Experts from the U.S. Departments of State, Defense, Commerce, Homeland Security and other agencies are working their way through about 100 formal comments on proposed reforms to the way the government licenses spacecraft for export, but final reforms won’t take effect until next year.
Congress will need to pass an amendment to a fiscal 2014 defense spending bill for the U.S. Navy to take advantage of a recent agreement to settle litigation of the canceled A-12 Avenger program, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) says.
LONDON — Italian aerospace and defense conglomerate Finmeccanica is continuing to negotiate the sale of non-core businesses in a bid to cut its burgeoning debt. The company is increasing its focus on its aerospace and defense businesses, which have had a relatively comfortable first half of 2013, compared to its struggling transport and energy businesses that have, according to CEO Alessandro Pansa, frustrated investors and resulted in the downgrade of the company’s credit rating.
An unnamed U.S. customer has contracted Australian engine company Orbital to develop a powerplant for a small UAV. The customer is evidently military, since the company says its engine-management, fuel and combustion technology will allow the engine to burn heavy fuels such as JP5 and JP8, “thus satisfying a U.S. Department of Defense initiative to eliminate gasoline fuels for safety and logistic reasons.”
Italian aerospace and defense conglomerate, Finmeccanica is continuing to negotiate the sale of non-core businesses in a bid to cut its burgeoning debt. The company is putting a stronger focus on its aerospace and defense businesses, which have had a relatively comfortable first half of 2013, compared to its struggling transport and energy businesses that have, according to CEO Alessandro Pansa, frustrated investors and resulted in the downgrade of the company’s credit rating.
The incoming CEO of Rockwell Collins believes cuts to the U.S. defense budget are here to stay and says the managers of military programs would be well-advised to wake up to reality.
Click here to view the pdf U.S. Navy Procurement Funding Shifts:2013 Plan for Fiscal 2014 Compared To Actual 2014 Request (Winners) (Then-year dollars in millions) U.S.
LONDON — BAE Systems is pursuing deals for Eurofighter Typhoon jets for the UAE and a follow-up deal for the aircraft in Saudi Arabia. The company is keen to push production of the fourth-generation fighter out beyond 2020, CEO Ian King told analysts as the company released its half-year results on Aug. 1.
LONDON — Eurocopter Spain has completed the first flight of a Spanish-assembled EC665 Tiger attack helicopter. The aircraft, which will be known as the Tiger HAD/E (Support and Attack Helicopter) (E for Espana) when it enters service, took to the air for the first time on July 29 at the company’s facility at Albacete. The aircraft is the second of 18 Tiger HAD/E helicopters being purchased for the Spanish army. Delivery of the aircraft to the Spanish armed forces is due to take place at the end of the year.
LONDON — Airbus Military has said that it will deliver the first A400M military airlifter in the “coming days” after the aircraft was awarded its military operating clearances by Occar.
In announcing the results of the Pentagon’s long-awaited budget review, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel outlined a choose-your-own-adventure challenge to the government: stick with the President’s budget request, trade force size for a high-end military or embark on a 10-year procurement holiday.
BEIJING — The Chinese air force appears to have had enough of being held responsible for the country’s notorious flight delays, or is at least trying to shift the blame. The largest cause of flight delays is poor airline management, not the air force, according to statistics issued through official media by “relevant departments.” And, contrary to common belief, civil aviation gets plenty of air space, says a report by the China News Service, a state news agency.
FRANKFURT — EADS has decided to make significant changes to its corporate structure and put the entire company under the Airbus brand. The board of directors followed a proposal put forward by CEO Tom Enders to change the company’s name to Airbus Group. Defense and space units Cassidian and Astrium will be merged and called Airbus Defense and Space. Eurocopter also will lose its current brand and be re-launched as Airbus Helicopters.
SCMR TAKEAWAY: House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) says the “single biggest take away” from the Pentagon’s Strategic Choices and Management Review (SCMR) is that “Congress, by allowing sequestration to exist, is abdicating its constitutional responsibility to responsibly fund the military and to provide for the common defense.
NEW DELHI — India will test the air-launched variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile by the end of this year, a top scientist says. The missile, developed in cooperation with Russia, will be fitted onto an Indian air force (IAF) Su-30MKI aircraft for its “first flight trial,” according to A. Sivathanu Pillai, missile scientist and chief executive officer at BrahMos Aerospace. Presently, various fitness tests are being undertaken for integrating the air-launched BrahMos with the Sukhoi fighter.
EADS has decided to make significant changes to its corporate structure and put the entire company under the Airbus brand. The board of directors approval followed a proposal put forward by CEO Tom Enders to change the company’s name to Airbus Group. Defense and space units Cassidian and Astrium will be merged and called Airbus Defense and Space. Eurocopter also will lose its current brand and be re-launched as Airbus Helicopters.
Unmanned aircraft makers and their big-league lobby group, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), continue to try to raise awareness in Washington about what they say are limitations put on the technology and its future benefits by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
While U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) officials acknowledge it is common for first-of-class ships to experience ship-service diesel generator (SSDG) faults like the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) is suffering now, the LCS-1’s issues are of greater concern because the U.S. Navy has already started a production-rate buy of those vessels.
DMON FOLLOW ON: The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth up to $490 million to continue providing network and integration services under the Distributed Mission Operations Network (DMON) 2.0 service contract. “The DMON enables dissimilar aircraft platforms located across the globe to seamlessly interoperate and train together in a realistic virtual environment,” the company says. The five-year contract could be extended through June 2023, if all options are exercised. Most of the work will be performed in Orlando, Fla.
The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have agreed to a handshake deal for the latest two lots of F-35 airframes, and based on cost projections the program for the first time is targeting a unit price under $100 million, excluding engines and retrofits. The deal covers 36 aircraft in low-rate, initial production (LRIP) lot 6 and another 35 in LRIP 7. Mandatory cuts handed down by sequestration in the fiscal 2013 budget did not ultimately affect the number of aircraft in LRIP 6, as once thought.
PARIS — With no objection from U.S. lawmakers, France can proceed to negotiate the purchase of up to 16 U.S. medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial systems (UAS), the first two of which are expected to be delivered this year. France has requested the General Atomics-built MQ-9 Reapers, mobile ground stations and associated parts, training and logistics support to fill a gaping shortage in the nation’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance coverage as it continues military operations against Islamic rebels in Mali.
