Further work on a process that could produce a true drop-in biofuel replacement for conventional jet fuel has been funded by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The catalytic hydrothermosis (CH) process can convert any vegetable oil or animal fat into a similar mix of aromatic and paraffinic hydrocarbons, as found in petroleum-based jet fuel, says developer Applied Research Associates (ARA).
The U.S. Army recently awarded BAE Systems a $250 million contract to purchase long-lead items for 247 Bradley Operation Desert Storm Situational Awareness (ODS SA) vehicle conversion kits. The contract from U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command’s Life Cycle Management Command shows the service’s long-term commitment to the Bradley program, says Roy Perkins, company director of U.S. Combat Systems Business Development for the heavy brigade combat team. “This means the Army is not walking away from the Bradley,” Perkins says.
HOUSTON — NASA’s strategy for the disposal of surplus space shuttle program assets has exposed sensitive data, including operational and maintenance technology information subject to U.S. export controls, through the release of computers and other Information Technology equipment, NASA Inspector General Paul K. Martin says in a Dec. 7 report. The IG findings were based on a yearlong audit that was focused on property disposal activities at Kennedy and Johnson space centers as well as the Ames and Langley research centers.
LONDON — Eurocopter’s X3 hybrid helicopter concept demonstrator has reached its initial 180-kt. speed target. The program, unveiled in September, reached the speed marker on Nov. 29 at the Istres flight-test center in southern France. So far, the helo also has reached 12,500 ft. altitude and performed maneuvers at up to a 60 deg. angle of bank. In a statement, Herve Jammayrac, the test pilot, says the helo is showing “handling and flight qualities that are exactly in line with our ground-based simulator evaluations.”
LONDON — The U.K. Defense Ministry is looking to fund the development of a next-generation, small nuclear-detection system. The requirements for the new technology are stringent. The goal is to “provide rapid, accurate and reliable detection of [kilogram] or [sub-kilogram] masses of nuclear materials through dense shielding material ... at stand-off distances of many (tens) of meters,” according to the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory.
PARIS — The defense committees of the upper and lower houses of parliament in the U.K. and France have created a working group to track progress in implementing a treaty signed on Nov. 2 intended to vastly expand defense cooperation between the two countries. The group held its first gathering at the French Senate on Dec. 8 and decided to meet twice a year starting in London in mid-2011. Afghanistan and unmanned aerial vehicles will top the agenda in 2011.
LOS ANGELES — Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce have shipped the first production short take-off and vertical landing (Stovl) propulsion system to Lockheed Martin for installation in the F-35B. The lift fan unit, produced at Rolls’ Indianapolis facility, will be integrated with Pratt & Whitney’s F135 initial production Stovl engine and remaining elements of the lift system in the first production Stovl aircraft, BF-6.
PALAKKAD, India — The monopoly of Indian military aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) may be seriously challenged as Bengaluru-based DPSU Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML) reveals plans to begin assembling helicopters and fixed-wing platforms.
LONDON — The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has reached initial operational capability with its F/A-18F fleet and expects to have all 24 of the fighters in hand by the end of next year. The operational milestone was achieved with the arrival of the latest four F/A-18Fs. Deliveries of the 24 F/A-18Fs began in March and will finish in late 2011.
NEW PORT: The U.S. Navy announced Dec. 9 that the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) will be homeported at Naval Station Everett, Wash., in a move that may echo a fight on the East Coast over dispersing flattop bases there. The Nimitz, the namesake of its class, has been homeported in San Diego since late 2001 until recently, when it departed for Bremerton, Wash., as part of a yearlong maintenance period.
LONDON — BAE Systems is warning of another 1,307 job losses as a result of U.K. government defense cutbacks made as part of the Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR). The reductions, mostly at Warton, where 668 positions would be eliminated, are linked to retirement of the Harrier force and the decision to cancel the Nimrod MRA4 program. BAE Systems says it has been formally notified of the Nimrod cancellation.
LONDON — Two years after the Pentagon first highlighted Indian interest in buying the Textron CBU-105 Sensor-Fuzed Weapon, the first production contract has now been awarded for the deal. India will receive 512 CBU-105s along with 44 training units under a $257.7 million deal, the Pentagon says. An initial $126 million has been obligated. The purchase is slightly greater than first signaled two years ago when the Pentagon notified Congress of the potential foreign military sale, which at the time covered 510 CBU-105s and test assets.
Chinese missiles are believed to be in the hands of Taliban groups in Afghanistan that are fighting NATO forces, triggering fears that China and Iran have become the conduit for advanced, shoulder-fired, anti-aircraft weapons to fundamentalist Muslim fighters in the region.
TOKYO — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has confirmed that its “Akatsuki” Venus probe failed to enter orbit, but the project team still hopes to salvage the mission. Project Manager Masato Nakamura says if the Akatsuki satellite can hold on in space for the next six years, Venus will come round again and provide another opportunity for orbital injection. “I would like to say, with hope, that when the time comes we should then have a high probability of success,” Nakamura said Dec. 8.
EADS North America has flown the second AAS-72X technology demonstrator equipped with portions of the mission equipment package under development for its contender for the U.S. Army’s Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) requirement. The 40-min. flight at American Eurocopter’s Grand Prairie, Texas, plant on Dec. 8 tested the helicopter’s nose-mounted targeting sensor, manned/unmanned teaming avionics and communication/navigation systems.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A Dragon capsule developed, launched and operated by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) had a successful debut flight Dec. 8, splashing down in the Pacific after executing a preprogrammed set of maneuvers in orbit designed to simulate approach and docking with the International Space Station.
LONDON — The British aerospace industry is sounding the alarm about the coalition government’s level of commitment to the sector, and stakeholders hope to generate more support during next week’s meeting with Business Secretary Vince Cable. One area of concern is research and technology (R&T) funding. Although the government had promised to protect R&T activity from budget cuts, that commitment may now be faltering, says a senior British executive.
CHAIR GAME: The veteran homeland security appropriator who gave the U.S. Coast Guard, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman a tough time over the Deepwater recapitalization program, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), is set to chair the House Appropriations Committee in the 112th Congress. Leading authorizers will be Ralph Hall (R-Texas) at Science and Technology, Peter King (R-N.Y.) at Homeland Security, and Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.) at Armed Services, as expected (Aerospace DAILY, Nov. 4).
PALAKKAD, India — India’s Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML) has accepted the help of a premier Indian business school in an attempt to meet the goal of doubling its sales by 2017.
Elements of the newly activated 24th U.S. Air Force have begun deploying in support of cybermissions in Europe and Africa, following early operational experience in Afghanistan. The ramp-up comes as the 24th, the Air Force’s latest numbered force, sets out to build cybersituational-awareness, train cyberwarriors and expand surge capacity at its operations center in San Antonio.
DEBT BOMB: Industry consultants at Forecast International expect European defense spending to continue dropping in coming years, falling below $260 billion by 2012, as Europe struggles with sovereign debt issues. At the same time, European allies of the U.S. should shed expectations that the U.S. will fill defense capability gaps that emerge, the Newtown, Conn., consultancy says.
A Nov. 18 article outlining the launch schedule for the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency space vehicle 2 did not include the full date. Launch is slated for March 2012.
HOUSTON — NASA is targeting Dec. 15 for a launch pad tanking test of the shuttle Discovery, as part of a long-running effort to determine the cause of small cracks in the stringer region of the external tank.
