LAS VEGAS — Pratt & Whitney says oil starvation tests have been conducted on the F135 to clear the engine in advance for the extreme phases of ongoing high angle-of-attack flight tests of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Even without a fiscal 2014 budget, combatant commanders are beginning to make their current and future needs known on Capitol Hill. The four-star general in charge of the nation’s nuclear and strategic weapons indicates that even in an era of constrained budgets, he has a list of items that he will protect. The top two: national command and control and replacement of Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. And not too far below that, he advocates for the Air Force’s refueling tanker program.
LAS VEGAS — Bell is looking for new partners in its push to offer tiltrotor technology to meet the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role and Future Vertical Lift requirements. Despite having partnered with Boeing for the last three decades on the development of the V-22 Osprey, the two have broken ranks and Boeing is now partnering with Sikorsky to develop an aircraft using Sikorsky’s X2 coaxial hybrid technology.
DEFENSE DECLINE: Consulting company Research and Markets says the U.S. defense budget will register a minus 0.12% compound annual growth rate through fiscal 2017, dipping to $611 billion, including so-called contingency funding for wars, compared with $645.7 billion total for 2012. Furthermore, defense expenditures as a percentage of GDP are also estimated to decline, from an average of 4.6% now to 3.4% over the forecast period.
The Pentagon’s top procurement official is considering a strategy of funding research and development projects despite ongoing budget pressure, a slight shift from his fervent push to only proceed with well understood, affordable programs.
A “radical” shift in the F-35 Joint Program Office’s (JPO) approach toward addressing systems engineering and durability questions is already showing results for the program, says Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, program executive officer (PEO).
LAS VEGAS — AgustaWestland says it has opened its books and is providing investigators with “full transparency” as it deals with the aftermath of the Indian helicopter corruption scandal. Newly appointed CEO Daniele Romiti — who had been in the job just five days — told journalists on the eve of Heli-Expo 2013 here that the company is complying with both Indian and Italian investigators looking into alleged corruption surrounding the sale of 12 AW101 helicopters for use in the VIP role by the Indian air force in 2010.
On the surface, the U.S. Navy’s $100.7 million contract award to Lockheed Martin this week as the Aegis Combat System Engineering Agent (CSEA) would appear to be a financial blip on the defense contractor’s radar of Pentagon deals. But quite a large potential for work and funding is summed up in that relatively small amount, and it is certainly a toe in the door for much greater things for Lockheed.
LAS VEGAS — Bell Helicopter says 2012 was a record year for commercial and military helicopter sales and deliveries. CEO John Garrison told journalists at Heli-Expo 2013 here that the company delivered 188 commercial helicopters in 2012, a 50% increase from 2011 when it delivered 125. On the military side, the manufacturer delivered 39 V-22s, 24 of its H-1 family of helicopters and 10 OH-58D wartime attrition replacements under the A2D program.
As Congress attempts to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month, a leading Senate Democrat is drafting a bill that prioritizes funding for the military and domestic programs important to the economy, including transportation. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who leads the committee responsible for federal spending, said she had hoped to pass bills for all federal agencies. “That doesn’t look possible. It wouldn’t be feasible,” she says.
ORLANDO, Fla. — In trying to adjust its intelligence-collection fleet after more than a decade of war, the U.S. Air Force is finding that even seemingly small decisions are garnering heightened scrutiny from Congress, potentially limiting the service’s options in crafting its fleet of the future. This conundrum is evident in the debate over the fate of the Air Force’s ongoing lease with Science Applications International Corp., which owns and has been operating four so-called Blue Devil 1 intelligence-collection aircraft in Iraq and now Afghanistan.
I.T. STRATEGIES: Congressional auditors say federal agencies could see yearly savings of 5-20% if they embrace strategic sourcing of their information technology contracts. The auditors particularly noted the opportunity for savings in the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Energy and Veterans Affairs, which account for 80% of the $537 billion in annual federal procurement.
ARMY FN Manufacturing L.L.C., Columbia, S.C., was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum value of $76,922,574. The award will provide for the procurement of a maximum quantity of 120,000 M4/M4A1 Carbines and related requirements. The work location will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 19, 2018. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with six bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-13-D-0030). NAVY
REMOTE RECOGNITION: Long-distance tactical warfare, introduced by technologies like cyber and UAVs, is being heralded with a new honor from the U.S. military. The Distinguished Warfare Medal — which the Pentagon said will sit in stature directly below the Distinguished Flying Cross — will be awarded in the name of the defense secretary to armed service members whose extraordinary achievements, regardless of their distance from the traditional combat theater, deserve distinct, department-wide recognition.
NEW DELHI — India plans to develop its own Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft as part of the modernization program of the Indian air force (IAF). “To leverage the experience and expertise gained in the design and development of Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems, a project proposal for indigenous development of India AWACS by the Defense Research and Development Organization has been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security on Feb. 12, 2013,” Defense Minister A.K. Antony says.
As the DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer gets closer to being completed, the U.S. Navy is highlighting its aviation-delivering potential. There are multiple aviation assets the ship can support, Capt. Jim Downey, DDG-1000 program manager, notes in a recently posted internal Navy site interview.
AIR FORCE L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace L.L.C., Madison, Miss., is being awarded an $8,076,281 contract modification (FA3002-09-C-0006, P00022) for aircraft flightline maintenance for the F-16 aircraft in support of Taiwan’s F-16 program. The location of performance is Luke AFB, Ariz. The work is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2014. Type of appropriation is international funding. The contracting activity is AETC CONS/LGCI, Randolph AFB, Texas. The contract involves Foreign Military Sales.
CYBER CRACKDOWN: The White House is adopting a tougher public relations campaign against China and other online hackers believed to be carrying out what has been described as the greatest theft of intellectual property in history. Last month, high-ranking officials unveiled the “Administration’s Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S.
As the lead ship of the Littoral Combat Ship class, the USS Freedom (LCS-1), got set to depart March 1 for its planned deployment to Singapore, U.S. Navy and other officials were digging into a draft environmental assessment (EA) report that proposes basing part of the fleet on the U.S. East Coast by the start of the coming decade.
LONDON — Warsaw has issued a 1.5 billion zloty ($470 million) tender for eight jet trainers and associated equipment for the country’s air arm. The Polish Armament Directorate announced on Feb. 25 that the country’s defense ministry wants to purchase eight lead-in fighter trainers (LIFT), a suite of simulators, spare parts and ground support equipment with deliveries to take place between January 2014 and November 2017. Press reports in Poland say the number of aircraft procured could increase to 12.
