U.S. AIR FORCE United Launch Services, L.L.C., Littleton, Colo., is being awarded a $398,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Atlas V EELV launch service in support of a Mobile User Objective System-4 mission and Delta IV EELV launch service in support of a Global Positioning System mission. The location of the performance is Decatur, Ala. Work is to be completed by Nov. 30, 2014. SMC/LRK, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8811-11-C-0001 P00018). U.S. NAVY
MADRID — Airbus Military is selling eight C-295s to Oman and expects to sign more deals in the coming months, as it anticipates booking potentially more than 30 new orders this year. After signing deals for only five light transports last year, Airbus Military has already secured more than 20 orders so far in 2012, notes Antonio Rodriguez Barberan, the company’s senior commercial vice president.
Northrop Grumman is adjusting its schedule to support installation of the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (Canes) system on U.S. Navy ships following a delay caused by a contract-award objection from Lockheed Martin, which later withdrew the protest.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) is assessing international interest in the ability to enable third-party payload integration on its Predator B unmanned aircraft after completing a proof-of-concept demonstration using company funds. A “sovereign payload” capability would allow payload providers and system integrators other than GA-ASI to develop their own control software and ultimately integrate payloads on to the Predator on behalf of specific customer countries.
Multi-network Link 16 capability and the addition of a high-bandwidth data link are the next steps for the Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS) widely used by U.S. and allied forces. Development of the added capability is now under way following the approval for full production and fielding of the software-defined MIDS Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Link 16 terminal.
A Panama Canal official confirms what Adm. Jonathan Greenert, U.S. chief of naval operations, has been saying for months—upcoming canal changes and improvements are likely to shift shipping trends and, therefore, warrant watching. The newly widened canal, set to open in early 2015, will attract larger ships—especially bulk carriers—laden with liquid natural gas and similar cargo, Oscar Bazan, canal marketing manager, tells Aviation Week.
For a country with one of the world's most immediately pressing defense problems, South Korea spends a lot of money on weapons with wider applications. Its ambitions for power-projection capability reaching far beyond the Korean peninsula are becoming increasingly obvious. Indeed, the defense ministry has, perhaps unintentionally, brought the issue into focus with a rare public discussion of its indigenous land-attack missiles, especially a cruise missile program that has been flying under the radar of Western public attention.
Will radar become the sensor of choice for everything from landing in rotor-blown sand to tracking people through cloud cover? Does millimeter-wave radar have the potential to displace electro-optical/infrared as the preferred source of full-motion video for surveillance and targeting?
EDINBURGH — Selex Galileo hopes to build on its success in having its Aircraft Gateway Processor (AGP) included as baseline hardware in the U.S. Army-Boeing AH-64D Block 3 program to expand the customer base for the electronic warfare equipment.
The V-22 is finally proving the value of marrying the vertical lift of a helicopter with the speed of a fixed-wing aircraft after a tumultuous and prolonged development phase.
GENOA — Italy is developing a new modular approach to countering improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that will employ a number of specialized vehicles based on the Iveco VTMM multirole medium tactical vehicle chassis. The concept is to operate a “train” of four vehicles, each of them providing a dedicated capability, to defeat or dispose of every kind of potential threat, from unexploded ordnance to mines or IEDs.
KOUROU, French Guiana — The future of communication satellites appears to be moving toward larger, more powerful models, but satellite manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin will have the challenge of keeping within the capability of current launchers.
Boeing is working on minor modifications to its KC-46A refueler design following a major preliminary design review, and the company is focusing on reducing the risk of the integrated design through the use of several laboratories now under construction, says Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the U.S. Air Force’s KC-46A program executive officer.
OPEN PREDATOR: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has demonstrated an open payload architecture for the Predator B unmanned aircraft, working with Selex Galileo and Cobham Aviation Services, which is responsible for through-life support for the MQ-9 Reapers operated by the U.K. Royal Air Force.
A House spending bill adds $5 billion to Pentagon procurement for fiscal 2013, with big increases for U.S. Navy ships and the National Guard. To a budget request of zero, the House Appropriations Committee defense bill adds $2 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment. The House appropriators’ gift outdoes even House authorizers, who added $500 million. The appropriations bill was approved by the committee May 17.
Japan’s defense ministry is hoping a six-year program by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) to develop a light utility helicopter can yield a civil application, although it acknowledges the final decision will be left to the manufacturer.
RAPTOR WATCH: All eyes are now on the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 Raptor. Given the Lockheed Martin fighter’s problems with its oxygen-delivery system, on May 15 Defense Secretary Leon Panetta placed restrictions on the jet’s operations. And Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is asking what kind of impact this will have on operation, training and ultimately the nation’s security.
