MOVING UP: Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) will lead the Senate Appropriations Committee, replacing Sen. Daniel Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat who died earlier this week of respiratory complications. She picks up the gavel after Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who was next in line in terms of seniority, opted to remain the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
LONDON — Officials at the U.K. Ministry of Defense are to assess how to meet the country’s future maritime patrol needs following the cancellation of the BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol aircraft program in 2010. Findings of a study carried out by the House of Commons’ Defense Committee inquiry into maritime surveillance will be handed to the Military Capability Board (MCB) in April, and options that “merit further investigation” will be examined prior to the next Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) due to take place in 2015.
General Electric (GE) is expected to announce a $4 billion purchase of Avio on Dec. 21, adding its long-time supplier and frequent risk-sharing partner in mechanical power transmissions and low-pressure turbines to a growing list of recent acquisitions and joint ventures designed to strengthen GE Aviation’s control over technology development. GE’s purchases of Avio components for civil and military engines makes it the Italian manufacturer’s biggest customer, but Avio has a customer base that extends throughout Europe.
NEW DELHI — India is likely to buy two additional Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft to strengthen its air defense, according to Defense Minister A.K. Antony.
Turkish Ambassador Namik Tan is emphasizing his country’s support for its continued participation in the multinational F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, as some partners are expressing hesitation owing to delays and cost increases. Earlier this month, Canada and Australia both waffled on their plans for the single-engine, stealthy fighter made by Lockheed Martin.
SINGAPORE — Swiss defense company Ruag has acquired Australia’s Rosebank Engineering. Ruag says it has bought 100% of the defense company for an undisclosed sum, and that the acquisition will boost Ruag’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Rosebank has 154 employees, mostly based in Melbourne. It recently established a joint venture in India, VyoneeshRosebank, that aims to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services to the Indian military as well as some component manufacturing.
PATRIOT DEPLOYMENT: Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Namik Tan says that the first deliveries of Patriot air- and missile-defense equipment have begun arriving in the country. NATO opted this month to deploy Patriot defenses along the southern Turkish border with Syria to protect against the potential for a ballistic or chemical missile attack from Damascus as it attempts to fend off rebel groups. Meanwhile, Turkey continues to house refugees from its war-torn neighbor in camps near the border. Tan declined to say when the Patriot batteries would be operational.
After months of fighting against the possibility of nearly $1 trillion in across-the-board budget cuts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says he will not accept a deal to prevent sequestration that does not contain other concessions on issues such as taxation and entitlement reform. Talks between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had been progressing. Without a deal, Boehner plans to proceed with a “Plan B” that the White House is dismissing as not viable in the Senate.
The death of Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the chairman of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, is setting off a shuffling of committee chairmanships. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is likely to take over as the chairman of the full appropriations committee, leaving a spot open on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is likely to move into that slot, and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) tells Aviation Week she is preparing to fill Feinstein’s role as the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
French aerospace giant Dassault Aviation has named Eric Trappier to replace outgoing Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Edelstenne, who will step down Jan. 8.
MOSCOW — Russia has set another record in foreign arms trade. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the value of Russian weapons delivered to foreign customers in 2012 exceeded $14 billion — 6% more than in 2011 ($13.2 billion) and more than twice the $6.5 billion reached in 2006.
National Airlines, an Orchard Park, N.Y.-based provider of international charter service for the U.S. military, U.S. government contractors and foreign defense agencies, wants to expand its operations to include scheduled passenger service to Afghanistan and potentially Northern Iraq. The general public would not be able purchase tickets for the flights, which initially would be confined to U.S. Defense Department-vetted government personnel and contractors. But National adds that it “may eventually expand its operation to include such sales.”
There is no doubt where the top U.S. shipbuilder sees the U.S. Navy putting most of its investments: “Aircraft carriers,” says Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) CEO Michael Petters, whose Newport News Shipbuilding unit builds the behemoths. “They are the most complex and highest priority for the Navy.” Keeping an even pace, he says, is the Navy’s interest in submarines. “Submarines are not a lesser priority for the Navy,” Petters said during a recent presentation at a Credit Suisse Aerospace & Defense Conference.
Fiscal cliff negotiations between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) are in full swing after Boehner reportedly offered to increase tax rates on millionaires. The pair met Dec. 17 for 45 min., but before a deal can be reached, the talks also will have to overcome significant differences regarding entitlement spending cuts and the question of when and how to handle the debt ceiling.
National Airlines — an Orchard Park, N.Y.-based provider of international charter service for the U.S. military, U.S. government contractors and foreign defense agencies — wants to expand its operations to include scheduled passenger service to Afghanistan and potentially Northern Iraq. The general public would not be able purchase tickets for the flights, which initially will be confined to Defense Department-vetted government personnel and contractors. But National adds that it “may eventually expand its operation to include such sales.”
LONDON — Denmark has officially rejoined NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) program, after abandoning the project back in 2010. The Danish government withdrew its support in June 2010 when it cut more than $500 million from its 2010-2014 defense spending plan. But it reaffirmed its decision to rejoin the project this May during the NATO conference in Chicago, saying that operations in Libya had proven the need for such a system to be operated by NATO. Denmark re-signed the agreement on Dec. 12
AIR FORCE L-3 Communications Corp., Waco, Texas, (FA8625-13-C-6597) is being awarded a $80,277,677 firm-fixed price contract for long lead spare aircraft parts required to support the C-27J. The location of the performance is Waco and Torino, Italy. The work is expected to be completed by July 29, 2013. The contracting activity is ASC/WLVK, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Contract involves foreign military sales to Australia. NAVY
The commercial growth of Wi-Fi is causing headaches — and opportunities — for U.S. Army electronic warfare (EW) experts, according to the service’s updated EW field manual. “The increased use of wireless systems — including commercial off-the-shelf items — makes the available electromagnetic spectrum a high-demand, low-density resource,” says the recently released manual.
LONDON — The first AW101 heavy helicopters for the Indian air force’s VVIP contract are being made ready for delivery. The first two AW101s are being prepared at London’s Stansted Airport for air freighting to India on board an Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft in the next few days. AgustaWestland is continuing to build Indian air force AW101s at the company’s factory at Yeovil in Somerset, the center of production for the type.
AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Services Inc., Colorado Springs, Colo., (FA8823-13-C-0002) is being awarded a $104,205,172 firm-fixed-price contract for Global Positioning Systems control segment sustainment. The location of the performance is Colorado Springs. Work is expected to be completed by June 30, 2019. The contracting activity is SMC/PKP, Peterson AFB, Colo.
GOOD NEWS: A new analysis of 11 major defense acquisition programs (MDAPs) by congressional auditors trying to see how the Pentagon is carrying out the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 finds that the landmark law has reinforced early attention to requirements, cost and schedule estimates, testing and reliability. But the Government Accountability Office also notes that some key reforms have been focused only on MDAPs, and defense officials face further challenges in implementing changes across the military portfolio and culture.
