NEW DELHI — Indian defense companies favor raising the maximum stake that foreign companies can hold in defense joint ventures in India, according to a recent survey. International investors continue to shy away from India’s defense manufacturing sector owing to the Indian government’s limitations on foreign direct investment (FDI), which caps the stake international companies can hold at 26%. These companies have called for raising the cap to 49%.
ABRAMS ENGINES: The U.S. Army has awarded Honeywell International, Inc. a $93.4 million contract to provide parts and support for the overhaul of 1,000 automotive gas turbines; 1,500 engines; or equivalents for Program Year 5 of the Total Integrated Engine Revitalization program for the Abrams tank, Abrams derivative vehicles, and Army stock spares. Work will be performed in Phoenix, Ariz. (66%), Greer, S.C. (19%); Anniston, Ala. (13%); and Rocky Mount, N.C. (2%), with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2011.
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Gumman have been shortlisted by the U.S. Army to build an unmanned airship that is to be deployed to Afghanistan to provide surveillance for at least three weeks at a time. The two teams submitted best and final offers last week and the contract award is expected at the end of May. The winner is expected to fly its airship in 12 months, with operational evaluation to be completed and the system ready for deployment 18 months after the award.
China could send its first female astronaut into space in as little as two years, after including two women among its new class of seven military pilots selected for spaceflight training. The women — both military transport pilots selected from among 15 female candidates — will join five male fighter pilots for two to three years of training in the Shenzhou spacecraft that already has taken six of their countrymen into orbit.
As the U.S. Army turns up the throttle on Future Combat Systems (FCS) spin-offs, the service must temper its enthusiasm for technology as it evolves its ground programs to handle current conflicts and future combat needs, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says.
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
TRUCK AWARD: Oshkosh Corp., has been awarded a $410 million firm-fixed-price contract for the production of 2,634 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, 2,230 trucks and 404 trailers. The work is to be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., and is slated to be complete by March 31, 2012.
BROUGHTON, Wales — With less than two months to go before the KC-X tanker proposal deadline, Airbus chief executive Tom Enders says the company is making good progress assembling its KC-45 industrial team. “We are in the final stages of assembling a great American team of industrial partners around us,” Enders says. The plan is to ensure everything is in place before the July 9 deadline for responses to the U.S. Air Force’s request for proposals.
AIR FORCE Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., was awarded a $96,744,354 contract which will provide miniature air launched decoy low rate initial production contracts for a 24-month effort to include operational test and evaluation. At this time, $89,817,202 has been obligated. 692 ARSS/PK Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8682-10-C-0007).
Analysts and observers have started to address issues raised last week by Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the necessity to curb Defense Department spending in two strongly worded speeches. National Security Network, a liberal advocacy group, noted Gates’ May 8 speech in Abilene, Kan., “comes against the backdrop of concern with the state of the American economy, mounting calls from Congress and budget experts for fiscal discipline.”
Military officials failed to properly follow Defense Department procurement rules in awarding supporting contracts for the ill-fated U.S. Air Force Combat, Search and Rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter replacement program, the Pentagon Inspector General (IG) says.
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio — A restructuring of the U.S. Air Force’s acquisition management corps is nearly complete, and should improve oversight of major service procurement programs, says Lt. Gen. Thomas Owen, commander of the Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) here.
LAKEHURST, N.J. — There are only 11 months left in the Pentagon’s window to show progress in Afghanistan, and progress is still spotty. However, a bright spot is the introduction of several new, small and sophisticated aircraft designs that carry packages of sensors that will pit the U.S. Army’s ability to exploit the electromagnetic spectrum against the Taliban’s tactical flexibility.
UTTI, Finland — The Finnish army has begun using its NH-90 troop transport helicopters in day-to-day search-and-rescue operations and is gearing up to reach full operational capability with the rotorcraft in 2012.
SHADOW SALE: The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) says it is in talks with Australia over the sale of two AAI RQ-7B Shadow UAVs. The size of the deal, which the DSCA has submitted to Congress, is up to $218 million, including logistics support, and includes four ground control systems. Australia is in the process of expanding its tactical and strategic unmanned aircraft force. Under the JP129 program, the nation planned to buy the Israel Aerospace Industries I-View, but the program ran into problems and was canceled.
PLACE YOUR BETS: Seven bidders are expressing interest in the Advanced European Jet Pilot Training (AEJPT) program. According to the European Defense Agency, the teams who responded to its request for information were Dassault, BAE Systems, Sjöland & Thyselius, EADS together with Alenia Aermacchi, Thales, Patria and Saab. The AEJPT is a long-running European effort to try to pool requirements for combat aircrew training needs. The responses to the RFI will be used to develop a request for proposals for the program (Aerospace DAILY, April 28).
PARIS — The European Space Agency (ESA) has initiated a vacuum test campaign intended to show the ability of a new miniature vegetation camera to withstand the extremes of space operation.
GREEK DEFENSE: “As part of the sharp austerity measures confronting Greece, the armed forces will have to accept the bad-tasting medicine the rest of the country is being forced to swallow in order to spare the nation from bankruptcy,” Forecast International’s European Defense Analyst Dan Darling says.
(Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) May 11 - 12 — The Shephard Group’s Electronic Warfare 2010 Conference, Estrel Convention Center, Berlin, Germany. For more information go to www.shephard.co.uk/events May 11 - 13 — ICNS 2010 - Integrated Communications Navigation and Surveillance Conference, “The Challenges of NextGen: New Issues for Aviation’s Future,” Westin Washington Dulles Airport Hotel, Herndon, Va. For more information go to www.i-cns.org
TEL AVIV — The Israeli Air Force (IAF) next year will start fielding Elbit Systems’ Hermes 900 medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aircraft after becoming the launch customer for the system. Under a $50 million contract, Elbit will supply several Hermes 900 UAVs as well as some advanced models of the Hermes 450 (“Zik”), which has been the linchpin of the IAF’s UAV force since 1999. The IAF will have to wait several months for the new system, however, since development tests have not been completed.
