An ad hoc committee of the National Academies will meet Jan. 28 in Washington to review and update the 2002 report on technical issues related to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The committee includes a former Strategic Command chief and the previous administration’s director of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
GROTON, Conn. — Modular construction techniques for the U.S. Navy’s newest nuclear-powered submarines can and should be adapted for public commercial power platforms, according to John Casey, president of General Dynamics Electric Boat, one of the builders of the nation’s submarine fleet. The submarine modular construction methods would be more efficient ways of building platforms for nuclear power, Casey told local leaders last week during a briefing on submarine programs.
U.S. Supreme Court justices sharply questioned a government lawyer Jan. 18 about why the government should be able to hold contractors for the canceled U.S. Navy A-12 stealth aircraft in default but still claim a privilege to withhold state secrets when the contractors tried to defend their work in court. The court’s ruling, which is due before the 2010-11 term ends in June, could have broad implications for any company working for the U.S. government on classified technologies.
Sikorsky has opened a virtual reality center for the CH-53K program, designed to help identify issues that could emerge during assembly of the heavy-lift helicopter, which is scheduled to fly in 2013. The center allows engineers to simulate assembly of the aircraft using the Catia three-dimensional design database. Twelve cameras capture the movements of the operator, who is then immersed into the digital environment via a head-mounted display, sensor-equipped gloves and a force-feedback gripping tool.
BOOM TIMES: Baghdad will invest an average of $12.5 billion annually through 2015 to beef up the Iraqi Security Forces, starting with the Iraqi Air Force, consultancy Forecast International says. The air force plans to field 500 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft by 2020, but its pressing needs include advanced jet trainers and combat aircraft. Besides Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also driving Middle East defense growth under arms buildups supported by the U.S.
LONDON — U.K. military officials are preparing plans to bridge capability gaps that have emerged out of last year’s Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) even as they brace for further cuts to plug remaining funding shortfalls.
ARIANE CONTRACT: Eutelsat has awarded Arianespace a contract to orbit a yet-to-be-designated satellite in 2012 using its Ariane 5 heavy-lift booster. Arianespace says the launch, awarded in December, is one of 12 orders received in 2010, and will apply to one of six spacecraft Eutelsat plans to launch between now and mid-2013. The Paris-based satellite operator is scheduled to orbit two spacecraft, W6A and W5A, in the third and fourth quarter of 2012. However, the deal also could apply to W2A and W3D, which Eutelsat plans to bring into service in early 2013.
ARMY Gargoyles Inc., Westminster, Md., was awarded on Jan. 10 an $11,115,156 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for transportation services in Iraq, including routine maintenance, emergency repairs, washing, dispatching and towing services. The work will be performed in Baghdad, Iraq, with an estimated completion date of July 9, 2011. Three bids were solicited with two bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District, Winchester, Va., is the contracting activity (W912ER-11-C-0012). NAVY
LONDON — The Brazilian government has given the green light for Embraer to complete the overhaul program for Brazilian air force AMX fighters. The company plans to fly the first of the structurally enhanced AMX prototypes next year. The program is a follow-on to the electronics upgrade of 43 of 56 AMXs into the A-1M standard, which adds a laser designator, night vision goggle capability, improved electronics and electronic warfare system. The new effort focuses on structural enhancements and replacing obsolete parts.
HOUSTON — NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, one of two spacewalkers assigned to the shuttle Discovery’s already delayed assembly mission to the International Space Station, suffered a hip injury during a Jan. 15 bicycle accident and may be replaced, according to the space agency. “That possibility is still being evaluated,” NASA says.
ARMY The Boeing Co., Defense, Space & Security, Mesa, Ariz., was awarded a $190,239,373 firm-fixed-price contract on Jan. 12, 2011. The award will provide for the remanufacture of 72 AH-64A aircraft into AH-64D aircraft along with one Longbow Crew Trainer. The work will be performed in Mesa, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2014. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, AMCOM, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-06-C-0093). AIR FORCE
PARIS — Revelations by WikiLeaks have cost at least one top space executive his job. The supervisory board of OHB-System has sacked CEO Berry Smutny over revelations published on Jan. 13 in the Norwegian daily “Aftenposten.” The report, based on a secret 2009 diplomatic note from the U.S. embassy in Berlin obtained by WikiLeaks, said Smutny had slammed France as a top source of corporate spying and termed Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system “a stupid idea that primarily serves French interests.”
