JOB ONE: U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) says having two engines jockeying for the single-engine F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is about fleet reliability — and also about providing jobs. In what amounted to a blunt acknowledgement by a lawmaker defending an earmark against White House and Pentagon wishes, Skelton explained to defense reporters June 8 that maintaining both the Pratt & Whitney F135 and General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 efforts meant more people would be employed.
BERLIN — Sikorsky wants to leverage work on the CH-148 Cyclone in Canada to pursue Germany’s requirement for a new maritime helo and to address the Luftwaffe’s demand for a combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopter.
THREADING NEEDLE: With Senate Intelligence Committee leaders proverbially up in arms over President Barack Obama’s nomination of Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence James Clapper to be director of national intelligence, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) issued a statement June 8 appearing to offer support to both sides. “With his distinguished record of service, it is clear why [retired USAF] Gen. James Clapper has been nominated by President Obama to meet these challenges,” Reid said.
Xcor Aerospace has demonstrated that its piston pump technology can be used with liquid hydrogen, opening up potential applications for upper-stage engines, on-orbit propellant transfer and other uses.
BERLIN — The protracted process to put NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance system on contract is now in its final phase, with a go-ahead targeted by the time alliance leaders meet in Lisbon in November. The makeup of the AGS program has changed multiple times; at one point the U.S. tried to convince NATO simply to buy E-8C Joint STARS aircraft, then the alliance considered a mixed fleet of manned and unmanned aircraft before finally settling on an all-UAV fleet based around the U.S. Air Force’s Global Hawk Block 40.
The chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee is touting non-nuclear electric-powered submarines and backing a HASC subcommittee leader’s push for the U.S. Navy to reconsider future boomers as one way to build up the naval fleet and meet global deterrence demands.
OPEN DIALOGUE: Future nuclear arms reduction treaties likely will entail verifying non-deployed assets — versus only deployed weapons, as has been the case with U.S.-Russian and Soviet deals. In turn, that will require countries to figure how to monitor each others’ discreet facilities, according to a leading U.S. negotiator.
GREEK OFFSETS: The U.S. Aerospace Industries Association says the Greek ministry of defense (MOD) has started to re-evaluate allegations to industry over defaulting on certain offset agreements. “Having senior leadership within the MOD recognize the benefits of seeking an amicable solution is an important first step,” says AIA’s June newsletter. “U.S.
While the U.S. House Armed Services Committee tied its authorization for Fiscal 2011 funding for the F-35 to achieving some pretty specific development milestones, counterparts on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) have been more general in their language. But the message is the same — make progress and you’ll get the money.
REVVED UP: The Center for Public Integrity, an independent Washington watchdog group, says 13 different lobbying firms plus each contractor’s in-house lobbyists are engaging U.S. lawmakers on the Joint Strike Fighter engine battle between Pratt & Whitney and a General Electric/Rolls-Royce team. This year, there are 75 lobbyists working on defense issues at the firms engaged in the engine debate, of whom at least 56 — or 75 percent — are former congressional staffers or executive branch officials.
ARMY Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., was awarded on May 24 a $66,915,870 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 22 engineering change proposals to incorporate into 421 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles. The work is to be performed in Oshkosh, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2012. Five bids were solicited with five bids received. TACOM, CCTA-ADC-A, Warren, Wis., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-D-0111).
TOKYO — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) says its Hayabusa asteroid sample return spacecraft will now definitely land in Woomera in South Australia around midnight June 13, following a third trajectory correction maneuver on June 5. The return will cap off the seven-year mission, which launched on an M-V rocket in May 2003.
FLOWN: The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said it successfully conducted a flight test of a two-stage Ground-Based Interceptor once eyed for European deployment, launching from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., at 3:25 p.m. PDT on June 6. No target missile was launched for an intercept test in this exercise. “After performing flyout maneuvers, the two-stage booster delivered an exoatmospheric kill vehicle to a designated point in space,” MDA said in a brief statement. “Initial indications are that all components performed as designed.”
Bengaluru, India — The Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has successfully test-fired the anti-tank guided missile Nag at the Indian Army’s firing range in Shamirpet, near Hyderabad. Dr. Prahlada, the chief controller for research and development of aeronautical and services interaction, told AVIATION WEEK that the June 6 test was conducted as part of a user requirement.
NEW DELHI — Following two years of joint development, Indian defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), Lockheed Martin and Cobham have developed an F-16 refueling probe. The probe’s prototype will be demonstrated and showcased at the Farnborough Air Show. “We will market [it] and HAL will [produce and] sell to customers,” Lockheed Martin India chief Roger Rose told Aerospace DAILY.
WASHINGTON and GENOA, Italy — Boeing and AgustaWestland will offer a variant of the AW101 helicopter to answer the VXX requirement for a new U.S. presidential helicopter competition. The teaming, announced June 7, solidifies the major bidders for the second try at the high-profile, long-running rotorcraft replacement effort and comes amid rising attention over international trade. Former competitors Sikorsky Aircraft and Lockheed Martin announced April 19 they will team up for the competition (Aerospace DAILY, April 20).
BENGALURU, India — The Indian navy is nearly ready to order 500 Submarine Escape Sets (SES) designed and developed by the Defense Research and Development Organization’s Defense Bioengineering and Electro-medical Laboratory (DEBEL). The Navy cleared SES in March 2008 after a series of rigorous trials. Kolkatta-based Bengal Waterproof Ltd. (BWL) will produce the sets under transfer of technology agreement from DRDO. Bangalore-based DEBEL has issued a proprietary certificate to BWL to manufacture the sets.
Oshkosh Defense shipped its first Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) trucks and trailers to the U.S. Army on May 26, slightly ahead of schedule despite months of acquisition program delays caused by last year’s bid protest by losing competitors BAE Systems and Navistar. The key to beating — or even maintaining — schedule was to continue the contract work through the bid protests, despite an Army stop-work order, said Mike Ivy, vice president and general manager for Army Programs at Oshkosh Defense.
AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Md., was awarded a $23,228,863 contract which will support the sensor advancements for experimental ground and air research demonstrations technical area three, flight tests and integration. At this time, $5,626,975 has been obligated. AFRL/PKSR, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-10-C-1890).
Handling qualities of the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter “exceeded expectations” on its June 6 first flight, Lockheed Martin test pilot Jeff Knowles says. Handling with landing gear down was a key focus of the first flight as the F-35C has a 30% larger wing and uprated flight controls to reduce takeoff and landing speeds compared with the other F-35 variants.
