Development of digital weaponry for increasingly pervasive network, information and electronic warfare (EW) — which is now seen as an active peacetime threat instead of a wartime event — continues to gain momentum.
ROTORCRAFT AGREEMENT: A year and a half after headline-grabbing sabotage on a production line, Boeing and the United Aerospace Workers Local 1069 announced Oct. 18 that the 1,789 UAW-represented employees at the Boeing Rotorcraft Systems facility near Philadelphia ratified a new five-year collective bargaining agreement. The deal includes general annual wage increases of 3 percent in the first year followed by 2 percent in the second, 3 percent in the third and fourth, and 4 percent in the final year.
AIR FORCE MacAulay-Brown Inc., of Dayton, Ohio was awarded a $24,354,000 contract which will provide for characterization, archival, and distribution of data for an image exploitation system. At this time, $67,862 has been obligated. AFRL/PKSR, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-10-D-1751, Task Oder: 0001).
TRANSCOM CONTRACTS: The Defense Department’s Transportation Command has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract for Joint Analytic and Adaptive Planning (APEX) support and another contract to provide analytical support for the Joint Distribution Analysis Center (JDPAC), both at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Under the four-year, $8 million APEX contract, Northrop will provide modeling and simulation support, planning, operations research analytical support and system administration services.
CATAPULT TESTS: Northrop Grumman said its first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye test aircraft successfully completed its first land-based catapult launch tests, a significant part of testing before the aircraft can roll off a U.S. aircraft carrier. Jim Culmo, vice president of airborne early warning and battle management command and control programs, said Oct. 16 that both E-2D system development and demonstration aircraft have been performing well under shore-based carrier suitability testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
PROJECT LIBERTY: Hawker Beechcraft said Oct. 19 it received a $45 million follow-on order from the U.S. Air Force for six more King Air 350ER intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft under the armed service’s Project Liberty. Deliveries are scheduled to finish this year, according to the company. In April, the Air Force took delivery of the first 23 twin turboprops under a $171 million contract. The U.S. Army also is eyeing KingAir 350s for its recycled Aerial Common Sensor program.
HARRIS RADIOS: Harris said last week it received a $419 million basic purchasing agreement from the U.S. Army for Falcon III AN/PRC-117G multiband tactical manpack radios and vehicular power-amplifier adapter systems. The AN/PRC-117G, the first radio approved for Joint Tactical Radio System and National Security Agency Type-1 requirements, is supposed to provide secure streaming video, imagery, biometrics, logistics and other data (Aerospace DAILY, Aug. 28). The initial order under the contract is worth $165 million, Harris said.
The military’s need to push more and more information to more people at an ever-quickening pace is fueling the need for more airborne communications systems and more research and development — a requirement that will result in spending to the tune of $7.8 billion from 2009-2018, according to a new analysis by Forecast International. During this time frame, the military is expected to purchase some 9,200 airborne communications systems.
Pressure and external-loads testing is under way on a crew module sized to fit into an Orion crew exploration vehicle that Alliant Techsystems (ATK) built for NASA from composite materials.
AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Corp. of Marietta, Ga., was awarded an $827,400,000 contract which will provide for the advance procurement funding for three FY10 Air Force C-130J aircraft, four FY10 HC-130J aircraft, and four FY10 MC-130J aircraft. This option is being established for acquisition of one HC-130J aircraft to be fully funded with FY10 funds. At this time, $8,274,000 has been obligated. 657 AESS/SYKA, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8625-06-C-6456, P00087). NAVY
TYPHOON TRIP: British defense acquisition minister Quentin Davies will be visiting Japan this week, lobbying for the sale of the Eurofighter Typhoon to meet an air force fighter requirement. With Japanese interest also in the Lockheed Martin F-35, London’s pitch includes pointing out that its future force mix will be based on the Typhoon and the F-35.
INCENTIVIZING DEFENSE: A contract covering a substantial element of the partner nations’ required cost savings on Eurofighter Typhoon support was placed with BAE Systems last week. The 400-million euro ($654-million) deal is for support of the aircraft’s radar and defensive aids sub-systems. The contract provides incentives for BAE to sort technical issues more quickly and reduce required repairs The contract is meant to deliver a 50 percent saving from the previous agreement for the same equipment.
NAVAL TANKER: France is ordering conceptual studies for a fleet of four multipurpose tanker vessels that could support operation of an aircraft carrier and a naval amphibious assault group, and an upgraded SCOAA air comand system that would be fully interoperable with NATO systems. The French also issued new contracts for on-condition maintenance of naval and army weapons systems.
RACR READY: Raytheon has completed a fit-check of its RACR (Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar) active electronically scanned array (AESA) on a U.S. Air Force F-16 Block 50 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. and is planning to fly the radar in the first half of 2010. RACR is competing with Northrop Grumman’s SABR for the market to equip F-16s with AESAs. “We believe we will be first to flight-test production-representative hardware on an F-16,” says David Goold, Raytheon director, business development, tactical airborne systems.
Airliner, fighter or business jet — almost every modern aircraft owes part of its aerodynamic design to one man: Richard Whitcomb, who died of pneumonia on Oct. 13 at age 88. As a NASA engineer, Whitcomb developed three of the most important post-war innovations in aeronautics: the transonic area rule, the supercritical airfoil and winglets.
FUEL-CELL RECORD: An unofficial record for flight endurance on fuel-cell power of 23 hours 17 minutes has been set by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Ion Tiger experimental unmanned aircraft. The 550-Watt hydrogen fuel cell, produced by Protonex Technology, provided seven times the energy of the equivalent weight in batteries, NRL says. Runway launched and recovered, the Ion Tiger weighs 37 pounds and carries a 4-5-pound payload.
General Electric and Rolls-Royce North America’s LibertyWorks will both proceed into Phase 2 of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology (ADVENT) demonstration program, but funding constraints mean only Rolls will build and test a full engine. A flagship effort under the Versatile Affordable Turbine Engines (VAATE) program, ADVENT is developing technology for an adaptive turbofan able to combine high thrust for supersonic speed with low fuel burn for subsonic endurance.
DAEJEON, South Korea — Advances in electronic and mechanical miniaturization have raised hopes that the small, relatively cheap nanosats and picosats gaining cachet as a valuable training tool for young engineering students also can produce meaningful scientific results.
EUROCOPTER DOWNSIZES: As expected, Eurocopter has unveiled a streamlining plan, including a 15 percent cut in support costs but no layoffs, to compensate for an anticipated decline in helicopter deliveries starting next year. The company expects to finish 2009 with a sharp drop in new business — only 114 orders had been received by Aug. 31, compared to 715 in 2008 — but revenues are likely to remain stable, thanks to strong demand for large helicopters and military models.
MANAGEMENT SHUFFLE: Boeing will shift Senior Vice President Mike Cave from his role as head of business development and strategy to president of Boeing Capital Corp. (BCC) as of Jan. 1. He will succeed Walt Skowronski, who is retiring. BCC arranges, structures and provides financing for Boeing commercial airplane, defense and satellite products. Long seen as a possible future CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Cave will immediately become Skowronski’s deputy for the transition period.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 13 - 16 — 60th International Astronautical Congress, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. For more information go to www.iac2009.kr Oct. 13 - 14 — AVIATION WEEK Management Forums, Fatigue Management Forum, Crowne Plaza, Miami International Airport. For more information go to http://www.aviationweek.com/events
