FRANKFURT – Airbus Defense and Space has reached an agreement with its European works council over how labor cuts in the new division are to be implemented. The company is now ruling out layoffs between now and the end of 2016 and has in return achieved speedy approvals by European unions of its new structure.
The Pentagon and prime contractor Boeing are hoping the third time will be the charm with the next text of the troubled Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) will try for the third time in four years to achieve an intercept in what was billed six years ago as one of the most challenging GMD trials. MDA officials have designated the forthcoming flight trial FTG-06B, says agency spokesman Rick Lehner.
GPS LAUNCH : The U.S. Air Force is scheduled to launch the sixth Boeing-built GPS IIF satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral on May 15 during an 18-min. launch window opening at 8:08 p.m. EDT. It will be the second launch of a GPS satellite this year and the sixth of 12 GPS IIF satellites, according to the Air Force. The first five GPS IIF satellites are in orbit and “meeting all mission requirements,” the service says.
ORLANDO, Fla. – The U.S. Navy is getting ready to reissue a solicitation for a prime system integrator on its project to develop three classes of robotic bomb disposal ground vehicles using a common open architecture, a manager confirmed May 13.
PARIS, WASHINGTON — Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said May 13 that Moscow would halt the sale of RD-180 and NK-33 rocket engines to the U.S. for the purpose of launching military satellites. The RD-180 is used to power the first stage of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, while a modified version of the NK-33 – the Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-26 – provides core propulsion on the first stage of the Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares launch vehicle.
New export-control rules issued by the State Department May 13 probably will make it easier for satellite-component manufacturers to comply with International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), but it appears the coming generation of commercial human-spaceflight vehicles will remain on the U.S. munitions list.
GOTHENBURG, Sweden — The electronic warfare (EW) system of the new JAS 39E Gripen fighter will feature active electronically scanned array (AESA) transmit-receive antennas based on gallium-nitride technology, Saab tells Aviation Week.
