The U.S. Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), the Pentagon’s four year-old attempt to get “left of the boom” on defeating the roadside bombs that have plagued the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has failed to build a centralized database of information about the threat and ways to defeat it.
Raytheon has conducted the first free-flight test of a powered, extended-range version of its Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW-ER) as the U.S. Navy prepares to begin an analysis of alternatives (AOA) for anti-ship missiles to replace the Harpoon. The Oct. 1 test involved a JSOW glide weapon modified to demonstrate that a Hamilton Sundstrand TJ150 turbojet could be installed within the outer mold line of the basic “truck.” The weapon’s BLU-111 warhead was hollowed out to act as the fuel tank.
JET BLAST: The Joint Estimate Team’s (JET) pessimistic “sky-is-falling” view of the time and money needed to complete development of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be balanced against the program office’s “rosier” optimistic view in determining funding levels for Fiscal 2011 and beyond, the Defense Dept. says. “What we need to do…[is] figure out a sweet spot between the two,” Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell says.
LAUNCH SLIP: Launch of the TanDEM-X spacecraft is slipping to 2010 following an electronic component failure. The German Aerospace Center, DLR, says the component failed during the final test campaign. While the item has already been replaced, more testing is now required. As a result, DLR says shipment of the satellite can not take place in mid-November. A precise launch date has not been set.
DOWN WEEK: The S&P Aerospace index fell by 3.4 percent last week, compared with a 2.5 percent in the S&P 500, notes Jeffries & Company analyst Howard Rubel. Additionally, the industry’s aggregate backlog fell by 3.5 percent year-over-year, partially due to Boeing delivering more aircraft than it has orders for and partially because the effects of Defense Department program cancellations are being felt now.
October’s successful intercept demonstration of the SM-3 Block IA fired from a Japanese destroyer marks a turning point in the Raytheon-led program, as officials now shift focus to fielding the Block IB upgrade. During the test, the SM-3 Block IA intercepted a separating medium-range target Oct. 28 after apogee about 100 miles over the Pacific Ocean, says Frank Wyatt, missile systems vice president at Raytheon. Impact was “just about a perfect direct hit in terms of intercept point,” and the engagement occurred about roughly a 90-deg. angle, Wyatt says.
DIRTY PROPS: The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command Fleet Readiness Research and Development Program Propeller Coating initiative will run through the end of 2010. Evaluations are going on aboard the USS Gunston Hall to test the effectiveness of a new coating designed to easily remove accumulated marine growth on propellers while the ship is underway. Fouled propellers, which can occur during periods of inactivity, end up costing fuel. The detailed coating assessment will include evaluation of paint application and how the coating reacts to various cleaning methods.
JSF SITES: U.S. Air Force officials are winnowing down the list of potential sites for basing and training for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, with 11 candidates being eyed. The candidate training sites are Boise Air Terminal Air Guard Station, Idaho, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Holloman AFB, N.M., and Luke AFB and Tuscon International Airport Air Guard Station in Arizona.
The prognosis for Afghanistan is grim, says Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), a senior member of his chamber’s Armed Services and appropriations committees. Roughly, he tells Washington defense writers, there are not enough U.S. forces to maintain a presence in all of Afghanistan, that we cannot afford the U.S. troops that are already deployed, and that the U.S. domestic economic emergency and need for deficit reduction will further cut into defense spending over the next several years.
EW TECHNOLOGY: The U.S. Naval Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) will partner on Electronic Warfare (EW) technology research under a new, three-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. As part of the agreement, NSWC Crane will supply advanced equipment and facility access and develop effects data related to the use of laser technology for EW applications. JHU/APL will research EW technologies, develop modeling capabilities and provide UAV equipment and expertise.
KILLER APP: Among the ideas for a new combat cyber weapon to be developed by Lockheed Martin is one that would look like a small, smart phone with a few specialized twists. It has to be operable with one hand, while wearing gloves, says Glenn Kurowski, Lockheed Martin’s director of strategy for defense information systems. The “back” button would likely migrate from under the ball of the hand to the top right corner. It would allow the infantryman in the foxhole to see a map showing where he is, where his friends are and, maybe, where the enemy is.
BASE ACCUSATION: The program-based model of innovation that “produced the American edge in airpower from P-51s to F-22s will start going out of business in 2011,” warns airpower analyst Rebecca Grant in a paper for the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Nov. 2 - 4 — AVIATION WEEK A&D Programs Conference, Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Ariz. For more information go to http://www.aviationweek.com/conferences Nov. 2 - 4 — Smi’s 11th Annual Global MilSatCom Conference & Exhibition, Millennium Gloucester Hotel, London, U.K. For more information go to www.smi-online.co.uk
GENOA, Italy — The European Commission has concluded that the Italian government’s research and development (R&D) loans granted to AgustaWestland for development of the AW-139 helicopter and BA-609 tiltrotor are to be considered as related to military research projects and thus not subject to any “market disruption” European Union (EU) scrutiny.
TOKYO — Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 2:32 a.m. Japan Standard Time Oct. 31, capping off its first visit to the orbiting outpost. The unmanned spacecraft was launched on a newly designed H-IIB rocket from Tanegashima Space Center on Sept. 11 to deliver supplies and instruments, and docked with the station Sept. 17 (Aerospace DAILY, Sept. 18). After having all its cargo offloaded, it was stuffed with 1.6 metric tons of trash, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
SOLD: The ProtoStar 1 satellite will be renamed Intelsat 25 and join the company’s global fleet within the next 30 days following Intelsat’s successful $210 million cash bid for the spacecraft at a public auction Oct. 29. Built by Space Systems/Loral with a 16-year design life, ProtoStar 1 has 22 Ku-band and 38 C-band transponders and will serve customers in the Atlantic Ocean region. It was launched in July 2008. ProtoStar Ltd. — a Bermuda-based company set up by a group of U.S.
Warfighter demand for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) in Afghanistan is already huge and growing rapidly, but the ability to increase the number of aircraft and troops is limited by a lack of bases, facilities, aviation ramp space, personnel and sensors that can deal with terrain that bears almost no resemblance to Iraq, according to a senior Pentagon planning official who has to provide the equipment to fight both wars.
U.S. North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Command’s emerging maritime warning mission is broad and multifaceted, according to U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, leader of NORAD and Northern Command (NORTHCOM).
DCAA SHUFFLE: The Pentagon is removing Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) Director April Stephenson after a year’s worth of stark criticism over structural failings at the Defense Department’s audit group. The move comes as some lawmakers and outside critics have called for an overhaul of DCAA’s culture, and some said Stephenson’s reassignment would not end the matter. “Contractors have been on a rampage fighting new requirements being placed upon them by DCAA for the past year,” warned Danielle Brian, head of the watchdog Project on Government Oversight.
The German air force will start operating Heron unmanned aircraft in Afghanistan in March 2010 under a newly signed fee-for-service agreement. The German defense ministry has signed a contract with Rheinmetall — which is working with Heron maker Israel Aerospace Industries — to provide the medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aircraft. The contract calls for two Heron systems to be used, each comprising three air vehicles.
NETWORK TO WIN: To mark the 40th anniversary of the Internet, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched the Network Challenge to explore how Internet communications and social networking can quickly assemble and mobilize teams over a wide area to solve a time-critical problem. DARPA will award $40,000 to the first person to identify the locations of 10 red balloons tethered in undisclosed locations across the U.S. during the daylight hours on Dec. 5, 40 years after the first message was sent across Arpanet, the precursor of the Internet.
