The U.S. military and the defense industry are developing cyberweapons that can be tailored for specific targets, and they also are looking at how to put such weapons on aircraft for airborne electronic attack.
FOX FIRED UP: British Defense Secretary Liam Fox is warning Prime Minister David Cameron of dire consequences from potential defense cuts, especially with forces deployed in military operations. In a strongly worded letter, Fox also expresses concerns about the conduct of the Strategic Defense and Security Review, in which some have argued fiscal rather than strategic issues are getting undo attention. Fox warns of several specific cuts, including the potential elimination of the Nimrod MRA4 maritime patrol fleet.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) OCT. 4 - 8 — BCI Aerospace’s Aerospace Meetings. Guadalajara, Mexico. For more information call +33 (14) 186-4150 or go to http://www.bciaerospace.com OCT. 5 - 7 — Reed Exhibitions Aerospace and Aviation Group’s Helitech 2010, Airport Cascais, Estoril, Portugal. For more information call +44 (208) 271-2155 or go to http://www.helitechevents.com/portugal
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Space Florida, a state-backed economic development agency, has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Commerce Department to help beef up the economies of Brevard County and nearby regions affected by the shutdown of the space shuttle program.
MARIETTA, Ga. — With a program to re-engine the C-5B airlifter meeting cost and performance targets, the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin are again looking at the possibility of upgrading older C-5As. “It’s a good idea, but we are in a very fiscally constrained environment,” says Lt. Gen. Tom Owen, commander of Aerospace Systems Command and program executive officer for aircraft procurement and modernization.
ARIANE OVERRUN: European Space Agency launcher director Antonio Fabrizi says a review of the Ariane 5 ME, a planned midlife upgrade to the Ariane 5 ECA heavy launch vehicle, shows one of the main requirements — that the ME be no more costly than the ECA — may not be met. Engineers expect to know for sure by mid-October. The ME is now in detailed design and is to be proposed for full-scale development at the end of 2012.
While the U.S. Marine Corps is sticking to its plans for declaring F-35 initial operational capability (IOC) in December 2012, the deputy commandant for aviation, Lt. Gen. George Trautman, says the service understands that slips in deliveries and flight testing could prompt a later in-service date.
WING WORK: The U.S. Navy’s decision to “terminate for convenience” L-3 Communications’ contract to manufacture new outer wings to extend the lives of P-3 Orions is good news for original manufacturer Lockheed Martin, which is restarting wing production at its Marietta, Ga., plant. The company is producing new outer wings, center-wing lower surfaces and horizontal stabilizers for Canada, Norway, Taiwan and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, to extend the lives of their P-3s by 15,000 hr. Lockheed also is producing new outer wings for U.S. Navy special-mission P-3s.
EARTH TWO: Astronomers studying the tiny fluctuations in stellar movements measured over 11 years have concluded a planet circling a star only 20 light-years from Earth may have a zone on its surface capable of supporting life. The planet, Gliese 581g, has an estimated gravity between 1.1 and 1.7 Earth gravity, and circles the star Gliese 581 every 36.6 days. Based on the radial velocity analysis, astronomers participating in the Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey determined that there could be places on the surface where water would remain in its liquid state.
While the U.S. Army is basing long-term decisions regarding its Abrams and Bradley fleets in large part on what the service will decide to do with its Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV), the current funding freezes on Abrams and Bradley are based on more than just the GCV program hiatus, service officials say. The Abrams and Bradley fleets have their own issues, according to the Army.
The U.S. Air Force has issued Boeing its first order on a nearly $12-billion contract for a wide variety of B-52 sustainment work. The massive indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract was awarded Sept. 29 and wraps several other agreements into one large umbrella deal. It covers eight years of work with a ceiling of $11.9 billion.
Nov. 30 - Dec. 1, 2010 Munich, Germany MRO ENGINES FORUM 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
KUWAITI CUSTOMER: The Kuwaiti air force is considering purchase of a C-17 transport aircraft. The proposed $693 million deal includes a limited electronic warfare suite of AAR-47 missile warning aircraft, ALE-47 countermeasure dispensers, and logistics and services.
An unexpected military cooperative exercise between China and Turkey has caught the eye of Washington-based analysts. The two air forces conducted a joint air exercise this week in the central Anatolian province of Konya, the first such exercise involving the air forces of China (People’s Liberation Army Air Force, or PLAAF) and NATO member Turkey. Part of the significance is that the PLAAF recently demonstrated major advances in long-range strike during their own “Peace Mission 2010.”
BENGALURU, India — Despite a lot of campaigning by various helicopter firms, India has yet to catch up with the rest of the world in using helicopters for medical evacuations in the civil sector, apart from some five-star hospitals that are offering the service to affluent patients. Bangalore hosted a one-day national meeting on Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) on Sept. 28. Participants from hospitals, industry and government stressed the need to use helicopters during emergencies.
COMMERCIAL STATION: A Moscow-based partnership that includes the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos and RSC Energia plans to build a man-tended commercial space station (CSS) that looks like an upgrade of the Soviet-era Salyut orbital stations. The CSS would be serviced by Soyuz and Progress vehicles, as is the International Space Station, and could serve as an orbiting refuge for station crews. Able to accommodate up to seven crewmembers at a time, CSS could receive commercial spacecraft from the U.S.
LONDON — The new Dutch coalition government has committed to keeping the country involved in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) phase but is cutting total procurement plans.
LONDON — France is facing the prospect of real capability gaps as the country adjusts its defense spending to try to bring down its mounting budget deficit. As part of its first concrete action, the government announced Sept. 29 it plans to curtail defense outlays by €1.3 billion (U.S. $1.77 billion) over three years. The move, expected for months, is nonetheless significant because it reverses several years of increasing defense spending, even if only modestly at times.
The House of Representatives passed the Senate’s version of NASA’s three-year authorization bill late Sept. 29. Although many representatives were not satisfied with aspects of the Senate bill, Democratic and Republican leaders voiced overwhelming support for passing any reauthorization bill before Oct. 1, when Fiscal 2011 begins.
BENGALURU, India – The Madras Engineer Group (MEG) of the Indian army is gearing up in the fight against improvised explosive devices (IEDs), especially radio-controlled IEDs. The MEG, which is also known as the Madras Sappers, has crafted a blueprint that is supposed to help boost preparedness for asymmetric warfare, as well as for upgrading equipment.
LONDON — A safety standdown of German Eurofighters has been completed. The German air force was among several to pause Eurofighter operations over concern that during an ejection the seat-belt could open. The safety action was taken Sept. 16 in the wake of the crash of a Spanish two-seat Eurofighter on Aug. 24 in which one of the crew members died. A modification to the belt harness is now being implemented.
German air force and helicopter crews are struggling to get support for a directed infrared countermeasures upgrade for their operationally deployed transport helicopters, but the government is apparently moving forward on an effort to equip its VIP fleet with such a device to defeat infrared-guided air-defense missiles.
BENGALURU, India — GE Aviation’s GE F414 has edged out Eurojet’s EJ200 to power the Mk-II version of India’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). The deal is estimated to be worth close to $800 million, after taking into account spares and other critical parts of the engine. Sources confirm to AVIATION WEEK that close to 100 Tejas aircraft will be powered by the GE F414 engine.
