LONDON — The resignation of British Defense Secretary Liam Fox could delay reforms that he had been pushing. Fox resigned after around 10 days of controversy over his links to a friend who presented himself as an adviser during the secretary’s international trips. The issue led to a review of Fox’s conduct. Fox’s letter to Prime Minister David Cameron states: “I mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my government activities to become blurred.”
HEAVY HITTERS: With Polish procurement programs and Ukraine’s ambitious naval plans overshadowing budget problems in neighboring countries, the defense industry in Central and Eastern Europe should remain “secure,” according to consulting group Frost & Sullivan. The group predicts “slight” growth in spending, from $17.5 billion this year to $17.9 billion in 2020.
The three U.S. agencies responsible for purchasing launches of government payloads into space are agreeing on long-awaited criteria that for the first time pave the way for new rocket companies to penetrate a national security launch sector now dominated by United Launch Alliance, a Lockheed Martin and Boeing joint venture.
More details about how the U.S. disabled Libyan air defenses, communications and cyber-networks using submarines and electronic warfare came to light this week in testimony by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to the House Armed Services Committee. The U.S. exercised “unique capabilities to help NATO intervene” in Libya, said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) during the Oct. 13 hearing. “We had a submarine fleet in the Mediterranean — the Scranton, the Providence, the Florida — which in a matter of 48 hours neutralized Gadhafi’s air defenses.”
The U.S. Navy still is intent on developing the Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR), despite the service’s recent decision to drop the AMDR integration requirement from the planned Aegis combat system upgrades for budgetary reasons. “The Navy is still fully committed to integrating the AMDR into the Tactical Aegis Combat System as part of a future Advanced Capability Build (ACB),” the Navy says in a statement. The Navy needs AMDR to meet the current and expected threats, according to several service and industry officials.
LONDON — Northrop Grumman is signing industrial agreements with South Korean industry to support the company’s efforts to sell the high-altitude, long-endurance RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft to the country. The four industrial agreements are due to be signed next week during the Seoul air show. The deals will allow the South Korean partners to bid for workshare on Global Hawk. Partners include the Dreaming and Challenging Co., Firstec, Korea Jig and Fixture, and Korean Air Lines.
BENCHMARKING MMRCA: India is preparing to undertake an unprecedented cost analysis of commercial bids for its $11 billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) to a degree officials admit they have not accomplished before. With the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale battling for selection, and the winner expected to be announced by the middle of November, New Delhi has outlined the process by which it will determine the lowest bidder.
FAIR AND OPEN: Launch upstart SpaceX is hailing the new, tri-agency memorandum of understanding (MOU) that establishes a process for new rocket companies without long track records to gain access to U.S. government launch competitions. The agreement, signed by the U.S. Air Force, NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office, will be followed by more detailed guidance. (See story p. 2).
DEF EXPO: The seventh iteration of India’s official defense exhibition, DefExpo, will be held March 29 to April 1 at Pragati Maidan in the national capital New Delhi. Originally conceived in 1998, DefExpo aims to promote defense exports from India and exhibit Indian defense research, development and production capabilities. The exhibition focuses on equipment, weapons and systems for land, naval and internal security forces.
In what appears to be its sharpest break yet from previous leadership, U.S. Navy under Adm. Jonathan Greenert is taking a different tack on high-tech development programs. Greenert, the new chief of naval operations (CNO), says he wants to avoid riskier technology programs and dial down some of the investment in that equipment. Greenert says he wants to invest more heavily in readiness and bolster those accounts rather than beef up force structure with some riskier technology-development programs.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) OcT. 20 - 21 — Aviation Week MRO IT Conference & Showcase, "Transferorming the MRO Enterprise with Cutting-Edge IT," Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, Chicago, Ill. For more information go to www.aviationweek.com/events Oct. 24 - 26 — 49th Annual SAFE Symposium, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, Reno, Nev. For more information go to www.safeassociation .com
The U.S. Marine Corps is interested in “harvesting” technologies form the Army’s Humvee Recap program, but because of the capabilities they have already identified as essential to their mission, they won’t buy any fully Recapped Humvees. Instead, according to comments made by the Corps’ Dan Pierson, deputy program executive officer for land systems, the service is banking on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) while upgrading—not fully recapping—several thousand Humvees.
