Additional government testing of GPS receivers for interference from LightSquared’s broadband-wireless network under a revised deployment plan is getting under way at Holloman AFB, N.M. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered the additional work after tests confirmed there would be severe GPS interference from the original deployment plan, but indicated the problem would be reduced significantly if LightSquared used only the lower of its two frequency bands, the one farthest from the GPS satellite signal.
Click here to view the pdf Road Warriors: 2010 Pentagon Leading Ground Vehicle Contractors Road Warriors: 2010 Pentagon Leading Ground Vehicle Contractors No. Contractor Number Of Transactions Total For Al
November 2 - 3, 2011 Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel Istanbul, Turkey Engine maintenance at 35%, is the largest segment of total MRO spend. It is the biggest cost driver for operators and engine MRO requirements are likely to increase over the next decade. This forum will identify and help you develop a strategy for selecting your service provider and planning engine maintenance schedules that lead to effective planning and cost reduction.
SAT REUSE: Retired satellites in geosynchronous orbit could be harvested and reused using a new class of “satlets” to be developed under a new U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program. The Phoenix program would enable reuse of apertures and antennas on decommissioned GEO satellites in graveyard or disposal orbits. The satlets, or nanosatellites, would ride along on a commercial satellite launch and be released to link up with an on-orbit “tender” or servicing satellite.
Singapore – Indonesia appears to be moving toward signing a contract to have some older Lockheed Martin F-16s upgraded to the Block 52 standard, a move that comes after the country’s populist president weighed into the debate about defense procurement processes.
Click here to view the pdf 2010 Pentagon Leading Wheeled Vehicle Contractors 2010 Pentagon Leading Wheeled Vehicle Contractors No. Contractor Number Of Transactions Total For All Transactions
The first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) jam-proof communications satellite finally reached its proper orbit Oct. 24 after officials nearly lost the spacecraft due to an onboard engine failure last year.
An interesting peek at top cyber-defenses comes from a list of “best anti-malware” assembled by Government Security News, a homeland security trade publication. Criteria for the list were electronic capabilities aimed at “sniffing out bad things that already lurk” in cyberspace. The toolbox provides an interesting survey of digital dirty tricks. The following highlights four new capabilities:
NASA hopes to use commercial vehicles to match the cost of flying astronauts to the International Space Station on Russian Soyuz vehicles or to do slightly better. But even if U.S.-built commercial vehicles are ready to fly crews in 2016 as planned, the agency probably will need a longer exemption on the law that otherwise would keep it from doing business with Moscow.
LONDON – Days after unveiling sweeping cuts to Germany’s defense modernization plans, the country’s defense minister, Thomas de Maiziere, is stressing the importance of sustaining a healthy industrial base for the country. Having its own industrial competencies is critical for Germany to play a role in the integration of Europe’s defense industrial base, de Maiziere said during an address in Berlin. Only countries with a meaningful industrial base will have the weight to influence decisions among partners, he adds.
A member of the secretive congressional committee in charge of finding ways to rein in the U.S. government from its staggering deficit is already asking about ways to get around the harshest penalty associated with failure: $600 billion in automatic cuts to the Pentagon budget.
Ten years to the date of the F-35 development contract being signed, the Pentagon is playing hardball with Lockheed Martin, its prime contractor for the roughly $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter, the largest program on the Defense Department’s books.
Boeing dominated the 2011 winners of Aviation Week’s annual Program Excellence awards, announced Oct. 25 in Phoenix. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Rockwell Collins also walked away with recognition of their recent programmatic performance, as did Finmeccanica’s DRS Technologies.
HOUSTON – NASA’s asteroid analog mission aboard the Aquarius undersea laboratory off Key Largo, Fla., came to an early end on Oct. 26, as Hurricane Rina gained strength and forecasters predicted movement toward South Florida.
As the U.S. Marine Corps slackens its efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the service is shifting its priority to the Pacific, where the Marines will focus more on expeditionary operations than ground forces, says Gen. James Amos, the Corps Commandant. The shift will determine how the Marines train and what they invest their money in, Amos says.
LONDON – Elbit’s AEL Sistemas subsidiary will have a key role in providing self-protection equipment for the Embraer KC-390 tanker/transport, including the directed infrared countermeasures (Dircm) system. As part of its latest subcontract announcements, Embraer notes that AEL will also work on other aspects of the self-protection system and the head-up display. It already has been named to supply the aircraft’s mission computer. AEL’s work will likely build on expertise gained from developing the Music fiber-laser infrared countermeasures system.
Boeing is confident that a $60 billion U.S. arms deal with Saudi Arabia that includes the sale of 84 F-15 fighter jets is heading for the finish line more than a year after it first became public.
SPENDING BILLS: The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee told reporters Oct. 26 that if the Senate can by next week send the House of Representatives a bill that contains spending for NASA and the FAA, the House and Senate versions can be reconciled before the current spending bill for the entire government runs out Nov. 18. Rep.
So far, there is no foolproof cyber-security, but ideas are emerging to soften the impact of Internet attacks. They include setting up parallel Internets, creating faster fixes to problems in existing networks and practicing the basics of digital hygiene. Such discipline could solve 85% of network attack problems, according to a recent government study. Well-monitored cloud computing appears to be an intermediate option.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy is making good on its intentions to put more resources and effort into maintaining and repairing its ship fleet. “We currently have 49 ships receiving some form of depot-level maintenance in our public and private shipyards,” says Adm. J.C. Harvey, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, in his most recent blog.“For every ship deployed forward, we have one back home conducting critical maintenance and training,” he says.
With the U.S. unemployment rate at 9.1% and President Obama pushing for a costly jobs bill, the Aerospace Industries Association is framing its don’t-cut-defense-spending message in terms that may resonate with politicians. If the worst-case budget scenario unfolds and the “supercommittee” and/or Congress fails to reach an accord on pinpointing ways to trim at least $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit, the Pentagon would automatically lose $600 billion over the next decade in addition to an initial cut of about $450 billion.
