AgustaWestland, Bell, EADS North America, and Sikorsky are all in the fray for Iraqi light and medium military helicopter requirements with a package value of $1.2 billion. The Iraqi government has requested the helicopters through the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) process, according to a Nov. 19 announcement by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). The package would include the aircraft, as well as all associated parts, equipment, training and logistics support.
PARIS NASA has assumed ownership of Node 3, one of the last elements intended for the International Space Station (ISS), in preparation for launch to the orbital facility early next year. Node 3, baptized “Tranquility,” is to be orbited together with the Cupola on the STS-130 Shuttle mission.
Astronauts from the space shuttle Atlantis finished the third and final extravehicular activity (EVA) of the STS-129 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) Nov. 23 with a string of get-ahead tasks made possible by two extremely productive earlier spacewalks. “For EVA 3 we just took all of the tasks we had listed as get-aheads preflight … and finished them all,” said Brian Smith, the lead ISS flight director for the mission.
AIR FORCE Sierra Nevada Corp., Centennial, Colo., was awarded a $9,103,824 contract which will provide aircraft weapon integration. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. AAC/PKES, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA9200-10-C-0069).
MOSCOW More details are emerging on the Kosmos 2455 military satellite that the Russian Space Forces successfully launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz-U booster on Nov. 20. Though Russian Ministry of Defense officials did not release any details on the payload, Kommersant newspaper reports officially identified the Kosmos 2455 spacecraft as a next-generation electronic reconnaissance satellite of the Lotos type, which in combination with a yet-to-be launched Pion satellite will form the Liana orbital intelligence system.
In the next few weeks, EADS North America will flesh out a concept for the U.S. Army’s yet-to-be-issued Armed Aerial Scout requirement, according to new CEO Sean O’Keefe.
The Pentagon is considering adding more flight test assets and software engineers to the $300 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program to avoid major delays to fielding the stealthy, single-engine aircraft. A Joint Estimate Team, consisting of career cost estimators and program evaluators, has found the Lockheed Martin F-35 program is at least $16 billion over its project cost, and achieving the current flight test schedule is unlikely.
LAUNCH DELAY: International Launch Services (ILS) has delayed the launch of the Eutelsat W7 communications satellite for 24 hours. Postponement of the launch, aboard a Proton M, rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, was caused by a standard procedural issue with the Kazakh authorities, ILS officials say. It involves no technical issues concerning either the rocket or the satellite, which are both in safe configuration mode, according to ILS. The launch is now set for Nov. 24 at 14:19 GMT, 15:19 CET.
Intelsat flight controllers are checking out Intelsat 14, the newest telecommunications satellite in the Intelsat fleet, after its launch early Nov. 23 on an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff of the Atlas V 431 came at 1:55 a.m. EST, with spacecraft separation at 3:53 a.m. United Launch Alliance provided the launch services.
A lot of investors are kicking themselves for not having more faith in the ability of Ford Motor Co. CEO (and Boeing Co. alum) Alan Mulally to revive the auto giant. A year ago, a share of Ford stock could be had for as little as $1.01. Last week, it was approaching $9 a share.
PARIS The European Defense Agency (EDA) will formally launch its helicopter training program next year. The effort is aimed at bolstering Europe’s helicopter capacity by aiding countries that cannot independently get personnel to required proficiency levels. The core of the effort involves two field exercises per year, with one concentrating on interoperability and optional tactics, and the other on individual training, according to the agency.
The new CEO of EADS North America is scouting for acquisition targets as part of a plan to grow the unit’s U.S. revenues eight-fold during the next decade. The European aerospace giant’s board has given a go-ahead to look at “a range of mid-cap market opportunities” across the defense, space and electronics sectors, CEO Sean O’Keefe told a roundtable of Aviation Week editors Nov. 23. He said he has the ability to close on a deal “pretty expeditiously.”
NEW DELHI The back-and-forth over the venue and schedule for India’s major land and naval systems symposium, Defexpo 2010, has been settled. Defexpo will be held according to its original schedule — from Feb. 15-18, 2010 here in New Delhi — but with one change. The show is being directly organized by the Indian Ministry Of Defense instead of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which has been organizing Defexpo since its inception.
Total military spending across Europe tumbled to $280 billion in 2009 from $295 billion the year before, and the fall is expected to continue through 2010, according to U.S. consultancy Forecast International. “The poorer dual EU-NATO members from Central and Eastern Europe are struggling between meeting defense investment pledges made to the alliance while also maintaining the fiscal responsibility necessary for accession into the eurozone,” Europe Military Markets Analyst Dan Darling says. “But instead such plans have fallen victim to economic realities.”
SPACE AVAILABLE: Iridium Communications says it should be financially feasible for its Iridium Next constellation of low-Earth orbiting satellites to host observation and remote sensing payloads for government customers, in addition to their communications functions. Lockheed Martin and Thales Alenia are competing for the contract to build the system. The spacecraft are to be launched from 2014-2016.
TRAINING WHEELS: Adding to its $3.2 billion in contracts to produce 6,219 MRAP All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATV), Oshkosh Defense has received a $5.6 million firm fixed-price contract from the U.S. Army for 26 egress trainer cabin modules and spare parts. The Army has decided to do M-ATV training in the United States as opposed to doing it in theater, as originally planned. As part of this training, the service has recently mandated that all M-ATV crewmembers be trained in the proper skills required to safely and effectively egress the vehicle.
BEIJING Chinese fighter builder Avic Defense aims to build a large business jet as part of its strategy of exploiting military technology for its civilian sidelines. Avic Defense also will build up an aircraft maintenance operation catering for airline customers, company president Wang Yawei tells Aviation Week.
Astronomers plan to use data from NASA’s upcoming Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission for decades to come as a pointer to interesting objects in the sky for closer study. Set for launch into a 523-kilometer (325-mile) Sun-synchronous orbit as early as Dec. 7 on a Delta II rocket flying from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., WISE will use its 40-centimeter telescope to give astronomers an infrared sky map with unprecedented detail to cue the planned James Webb Space Telescope and other narrow-field infrared observatories. (See charts pp. 6-7.)
