The Senate has amended the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill to allow the Pentagon to continue investing in alternative fuels by a 62-37 vote. On Nov. 27, the fate of the defense bill, which has passed annually for more than 50 years, was still in question as senators continued to negotiate over which amendments would be subject to debate.
LONDON — Alenia and ATK are offering a precision-guided missile capability for their MC-27J intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) gunship conversion of the C-27J Spartan transport aircraft. Lightweight air-to-ground weapons in the class of the Raytheon AGM-175 Griffin or the MBDA GBU-44 Viper Strike will boost the armament of the multirole cargo aircraft concept, which was first unveiled at this year’s Farnborough air show and is now being actively marketed as a joint program by the two companies.
NEW DELHI — Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport is denying reports that it has already lost Indian air force (IAF) competitions for heavy-lift transport helicopters and refueling aircraft. A senior Indian defense ministry official indicated in October that Boeing’s CH-47F Chinook had emerged as the lowest bidder for India’s heavy-lift helicopter deal, besting an upgraded Russian Mi-26T2 after life cycle costs were calculated. At the same time, there also were reports that the Russian Il-78MK-90 aerial tanker aircraft had lost to the Airbus A330 MRTT.
Senate floor action on the annual U.S. defense policy bill remained at a standstill Nov. 27, with a dispute over how to handle legislation regarding military detainees. But a senator involved in the dispute indicated he was open to a resolution that would allow the bill to proceed.
LONDON — The U.K. Royal Navy is to boost the capability of its Type 45 anti-air warfare destroyers by fitting them with the Boeing RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile.
SATELLITE EXPORTS: The U.S. Export-Import Bank has authorized two transactions totaling $461 million to underwrite the export of U.S.-made satellites to Hong Kong. Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) will deploy the satellites to upgrade and expand its fleet, which offers coverage to 80% of the world’s population. In the first transaction, the bank authorized a $171.3 million loan to ABS to finance the purchase of a FS1300, C/Ka/Ku-band geostationary satellite from Space Systems/Loral and associated insurance. The satellite is scheduled to launch in 2013.
Houston — The nonprofit ArduSat initiative has selected NanoRacks LLC to coordinate the launch of the first U.S. commercial satellites from the International Space Station using the small spacecraft deployment system successfully demonstrated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA from the orbiting lab’s Kibo science module in early October.
NEW DELHI — Following a successful test-firing of its Advanced Air Defense (AAD) system, India says it is likely to deploy its first ballistic missile defense (BMD) shield in 2014. The indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile, launched from a defense base in India’s eastern state of Odisha, hit an incoming ballistic missile target at around 12:52 a.m. local time Nov. 23, according to Ravi Gupta, an official at the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
The 40-year stream of Landsat remote sending imagery of the Earth is poised to be extended by another decade with the upcoming launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). The LDCM spacecraft is in thermal vacuum testing at prime contractor Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Gilbert, Ariz., factory, and on track for a Feb. 11 launch. The 3,085-kg spacecraft — built around Orbital’s LEOStar-3 bus — has a design life of five years, but will carry enough fuel to keep it functioning for 10.
NEW DELHI — Russia is likely to carry out fresh sea trials of INS Vikramaditya next April, after a failed propulsion trial of the refurbished aircraft carrier further delayed the delivery to India until the last quarter of 2013.
LONDON — The German government has given the green light for the deployment of the Eurocopter EC665 Tiger attack helicopter to Afghanistan. The deployment will see four Tigers transported to Mazar-e-Sharif in the north of the country. From there the aircraft will be used to deliver fire support to ground troops, conduct convoy protection and provide an escort capability for transport helicopters such as the Sikorsky CH-53Gs being used by the German forces in the region.
The U.K. Defense Ministry plans to equip six Royal Navy mine-hunting ships with military X-band satellite communications gear over the next five years, with the first vessels to be outfitted by spring 2013. The ships will be the first to use SCOTPatrol 0.8-meter X-band satellite terminals developed by EADS-Astrium Services, a smaller version of the company’s legacy SCOT 5 terminals in service with 11 navies worldwide, including Britain.
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MOSCOW — On Nov. 22 the Russian air force received its first two Su-30SM fighters, domestic variants of the export best seller Su-30MKI. Thirty aircraft were ordered in March 2012. Deliveries to the military will continue in 2013 and last through 2015.
Singapore — Antonov is hoping to persuade Vietnam’s air force to upgrade its fleet of Antonov An-26s rather than phase out the aircraft. Industry executives say Vietnam’s air force is looking to replace its An-26s with new aircraft. Meanwhile, Antonov’s president, Dmytro Kiva, was in Hanoi this month as part of a Ukraine government trade delegation headed by the country’s prime minister, Nikolai Azarov.
BEIJING — Chinese national space contractor CASC has revealed a new medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV, the CH-4, which is primarily a civil aircraft, despite its exhibition at the Zhuhai air show this month toting bombs and surface-to-air missiles.
SALE SOUGHT: Indonesia’s state-owned aircraft maker Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) is hoping to secure a deal soon for the sale of more IAe CN-235s to the local armed forces. An IAe official says the company is seeking to secure a follow-on order in the coming weeks from the Indonesian navy for two CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) and an air force order for one CN-235 surveillance aircraft. The navy ordered three CN-235 MPAs in 2009. The new order would increase the total of CN-235 MPAs in the navy’s fleet to five, the official says.
An Ohio congressman is trying to prod the FAA into providing a timeline for when it will take the next step toward establishing six sites in the U.S. for testing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in civilian airspace.
