Boeing will not be housing its new intelligence gathering system, the medium-sized Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA), on an Embraer platform, according to the Brazilian manufacturer’s defense chief Luiz Carlos Aguiar. He said the two are not in talks on the MSA project despite an agreement on other projects, such as the KC-390.
Tom Burbage, the single, consistent public face of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program since its inception, is finally retiring, according to program sources. Burbage retires as the executive vice president and general manager of program integration for the F-35. As such, his primary responsibility has been to keep the international coalition of countries outside the U.S. on track and, where possible, chase new international business. Stephen O’Bryan is currently working under Burbage as vice president of program integration.
Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) contractor Bluefin Robotics is gearing up to produce a variant of its Knifefish UUV for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), the company says. Knifefish is a specialized Bluefin-21 UUV that is being developed for the Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (SMCM UUV) effort. Bluefin is under subcontract to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems for that program.
Efforts to clear the hurdles to commercial-scale production of advanced biofuels are focusing on increasing yields from energy crops and reducing the costs of harvesting, transporting and processing the millions of tons of biomass required. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans to award $6 million in research contracts to enable delivery of lignocellulosic biomass, such as switchgrass, polar and waste wood, at the volumes and costs required for commercial-scale biofuel production.
In a sometimes painful confirmation hearing for defense secretary, former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) waded through questions about his past statements and misstatements as well as legitimate policy differences over nuclear weapons policy.
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s proposed cuts in maintenance to accommodate funding shortfalls caused by the continuing resolution, combined with potential further belt-tightening that could be brought on by sequestration, could not come at a worse time, according to service officials.
Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy are ready to flight test the final software load for the X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D), with all the features required to enable operation from an aircraft carrier later this year. Based at NAS Patuxent River, Md., the two X-47Bs are being used for carrier-qualification testing ahead of the at-sea demonstration planned for the summer. Tests have included land-based catapult launches at Pax and deck-handling trials at sea on the carrier USS Truman.
LONDON — The Polish armed forces are planning to recapitalize their rotary-wing fleet and buy as many as 200 new helicopters over the next decade. The program, easily the largest helicopter procurement in Europe in more than decade, includes requirements for medium-sized utility, heavy transport, and a fleet of attack helicopters for use by the Polish army, navy and air force.
NEW DELHI — Israel’s Rafael will spotlight its Iron Dome counter-rocket system at the Aero India 2013 exposition. India has been showing interest in the combat-proven active defense system, which can intercept short-range artillery rockets. The Israeli air force deployed the system in 2011 after the country decided to develop a mobile air defense system following the second Lebanon War in 2006.
DEFENSELESS: Seventy percent of countries lack the tools to prevent corruption in the defense sector, leaving them open to waste and security lapses, according to a new study from nonprofit Transparency International U.K.’s Defense and Security Program. “Those with poor controls include two-thirds of the largest arms importers and half of the biggest arms exporters in the world,” the group says. Countries exhibiting “critical risk” include Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen, according to the study.
After weeks of controversy, former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) will defend his nomination to become the next defense secretary when his Senate hearing begins on Jan. 31.
LONDON — Italian army officials say they are encouraged by the performance of the NH90 utility helicopter in Afghanistan despite having to overcome significant hurdles to get the type into theater.
MOSCOW — Russia’s Tactical Missile Corporation (TMC) has completed trials of the Kh-31PD, RVV-MD, RVV-SD and RVV-BD air-launched missiles, CEO Boris Obnosov tells Russian media. The Kh-31PD is the latest modification of the AS-17 Krypton family, powered by a combined rocket/ramjet engine. It is equipped with a passive radio homing head and can hit radar stations to a maximum range of 180-250 km (110-155 mi.).
The U.S. Navy has put its shipbuilding programs back on course, service Secretary Ray Mabus says, and now it is time for the contractors to make good on their end of the bargain. “When I came in in 2009, a lot of our shipbuilding programs were — and this is a technical term — a mess,” Mabus says. “Ships were being designed while they were being built, requirements got out of control and costs on too many got out of control.”
LONDON — The Portuguese navy is asking industry to examine the potential of extending the life of its Westland Lynx maritime helicopter fleet beyond 2030. The move comes as the Portuguese government makes deeper spending cuts amidst the country’s most severe recession since the 1970s.
CHINA INTERCEPTS: China has conducted its second ballistic missile interception test, state media report. The target was an intercontinental ballistic missile in the midcourse phase of its flight, which occurs after engine shutdown and before atmospheric re-entry. The Jan. 27 test met its goals and was defensive in nature, the Xinhua news agency says, adding that it was conducted within Chinese territory.
LONDON — Alenia Aermacchi is looking to enhance the order book for its SF260 training aircraft with the unveiling of an upgraded version of the type. The manufacturer, an arm of Finmeccanica, has been test flying an SF260TP primary and basic trainer fitted with a new modern glass cockpit produced by Avidyne Corp. The cockpit features a pair of large 6x8 LCD displays and a single Control Display Unit (CDU) that manage several of the aircraft’s functions.
The U.S. Navy is looking for a more “balanced” way of measuring its surface ships’ survivability standards, more akin to what the service has developed for its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) fleet, according to a recent briefing paper on the LCS program written by Navy Undersecretary Robert Work for the Naval War College.
TEL AVIV — Elbit Systems is launching a maritime configuration of its Hermes 900 medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV, aiming at the growing demand for unmanned aircraft in maritime missions worldwide, particularly in Asia. The company is unveiling the new configuration at the Aero India 2013 event in Bengaluru.
The Turkish Coast Guard has taken delivery of the first three Airbus Military C235 maritime patrol aircraft ordered under the Meltem II program. The aircraft were handed over by Thales on Jan. 28 during a ceremony in Ankara. Thales fitted the aircraft with the company’s Airborne Maritime Situation & Control System (AMASCOS) mission kit, with work carried out in conjunction with Turkish companies Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Havelsan, Aselsan and Milsoft.
