NEW NAME: Finmeccanica’s Alenia North America publicly changed its name to Alenia Aermacchi North America on April 17. The move follows a merger of Finmeccanica’s Alenia Aeronautica and Alenia Aermacchi aeronautics brands and comes on the heels of a massive overhaul of the flagship Italian aerospace and defense company back home. Based in Washington, Alenia Aermacchi North America also maintains offices and facilities in Seattle, Wash., Smyrna, Ga., Fort Worth and Madison, Minn., as well as Canada.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Lockheed Martin has begun hot-fire tests of a rocket engine designed to power a Reusable Booster System (RBS) demonstrator for the U.S. Air Force.
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.
AMMO DELIVERY: India is likely to take delivery of 16,000 rounds of ammunition from Russia for its T-90 tanks this year. “A contract for procurement of 16,000 rounds of Fin Stabilized Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot (FSAPDS) ammunition for T-90 tanks was signed with Rosoboronexport ... in December 2010. It became effective in March 2011, and the complete consignment is likely to be delivered in the first half of 2012,” a defense ministry official says.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Cambodia’s air force aims to receive its first Avicopter Z-9 helicopter next year and plans to purchase Russian-built Mil Mi-17 helicopters and Chinese-built Xian Aircraft MA60 military transports, according to service chief Lt. Gen. Soeung Samnang. Samnang spoke to Aviation Week April 16 on the sidelines of the Defense Services Asia exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
U.S. ARMY Raytheon Co., Network Centric Systems, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., was awarded a $75,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of the AN/TPX-57 Identification Friend or Foe Systems Air Defense Interrogators components and associated engineering support. Work will be performed in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2013. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-12-D-A010).
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Indonesia has signed a firm contract for the purchase of 16 Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 jet trainers. Defense minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro declined to reveal what offsets Indonesia has secured from South Korea for ordering the T-50s, at the Defense Services Asia (DSA) exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Russia’s arms export agency is only interested in selling fighter aircraft to China if there is a large deal, despite the fact many of the other contracts Russia has been chasing in Asia can be considered small.
LONDON — Cuts to the German military could lead to a contraction of the defense industry, particularly with smaller suppliers, warns the country’s aerospace lobby group, BDLI.
U.S. ARMY Hamilton Sundstrand Corp., Windsor Locks, Conn., was awarded a $46,780,633 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the overhaul/upgrade services of the T700 fuel control in support of the UH-60 Black Hawk. Work will be performed in Windsor Locks, Conn., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 30, 2017. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-12-D-0073).
U.S. AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $98,800,000 not-to-exceed cost-plus-incentive-fee and firm-fixed-priced contract to procure enhanced threat response redesign for the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a quick reaction capability program. The location of the performance is St. Louis, Mo. Work is to be completed by March 30, 2014. AAC/EBDK/EDBJ, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA868109-C-0280, P00034). U.S. NAVY
FORT WASHINGTON Md. — Key technology for the U.S. Navy’s proposed Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) is advancing more quickly than the service brass had anticipated, casting doubt on some of the criticism leveled lately at the AMDR development program, says Rear Adm. James Syring, program executive officer for Integrated Defense Systems.
When the business climate turns cold, companies can contract or invest. With the Pentagon staring at a potential $1 trillion budget reduction during the coming decade, defense company officials are beginning to pursue both options, sometimes simultaneously. Sean O'Keefe, chairman and CEO of EADS North America, says that in this climate the prudent course is to avoid making investments that could amount to nothing as lawmakers wrestle with what level of funding to provide to the military.
The race is on to become one of the six U.S. sites responsible for testing UAVs in civilian airspace. The contest represents a huge opportunity at the dawn of a new industry, and a call last week from the FAA attracted interest from businesses large and small, universities, airports, lawmakers and the U.S. Army. The FAA says it will choose the test sites by December and is currently looking for comments that will help it winnow the many contenders.
Two Lockheed Martin/Kaman K-Max unmanned helicopters have logged more than 380 flight hours and carried more than 750,000 lb. of cargo to resupply U.S. Marine Corps outposts since beginning operations in Afghanistan in mid-December. The six-month deployment is aimed at demonstrating how unmanned cargo aircraft can be used to take vehicle convoys off dangerous roads. Operations are being funded month-by-month, and Lockheed and Kaman say they are ready to support an extended deployment.
In a generally difficult economic climate, France's aerospace and defense equipment industry is coming off an excellent year in 2011, with a healthy backlog and a particularly strong performance in global export markets. The growth more than compensates for declining French defense equipment budgets, having helped mitigate the negative impact of Europe's financial crisis on the country's economy, and augurs well for· both prime contractors and suppliers in 2012.·
BEIJING — Avic says it will put its highest priority in coming years on aero-engine technology, a field of aerospace in which China has conspicuously lagged. The group has set a budget of 10 billion yuan ($1.56 billion) for aero-engine work for the next five years, says Avic President Lin Zuoming.