Charles H. Gauck, corporate secretary and associate general counsel, has also been named a vice president of the company. William G. Wilson has been named president of Alliant Defense Electronics Systems, Inc.
Michael J. Daugherty has become executive vice president on a full-time basis, relinquishing his other position as senior vice president of the Space Systems Group. Joe M. Straus moves into the Space Systems Group post, advancing from vice president for Space Program Operations. The following appointments to the board of trustees were announced: Howell M. Estes, III (Gen. U. S. Air Force, ret.), former commander in chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command;
Heroux's Landing Gear Division won a contract from Boeing for the maintenance and repair of landing gear components for the KC-10, Heroux reported last week. If all options are exercised, the contract will be valued at about $35 million and will extend to fiscal 2007.
Sources in Moscow says Russia plans a total of about 50 space launches this year, including military missions, but that will happen only if the U.S. State Dept. eases the hardline stance it has adopted on Russian launch quotas as leverage in forcing compliance with nonproliferation agreements (DAILY, Jan. 28). Russian Space Agency chief Koptiev says his agency is overseeing 16 civil and 20 commercial flights this year, but the former is ambitious and the latter depends on the quota.
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker AFB, Okla., and its private partner Lockheed Martin have won the largest single competitively awarded repair and overhaul contract in U.S. Air Force history. The service awarded the San Antonio Air Logistics Center workload to the public/private partnership on Friday.
Boeing has started work on the 767-400ER at its Everett, Wash., facility, as workers began assembling the wing, the company reported last week. "We've never been better prepared to start building a new derivative airplane," John Quinlivan, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group program manager - 767-400ER, said in a statement. "In addition to the traditional design reviews, we've also held formal reviews for tooling and production readiness."
Tupolev's new short-haul Tu-334 airplane made its long-delayed first flight from Zhukovskiy airfield near Moscow on Feb. 8. The Tu-334 is a short-haul airliner designed to carry up to 102 passengers with a range of as much as 2000 kilometers (1,240 miles). It is intended to replace the obsolete Tu-134 and Yak-4, more than 400 of which are still in service in Russia and the CIS counties.
U.S. Strategic Command is getting ready to test a next-generation intrusion detection system that could provide early warnings of cyberattacks against the U.S. military. It's part of an $11 million Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration which speeds up the normal acquisition process by allowing warfighters to test prototype technologies.
Mary Jo A. Polidore has been named director of Communications at Lockheed Martin Electronics&Missiles in Orlando, Fla. Richard F. Crail, former Lockheed Martin managing director of Aeroplex of Central Europe, has been given the Szechenyi Commemorative Medal award by the Hungarian Government for contributions to that country's infrastructure.
Senate and House Appropriations panel leaders say they have no intention of letting the Clinton Administration cut the defense budget to cover the costs of the Wye Accord. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said the budget caps on defense spending already are presenting enough of a budget crunch. Several GOP members believe that if the White House wants funding for Wye it should send up a separate request to be considered by Congress, not raid the defense budget.
An Israeli judge last Monday ruled in favor of Israel Aircraft Industries in a suit against BVR Systems Ltd., forbidding BVR from taking any action that would cause IAI's share in a joint German Air Force project to be performed by any other party. In 1996 the two companies signed a contract with Germany's BGT to supply training systems for the German Air Force. IAI would supply the pod systems, while BVR would supply the ground station. The project experienced problems due to failure of a U.S. subcontractor partnered with BVR (DAILY, Dec. 16, 1998).
James R. Wilson, chairman and chief executive officer of Cordant Technologies Inc., has been elected chairman of the board of governors. Daniel P. Burnham, president and chief executive officer of Raytheon Company has been named vice chairman of the Board. John W. Douglass has been elected president and chief executive officer of AIA. George F. Copsey has been re-elected secretary-treasurer.
Several members of Congress have told the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization they will support a reconfigured Space-Based Infrared Low (SBIRS Low) program. One of the biggest problems in the SBIRS Low effort prior to the DOD announcement last week (DAILY, Feb. 11) has been fighting among the services on what requirements SBIRS Low should be able to meet, sources say. A follow-on may have a narrower operational requirements document.
The board of directors approved the following promotion: J. Kenneth Stringer III, from president and chief operating officer to president and chief executive officer.
Italy's Alenia Aerospazio has won the contract to build the International Station components likely to be the most popular with crewmembers. Under a 20 million Euro (about $23 million) contract with the European Space Agency, the company will build two windowed cupolas that will serve as control towers for robotic assembly operations. Measuring two meters in diameter by 1.5 meters high, each cupola will have six side windows and a skylight. The first will be attached to the U.S.-built "Unity" Node and the second to Node 3, both in 2003.
The Army has approved the Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for use at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, La. "It is important that we begin training the force to use UAVs," said Gen. Dennis Reimer, Army chief of staff. With a range in excess of 250 kilometers and eight to 12 hours of endurance, the Hunter is designed to provide real-time reconnaissance for corps and division commanders. Its mission at the Joint Readiness Training Center will focus on support of light forces in low to mid-intensity conflict scenarios.
Russia still plans to launch its long-awaited Service Module to the new International Space Station "in the third quarter," in keeping with NASA's latest Station assembly schedule (DAILY, Feb. 2, 8). But the new Russian space budget makes it more likely than ever that will be Moscow's final contribution as a full-fledged paying ISS partner. For fiscal 1999 Russia's federal space program, excluding military programs, is only 3 billion rubles - less than $150 million at current exchange rates.
GENERAL ELECTRIC CORP. won a $1.7 billion fixed-price, fixed-quantity award Friday from Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker AFB, Okla., to provide replenishment spares for the F110, F101, F118 and F108 series engines in support of the F-14, F-15, F-16, B-1, B-2, KC-135 and TR-1 aircraft. The contract extends through December 2012 and covers Air Force and Navy requirements plus foreign military sales to several countries.
