Deserts could become sources of biofuel, based on research conducted by Boeing and partners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The research has shown that saltwater-tolerant plants called halophytes, grown in coastal deserts and fed by seawater, can produce biofuel “more efficiently than other well-known feedstocks,” Boeing says.
EXODUS: One of the U.S. aerospace and defense industry’s most powerful advocates on Capitol Hill, Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), will leave Congress after this year when the next session of lawmakers take their seats. Moran is a senior member of the House defense appropriations panel. His retirement announcement follows other looming congressional departures affecting aerospace and defense. Neighboring Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), a key NASA appropriator, is also retiring. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) has just taken over the defense subcommittee for the late Rep.
As the U.S. Navy invests heavily in Aegis combat system upgrades, especially for ballistic missile defense, international interest in the system is growing, according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin. “A number of countries have approached the U.S. and Navy,” says Doug Wilhelm, Lockheed’s director of international programs. There are now 14 international ships outfitted with Aegis, Wilhelm noted during a media briefing last week. With the recent deal to equip Australian ships, the total will be 22.
Deserts could become sources of biofuel, based on research conducted by Boeing and partners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The research has shown that saltwater-tolerant plants called halophytes, grown in coastal deserts and fed by seawater, can produce biofuel “more efficiently than other well-known feedstocks,” says Boeing.
While the U.S. Navy still plans heavy investments in its more traditional fleet of destroyers, cruisers and carriers, top service officers are touting new classes of surface ships meant to carry more assets — especially aircraft — to the fight. The Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB), Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) and Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) are all getting quite a bit of attention from Navy officials.
LONDON — Airbus Helicopters is carrying out final tests on an upgrade to its real-time monitoring of the EC225’s bevel gear vertical shaft, which caused the type to be grounded for nine months during 2012 and 2013.
NAVY Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc., Monroeville, Pa., is being awarded a $593,104,854 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for naval nuclear propulsion components. The work will be performed in Monroeville, Pa. (66%), and Schenectady, N.Y. (34%). No completion date or additional information is provided on naval nuclear propulsion program contracts. Fiscal 2014 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-14-C-2101).
China has begun flight testing a high-bypass ratio turbofan that will greatly improve the performance of the Y-20 heavy airlifter and potentially power the C919 commercial aircraft. The engine is the WS-20, according to local media that have published photographs of it in the left inboard position of an in-flight Ilyushin Il-76 used as a testbed. WS-20 is believed to be the military name of the powerplant, which has also been called SF-A for civil purposes.
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy needs to explore more ways to use simulation technology to help qualify its officers and sailors, says U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Thomas Copeman, commander of the Naval Surface Force and U.S. Pacific Naval Surface Force. Current simulation technology is helping train the service’s personnel more efficiently and affordably for combat and other operations for ships, such as DDG-51 Arleigh Burke destroyers, Copeman said Jan. 15 at a media briefing during the 2014 annual Surface Navy Association Symposium.
LONDON — The cost of damage to U.K. military aircraft caused by a freak hailstorm at Kandahar AB in Afghanistan is likely to top £10 million ($16.3 million), defense ministry officials have revealed. The incident had a major effect on U.K. in-theater air operations.
LONDON — Switzerland will hold a national referendum in May on whether the country should purchase the Saab JAS-39E Gripen fighter. Voters will go to the polls on May 18 to determine if the purchase of 22 Gripens—to replace the country’s aging Northrop F-5 Tigers—should go ahead. The referendum was called after opponents of the deal collected more than 50,000 signatures to force a national vote on the 3.1 billion Swiss franc ($3.3 billion) program.
OMNIBUS PASSED: In overwhelming and unusually rapid fashion, U.S. lawmakers have passed the fiscal 2014 omnibus appropriations bill. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill before Jan. 19, averting another government shutdown and funding the government through September. The almost evenly divided Senate passed the measure late Jan. 16 by 72 to 26, with 17 Republicans joining 55 majority Democrats and Independents in favor. The House of Representatives passed the bill Jan. 15 by 359 to 67, with just 64 majority Republicans and three Democrats voting against it.
With this month’s crash of a Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet, the family of F-18 Hornets and Super Hornets continues to lead U.S. Navy aircraft in terms of total Class A mishap costs, an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) analysis of service accident data shows.
The bipartisan spending bill approved by the U.S. House and Senate — expected to be signed by President Barack Obama over the weekend — will add 20 Airbus Helicopters UH-72As to the U.S. Army’s plans for fiscal 2014, carrying the production line through the middle of next year, according to an Airbus Group official. However, the company still is in a race to secure orders and keep the production line busy.
China’s test of a hypersonic missile last week is only part of a wider trend, says Adm. Samuel Locklear, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. Separately, officials in Beijing and Washington confirm reports of the test. Although the move foreshadows greater challenges for defense systems of China’s adversaries, Locklear says: “The hypersonic test is just one of the things being looked at [when considering] implications for the future.
NASA expects almost $800 million over post-sequestration 2013 funding levels under the 2014 omnibus, allowing the agency to maintain its ongoing space and aeronautics activities without an apparent need for major changes. One question remains: whether $696 million for the Commercial Crew Program is enough for flights to the International Space Station (ISS) beginning in 2017 as planned. NASA managers have said they need the full 2014 request, $821 million, to stay on schedule.
As South Korea strives to build an industry that can independently make complete aircraft, it is achieving the most progress in helicopters. And it is the South Korean army, not the air force, that is offering the most support.
