LONDON — The Polish defense ministry is evaluating upgrades to its Su-22 and MiG-29 force to sustain its fighter inventory even as it looks to field a new trainer that also would take on light fighter roles. Decisions on the Su-22 are most acute, since the first of the aircraft will reach the end of its service life in 2014. The near-term plan is to add 200 flight hours, or two years of operational life. This would allow delaying a decision on what to do next until 2016, says Tadeusz Pieciukiewicz, a ministry representative.
YEAR OFF: A major government information technology (IT) trade organization in Washington is predicting overall U.S. defense spending will drop from more than $700 billion per year now to $633 billion by Fiscal 2021. Moreover, accounting for expected inflation over the decade, the annual defense budget will have plummeted $512 billion in constant Fiscal 2011 dollars — close to the equivalent of a one-year baseline budget now, excluding war costs.
LOS ANGELES — The General Electric/Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team is designing a minor change to the spacer between the F136’s fan and vane to prevent a repeat of the failure that abruptly stopped tests of the alternate Joint Strike Fighter engine on Sept. 23.
Boeing is due to deliver three more F/A-18Fs to the Royal Australian Air Force in December, which includes the first with the wiring to be upgraded into an electronic-attack aircraft.
As the Pentagon zeroes in on cutting program costs and reducing development risks—and the military services focus on trying to extend the life of their existing equipment—contractors are finding more opportunity in providing logistics support.
Lockheed Martin is refocusing on its core competencies and is de-emphasizing adjacent markets, CEO Robert Stevens told analysts this week during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. Stevens noted that a concentrated solar energy project in Arizona was explored, along with several smaller, similar projects in other parts of the U.S., but market conditions and local governments’ tight budgets prevented those initiatives from getting off the ground. The company will still consider adjacent markets, but it is likely to focus on its core businesses.
BENGALURU, India – The first homegrown multi-functional display (MFD) system under series production (SP) from Samtel-HAL Display Systems (SHDS) of India is nearly completed. The homegrown MFDs are being manufactured for the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter under SHDS, a joint venture firm. Samtel has a 60% stake in the joint venture, formed in 2006, while HAL holds 40%.
HOUSTON — The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Envisat spacecraft has demonstrated techniques for the prediction of volcanic activity using regular radar surveillance of crustal stressing, according to researchers in the U.K., U.S. and Ethiopia.
HUMAN FACTORS: NASA is establishing a global forum for members to collaborate on human health and performance innovations for spaceflight, aviation and “any challenging environment” on Earth. Members of the Human Health and Performance Center will include NASA centers and partners, industry, academic institutions, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. NHHPC’s first event will be a workshop entitled “Collaborative Innovation: Strategies and Best Practices,” scheduled for Jan. 19 in Houston.
Nov. 30 - Dec. 1, 2010 Munich, Germany Gain cost-effective best practices and strategies for engine MRO planning, new technology implementation, navigating maintenance contracts, green processes and compliance issues. Register now - http://www.aviationweek.com/events/current/mroeng/index.htm
Sikorsky is to build two prototypes of a high-speed, coaxial-rotor light tactical helicopter on company funds to ensure the technology is considered by the U.S. Army for its Armed Aerial Scout requirement to replace the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. The S-97 X2 Raider prototypes will incorporate technology from Sikorsky’s X2 Technology demonstrator, which in September exceeded 250 kt. in level flight. The first aircraft is scheduled to fly in 48 months, and will be instrumented for experimental test flights.
Engineers and a former astronaut have started human-in-the-loop testing of the environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) for Bigelow Aerospace’s Sundancer inflatable orbital module, using a 90-cu.-meter chamber at the Orbitech facility in Madison, Wis.
A plan being pushed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to kill the post of assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration (ASD-NII) and disperse functions of the Joint Staff’s J-6 office is a flawed concept, a former senior Pentagon civilian says.
U.S. State and Defense department officials are detailing a long-expected foreign military sale to Saudi Arabia, including 84 new Boeing F-15SA “Saudi Advanced” fighters with APG-63(v)3 active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radars, as well as upgrades to 70 existing F-15s.
NEW DELHI — The Indian air force is gearing up to field a raft of new air defense equipment and address longstanding concerns about the existing inventory. New Delhi has long worried about gaps, and in areas where it has fielded air defense systems, the equipment is often out of date.
Boeing’s defense unit reported a 23% decline in third-quarter operating profit as a strong performance by its global services and support business was not enough to offset the whiplash from Pentagon budget cuts. Operating earnings in the company’s Defense, Space & Security sector declined to $684 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, from $885 million a year earlier, as profits fell 35% in the military aircraft business and 40% in network and space systems. Total revenues in the defense unit were down 6%, to $8.2 billion.
SUBSONIC PROJECT: NASA’s Subsonic Fixed Wing Project is seeking research proposals that develop improved prediction methods and technologies for lower noise, lower emissions, and higher performance for subsonic aircraft. The agency says the aim is to develop the enabling technology to meet specific long-term goals to reduce noise and emissions, improve aircraft fuel burn efficiency, and allow for the use of shorter runways at smaller airfields. Proposals are due Nov. 30. More information can be found at http://nspires.nasaprs.com.
A new U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report criticizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for failing to effectively monitor Boeing’s work on the stalled SBInet program, and missing cost and schedule targets.
Six new Globalstar satellites are in orbit following launch on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:10 p.m. EDT. Managed by Arianespace affiliate Starsem, the mission deployed the spacecraft in a 920-km. (570-mi.) circular phasing orbit inclined 52 deg. in a two-step process from a specially built dispenser (Aerospace DAILY, Feb. 25).
NEW DELHI — After years of vacillation and wrangling, India is now set to sign a $2-billion deal with Dassault to upgrade 51 aging Mirage 2000 fighters to the 2000-5 standard. The deal is expected to be signed Dec. 6 when French President Nicolas Sarkozy visits India. Ahead of Sarkozy’s trip, Adm. Edouard Guillaud, French chief of defense staff, will be in India on Oct. 23 to discuss bilateral defense cooperation.
LONDON — The U.S. Air Force expects to commence follow-on operational test and evaluation of the F-22 with the Increment 3.1 upgrade package in January, with the goal of fielding new features such as synthetic aperture radar, electronic attack and the GBU-39 Small-Diameter Bomb (SDB) next year. The test phase will take place at Nellis AFB, Nev., says USAF Maj. James Akers, Air Combat Command’s F-22 requirements officer.
