NEW DELHI — India on April 19 successfully test-fired a long-range missile capable of targeting parts of northern China and eastern Europe, bringing the emerging South Asian power into an elite club of nations with intercontinental defense capability. The Agni-V, an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to hit a target up to 5,000 km (3,100 mi.) away, was launched from Wheeler Island off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha at 8:07 a.m. local time, according to V.K. Saraswat, chief of India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
AEHF LAUNCH: The second Lockheed Martin Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite is set to be launched by an Atlas V rocket on May 3 with a backup window of May 5, only days after the scheduled April 30 launch of Space Exploration Technologies’ Falcon 9, both from Cape Canaveral. Operational testing of the spacecraft is set for next year. One of the first two AEHF satellites will eventually be placed in geosynchronous orbit over Europe for Washington to fulfill its agreement to share some of the capacity with the U.K., Canada and the Netherlands.
A repairable fault with a piece of electronics onboard the Space-Based Space Surveillance satellite is prompting Air Force Space Command to hold off on declaring initial operational capability.
GENOA — The Italian air force has achieved initial operational capability for its fleet of four Boeing KC-767A tanker/transports and is mulling its options to equip the aircraft with a self-protection suite. Work is still under way to complete qualification testing and move into full operational capability (FOC), which will probably come first in the transport configuration by mid-2012 and in the refueling role by year’s end. The only Italian aircraft so far qualified for boom refueling is the KC-767A; trials with the KC-130J and the C-27J have yet to start.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — As the U.S. Navy redoubles its efforts to make maintenance a major priority across the fleet, the service is taking great pains to clean up the tanks and voids in its surface vessels — with special focus on destroyers and cruisers, which have often had to defer shipboard work because of smaller crews.
LONDON — Problems found during inspection of RTM322 engines on AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin helicopters have forced the Danish armed forces to ground part of the fleet that is used for search-and-rescue and transport missions. Because of cracks founds in different elements of 11 RTM322 engines, the Danish military says it only has enough spares available to operate 10 of 14 EH101s. The flaws were found during “routine” inspections.
Desire to allow domestic companies to be more competitive in the global marketplace, but allowing for stricter restrictions against countries including China, Iran, North Korea and Syria.
TRADE NOT TRIM: Conferees for a potential Arms Trade Treaty should know how the U.S. sees the effort championed by President Barack Obama, one diplomat says. First, it “is not a disarmament negotiation; it is an arms trade regulation negotiation,” says Thomas Countryman, assistant secretary of State for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Several next-generation satellite systems built by the U.S. Air Force could rely on smaller, simpler and cheaper designs, says Gen. William Shelton, Air Force Space Command chief. Shelton says he continues to push for “disaggregation” of U.S. military satellites, which calls for separating payloads once hosted on large satellites and placing them on more numerous, smaller systems with an eye toward distributing capability and controlling costs.
The Pentagon is nearly finished renegotiating contract for troubled airborne satcom terminals, USAF is establishing alternate program path in case the company fails to perform.
PARIS — France’s defense procurement agency DGA announced the first tranche of a multibillion-euro program to equip French armed forces with next-generation tactical radios starting in 2018. The initial €263 million ($345 million) award to Thales Communications under the Contact program would initiate development work this year in an effort to outfit the army, air force and navy with software-defined tactical communications devices that allow simultaneous transmission and highly secure voice/data for operationally deployed forces.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Engineers at Lockheed Martin are edging ahead of schedule to complete assembly of the Maven spacecraft, which is designed to investigate why most of the atmosphere of Mars has largely disappeared. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (Maven) vehicle is being put together at Lockheed Martin’s Space Systems Waterton site near Denver. Due to be launched in November 2013, Maven will travel through the upper reaches of the Martian atmosphere, gathering data that should help scientists reconstruct a climatic history of the planet.
NEW DELHI — India has ordered its defense forces and all other security agencies to remain prepared to tackle an entire range of challenges along its borders in the wake of the situation in the neighboring Afghanistan/Pakistan region. Taliban militants on April 15 mounted a synchronized attack at key establishments in Kabul. The assault ended after 18 hr. on April 16, by which time all but one attacker had been killed.
COLORADO SPRINGS — The main stage of NASA’s planned heavy-lift Space Launch System exploration rocket will carry four surplus RD-25D space shuttle main engines, as NASA and main-stage prime contractor Boeing move toward preliminary design review (PDR) on the big new rocket by the end of the year.
FMV MARKET: Consulting company Visiongain says the global military video surveillance systems market will reach $8.81 billion this year, thanks in part to growing adoption of full-motion video (FMV) technology proven by U.S. and allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
FORT WASHINGTON, Md. — Now that Ingalls Shipbuilding has tackled production problems with the U.S. Navy’s LPD-17 San Antonio Class Amphibious Transport Dock ship, the company is researching the possibility of using the ship for additional missions or technology upgrades, says Irwin Edenzon, Ingalls president and vice president at parent company Huntington Ingalls Industries. Remarking that the ship now has a “stable design,” Edenzon says the company is looking to see if the vessels can be “applied to other missions.
Click here to view the pdf World Military Spending:Expenditure By Region2002-2011 ($ in U.S. Billions) World Military Spending: Expenditure By Region2002-2011 ($ in U.S.
LONDON — The U.K. will likely delay addressing its maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) gap until 2015, military officials tell Parliament’s defense committee. The decision will likely be part of the 2015 Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR), says Air Vice Marshal Mark Green, the Defense Ministry’s director of joint and air capability transformation. Legislators are worried about the MPA capability gap in the aftermath of the 2010 decision not to field the Nimrod MRA4.
Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Click here to view the pdf World Military Spending:Key World Military Expenditure StatisticsBy Region World Military Spending: Key World Military Expenditure Statistics By Region Region/Subregion Military expenditure 2011 (US$B)
COLORADO SPRINGS — The Pentagon has declared that the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) project has exceeded its original projected per-unit cost by 58.4%, triggering a rigorous review under the Nunn-McCurdy program oversight law. Through the EELV program, the government procures Atlas V and Delta IV rockets from United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The cost growth was reported April 13 to Congress.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Though parts for the new GPS III satellites are costing more than planned, Lockheed Martin says the rigor applied by the U.S. Air Force in quality assurance is setting a new industry standard.
