LONDON — Selex Galileo has been quietly working with the Royal Malaysian Air Force to demonstrate the performance of its Seer digital radar warning receiver (RWR). Selex developed two versions of the Seer, one called “compact” for use on unmanned aircraft and a “distributed” version for installation on fighters or large transports. The goal of the trials was to validate that the system would be “able to detect radars at ranges that were significantly greater than those achieved by older-generation systems.”
FRANKFURT — Germany will take only 53 of the 60 Airbus Military A400Ms originally on order, German government sources indicated on Oct. 25. A400M customers continue to chip away at the commitment of 180 units that was negotiated as part of a general settlement reached in March. With the U.K. planning to cut its commitment by three aircraft, the total program now totals 170 aircraft.
NAVY BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, San Diego, is being awarded a $11,092,061 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-4407) for the USS New Orleans (LPD 18) Fiscal 2011 phased maintenance availability. The work will be performed in San Diego and is expected to be completed by March 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $11,092,061 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., has been awarded a $162,900,000 contract which will provide for the C-5M reliability enhancement and re-engining program, full-rate production Lot 5 advance procurement. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. ASC/WLSK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8625-07-C-6471).
COMMERCIAL REQUEST: NASA late Oct. 25 trumpeted its call for proposals from U.S. industry for commercial crew space transportation concepts and to mature the design and development of launch vehicles and spacecraft. Multiple awards, each up to 14 months, should be decided by March 2011. About $200 million total is expected to be available for the Space Act agreements, although NASA made clear that funding is dependent on Fiscal 2011 appropriations that have yet to be legislated. The deadline for submitting proposals is Dec. 13.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Virgin Galactic plans to join the growing list of companies vying to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station and is considering options for competing in the agency’s upcoming Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) follow-on program, chief executive Richard Branson says.
BENGALURU, India — A new runway at the Indian Air Force (IAF) Station in Gwalior went live on Oct. 20, making it the service’s only operational base with two parallel runways operating topline fighters. The base also formally inducted the Sukhoi Su-30MKI on the same day. A Su-30MKI belonging to the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) that took off from the Bareilly Air Base was the first to touch down on the new runway. A Mirage-2000 and MiG-21 Bison were taxied out.
BENGALURU, INDIA – There is a sense of guarded optimism in the global defense industry regarding future market opportunities in India, according to global networking and consultancy firm KPMG. KPMG’s recent report on Indian defense also highlights potential roadblocks to the defense sector’s development in the country.
The U.S. Army’s use of unmanned aircraft is getting increasingly sophisticated, with deployment of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, development of bidirectional payload datalinks and ground-based sense-and-avoid systems, as well as demonstrations of large-scale manned/unmanned teaming and damage-tolerant flight controls.
PARIS — Astrium will acquire a majority stake in ND Satcom from SES Astra, reinforcing its government services business. The EADS affiliate will take a 75.1% stake in ND Satcom, an Immenstaad, Germany-based integrator and supplier of satellite communications ground systems and equipment with annual sales of €80 million ($110 million).
POD PROCEEDS: Northrop Grumman says its share of a U.S. Air Force deal to provide Litening SE pods under the Advanced Targeting Pod – Sensor Enhancement (ATP-SE) program could mean more than $920 million through 2017. The initial ID/IQ order, valued at about $25 million for 250 pods, also encompasses flight testing of the targeting systems on F-16 Blocks 40/50, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve F-16 Blocks 25/30/32, and A-10C aircraft.
LONDON — India may conclude its purchase agreement for Boeing C-17s early next month. The contract is likely to be finalized during President Barack Obama’s visit to India, due to begin on Nov. 4, industry executives say. India is in talks with the U.S. government to purchase 10 airlifters at a cost of up to $5.8 billion, which includes training, ground equipment and other items.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — NASA’s expected shift from traditional cost-plus contracts to fixed-price procurements will affect not only how the agency buys spacecraft and services for flying astronauts to orbit, but also how it provides for the maintenance and operation of the International Space Station (ISS), Deputy Administrator Lori Garver says.
HOUSTON — The independent Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel will recommend that NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, the White House and Congress strive for a decision by the end of December whether to launch shuttle Atlantis on an extra mission to the International Space Station in mid-2011, to avoid potential risks associated with workforce uncertainty. The eight-member panel agreed on the recommendation Oct. 22 during its fourth-quarter meeting at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, following two days of fact finding.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 28 - 31 — DEFENSYS (Thessaloniki International Defense & Security Fair), Thessaloniki International Fair Facilities, Thessaloniki, Greece. For more information go to www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/document.jsp?did=105174 NOV. 1 - 2 — Shephard Group’s Air Power Middle East 2010, The Ritz-Carlton, Doha, Qatar. For more information go to www.shephard.co.uk.org
NEW DELHI — U.S. defense companies are now increasingly looking to India to establish partnerships for product design, making the country a part of their global supply chain, according to a new report from consultancy KPMG. Released ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit here in November, the report focuses on the improving landscape for U.S. business and Indo-U.S. commercial enterprises in the Indian defense sector.
HOUSTON — The International Space Station’s Expedition 25 crew this week turned on the Sabatier Reactor System, installed on the orbiting laboratory under a commercial agreement with Hamilton Sundstrand Space, Land & Sea as a second means of water recovery. The system, which was delivered to the station in April, was activated Oct. 20-21 as part of an ongoing effort to develop closed-loop life support systems for future human deep-space exploration, according to NASA’s Dan Hartman, who chairs the station’s mission management team.
BETTER BALLOONING: A NASA panel that investigated the unsuccessful April 28 launch of a scientific balloon from Alice Springs, Australia, finds “surprisingly few documented procedures for balloon launches.” In turn, the panel is issuing 44 recommendations for better communication, more robust range and ground-safety plans and procedures, and better understanding of potentially unsafe conditions that can lead to accidents.
Top U.S. naval officials like the chief of naval operations, Navy Adm. Gary Roughead, have launched a public relations tour recently, talking up everything from cutting $28 billion in budgetary bloat over five years to transitioning to biofuels and doubling down on unmanned assets. The service also plans to add 32 new ships to the Navy’s inventory by 2024.
GO GEO-2: The U.S. Air Force’s second geosynchronous Space-Based Infrared System satellite is proceeding with preparations and execution of Baseline Integrated System Test 2, officials said last week. BIST 2 is a series of tests to baseline the fully integrated satellite’s characteristics before environmental testing. GEO-2 is scheduled for launch in 2012. The satellite completed integration of its two equipment panels onto the core module Oct. 6 at the Sunnyvale, Calif., development site.
TRAINER RFP: With trials completed for the Indian air force’s next basic trainer, the country wants to make a procurement decision by March to fill gaps in its aging fleet. A request for proposals for 75 basic trainers has been released by the air force with a possible addition of 106 aircraft to be manufactured under a license agreement by government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