BUILD INDIA: A U.S.-India joint study group cosponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington and the Aspen Institute India in New Delhi says the U.S. should train and provide expertise to the Indian military in areas such as space and cyberspace operations, “where India’s defense establishment is currently weak, but its civil and private sector has strengths.” The U.S. also should help strengthen India’s indigenous defense industry, the think tanks assert. “The United States should treat India as equivalent to a U.S.
November 2–3, 2011 Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel Istanbul, Turkey Case-studies, new technology and best practices presented by the industry’s foremost operators, manufacturers and technologists: Register Now! www.aviationweek.com/events -- +1.212.904.4483 Click here to view the pdf
PARIS — France’s defense procurement chief does not consider the notion that the U.K. eventually may opt to buy the Rafale fighter for its new aircraft carriers to be completely ridiculous. The naval version of the French fighter is “the only naval aircraft [on the market], together with the F-18, which is today at the end of its life,” Laurent Collet-Billon told the National Assembly’s Defense and Armed Forces Commission earlier this month.
Raytheon has one of the most eye-catching pieces of lawn art in all of New England — a full-scale mockup of a U.S. Navy DDG-51 Arleigh Burke destroyer mast with an Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) array neatly sealed in its face. “This is so our customer can see how everything can fit into the current ship,” said James Bennett, Raytheon’s AMDR program manager, during a recent tour. “We’re doing a lot more than just drawings.”
The new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff cast doubt on the future of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter during testimony to lawmakers Oct. 13. During a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) asked the new chairman, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, to commit to making certain the Pentagon moves forward with the Marine Corps’ JSF variant, the F-35B. But Dempsey did not provide any such assurance.
The U.S. Army is waiting to hear whether its long-held plans for a family of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) will survive the budget cutting now under way within the Defense Department. A capability production document (CPD) that would establish programs of record for three sizes of small UAS has been complete for some time, but has yet to be formally approved.
The U.S. Army’s Rapid Equipping Force (REF) has approved funding to purchase and deploy six wireless recharging systems for robots used to disarm roadside bombs. The REF has turned to a product developed by WiTricity Inc. that “will enable drive on/drive off charging” of the batteries that power Qinetiq’s Talon robots without requiring human intervention, according to the REF.
EADS North America confirms that a U.S. promotional tour for its A400M airlifter is being seriously considered, and that a 2012 date has not been ruled out. In a preview of its intentions, the company displayed a model of an A400M with a U.S. Air Force logo at the Association of the U.S. Army symposium in Washington this week. Civil certification, due around the end of this year, would make such a tour possible. The key question might be timing. Any demonstration tour would have to be arranged without affecting preparations for service entry.
Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020, Top 25 Aerospace & Defense Programs in terms of Total Value of Production,2011-2020, (in 2011 Dollars) Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020, Top 25 Aerospace & Defense Programs in terms of Total Value of Production, 2011-2020, (in 2011 Dollars) Manufacturer Program 2011-2020
The most near-term threat to Boeing’s KC-46 tanker program could be a significant funding shortfall if the government operates through the end of the year with a continuing resolution, in which fiscal 2012 moves forward with only fiscal 2011 funding levels approved.
Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020: Military Spacecraft Top Aerospace & Defense Programs 2011-2020: Military Spacecraft Military Spacecraft Top 10 Programs Per Category In Terms Of Total Value Of Production -- 2011-2020 (In 2011 Dollars) Manufacturer
LONDON — Northrop Grumman has decided to forego exhibiting at next year’s Farnborough air show in the U.K. The move comes as the company tries to control costs in light of anticipated defense spending cuts in the U.S., the company’s largest market. U.S. manufacturers have curtailed their show presence at Farnborough and its French counterpart event at Le Bourget in recent years, citing the high costs linked to attending those events. Boeing’s defense operation, for instance, limited the executives attending the Paris air show this year to a minimum.
