While Japan expects to receive its first F-X fighters for training in 2016, flight test leaders in the U.S. and U.K. are concerned that the F-35 will not meet its 2015 target for starting initial operational test and evaluation, which would delay the completion of certificated training plans and syllabi.
Faced with a deep cut in its budget request for commercial crew development in fiscal 2012, NASA will continue to use Space Act Agreements (SAAs) to seed work on the private spacecraft it needs to carry U.S., European, Japanese and Canadian astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
PARIS — Commercial Earth observation was all but invented in France, yet companies here that pioneered the high-resolution optical imagery market a decade ago have been edged out in recent years by tough competition in the U.S. That could change, however, with the planned launch of France’s first Pleiades high-resolution Earth-observation satellite this month, one of two next-generation optical-imaging spacecraft designed to serve military and civil users while reserving capacity for commercial customers.
Japan’s expected order for the Lockheed Martin F-35 is likely to result in sales of more than just the 42 fighters that industry officials anticipate Tokyo will buy. South Korea closely watches Japanese defense procurements. A Japanese order for F-35s, especially if followed promptly by one from South Korea, would bolster early demand for the stealth fighter, potentially offsetting reductions in purchases by other customers, such as the U.S. and cash-strapped European countries.
Battles over how to reduce the federal deficit are far from over. To offset a $600 billion reduction scheduled to fall on defense spending, congressional Republicans are pledging that they can pull together a package of items early next year — such as the sale of wireless spectrum, freezing the pay of government workers and reducing the federal workforce (Aerospace DAILY, Dec. 15). The plan is going over like a lead balloon among Democrats, who argue that Republicans helped craft the plan they are now trying to run away from.
INDUSTRIAL ARRANGEMENTS: French aerospace and defense company Thales has exercised an option to increase its shareholding in French shipyard DCNS to 35% from the 25% acquired in 2007. At the same time, the company is committing to working more closely with French land armaments company Nexter Systems; Thales CEO Luc Vigneron previously ran Nexter. The goal is to have the munitions business of the two companies, with Thales also taking a stake in Nexter.
The defense authorization bill, providing $662.4 billion for national defense programs along with plans to continue funding Lockheed Martin’s Medium Extended Air Defense System (Meads), passed in the Senate Dec. 15 by a vote of 86-13. The bill also takes Lockheed’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to task for problems with development while in production. But it pushes out by one year an effort by Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, to have Lockheed pick up the tab for cost overruns exceeding a certain amount.
HOUSTON — NASA’s Johnson Space Center resumed normal operations at midday on Dec. 15, 24 hr. after a power outage linked to an off-site traffic accident in which a motorist careened into a power line transmission tower. Throughout the outage, the Mission Control Center, the primary ground communications link with the three-man U.S. and Russian crew aboard the International Space Station, operated on the same backup generators used to provide electricity during storms.
The second round of testing for potential GPS interference from LightSquared’s proposed broadband network shows interference with a “majority” of GPS receivers, the U.S. Departments of Defense and Transportation say. The agencies released a joint statement late Dec. 14 on the recently completed testing for interference from LightSquared’s proposed operation of high-powered 4G LTE (long term evolution) ground stations in the Mobile Satellite Service band, intended for satellite downlink.
AFRICA SPENDING: Forecast International (FI) is predicting that African defense budgets will grow at an average of less than 3% per year through 2015, down precipitously from the 2006-2010 compound annual growth rate of 12.96%. Citing Arab Spring revolutions in the north — including major arms buyer Libya — an increase in Islamic fundamentalism activity and several elections that led to political crises, FI analysts say major military procurement purchases are not a priority going into 2012 because several countries are in the midst of recovering from recent conflicts.
The competition is on for the Aegis 16 upgrade program, meant to provide more open architecture and greater capability for the vaunted ship-shield and combat system. Aegis incumbent Lockheed Martin — as well as upstarts Raytheon and Boeing — all acknowledged Dec. 14 that they submitted their bids for the work, a day ahead of the request for proposals (RFP) deadline.
LONDON — The Netherlands plans to pursue an off-the-shelf, medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft, with the goal of achieving an initial operational capability in 2015.
NEW DELHI — An Indian air force Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft crashed Dec. 13 soon after taking off near the western city of Pune. The pilots ejected safely. The crash comes as authorities are discussing the predominant reasons for the spate of crashes involving Indian air force (IAF) fighter jets. During the last three years, the IAF has lost 30 fighter aircraft and 10 helicopters in crashes.
Aviation Week Defense Technology Affordability Requirements Feb. 14-16, 2012 Arlington, VA Shedding light on DoD’s future spending priorities and important technology areas! Hear from senior service leaders on what the customer wants and how requirements are shifting. For more information and to register visit www.aviationweek.com/events/dtar.
NEW DELHI — Indian scientists are in the process of developing robots to replace human soldiers in the near future as part of the country’s unmanned warfare system. A new research facility has been set up by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and BEML Ltd., the state-run heavy engineering and defense equipment major, in Avadi, a suburb of Chennai in south India, to make robot soldiers and cargo-transporting robots for the country’s army.
LONDON — In a move that could lead to the bifurcation of Europe’s unmanned aircraft industry, EADS/Cassidian and Alenia Aeronautica have signed an agreement to explore potential cooperation in the realm of medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAVs and unmanned combat air vehicles.
A new, reduced-signature, intelligence-collecting aircraft that can carry bombs weighing up to a ton is being introduced as a test aircraft for new sensors and weapons, and is expected to evolve into “in-theater” operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The project was already under way before the loss of a reduced-signature UAV near Kashmar in northeastern Iran on Dec. 4, U.S. officials say.
U.S. aerospace and defense sales continued to grow in 2011 and will see only a modest decline next year, according to a forecast unveiled Wednesday by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA).
GROSSI GONE: The chief executive of Italian defense group Finmeccanica’s Selex Sistemi Integrati unit, Marina Grossi, has resigned, according to a Finmeccanica statement Dec. 14. Reuters says the board of Selex — the systems and radar unit — will meet Dec. 15 to discuss new management appointments. Grossi is married to Finmeccanica’s former chairman Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, who recently stepped down due to a long-running corruption probe.
Senate Republicans are building a bill to spare the Pentagon huge budget cuts, pledging to reach an agreement with Democrats on deficit reduction that they failed to achieve in November.
LANGKAWI, Malaysia — Airbus Military’s decision to equip its C295 airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft with an Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) radar system is raising questions in some parts of the Muslim world.
