Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter team completed a hardware-in-the-loop test of infrared signature and countermeasure concepts in the Air Force Electronic Warfare Evaluation Simulation (AFEWES) facility at Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Fort Worth, Tex., the company reported Friday.
Sweden moved last week to cut defense spending by 12 billion crowns ($1.5 billion) between 2002-2004. A formal proposal, which could cut military spending by about 10% per year, will go to parliament on March 10. A vote would follow in May, but details of where the cuts would come from would not be made until later in 1999.
British Harrier fighters made their first operational patrol over Iraq on Wednesday. The radar-equipped Sea Harrier FA.2s flew from the Royal Navy carrier HMS Invincible, which recently arrived in the Persian Gulf. No opposition was encountered from Iraqi air defense fighter or missile forces, and the British Aerospace Harriers, which are optimized for all-weather interception roles, completed an uneventful mission.
Industrial representatives from Denmark, Norway and Sweden signed a letter of intent to cooperate and an industrial consortium to collaborate on the Viking submarine project, Sweden's Celsius reported. The Viking Industrial Group is comprised of Denmark's Danyard Aalborg AS, Norway's Kongsberg Defense&Aerospace AS, and Celsius' Kockums Naval Systems. Project Viking is designed to procure next-generation subs for the three countries, with preliminary and feasibility studies underway.
U.K.-based Britten-Norman Group, long-term makers of BN-2 Islander, Turbo Islander and Defender 4000 light utility twins, have announced acceptance by the Romanian government of its tender for the acquisition of the Romaero SA aircraft production and repair facility, near Bucharest. A design, manufacturing and overhaul company dealing with a wide range of aircraft for some 75 years, Romaero has also built more than 500 Islanders for Britten-Norman on its 74-acre site at Baneasa Airport over the past 30 years.
Proposals for Europe's Future Transport Aircraft were submitted Feb. 1. Boeing is offering the C-17, Lockheed Martin is proposing the C-130J, and European manufacturers involved in the Future Large Aircraft (FLA) project are submitting a proposal under the umbrella of Airbus Industrie. A decision is expected early next year. Requests for proposals were released on July 31.
Rolls-Royce expanded repair and overhaul support for its AE3007 engines by opening a test and rework center at Rolls-Royce, East Kilbride, Scotland. The new facility is the third - and the first in Europe, after existing bases in Montreal, Canada and Sao Paulo, Brazil - certified to handle the engine, which powers Embraer RJ145, RJ135 and Citation X aircraft. East Kilbride already has test and rework capability for the Rolls-Royce AE2100 powerplant for Saab 2000 and Lockheed Martin C-130J aircraft.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense wants information from industry on the idea of replacing the Royal Air Force's refueling aircraft with a fleet of privately financed tankers. A Request for Information issued by the MOD is the first step in establishing the feasibility of the idea. The MOD said there was "strong interest" in privately designing, supplying, managing, operating and funding a fleet of planes to replace the RAF's aging VC10s and TriStars under the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) program.
Although British Aerospace's acquisition of GEC-Marconi defense interests still awaits completion, further negotiations are in progress, according to British press reports, for BAe to buy a significant share of South Africa's state-owned Denel defense industrial group. BAe had no comment, but it would be a logical move following its win of a major share of South Africa's recent $3.3 billion military aircraft program.
Seven big international defense competitions are scheduled to be decided this year, according to Merrill Lynch's Byron Callan. Lockheed Martin's F-16 won the United Arab Emirates' competition for a new fighter last year, but the competition is still on Callan's list because the contract has not yet been signed.
HEICO CORP.'S Ground Support Group (GSG) acquired the Radiant Power products business of Derlan Inc., Santa Ana, Calif., for $6.5 million in cash. Radiant makes backup power supplies and battery packs for commercial aircraft applications, including emergency exit lighting systems, emergency door assist systems, emergency fuel shut-off systems, on-board flight computers, cockpit lighting dimmers and power inverters. The business has sales of about $4.4 million in 1998.
Europe needs to "speak with more authority and act with decisiveness in international affairs," says Doug Henderson, the U.K. Armed Forces Minister. He tells the Norwegian Atlantic Committee in Oslo that "We need to develop a more effective European military capability. And we must be able to back up our policies with military action when necessary." He also says, however, that NATO "is, and must remain, the chosen means for its members' collective defense."
