AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Defense Systems Division of Herndon, Va. was awarded a $49,694,900 contract which will research, develop, and deliver an integrated software solution that improves upon the targeting functionality currently performed by Air Force and joint targeting automation software. At this time, $2,173 has been obligated. Air Force Research Laboratory/RIKF, Rome, N.Y., is the contracting activity (FA8750-11-D-0001; basic orders 0001 and 0002).
KAZSAT: Kazakh space agency Kazkosmos says it will hold a new international tender for a third spacecraft earmarked for its national communications satellite network. According to local press reports, agency head Talgat Musabaev declared Jan. 31 that neither of the two shortlisted bidders, China Great Wall Corp. or ISS Reshetnev, respected the tender process, rendering it invalid. A new supplier will be picked by Feb. 5, Musabaev said.
RAAF BASE AMBERLY, Australia — Veteran Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F-111 aircrews are drawing on their strike experience to create the first squadrons of the nation’s F/A-18F Super Hornet fleet. Among them is Wing Commander Terence Deeth, the skipper of Australia’s No. 6 Sqdn., which takes on operational training duties for the fleet.
HOUSTON — Russia’s 41st Progress supply craft docked with the International Space Station on Jan. 29, delivering three tons of fuel, food, pressurized air and other supplies, including the Kedr mini-satellite, a student experiment. The automated linkup with the station’s Pirs module took place at 9:39 p.m. EST, as the two spacecraft sailed 220 mi. above the Atlantic Ocean east of Uruguay.
BENGALURU, India — The Indian Defense Research and Development Organization’s (DRDO) plan to set up a Defense Technology Commission (DTC) is inching closer to reality. DRDO chief V.K. Saraswat said on Jan. 28 that the DTC — formed along the lines of India’s Space Commission and Atomic Energy Commission — would enable more self-reliance among DRDO labs through better funding and decentralization.
BENGALURU, India — India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is preparing to conduct another test-firing of its K-15 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
WTO RULING: The World Trade Organization has issued the final ruling on the European Union’s (EU) claim that Boeing benefited from illegal state aid for its commercial aircraft, upholding at least some of what Brussels has charged. The ruling, which remains closely held and will not be made public for several weeks, appears to follow the preliminary finding issued in September 2010. The verdict, emanating Jan. 31 from Geneva, is only the latest step in a long-running subsidy dispute between the U.S.
U.S. Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopters are “operationally effective” for all missions except surface warfare (SUW), according to the most recent annual report from the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E).
LONDON — The U.K. defense ministry is undertaking a sweeping review of its rules governing single-source procurements, with new guidelines set to emerge in 18 months. The defense ministry is promising to consult industry and allies in the process. The goal is also to ease the involvement of small- and medium-sized enterprises in defense contracting, the government says, echoing a similar theme being pursued as part of its defense industrial base review.
AAR Airlift Group has taken delivery of two Sikorsky S-92 helicopters to be operated in Afghanistan under contract to the U.S. Transportation Command (U.S. Transcom). Operations for the U.S. military are expected to begin in mid-February. AAR’s new S-92s are the first rotorcraft to be certified under FAA Part 29 regulations to carry passengers and cargo in the cabin at the same time. This “combi” capability was required by U.S. Transcom, says Jeff Schloesser, AAR Airlift group president.
NEW DELHI — By 2012, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is planning to double the number of ships and aircraft in its fleets, compared to 2008 levels, and to achieve a strength of about 200 surface platforms and 100 aircraft by 2018, says its director general, Vice Adm. Anil Chopra.
HALL MARK: The new Republican chairman of the House Science Committee, Rep. Ralph Hall (Texas), offered lukewarm praise for President Barack Obama’s State of the Union call for scientific efforts, but noted again his priority to maintain fiscal discipline. “While appropriate investments in science and technology are important, they must be made prudently within the confines of a disciplined budget,” Hall says.
On the American ballistic submarine USS Maine in waters off the Florida coast not too long ago, two submariners eyed a U.S. aircraft carrier through their periscope in the roiling sea. “I think it’s the Washington,” one submariner said. “It doesn’t matter — it doesn’t know we’re here,” the other replied, eyeing the carrier through the scope. “Bang,” he said. “You’re dead.”
STAYING AFLOAT: Attack submarine work should keep General Dynamics’ Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding plenty busy through the coming years. As the companies dive into their two-subs-per-year contracts, the Pentagon is expected to provide about $4.7 billion in contracts for the Virginia-class submarine in Fiscal 2012, according to Electric Boat President John Casey. Indeed between the attack submarine work and the anticipated SSBN ballistic missile submarine replacement program, business has never been better for the sub builders and their vendors.
PARIS — The European Space Agency (ESA) has approved the launch and contracting of the European Data Relay Satellite (EDRS) network, filling a long-standing gap in Europe’s space capability. The U.S. and Russia have had extensive data relay systems in place for some time, and Japan and China have begun developing similar networks.
MELBOURNE, Australia — After years of controversy, Australia’s Vigilare ground-based, network-centric command and control system—which provides a combined, information-packed, commercial-military, air and sea picture of the continent—is fast-tracking its way into operational use.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Feb. 1 2011 — Aviation Week 2011 MRO of the Year Awards, “Honor the best MRO and aftermarket entities from around the world for pioneering achievements and accomplishments,” Submissions due by Feb. 1. To make nominations go to www.aviationweek.com/aboutus/mroawards
STOVL FLIES: Lockheed Martin has flown the first short-take-off-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) F-35B, BF-5, which will be used first to measure the F-35B’s signatures, then will join Stovl testing. The fourth conventional-takeoff-and-landing F-35A, AF-4, was ferried to Edwards AFB, Calif., on Jan. 22. Under the current plan, two more development aircraft remain to fly, F-35C carrier variants CF-2 and -3. They are expected to ferry to NAS Patuxent River, Md., by June.
HOUSTON — Russia’s 41st Progress cargo capsule, filled with more than 5,000 lb. of fuel, food, pressurized breathing air, water and other supplies, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan late Jan. 27, initiating a two-day trip to the International Space Station (ISS). The cargo capsule is on course for an automated docking with the station’s Pirs module on Jan. 29 at 9:39 p.m. EST.
BUCKING TRENDS: Col. Roger Teague, who oversees the Air Force’s $10-billion Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs) missile-warning satellite program is taking over as vice commander of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles, and is being promoted to the rank of brigadier general. This represents a significant level of confidence by Air Force leadership in the long-awaited and much-delayed launch of the first geosynchronous (GEO-1) satellite for the Sbirs program, which has undergone a decade of cost overruns and delays.
