The overall CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier program price tag is increasing roughly $2.2 billion — or about 5.5% — to $42.5 billion, the Pentagon estimates in its recent Selected Acquisition Report (SAR). The increase includes an additional $951 million for the application of revised escalation indices and another $811 million for revised estimates on non-recurring engineering, Dual-Band Radar (DBR), and construction performance variance for the Ford carrier, the SAR states.
The Pentagon’s annual cost-growth report to Congress looks better this year: three programs had critical breaches in 2011, but only because budget pressures severely cut their procurement plans.
The U.S. Navy’s proposed future DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer program cost is dropping by $1.1 billion — or 1.2% — to roughly $88.4 billion because of multiyear-buy benefits and changes in the radar suite proposed for the Flight III model of the ship, the Pentagon says in its recent Selected Acquisition Report (SAR).
The U.S. Defense Department plans to kick-start the domestic production of drop-in biofuels by co-funding the establishment of at least one regional supply chain using Defense Production Act Title III money. Title III, usually wielded to create or protect industrial capabilities critical to U.S. security, will be used to fund the construction or retrofit of one or more integrated biorefineries capable of producing at least 10 million gal. of fuel annually from domestic feedstocks.
LONDON — The Australian government is moving forward with plans to upgrade its F/A-18E/F fleet with Growler electronic-attack equipment. The military already has taken 12 of its 24 aircraft wired for the electronic-attack system and now is laying the groundwork to equip them for the EA-18G role, although the final decision to do so will not come until later this year, says Defense Minister Stephen Smith.
SWEDISH SCANDAL: Swedish Defense Minister Sten Tolgfors has resigned over a Defense Research Agency program to build a weapons plant in Saudi Arabia. The secrecy of the deal has been highly controversial in Sweden since the effort became known.
APOLLO 11 SALVAGE: Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos may try to recover one or more of the F-1 rocket engines that powered Apollo 11 on its historic mission to the Moon in 1969. The engines were located with advanced sonar 14,000 ft. down in the Atlantic, where they fell with the Saturn V first stage that they powered, and Bezos hopes to raise them for restoration and display in a museum.
CLASSIFIED SCRUB: The U.S. Air Force has delayed the launch of the latest classified surveillance satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office to allow engineers more time to investigate an issue with the United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket’s upper stage that was discovered during closeout inspections. Liftoff for NROL-25 is now set for April 2 at 4:04 p.m. PDT from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The launch originally was scheduled for March 29.
LONDON — The four core Eurofighter countries have awarded large support contracts to their respective national industrial champions to sustain the fighter aircraft for a further five years. The governments have put significant pressure on industry to bring down the cost of supporting the fighter aircraft as each looks for savings in its defense budget. The complexity of finding those savings led to some difficult negotiations before the deal was finalized.
KILLING MEADS: The government has argued that the cost of ending the U.S. commitment to Lockheed Martin’s Medium Extended Air Defense System (Meads) was equal or nearly equal to paying to complete development of the missile through the end of fiscal 2013. But a group of senators who are trying to persuade the Pentagon to shift funding for the tri-national Meads program to the Raytheon Patriot system are casting doubt on the government’s position.
NASA is claiming a breakthrough in the design of supersonic aircraft, with wind-tunnel tests proving it is possible to design configurations that combine low sonic boom with low cruise drag, characteristics once thought to be mutually exclusive.
Thales is preparing for a three-month flight-test program of its RBE2 radar on Rafale with delivery of the first production version to Dassault. The French military expects to begin fielding the active, electronically scanned array radar next year. Flight testing will involve Rafale C137; the radar is being installed at Dassault’s Merignac facility in southern France. The flight-test campaign will take place at the Istres flight-test center.
Conventional wisdom holds that the U.S. is facing a critical shortage of engineers—in aerospace and other industries—and that not enough students are studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields to offset this coming shortfall. A corollary to this belief is that U.S. high-school test scores in these critical subjects are low, hampering the country’s future competitiveness. But according to some academics, this conventional wisdom is a fallacy that industry repeats for its own ends.