House and Senate aides predict any moves to lift the caps on defense spending won't be easy. Senior defense committee leaders already have started meeting with their colleagues on the budget committee, but no quick solution is at hand. SASC Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) says he met last with Senate Budget Committee Chair Pete Domenici (N.M.) to make a case for lifting the caps. But the bigger issue may be resolving topline and priority differences between the House and Senate Budget Committees.
An outside panel of experts has recommended NASA take steps to halt the graying of its technical workforce before the agency begins losing the skills it needs to fly humans into space safely. In its annual meeting with top NASA officials Thursday, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) said it had found that while the U.S. space agency seems to be addressing safety adequately today, issues like the loss of technical skills could threaten safety five or 10 years from now. It blamed the problem on declining budgets and the agency's response to them.
NASA is forming a systems management organization under the auspices of Chief Engineer Daniel R. Mulville to establish requirements for new hardware the space agency is developing. Administrator Daniel S. Goldin tells the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) that each field center will have a systems management function reporting to Mulville and their center director that will vet hardware requirements down to the component level.
NASA's topline budget is planned to stabilize at about $13.7 billion in fiscal 2001 after a slight dip in FY '00, to a requested $13.6 billion. Spending on the International Space Station is to peak in FY '00 at $2.483 billion, and then drop steadily until it reaches about $1.6 billion in FY '04, according to NASA's budget submission to Congress. Space Shuttle operations will consume a little more money in the out-years as Station assembly gains steam, but the big winner as Station development winds down will be space science.
Lockheed Martin was the Dept. of Defense's top contractor for the third straight year, winning $12.3 billion in contracts from DOD in fiscal year 1998. Boeing, according to a list released Friday by the Pentagon, stood second at $10.9 billion, followed by Raytheon ($5.7 billion), General Dynamics ($3.7 billion), Northrop Grumman ($2.7 billion), United Technologies ($2 billion), Textron ($1.8 billion), Litton ($1.6 billion), Newport News Shipbuilding ($1.5 billion) and TRW ($1.3 billion).
CIA officials, in closed door briefings with members of the House last week, said North Korea's Taepo Dong II missile, with a 200-kilogram payload, could hit the U.S. heartland, some members report. With a 100-kilogram payload, it could hit Washington, D.C., they say. "North Korea will soon be able to hit our Midwest and we are determined to remove this missile threat as soon as possible," says House Majority Leader Dick Armey. Flight tests of the missile, which complements the shorter range Taepo Dong I, could begin this year.
Alcatel Space plans to pick launch services providers for the SkyBridge constellation in the second half of 1999, according to Jean-Claude Husson, president and CEO. Husson tells reporters his company has started discussions with Boeing, International Launch Services, Arianespace and China Great Wall for rides to low Earth orbit for the 80 planned SkyBridge broadband satellites, and is eager to explore the capabilities of new vehicles just coming on line as well as tested launchers.
U.S. OPERATORS of 1,140 Boeing 737s were ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration to shield and separate fuel tank wires from adjacent wiring, and modify the fuel vent system by installing flame arrestors and pressure relief valves, an effort that would cost a total of $24 million, or $21,180 per aircraft. Some 2,780 of the airliners are in the worldwide fleet. The FAA said its order includes all electrical circuits associated with the control or indication of fuel quantity. It turned down requests to withdraw or delay the rule pending further testing.
General Dynamics, spurred by gains in its Marine Systems segment and its new Information Systems and Technology segment, posted a 14.4% gain in earnings in 1998. GD said it turned a profit of $364 million in 1998 on 22% higher sales of $4.97 billion. In 1997, the company posted earnings of $316 million on sales of $4.06 billion.
NASA has slipped the planned launch date of the Chandra Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) three months to allow time for technicians to rebuild, change and test faulty circuit boards found in the big space telescope last month just before it was packed for shipping to its Kennedy Space Center launch site.
Lockheed Martin may be up against a cost overrun of about $100 million on its Joint Strike Fighter program, industry sources said. The development comes as the other JSF competitor, Boeing, moves to revamp its design (DAILY, Feb. 5), which may increase the cost of that effort too.
