SINGAPORE — Sri Lanka’s air force has taken delivery of two Chinese-built Xian Aircraft MA60 turboprop passenger aircraft for its domestic commercial airline operation Helitours, which also plans to expand internationally. Sri Lanka is a political ally of China, which is understood to have facilitated the sale using “soft loans.”
As the U.S. Navy polishes the requirements for its proposed Aegis ballistic missile defense system upgrades, companies such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are cranking up production to support the combat system on the restarted DDG-51 Arleigh Burke destroyer line. The Navy recently decided to restart the line to put more Aegis-equipped vessels into the fleet with tweaked combat systems for more enhanced ballistic missile defense capability.
The head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is projecting a sense of confidence that despite the federal government’s focus on cutting the deficit, the agency’s signature programs—the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system and the Phased Adaptive Approach for Europe—are likely to escape major budget reductions.
The director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency is downplaying a recent test failure of Raytheon’s SM-3 IB missile interceptor as a typical rite of passage for early flight tests. For the SM-3 IB, part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system, it was the first end-to-end test. And on that early trial in September, the interceptor failed to shoot down a target.
LONDON — Legislators from European Union member states are calling on the European Commission to sustain funding for the flagship GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) satellite program. The commission proposes to strip GMES from the multiyear budget in 2012 and rely on member states to carry the load, which the European Space Agency (ESA) estimates will cost around €834 million ($1.14 billion) annually to maintain and operate.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A fly-over by Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2) suborbital vehicle and WhiteKnightTwo mothership marked the Oct. 17 dedication of the hangar at Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-designed launch facility for space tourism and sub-orbital science flights.
CST-100: Boeing says it is close to wrapping up wind-tunnel testing at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California for the company’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft. The test team is using a 12-in.-wide, 14-in.-long aluminum model that is about 1/14th the size of the operational capsule that Boeing is designing to ferry crew and cargo to low Earth orbit as one of the four competitors in NASA’s Commercial Crew Development program. Testing is scheduled to conclude by the end of this month.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the U.S. Air Force’s plan to help stabilize the launch industrial base for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) could commit the service to buying more core boost vehicles than needed, perhaps at a higher-than-necessary cost.
HOUSTON — Robonaut 2 (R2), the legless humanoid developed by NASA and General Motors, has moved for the first time since its launch to the International Space Station in February aboard the STS-133 mission, the space agency reported Oct. 14. The arm motions a day earlier were made in response to commands from NASA’s Mission Control and payload control facilities here and in Huntsville, Ala.
HOUSTON — An international crew of astronauts, a prominent U.S. planetary geologist and support personnel have assembled in South Florida for an Oct. 20 descent to an undersea habitat off Key Largo, where they plan to spend 13 days addressing a range of challenges facing a future human mission to an asteroid.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems, Totowa, N.J., was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for a maximum $24,062,919 for installation of advanced radar warning receiver ship sets on C-130 aircraft. The other location of performance is New York. Using service is Air Force. The date of performance completion is Aug. 13, 2013. The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity (SPM4AX-08-D-9416/XE02). AIR FORCE
For the first time since U.S. Navy ships and submarines played cat and mouse with Soviet counterparts, America is finding it much more difficult for its forces to roam the seas at will and project forward presence where and when it wants.
With the new U.S. chief of naval operations (CNO) making fleet readiness a top priority, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (Spawar) has established a new fleet readiness directorate (FRD). In recent appearances and interviews, CNO Adm. Jonathan Greenert said he wants to invest more heavily in readiness and bolster those accounts rather than beef up force structure with some other programs, particularly those with riskier technology.
LONDON — The Netherlands now expects the first NH Industries NFH90 helicopter in its full operational capability standard to be delivered in the second quarter of 2012, three months later than expected.
The computer virus that infected parts of the U.S. unmanned aircraft fleet in September is “more of a nuisance than an operational threat,” say officials of U.S. Air Force Space Command at Peterson AFB, Colo. The infection was first detected Sept. 15 by 24th Air Force cyber-protection specialists. Officials at Creech AFB, Nev. — home of U.S. Air Force Predator and Reaper UAV operations — were notified that malware was on their portable hard drives used to transfer information between systems.
LONDON — The Netherlands defense ministry no longer expects to receive its first CH-47F helicopters this year, with the timing of the initial delivery “uncertain.” The schedule update for the €364.6 million ($503 million) acquisition was provided to legislators by Defense Minister Hans Hillen. The ministry previously worried that problems with the equipment could push back the handover. Flight trials in August revealed the CH-47Fs need further software adjustments before they can be delivered.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY General Electric Co., Lynn, Mass., was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for a minimum $31,968,905 for aircraft turbine rotors. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is the Army. The date of performance completion is May 2015. The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-09-D-0041/ZB18). NAVY
Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020 - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020 - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Top 10 Programs Per Category In Terms Of Total Value Of Production — 2011-2020 (In 2011 Dollars) Manufacturer Program 2011-2020
SINGAPORE — U.S. helicopter manufacturer Kaman is pitching its Super Seasprite SH-2G anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter to Indonesia. The Indonesian navy has a requirement for ASW helicopters for its new Sigma-class corvettes, whose helipads now accommodate aging Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm Bo-105 utility helicopters.
An information technology trade group forecasts $600 billion in U.S. defense budget cuts through fiscal 2021, unless the “nightmare scenario” of Congress failing to meet the deficit reductions mandated by the Budget Control Act (BCA) occurs, which would result in $1 trillion slashed. To fund the “must-pay” bills of operations and maintenance as well as personnel, the funding levels for procurement, new starts and especially research will have to be reduced, according to TechAmerica Foundation’s latest annual forecast.
AIR FORCE Tecolote Research Inc., Goleta, Calif., is being awarded an $88,500,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursement and firm-fixed-price contract line items to provide specialized cost services advisory and assistance services to the Electronic Systems Center. ESC/CAA, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (FA8721-11-D-0001). ARMY