LIFE-CYCLE SOLUTIONS: Expect to see Rockwell Collins announce renewal of its $17.2 million life-cycle support contract with the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The company says it has a 100% availability rate for helicopter cockpit replacement parts for its common avionics architecture system. Also expect Rockwell Collins to introduce a tailored life-cycle service solution called FlexForce for military and government agencies. The FlexForce program is designed to provide transparent repair and supply-chain visibility on a performance basis.
TRAINING PARTNERS: German glider manufacturer Grob Aircraft will supply its G 120TP computer-based training system for Argentina’s Fadea IA-63 Pampa II lead-in fighter/trainer. State-owned Fadea has completed flight tests of the Pampa, which has been re-engined with the Honeywell TFE 731-40 geared turbofan engine.
As EADS North America unveils a new concept for the U.S. Army's still-unmet Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) requirement, executives are expressing annoyance over what they say is a slow and unclear management of efforts to replace the aging Kiowa Warrior fleet.
Mention superconductivity in the context of aircraft propulsion and the skeptics come out in force. But NASA is convinced this technology—still exotic to aerospace—can reduce the fuel consumption and noise of future aircraft. The agency believes turboelectric distributed propulsion (TeDP)—gas turbines generating electricity to power many small fans embedded in the airframe—can meet its aggressive goals for a 2035-timeframe airliner, slashing fuel burn 60% from today's Boeing 737s and 777s.
Amy Butler (Stratford, Conn.), Graham Warwick (Fort Eustis, Va.)
Although it has yet to field a fly-by-wire (FBW) helicopter, the capabilities enabled by advanced digital flight controls are central to the U.S. Army's rotorcraft plans. Improved safety, maneuverability, survivability and durability as well as an optionally piloted capability are key advantages, but the Army has yet to determine whether it can bring those into its existing helicopters or must wait for an all-new aircraft.
Defense companies will not get rich from Latin America's military procurements. But at a time of severe budget pressures in many markets, the small opportunities in this part of the world still draw ample interest. The fact that many of these nations lack cash—Colombia, Chile and Brazil are among the few where the military spending outlook appears attractive to outsiders—is no deterrent. Instead, defense exporters are looking at what lower-cost offerings they can ply here.
Italy's Finmeccanica will establish a defense unit in 2013 set to combine all of its U.S. operations, including aeronautics, helicopters and defense electronics and U.S. subsidiaries. The new enterprise will be led by former U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn. The move, unveiled last week by CEO Giuseppe Orsi, is part of several significant changes to the beleaguered giant's strategy, structure and businesses. The changes are necessary, Orsi says, to return Finmeccanica to profit as soon as this year.
It is not quite cloaks and daggers and poison pills, but Italy is taking measures to make sure its flagship aerospace and defense companies stay Italian as European neighbors size up the struggling country. To stave off intervention by the European Union, Italy is rolling out new rules governing attempts to acquire stakes in its strategic companies. The rules will affect the proposed sale of shares in propulsion company Avio, as well as any future attempts to gain control of defense giant Finmeccanica.
Adm. Sir Raymond Lygo, the former chief executive of British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), died March 7. He was 87. The location and cause of death were not available. After retiring in 1978 from a 36-year career in the Royal Navy as a fighter pilot and ship commander, Lygo joined British Aerospace as managing director of its guided-missile manufacturing division. In 1983, he was recognized by Aviation Week & Space Technology for his efforts to promote private enterprise in the defense industry.
After more than a decade of study, the Pentagon is finally moving forward with the development of a new, stealthy, long-range bomber. But the catch is a self-imposed cost goal of $550 million per aircraft, which senior Air Force leaders say they recognize as being hard and fast. Given a lackluster record of cost performance for recent Pentagon procurement programs, is it possible that a department so large and so used to spending so much money can rein in its appetite for something as critical—and potentially cutting-edge—as a new bomber?
As the U.S. Army continues to simultaneously recapitalize its helicopter fleet and support the war in Afghanistan, talks with suppliers to purchase more workhorse Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters are dominated by a pressure to reduce their price. The Army, which has been hit hard by budget cuts, is thinning the number of soldiers in its ranks and associated ground equipment. Its aviation portfolio, however, is being increased, although at a slower pace than originally planned owing to financial pressure.
