GAG ORDER: NASA’s leadership challenges the logic of asking experts for their honest opinions when science chief John Grunsfeld reminds scientists on the NASA Advisory Council that they are “temporary” government employees when in formal session, and as such required to support — at least in theory — the fiscal 2013 NASA budget proposed by President Barack Obama. The budget would gut the joint Mars exploration program with the European Space Agency. Grunsfeld apparently is not keen on having his independent advisory body become too critical of the administration’s plans.
Israel continues upgrading its air defense missile systems and plans an accelerated test program to counter the increasingly numerous and sophisticated missiles in the inventories of its neighbors.
For portions of the U.S. defense industry, China's military rise is viewed as an opportunity. As Beijing develops and fields more advanced defenses, the U.S. plans to respond with new spending on air, naval, missile defense and cyberforces. Indeed, this was underscored by the U.S. strategy pivot to Asia that was unveiled in January. But China's rise could also pose three challenges to U.S. defense companies in ways that may not be currently appreciated or understood.
Boeing is preparing to fly a wide-area surveillance sensor on the A160 Hummingbird unmanned helicopter for the first time, ahead of its planned deployment by the U.S. Army to Afghanistan in June.
In perhaps a sign of its seriousness in wanting to balance its defense equipment plan and budget, the U.K. is contemplating reversing a key modernization decision by again switching which F-35 Joint Strike Fighter model the country will buy.
TURKISH HELO: Turkey is launching a competition for medium helicopters for use by the country’s national police force. The move comes after last year’s contest for 15 light utility helicopters for the police. The new bidding is for seven rotorcraft, associated mission equipment and spares. Bidders have until March 21 to formally receive the request for proposals from the Turkish defense armaments agency, SSM, with bids due on April 24.
Israel usually does not telegraph its punches or hype new technology, but now its leaders have done so. They say they are upgrading the long-range, high-altitude Arrow and other anti-missile systems and intend to test them soon. “We are introducing Block 4,” says a senior Israeli official. “That involves the new Green Pine radar [with more and better transmitter/receiver modules], new software for command and control, and enhanced performance of the Arrow 2 interceptor missiles against a variety of threats, including a much-expanded battlespace.”
Icing has been a threat to aviation since the dawn of the aeronautic age, and as manufacturers pursue efficiency improvements measured in fractions of a percent, the power demanded to protect aircraft—whether by bleed air or electrical heating—is coming under attack. At the same time, unmanned-aircraft developers see the need to operate in all weather conditions, but cannot afford the power and weight penalties associated with traditional anti-icing systems. Nanotechnology may hold the answer, at both ends of the spectrum.
WINNING LOSS: When the Indian government named the Dassault Rafale as the low-cost bidder in the country’s Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft competition, beating out the Eurofighter Typhoon, it was seen as a setback for EADS, whose Cassidian unit led the Typhoon campaign. But how much of a loss did EADS really suffer in the MMRCA program? Perhaps less than many suspect. EADS holds a 46% share in the Eurofighter consortium, but also controls 46.3% of Dassault Aviation shares.
To overcome equipment inadequacies, New Zealand's air force has set its sights on acquiring more advanced turboprop trainers while the navy wants more helicopters.
TAXING ISSUE: The U.S. aerospace and defense industry might have succeeded last year in helping to persuade Washington to reverse a looming tax withholding requirement on federal contractors, but two senators are not letting the original issue go away silently. Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), senior members of their chamber’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, are publicly pressing the Pentagon to explain what it is doing to help the government gain $4.5 million in unpaid taxes from one U.S.
LONDON — EADS is not ruling out the possibility that the NH Industries NH90 helicopter program could further impact earnings for the company. Development problems have, on numerous occasions, caused both EADS and Thales to take charges against their financial accounts to deal with unanticipated costs. In the 2011 results EADS released March 8, the NH90 was once again one of the main program-related one-off charges.
The U.S. Navy decision to retire additional cruisers in coming years led to the reduced number of proposed MH-60R Seahawk helicopters in the current budget request, even as the service brass touts the aircraft as one of its top anti-submarine warfare assets.
Boeing's Wideband Global Satcom began merely as a gapfiller project to provide communications for the U.S. military, but 11 years later the WGS satellites have become the backbone for shuttling the Pentagon's wideband data. And at a time when the Pentagon is planning to cut $487 billion over 10 years, WGS is being hailed as an example of an efficient satellite procurement.
U.S. lawmakers have taken note of reports that annual Chinese defense spending has now topped $100 billion, increasing by about 11% over last year, although they differ in their interpretation of what is driving the upward spiral in spending.
The U.S. Air Force is developing network weapons to attack aircraft. Electronic warfare specialists know the technology is already a double-edged sword, however. The Chinese, a senior service official says, are already working hard on, and in some cases fielding, similar systems to attack high-value aircraft used for early warning, electronic surveillance, command and control, and intelligence.
ADULT SUPERVISION: A long-awaited analysis of alternatives (AOA) on the future ground surveillance architecture for the U.S. Air Force is complete, according to Lt. Gen. Herbert Carlisle, deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements. However, findings will not be released until Defense Secretary Leon Panetta gives approval. This process appears to deviate from normal protocol; typically, a service oversees matters related to its own AOAs.
FAA is soliciting advice on a congressionally mandated pilot program to integrate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the national airspace. The mandate was adopted as part of the recently passed FAA reauthorization bill, along with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was signed by President Barack Obama late last year. Congress directed the agency to establish six UAS test sites to help FAA safely and efficiently integrate civil, public and military UAS into the same airspace with manned airplanes by 2015.
The Defense Department Inspector General (IG) says classified intelligence has been released without proper authorization over the past few years, and the Pentagon is changing the way it handles such leaks. “We confirmed with DOD components that some unauthorized disclosures of SCI [Sensitive Compartmented Information] to the public did occur within DOD between December 23, 2008 and December 23, 2011,” the Pentagon deputy inspector general for intelligence and special program assessments says in its Feb. 27 report.
Leading aerospace manufacturers are preparing to bid for a major air traffic control overhaul being planned by Australian civil and military aviation officials. The program is unusual in that it will replace the backbone ATC systems, both terminal and en route, for Airservices Australia and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). This will enable harmonization across the country’s main ATC automation platforms. The contract is expected to be worth more than $300 million, according to industry sources.
The U.S. Marine Corps’ fiscal 2013 budget request focuses on restoring its fleet of aircraft, which have been ravaged by war and time. The Marine Corps says it needs to continue full funding and development of the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the MV-22B Osprey and other major aircraft programs to reinvigorate its aviation arm, which has been weakened by combat operations and hamstrung by outdated technology.
With climate change sparking international interest in the polar regions, U.S. military forces are starting to warm up to operations in those realms. U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), for example, touted the delivery last month of more than 6.8 million lb. of supplies to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, in support of Operation Deep Freeze, by the chartered container ship MV Green Wave. At the same time, the U.S. Coast Guard is focusing on bolstering its Arctic operations.
