TIMING THE PAIN: Fiscal 2014 — not 2013 — will be the worst year for federal contractors, including defense companies, if the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration take effect in January 2013, says Alan Chvotkin, vice president and counsel at the Professional Services Council. That is because the sharp drop-off in federal spending under sequestration, the second part of the Budget Control Act preoccupying policymakers in Washington right now, will not be felt via contracting opportunities until then.
The Senate did not close out action on the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill in three days as had been anticipated, instead shooting for an agreement to wrap up work early this week. As floor work continues, senators are already looking toward resolving the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Here’s a look at some of the outstanding issues:
The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have settled on a price of roughly $3.8 billion for the next batch of F-35 fighters, after more than a year of negotiations, according to program sources. A few details remain to be worked out on low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 5 for the Joint Strike Fighter program, though the contract is likely to be signed in days.
Government and industry officials from Europe and the U.S. opened discussions Nov. 30 on how to bring elements of the European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) into the service module for NASA’s Orion multipurpose crew vehicle.
NEW DELHI — India has warned that it will cancel a contract to buy helicopters from AgustaWestland and impose penalty measures if allegations of irregularities in the deal are proven, although it still has not launched a formal investigation into the matter. The deal to buy 12 AW101 helicopters, mainly to be used by the Indian president, prime minister and other top government functionaries, has been under a microscope after the arrest of a few individuals in Italy for allegedly paying bribes to Indian officials.
LONDON — Cassidian, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Qinetiq have been invited to bid on a contract to provide the U.K. Royal Navy with ISR services via an off-the-shelf, shipborne unmanned aerial system (UAS). According to the U.K. Ministry of Defense, the two-year deal would see the winning bidder providing 300 hr. of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) coverage each month per task line from Royal Navy vessels. The system would be contractor-owned and operated and be available for operations on a 24-hr.-a-day, seven-days-a-week basis.
The tri-national Medium Extended-Altitude Air Defense System (Meads) development program achieved its first target kill on Nov. 29. The Meads interceptor, a PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement weapon, was launched away from the MQM-107 target and turned 180-deg. for the engagement, demonstrating the long-promised “over-the-shoulder” capability offered by the system. The MQM-107 is an air-breathing target.
MIRROR, MIRROR: NASA plans to hold a workshop in February on possible uses for two 2.4-meter telescope mirrors transferred to the civil space agency in June by the National Reconnaissance Office. Although the optics have been proposed for a wide field infrared survey of the sky, other possibilities include uses for focused space-technology research, human exploration and operations, heliophysics, astrophysics and planetary science. The agency will select concepts for using the mirrors that it believes advance its goals, and allow detailed presentations of them at the Feb.
As the year comes to a close, the U.S. State Department continues to push forward with its overhaul of the U.S. Munitions List and other reforms to facilitate the sale of weapons abroad. This week, the department announced revisions to the munitions list for military electronics and refined the rules for components and parts.
A small engineering firm on Florida’s Space Coast hopes to recover some of the revenue and jobs the region lost with retirement of the space shuttle fleet by offering maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services to the commercial spaceflight industry that the Obama administration hopes will take the shuttle’s place.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is making yet another run at trying to force the U.S. to sell 66 F-16 C/D multi-role fighter aircraft to Taiwan. Cornyn, along with Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), have teamed up for a third attempt to make the sale of the Lockheed Martin fighters and hope to include it in the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill being considered this week on the Senate floor.
MISDEF MARKET: Even before the latest fighting in Gaza between Israeli and Hamas forces, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin were poised to receive major new orders for missile defense systems from Middle Eastern countries, Wall Street analysts note. But the recent fighting, and the performance of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system developed with U.S. funds and technology, may spur growth. This month, the Pentagon announced potential foreign military sales to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) worth up to $17 billion combined.
NEW DELHI — India on Nov. 28 successfully carried out the first flight of its Jaguar aircraft with upgraded avionics, known as the Darin III. State-run defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) flew the upgraded version for re-induction into the Indian air force (IAF) after final certification and clearance. “The upgrade will enable the Darin III Jaguar to fly in all weather with air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea capabilities, using [the] latest avionics and multi-mode radar,” says HAL chairman R.K. Tyagi.
After returning from the presidential campaign trail, former vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has received a waiver to continue as chairman of the House Budget Committee. Term limits have opened chairmanships on other key aerospace and defense committees, and the Republican Steering Committee is recommending a number of changes. Those were due to be voted on by House Republicans Nov. 28.
ZHUHAI, China — The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has reiterated its intention to replace its Dassault Mirage fighters with JF-17s, the single-engine fighter that Pakistan manufactures and which it jointly developed with China. Khalid Mahmood, PAF Air Commodore and JF-17 deputy chief project director, tells Aviation Week that Pakistan plans to have 150 JF-17s. He says the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra is producing 18 JF-17s per year and the production rate can move to 25 annually, if there is a requirement from a foreign customer.
