Both variants of the U.S. Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) are proving their worth, says Rear Adm. James Murdoch, LCS program executive officer, but there’s room for improvement. “We’re confident we’ve got good designs,” Murdoch said during an Oct. 19 briefing with reporters. “The lead ships are pretty good.”
The U.S. Navy is following the Marine Corps and Army in getting interested in unmanned cargo aircraft. A workshop scheduled for Nov. 1-2 in Washington will brief industry on the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility Vehicle (AACUS) innovative naval prototype program, which is planned to begin in fiscal 2012.
Air Combat Command (ACC) officials are planning within two weeks to present findings to U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz on whether the service can save money if it opts for a Goodrich ejection seat, rather than the Martin-Baker seat selected in 2001.
Aerospace & Defense Programs October 24-26, 2011 Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, AZ Strategic Performance, Innovation and Sourcing will focus on government customers — from the initiation of development throughout delivery of product. A&D Programs will bring together these professionals who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to interact and discuss common challenges and issues they face on a daily basis.
ABOARD THE USS WASP — A year ago, the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter was in the doghouse owing to lackluster performance in testing. Now, that has changed. The jets are up, operating and checking off test points. The timing for the turnaround is potentially fortuitous for the project, as only miles inland in Washington, officials overseeing the F-35 development program are trying to defend it from bean counters on the prowl for savings in the defense budget.
NO SPLURGE: Usually the end of the U.S. government’s fiscal year each September brings a gusher of government spending as agencies look to use what has been appropriated lest they get less next time. Not so this year, according to financial analysts Michael Lewis and Michael Smith at Lazard Capital Markets. “We do not believe the year-end ‘budget flush’ was as expeditious as in previous years, which may translate into lower-than-expected bookings for the group as a whole,” they say.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) says she plans to introduce comprehensive legislation this year to reform the contracting system that has allowed up to $60 billion to be wasted in Afghanistan.
GROUND SEGMENT: NATO on Oct. 18 signed a satellite ground segment contract with Finmeccanica company Selex Elsag. The £37.2 million ($60 million) contract covers the rationalization and upgrade of NATO’s static ground satellite communications facilities, setting up two new multi-antenna satellite ground stations in Belgium and Italy, and the refurbishment of two single-antenna sites in Greece and Turkey. Selex Elsag also will help improve training at the NATO Communications and Information Systems School in Latina, Italy.
A nearly 2-min. burn of the Russian service module thrusters nudged the International Space Station 2 mi. higher on Oct. 19, setting up the orbiting science laboratory for Progress cargo and Soyuz crew transport operations in November. A second maneuver, scheduled for Oct. 26, will complete the phasing and precede by three days the scheduled departure of the trash-laden Progress 42 capsule, set for Oct. 29.
While the U.S. submarine force has shown its mettle in Libyan operations and continues to improve even its oldest boats, the fleet remains threatened by budgetary concerns and projected force shortfalls, according to Ronald O’Rourke, naval analyst for the Congressional Research Service.
LONDON — The scandal-driven departure of Liam Fox as the U.K.’s defense secretary may have been all but inevitable when it finally occurred late last week, but that will not make it any easier for his successor, Philip Hammond, to take over the role.
The Israeli military is changing its battlefield look as new threats emerge in the Middle East, in part from looted Libyan arms migrating across Egypt and into Gaza through the Bedouin smuggling pipeline.
As the U.S. Government Accountability Office zeroes in on the U.S. Navy’s decision to restart the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke destroyer line while truncating DDG-1000 Zumwalt destroyers and killing the future proposed cruiser vessels, defense analysts say the service is bungling how to define the roles of either ship type. “There is no difference between a cruiser and destroyer,” says noted analyst and naval author Norman Polmar, a frequent contributor to the U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings magazine.
The defense units of Raytheon and Boeing are least vulnerable to further cuts in Pentagon spending, while those of Lockheed Martin and L-3 Communications appear to be more exposed, according to a new analysis by Credit Suisse.
The trap of unreconciled demands has a grip on U.S. Strategic Command. Planners have to reduce spending on the nuclear triad of submarines, strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles while preparing to meet the new threats of offensive operations in space and cyberspace and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
PREFERRED PROVIDERS: The Australian Defense Department has selected five “preferred industry partners” to provide computer application services. “The change is a significant milestone in Defense’s strategy to improve the department’s performance in delivering information and communications technology (ICT) capability as part of the Strategic Reform Program,” a department statement said Oct. 18. Selected providers are the Australian subsidiaries of Accenture, BAE Systems, CSC, IBM and Hewlett Packard.
A U.S. and Japanese spacecraft collaboration has produced an enhanced global digital topographic map that spans 99% of the Earth’s surface for use in remote-sensing applications ranging from the identification of natural resources to the protection of regions with environmental or cultural significance. The high-resolution topographic map was produced using data gathered from NASA’s Terra spacecraft and the Japanese Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, one of five onboard instruments.
Click here to view the pdf Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020 — Rotorcraft Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020 — Rotorcraft Top 10 Programs Per Category In Terms Of Total Value Of Production — 2011-2020 (In 2011 Dollars)
Click here to view the pdf Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020 — DOD Electronics Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020 — DOD Electronics U.S.
LOFTY AWARD: Lockheed Martin says a new, long-term U.S. Army contract to maintain, operate and sustain the Persistent Threat Detection Systems (PTDS) reaches $383 million. That comes on top of a $142 million award last year for 17 of the fully integrated, tethered aerostat surveillance systems (Aerospace DAILY, April 20, 2010). The aerostats have been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan to provide constant situational awareness for troops.
Tests of Boeing’s CST-100 commercial crew vehicle in a supersonic wind tunnel at NASA’s Ames Research Center are focused on gathering data that will be needed to keep a four-person crew alive during a launch failure and return them to Earth safely.
The U.S. Navy will have to secure the fort as the nation starts to scale down its ground forces in its current military conflicts, the chief of naval operations (CNO) says. “As ground forces draw down in the Middle East, the Navy will continue to deter aggression and reassure our partners: We will have the watch,” CNO Adm. Jonathan Greenert says in his recent “Sailing Directions,” a general guide for sailors and officers.
IC CUTBACKS: The U.S. intelligence community (IC) is headed for billions of dollars in budget reductions over the next decade. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Geoint 2011 conference in San Antonio this week that he wants half of the cost savings to come via information technology improvements. Other savings will come from cutting back contractors and overseas facilities. Clapper said Oct.
Click here to view the pdf Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020 — Military Gas Turbine Engines Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020 — Military Gas Turbine Engines Top 10 Programs Per Category In Terms Of Total Value Of Production — 2011-202
