POSEIDON AWARD: Boeing says the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol program will receive its second low-rate production award from the U.S. Navy next month. LRIP-2 will be for seven aircraft and is expected to be followed by an LRIP-3 award for another 11 aircraft next spring, Boeing P-8 Program Manager Chuck Debundo says. Speaking at Aviation Week’s A&D Programs Conference in Phoenix, Debundo said the program expects to see a rate increase from one aircraft every three months to one per month within the next three months.
LONDON – Germany has begun examining its long-term air and missile defense needs even as it has joined the U.S. in forgoing acquisition of the Medium Extended Air Defense System (Meads).
New flight-control software meant to help aircraft “stick” aircraft carrier landings more cleanly could lead to major aircraft redesigns that would save costs, reduce wear and tear on future aircraft and improve their overall performance, according to the Office of Naval Research (ONR), which has been spearheading the technology’s development.
WASHINGTON – Although the U.S. Coast Guard spent the past year performing more non-homeland security missions than it has previously, the service is set to refocus on securing the homeland. “The Coast Guard’s budget information for fiscal 2011 and projections for fiscal 2012 show a slight increase in homeland security mission spending and a slight decrease in non-homeland security mission spending,” says the Annual Review of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Mission Performance by the Homeland Security Department’s Inspector General (IG).
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.
ARMY General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, Calif., was awarded a $30,279,377 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The award will provide for the modification of an existing contract for additional engineering services for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System program. The work will be performed in Poway, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 30, 2012. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ- AIR FORCE
The top two senators from the Senate Armed Services Committee are calling for the U.S. Air Force to halt talks worth up to $15 billion with its top rocket provider owing to insufficient pricing data and management insight for the service to make “informed decisions” for crafting a new buy strategy for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELV).
WASHINGTON – When deciding who will be the prime Aegis contractor for the combat system’s Advanced Capabilities Build (ACB) 16 upgrades, the U.S. Navy will be looking at each company’s ability to complete the work, technical and management approaches, past performance, combat systems knowledge, experience and, of course, price, according to the service’s request for proposals (RFP) released last week.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy has found another potential role for its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) — a launching platform for teams of SEALs or other military units needing to get a better peek at difficult-to-reach coastal areas. Marketed mostly for its mine, anti-submarine and surface warfare missions, the LCS would make a perfect ship for transporting those units into those coastal regions, says Rear Adm. James Murdoch, LCS program executive officer.
AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, Clearfield, Utah, is being awarded a $28,834,439 cost-plus-award-fee contract modification for sustainment support for the Minute Man weapon system, incremental funding for exercised option. AFNWC/PKME, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity (F42610-98-C-0001).
TOULOUSE – Although it is far from certain that the Airbus Military A400M transport will meet two of its 2011 targets — receiving its type certification and flying the fifth test aircraft — program officials are generally upbeat about overall development progress and confident that the far more important objective, delivering the first customer aircraft, can be met next year.
ROSAT RETURNS: Germany’s Rosat (Roentgen Satellite) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the weekend, probably in the Indian Ocean between India and Indonesia. But the German Aerospace Center (DLR) said it did not know if any pieces of the 2.6-ton spacecraft reached the surface. In all likelihood they did, however. DLR estimated some 30 different pieces of the X-ray observatory might survive the plunge through the atmosphere. Overall, those pieces weighed 1.7 tons. According to DLR, the spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere on Saturday, Oct. 22, between 9:45 p.m.
After nearly three weeks of F-35B flight testing onboard the USS Wasp amphibious ship, prime contractor Lockheed Martin will continue to work on an optimum design for the lift-fan door actuators. The ship trials took four days longer than planned owing to weather, according to F-35 Joint Program Office spokesman Joe Dellavedova. The testing, including 72 vertical landings and short takeoffs, took place Oct. 3-21. BF-2 and BF-4, the two jets used for the ship trials, returned to the NAS Patuxent River, Md., test facility on Oct. 21.
NEW DELHI – India is likely to open the commercial bids of the two shortlisted vendors for the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) in the first week of November. A Defense Ministry official said the vendors – French Rafale International and European consortium Cassidian Eurofighter – will be invited to witness the opening of their bids on Nov. 4.
BEIJING — South Korea is moving rapidly into the demonstrator phase for a stealthy combat drone that it does not expect to field until late in the next decade.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 24 - 26 — 49th Annual SAFE Symposium, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, Reno, Nev. For more information go to www.safeassociation .com Oct. 24 - 26 — Aviation Week A&D Programs, Phoenix, Ariz. For more information go to www.aviationweek.com/events
NEW DEALS: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems will supply the Italian air force with two additional MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft and three Lynx Block 30 synthetic-aperture radars under a $15 million contract, part of Italy’s plan to build its fleet to six each of Lynx-equipped Predators and Reapers. The French navy, meanwhile, plans to upgrade its four Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeyes for $180 million and provide Argentina with a commercial off-the-shelf avionics upgrade for five Lockheed Martin C-130Hs, for $166 million. The U.S.
Click here to view the pdf Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020 — Warship Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020 — Warship Warships Top 10 Programs Per Category I
