TACTICAL COMMS: The U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va., awarded Iridium Satellite a $21.7 million contract to support development and delivery of the Distributed Tactical Communications System (DTCS). DTCS is an extension of “Netted Iridium,” the company’s push-to-talk communications capability. The system is intended to provide over-the-horizon, on-the-move, beyond line-of-sight netted voice and data communications over the Iridium network for the tactical warfighter.
PARIS AIR SHOW — EADS Astrium has confirmed that it will build two new medium-high resolution wide swath Spot satellites to replace the existing Spot 5 — the first time a private investor has agreed to fully finance a major imaging satellite.
PARIS AIR SHOW — The bulk of Eurofighter Tranche 3A aircraft will likely initially be fitted with the Captor M mechanically-scanned array radar, as the four partner nations try to agree on a common road map for integrating future radar technology.
DEFENDING FRANCE: The French National Assembly has approved a 186 billion euro ($257 billion) five-year defense spending bill, ensuring France with sustained funding for modernization of its armed forces. The vote, with 313 voices in favor and 173 against, was never in doubt, but had been delayed for months by the government’s heavy reform agenda. The bill includes 108 billion euros for procurement of new hardware, with a strong emphasis on force projection, protection, space systems, reconnaissance and other capabilities needed to meet contemporary military threats.
Embattled exploration-program managers at NASA say a decision to cancel the Ares I crew launch vehicle development now in favor of a potentially lower-cost effort to human rate the Delta IV heavy would add $14.1 billion - $16.6 billion to the cost of developing the Ares V moon rocket.
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — South Korea is getting serious about buying tankers, but planning officials are faced with conflicting priorities. Tankers would offer the South Korean air force’s combat fleet more mobility and endurance during war and during peacetime when Red Flag and other exercises provide the opportunity to hone air-to-air and air-to-ground skills.
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) is expressing its disappointment in the U.S. Navy’s management of the VH-71 presidential helicopter program and recommending DOD continue with procurement of Increment 1 helicopters. The HASC is in the midst of marking up the defense budget request for fiscal 2010. Lawmakers noted the $85.2 million included in the budget for a presidential helicopter recapitalization program as well as the recent cancellation of the Lockheed Martin-led VH-71 program.
PARIS AIR SHOW — A central issue for ongoing termination negotiations between the U.S. Air Force and the Northrop Grumman/EADS North America tanker team is what to do with the A330-200 test aircraft partially owned by the service. The government notified the team it was terminating the contract for convenience late last year, and negotiations are under way on the terms.
PARIS AIR SHOW — Canada is working to bring forward a decision on its new fighter to later this year, with the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter facing ostensible competition from the Boeing F/A-18E/F, Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen NG. “We are trying to advance the decision to 2009,” says a Canadian Department of National Defense (DND) official. The intent, assuming the F-35 is selected, is to allow Canada to participate in a potential “consortium buy” with other national buyers, promising better pricing and industrial rewards.
Earmarked funding for more unrequested U.S. military airlifters this fiscal year is in the final stage of getting congressional approval, as the House has agreed to a compromise supplemental spending bill with the Senate. In addition to $79.9 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the measure would appropriate $2.7 billion to buy eight more Boeing C-17 Globemaster cargo jets — even though the Defense Department said it had enough cargo aircraft — and seven Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules turboprop transports.
The $550.4 billion fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill approved by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) directs the Pentagon to report to Congress on plans to deal with a predicted “fighter gap” in the next decade and explain changes to the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) program. The HASC approved the measure, which also authorizes $130 billion to support overseas contingency operations during FY ’10, by a 61-0 vote June 17.
NAVY AIRCRAFT: The fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill approved June 17 by the House Armed Services Committee urges the Navy to enter into a multiyear procurement contract for more F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers. The bill, which now goes to the House floor, includes $108 million for advance procurement of items used to build new aircraft beyond FY ’10 and $56 million for support items associated with the Growlers. The committee said buying new aircraft made more sense than trying to extend the life of the legacy fleet.
Airborne Laser (ABL) industry executives are suggesting even more money in the FY ’10 Pentagon budget request and beyond is needed to fully prove their program’s military effectiveness, despite high-level Defense Department actions lately downgrading the embattled missile defense effort.
FENNEC UPGRADE: French armaments agency DGA has issued Thales a contract to bring 60 air force Fennec helicopters up to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards so they can fly in civil airspace. The 34 million euro ($47 million), five-year award covers the upgrade of communications, navigation and identification hardware. It will begin with a one-year development phase that will be validated with a series of in-flight qualification tests.
PARIS AIR SHOW — Israel’s Urban Aeronautics has begun ground tests on its Mule ducted-rotor unmanned aircraft, with the first hover flight expected in two months. The vertical takeoff and landing Mule is being aimed initially at autonomous resupply missions. The vehicle is designed to carry a 500-pound payload with 2 hours of endurance at 100 knots.
Independent reviewers testifying before House lawmakers in Washington June 16 pointed to continued problems with the tri-agency National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) program, calling for changes in management structure and for the program to once and for all develop a realistic budget.
CONTROL UPGRADE: Canada’s Mist Mobility Integrated Systems has selected Rockwell Collins’ Athena 411 flight control and navigation system to upgrade its CQ-10A SnowGoose unmanned cargo aircraft. The pusher-propeller SnowGoose is designed for ground and air launch and the upgrade replaces its parachute wing with an autogyro rotor system. The UAV can autonomously deliver 575 pounds of cargo to up to six locations.
PARIS AIR SHOW — The software to run the TP400D turboprop on the A400M is about to be delivered, marking a key milestone as Airbus Military tries to meet a first flight target for the European airlifter by year’s end. The software load 1.2 for the TP400’s full authority digital flight control is about to be completed to undergo European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification in the fall, says Egon Behle, CEO of MTU, which is responsible for the system. The delivery of the software to the A400M iron bird in Toulouse will take place this month, he says.
PARIS AIR SHOW — The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a 37 million euro contract with Thales Alenia Space to begin development of a 1.8 metric ton experimental re-entry vehicle for Europe’s Future Launcher Preparatory Program (FLPP). The vehicle, known as the IXV, is intended to test various re-entry technologies that could feed into, among other things, a European download capsule for the International Space Station and a future lunar lander.
As it nears launch, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission has drawn a full array of ground- and space-based observatories that want to take its picture when it slams into the bottom of a shallow crater on the moon’s south pole in October. The LCROSS mission, which will be carried piggyback with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) in a liftoff now set for the afternoon of June 18, is to look for evidence of water ice and hydrogen on the lunar surface.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — The launch of NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-127 will not happen before July 11, but the range is now clear for the agency’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to attempt a launch on June 18.
