BENGALURU, India — India has set its sights on the emerging field of micro- and nano air vehicles with the formation of a joint National Program for Micro Air Vehicles (NP-MICAV). The project is being sponsored by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST). Dr. Prahlada, chief of aeronautical research & development (R&D) at DRDO, told AVIATION WEEK that Rs 100 crore ($21.5 billion) will be pumped into the program.
A new program is using the 66-spacecraft Iridium constellation to provide continuous, global monitoring of space weather. Known as the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment (Ampere), it is a collaboration between the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Iridium and Boeing. Ampere provides real-time measurements of Earth’s magnetic field, with up to 100 times greater sampling density than previously possible.
LONDON — The Estonian and Swedish governments have inked an accord that could see the two sides cooperate more closely on future arms procurements. Estonia says it is particularly interested in such cooperation after realizing significant savings by joining with Finland in the purchase of air surveillance radars. Working together “saved hundreds of millions of kroons,” says Martin Hurt, Estonian undersecretary for defense investment.
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — The director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly, says that Lockheed Martin is leading the redesign of a Moog switch on its Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) interceptor after a failure to pass qualification testing prompted him to withhold approval for production of the $15 billion program. The problem has held up deliveries of the first Thaad capability by about a year.
Long-range destruction of enemy ballistic missiles during boost-phase — the first 2-4 min. of flight — may become possible with a small, powerful airborne laser that combines solid-state and chemical laser technologies, the Pentagon’s missile defense chief says. A small laser in a small aircraft — far different from the bulky chemical laser carried by the U.S. Air Force’s 747 testbed — is considered necessary for operational practicality. The mission envisioned is Boost Phase Intercept (BPI) of enemy ballistic missiles.
HEAD COUNT: Aerospace and defense (A&D) companies plan to hire 15,500 professionals this year, according to AVIATION WEEK’s 2010 Workforce and Young Professionals/Student Study. But companies apparently should focus on keeping their younger workers too, as 41% admit to looking for a new job. And while concerns over a so-called silver tsunami, or sudden loss of more experienced baby boomers, may have waned, they are not gone.
KENEDY SPACE CENTER — Competitive grants and an FAA-run center for commercial space would be the best use of $40 million in taxpayer money that President Barack Obama wants to spend in Brevard County, Fla., and neighboring regions affected by the space shuttle’s retirement, a Cabinet-level task force reports.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. and LONDON — A meeting of heads of state and top missile defense chiefs of NATO countries set for November in Lisbon will determine whether the alliance will adopt missile defense as a mission, and, if so, what it will look like. The meeting comes as NATO countries face mounting financial problems, and missile defenses do not come cheap. The topic is one of many issues being discussed at the Space and Missile Defense Conference 2010 in Huntsville.
LONDON — The Indian government has set an ambitious timeline for the development pace of the Light Combat Helicopter, with the goal of reaching initial operational clearance (IOC) in December 2011. The first prototype flew March 29 and it took another month for the helo to continue flight trials. The second prototype has yet to fly.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Lockheed Martin officials are adding some small Huntsville companies to their team that aims to capture at least $3 billion worth of Missile Defense Agency work sustaining the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program over at least the next five years. Among the teammates is Dynetics, Inc., which will handle support training and systems engineering here. QuantiTech, Inc., is also joining the team, providing expertise in disposal of the system when parts reach the end of their service lives.
The United States and Israel are looking at separate technology paths for missile defense. Israel is developing specialized ground-based defenses such as Iron Dome that can deal with hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles. The U.S. is looking at combination solid-state and gas lasers and advanced air-to-air missiles that could be carried by unmanned aircraft.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, wants to spur commercial space projects with tax breaks and other incentives. Nelson plans to introduce legislation creating up to five enterprise zones in the United States to serve as “magnets” for commercial space ventures. He made the announcement Aug. 17 at a press conference at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, which presumably would be one of the commercial space districts.
LONDON — Lower sales in unmanned aircraft and radios led Elbit Systems to suffer a 17% second-quarter revenue drop, but the company is taking heart from improving order intake that is now causing the backlog to grow again.
DEATH PENALTY: Singapore will now impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on hostage takers acting against governments of international organizations. The city-state’s new anti-terrorism law also strengthens the hand of authorities trying to stop ransoms being paid, giving them the power to freeze bank accounts. Murder, including killing a hostage, is already punishable by death in Singapore.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has denied a protest filed by ITT Corp. against the awarding of a Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) software contract to The Boeing Co. ITT Corp. originally claimed Boeing enjoyed “unequal access to information,” which GAO found to be untrue. The “record shows that [the] protestor had access to the same information, and, in any case, the information was properly provided to the awardee by virtue of the agency’s contractual right to use the information.”
CANES COMING: Northrop Grumman says it is looking forward to the critical design review of the U.S. Navy’s Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (Canes) program later this year and planned shipboard installation of the first system in Fiscal 2012. The company’s team for the competition just completed a preliminary design review at its Canes office in San Diego.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — International partners funding the Lockheed Martin-led Medium Extended Air Defense System (Meads) are expected to meet in October to determine the fate of the effort just as Pentagon cost estimators plan to complete a sweeping study of the price of the air and missile defense system, according to Maj. Gen. Genaro Dellarocco, program executive officer of missiles and space for the U.S. Army.
The U.S. Defense Department’s latest annual report on Chinese military power notes the continued increase in the capability and reach of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
SIGNAL SENT: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates indicated via news report Aug. 16 that he would like to leave office next year, before the presidential election dominates Washington discourse in 2012. In a Foreign Policy article confirmed by other reports, Gates — who took office in late 2006 — indicated a 2011 departure goal. Last week, in announcing his latest slate of dramatic reforms, Gates made light of the fact that he once planned to leave with the previous administration.
LEAPS PAST ‘IMPROVE’ AND GOES STRAIGHT TO ‘TRANSFORM.’ Introducing FliteDeck Pro, the first electronic flight bag to make a revolutionary leap forward and redefine what an EFB should do. Offering the only FAA-approved airport moving map, FliteDeck Pro is part of a total integrated solution that transforms how airlines will operate and pilots will fly. Jeppesen.com/EFB-FliteDeckPro JEPPESEN A Boeing Company
AIR FORCE Raytheon Co., Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $450,827,357 contract to provide the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Small Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II) program (nomenclature, Guided Bomb Unit-53/B). SDB II is a joint Air Force and Navy program. The SDB II will initially be integrated on the F-15E, F-35B and F-35C aircraft. At this time, $23,500,000 has been obligated. Miniature Munitions, AAC/EBMK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8672-10-C-0002).
September 29-30, 2010 ExCeL, London, UK Learn to maintain military assets longer; sustain aircraft beyond forecast; recover from budget cuts, delays and program cancellations, and develop new strategies required to deliver and support equipment. Learn more at www.aviationweek.com/events
