. 1, 2002.
From Commerce Business Daily: Posted in CBDNet on March 18, 1999; Printed Issue Date: March 23, 1999; PART: U.S. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENTS SUBPART: SERVICES CLASSCOD: A-Research and Development OFFADD: Commander, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Acquisition Center, Research Development and Engineering Center, Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898-5000; DUE 050399 POC POC Zina Atkinson, Contract Specialist, AMSAM-AC-RD-AY, (256)842-0742, Earnest L. Taylor, Jr., Contracting Officer, (256)876-7500
March 19, 1999 Allison Engine Co., Indianapolis, Ind., is being awarded an $8,827,710 firm-fixed-price, delivery order contract for 30 engines (250-C30R/3) and 18 engine containers (250-C30R/3) for the Kiowa Helicopter. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Ind., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 1999. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source contract initiated on March 10, 1999. The U.S. Army Aviation&Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (DAAJ09-97-D-0202).
From Commerce Business Daily: Posted in CBDNet on March 19, 1999; Printed Issue Date: March 23, 1999; PART: U.S. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENTS; SUBPART: SERVICES; CLASSCOD: A-Research and Development OFFADD: NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Procurement; Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812; SOL 8-1-9-EH-C2599 DUE 051999 POC Glynda H. Meeks, Contract Specialist, Phone (256) 544-0422, Fax (256) 544-4400, Email [email protected] - Valerie N. Holmes, Contracting Officer, Phone (256)544-0314, Fax (256)544-4400, Email [email protected]
Space Innovations Limited (SIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceDev Inc. of San Diego, will become the first non-Australian company to join the Cooperative Research Center for Satellite Systems (CRC), a joint venture of Australian industry, academia and government. The consortium intends to target emerging Asian markets for microsatellites.
3/17/1999 NASA JSC; Classification: CLASS 16; SOL 9-BE13-13-9-16P General Information - Solicitation Number: 9-BE13-13-9-16P; NAIS Posted Date: Mar 17, 1999; CBDNet Posted Date: Mar 17, 1999; Response Date: Mar 29, 1999; Classification Code: 16 - Aircraft components&accessories; Contracting Office Address NASA/Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston Texas, 77058-3696, Mail Code: BH