BEIJING — Avic Defense is pushing its units to cooperate more closely, seeking to weld an integrated manufacturer of combat aircraft, trainers, drones and missiles from a widely dispersed collection of factories and research institutes. The company, the defense subsidiary of Chinese aeronautics conglomerate Avic, is developing according to a principle of internal specialization, setting up so-called centers of excellence in various fields, President Wang Yawei says.
SOUND PURCHASES: DRS Sonar Systems, a joint venture of Thales and Finmeccanica affiliate DRS, has acquired Advanced Acoustic Concepts, a New York-based supplier of sonar systems, sonar signal processing systems and acoustic training systems, as well as open architecture and software integration, following U.S. government approval. The purchase is part of a concerted plan by Thales and Finmeccanica to broaden their footprint in the U.S. market, particularly in defense.
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has awarded $360 million in contracts for cockpit, flight management, radar equipment and avionics suite improvements for its MH-60R/S Seahawk helicopters. Lockheed Martin is performing the work on the Seahawks, which are built by Sikorsky Aircraft. The two companies have delivered 85 upgraded MH-60Rs.
LONDON — BAE Systems is paying ₤217 million ($345 million) for Irish cyberprotection software provider Norkom Technologies. The all-cash deal, announced Jan. 14, has BAE paying a 36% per share premium over the stock price on Jan. 13 and a 121% premium over the price on Nov. 25, which was the last trading day before the offer period. Norkom’s board is recommending that shareholders approve the offer.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) JAN. 20 — The Wings Club Luncheon featuring Willie Walsh, CEO, British Airways, The Yale Club, New York. For more information call 212-867-1770 or email [email protected] JAN. 24 - 27 — Institute for Defense and Government Advancement’s “Network-Enabled Operations 2011,” Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, Va., 800-882-8684. For more information go to www.idga.org
NO BMD: French defense minister Alain Juppe is rejecting industry entreaties to spend up to €100 million ($133 million) on ballistic missile defense (BMD) technologies, according to industry officials. Contractors had hoped that Juppe would reverse the anti-BMD policy of his predecessor, Herve Morin, following a NATO agreement in late 2010 approving a plan for territorial missile defense. Separately, Juppe met with his British counterpart, Liam Fox, in Paris last week to gauge progress on a military cooperation treaty between the two countries signed on Nov. 2.
China’s newest combat aircraft prototype, the J-20, will require an intense development program if it is going to catch up with fast-moving anti-stealth technology. In fact, anti-stealth will bring into question all stealth designs. How much invulnerability will current low-observability techniques offer as air defense systems adopt even larger and more powerful active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radars?
L-3 Communications subsidiary Coleman Aerospace is preparing its air-launched target, which was put in the spotlight for performance problems last year, for return to flight this summer. Lt. Gen Patrick O’Reilly, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, which uses this target for flight testing, announced early last year that he was withholding funding for the short-range system (Aerospace DAILY, March 24, 2010).
LONDON — The British government this year is expected to develop a detailed plan for a mid-life update of Royal Air Force (RAF) Merlin Mk. 3 helicopters to prepare them to take over for retiring Royal Navy Sea Kings.
Continuing uncertainty over U.S. civil space policy is increasingly a safety and economic risk to the nation, according to a new report by the independent review panel charged with overseeing safety at NASA. The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) finds a lack of “clarity and constancy of purpose among NASA, Congress and the White House” its primary concern, with repercussions across the space agency.
LONDON — The Norwegian government is in the process of devising a new long-term defense plan due for submission to the country’s parliament during the spring, defense minister Grete Faremo says. As part of the overhaul, the country’s fighter plans also will come into focus again, with the scope of the planned F-35 procurement program under discussion, as well as its funding.
