Thousands of aerospace workers could find themselves temporarily out of work if the U.S. government shutdown continues. Sikorsky Aircraft, which produces the UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter, plans to furlough 2,000 workers at three plants on Oct. 7 due to the absence of Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) inspectors who audit and approve the manufacturing of military products. Sikorsky parent United Technologies warns that another 2,000 workers could be furloughed from its Pratt & Whitney and Aerospace units.
NAVAL RESEARCH: The non-profit Center for the Advancement of Science in Space has awarded the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) a $250,000 grant to use the International Space Station’s hyperspectral imager to study halmful algal bloom in coastal areas around the world. Also known as red tide, the algal bloom releases toxins that are harmful to humans and marine life.
NEW DELHI — AgustaWestland has invoked its contractual right to arbitration over the bribery scandal that tainted its sale of AW101 helicopters to India for VIP transport. India has suspended payments on the €560 million ($762.91 million) contract to buy 12 AW101s and has threatened to cancel the purchase of the helicopters if the charges of bribery to middlemen both in India and abroad are proven. AgustaWestland asserts such a move would violate the terms of the 2010 contract.
Teams are forming bids for a long-anticipated program to provide the Australian Defense Force with a new fixed-wing pilot training system. Lockheed Martin has teamed with Pilatus Aircraft, supported by Hawker Pacific, to offer the PC-21 turboprop trainer for Project AIR 5428. BAE Systems has already teamed with Beechcraft to offer the T-6C turboprop.
NEW DELHI — India’s defense research agency is preparing to test, for the first time, a high-altitude interceptor missile in November, a senior scientist says. The exo-atmospheric test is “part of the developmental trials” for the first phase of India’s ballistic missile defense (BMD) system, an official at the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) says. “Critical simulation tests” are under way to prepare for the flight. “The major trial will be held in the last week of November,” the DRDO official says.
TEL AVIV — The U.S.-Russian initiative to disarm Syria of its chemical weapons will be an enormous challenge, and the prospects for accomplishing it are doubtful, experts contend. Each step of the process, from finding all of the weapons to transporting them and then eventual disposal, will be fraught with risk.
As the U.S. government resigns itself to the prospect of long-term sequestration budget cuts, the Defense Department could consider lifting its ban on prime U.S. contractors acquiring each other, according to Exelis CEO David Melcher. “I don’t see the department … standing in the way of consolidation,” Melcher said Oct. 2 at an Atlantic Council lecture on the defense business in an age of austerity.
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Aviation unit failed to obtain best value when it purchased sole-source spare parts from Boeing, the Pentagon Inspector General (IG) says in a recently released report.
The U.S. Navy successfully completed nine guided flight tests for the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (Lrlap) 155mm rocket-assisted guided projectile system, Naval Sea Systems Command (Navsea) announced late last month. All nine tests were accurately guided to their targets about 45 nm from the launch site, Navsea says. Lrlap functionality was proven through gun launch, rocket motor ignition, guidance acquisition, navigation to target and warhead detonation.
STILL SPENDING: A U.S. government shutdown and debt ceiling fight on Capitol Hill notwithstanding, nominal federal spending plans for fiscal 2014 and beyond entail $117 billion in defense information technology (IT) contracting opportunities, according to federal IT consulting company Deltek. Another $38 billion will come from civilian agencies like NASA, FAA and others. Furthermore, despite a common industry complaint that budget caps in recent years have essentially derailed new-start programs, that is not the case. Deltek said in a webinar to clients Oct.
Karem Aircraft is to design a tiltrotor to meet U.S. Army future utility-rotorcraft requirements under one of four contracts awarded for Phase 1 of the Joint Multi Role technology demonstration (JMR TD). JMR is a precursor to the Army’s planned Future Vertical Lift (FVL) Medium program to replace first the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter and later the Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, beginning in the mid-2030s.
As the U.S. kicked off a set of regional joint maritime exercises this month with the South Korean navy, U.S. military officials there warned of the need to develop and hone ballistic missile defense, asymmetric tactics and other military capabilities in the wake of continuing escalation by North Korea.
The current acquisition strategy for the U.S. Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (Uclass) program is too risky, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). In fiscal year 2014, the Navy plans to commit to investing an estimated $3.7 billion to develop, build, and field from six to 24 aircraft as an initial increment for Uclass, one of its most important aviation programs.
NEW DELHI — India has agreed to remove all hurdles to expanded weapons sales from the U.S., with plans to expedite licensing and approvals for what has become a nearly $9 billion defense trade between the two countries.
Current spending plans for the U.S. Army’s Stryker vehicle have increased five times from what the Pentagon had estimated just a year ago. The 2014 budget request for the Stryker family of vehicles is $374 million, nearly three times what the 2013 plan estimated. Total estimated spending for the outyears (2015-2017) is now $1 billion, five times what planners estimated in 2013 for the same period. (See charts pp. 6-9.)
I.T. SPENDING: Despite a decline in annual spending between now and fiscal 2018, U.S. government spending on outsourced information technology should be relatively stable, according to Deltek analysts. The relatively optimistic outlook comes as agencies look to benefit from cost savings on cloud computing, automation and data center consolidation, while having to continue to pursue new capabilities in cyberspace and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
While the U.S. Navy’s CH-53K development has gone reasonably well thus far, delayed testing of the helicopter program has made the effort riskier, a Pentagon Inspector General (IG) report says. “CH-53K program officials generally managed and developed the CH-53K program in accordance with defense acquisition guidelines while preparing for the low-rate initial production decision,” the IG says in its report, “CH-53K Program Management Is Satisfactory, but Risks Remain.”
Although growing Chinese naval forces have thus far refrained from any major military engagements, the fleet is starting to be viewed as a significant political tool. “In the absence of conflict, China’s military forces, including in particular its naval forces, will be used on a day-to-day basis to promote China’s political position in the Pacific,” says a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, “China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities — Background and Issues for Congress,” released earlier this month.
SEVILLE, Spain — EADS CEO Tom Enders has urged European governments not to repeat the errors made during the procurement process of the A400M airlifter. Speaking at a ceremony marking the handover of the first A400M to the French air force in Seville, Spain, on Sept. 30, Enders told attendees that Europe urgently needs a joint military certification organization, like the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), rather than separate agencies in each country working to achieve their own certification.
LONDON – AirTanker, the company charged with providing air-to-air refueling capability to the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF), has been certified to refuel the air arm’s Eurofighter Typhoons.
