W3C CONTRACT: Eutelsat has contracted with Thales Alenia Space to build W3C, a new spacecraft intended to complement W3A at the 7 deg. E. Long. position, which serves the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and Europe. Eutelsat had initially planned to use W3B at this spot, but after the failure of W2M in January decided to switch this spacecraft, currently under construction, to the operator’s 16 E. neighborhood. To be launched in the third quarter of 2011, W3C will provide much-needed redundancy at 7 deg.
GENOA, Italy – Alenia Aermacchi this year plans to complete deliveries of eight MB-339CM advanced jet trainers to the Royal Malaysian Air Force, which ordered the aircraft in 2006 to replace its current fleet of first-generation MB-339As.
WGS LAUNCH: The U.S. Air Force plans to launch the second Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 9:24 p.m. EDT on March 17 from Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The flight originally was slated for March 14, but was bumped to allow the space shuttle Discovery to launch first. The first spacecraft in the WGS military communications constellation was launched in October 2007 and became operational in April 2008. The third spacecraft is slated for launch in August.
AIR FORCE The Air Force is extending a firm fixed price contract with Raytheon Company of Tucson, Ariz., for $11,397,736. The action will extend the period of performance to provide Contractor Logistics Support for CY09. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 695 ARSS, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8675-08-C-0064, P00007). NAVY
TAIWAN DEAL: Lockheed Martin is to refurbish and upgrade 12 ex-U.S. Navy P-3C Orions for Taiwan under a $665.6 million foreign military sales contract. The anti-submarine warfare aircraft were included in a U.S. arms package offered to Taiwan in 2001, but repeatedly delayed by political infighting in Taipei and Chinese pressure on Washington. Lockheed Martin will perform depot maintenance, structural life extension and avionics modernization on the P-3s, which replace Taiwan’s Grumman S-2Ts.
READINESS: Aerospace and defense companies are in a much stronger position heading into the commercial aerospace downturn than they were when the last downturn began in 2001, according to a Deloitte report that will be released March 16. Deloitte says strong backlogs, productivity improvements, a better organized supply chain and strong balance sheets have braced the industry to weather tough times.
WINDING DOWN: Merger and acquisition activity in the U.S. aerospace and defense industry is falling off a cliff. Acquisitions declined 57 percent in 2008 to $14.3 billion, virtually drying up in the four quarter as the global economic crisis intensified and companies moved to conserve cash, PricewaterhouseCoopers reports. Private equity deals sank to 17 percent of the total, down from 49 percent in 2007, but European companies’ purchases of North American properties hit a record high as they moved to take advantage of a weak U.S. dollar.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Mar. 16 - 19 — Performance-Based Logistics 2009, Washington, D.C. For more information call 1-800-882-8684 or go to www.idga.org/us/pbl Mar. 17 — Wichita Aero Club luncheon featuring Pete Bunce, President of General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Airport Hilton Hotel, Wichita, KS. For more information call 316-641-5962, e-mail: [email protected]
Contract work on fuselage assemblies for the U.S. Air Force C-17 and Global Hawk programs helped sustain Vought Aircraft Industries’ profitability in 2008 as strikes by machinists and slow-downs in Boeing’s 787 program dragged down performance. Vought President and CEO Elmer Doty says he sees support for sustaining C-17 production as stronger currently than it was a year ago. But he wasn’t predicting how funding might fare in Congress.
BACK TO WORK: Controllers for NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter expect to return to science observations this week following a somewhat risky March 11 reboot of the spacecraft’s main computer. The restart was a strategy devised by engineers to clear out flaws in the computer’s memory accumulated after years of being bombarded with space radiation. Odyssey had not been rebooted in more than five years. As a fringe benefit, the reboot also restored the orbiter’s backup, or “B-side” systems.
FT. WALTON BEACH, Fla. — The developmental Raytheon AIM-120D executed a successful flight test last week, destroying a QF-4 drone target, according to Maj. Gen. David Eidsaune, commander of the U.S. Air Force Air Armaments Center.
UNMANNED OVERHAUL: Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base in Utah has been selected as the overhaul depot for the U.S. Air Force’s growing fleet of General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Ogden is already the depot for F-16s, A-10s and C-130s. Announcing the decision, Utah Senator Bob Bennet said the proximity of the Utah Test & Training Range “is a big factor” as it will allow the UAVs to be checked out after maintenance.
WARNING SHOT: North Korea has notified some international agencies that it plans on conducting its contentious rocket launch in early April. A State Department representative told reporters March 12 that North Korea informed the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization that it is eyeing the first week of April to launch an experimental communication satellite. “Our view remains the same,” the State Dept. spokesman continued.
STOVL TESTS: The Joint Strike Fighter’s development program manager, U.S. Navy Capt. Wade Knudson, says the first vertical landing test for the F-35B will take place in “late summer or early fall.” Knudson won’t go into detail about the reasons for the timing, but says that discussions are continuing about what engineering changes will be incorporated into the first STOVL aircraft, BF-1, before the first STOVL tests. However, he says the plan is still to complete operational testing by mid-2014.
One Wall Street analyst is advising her clients not to buy defense stocks, cautioning that the Obama administration could move to cut military spending next year as it turns its attention to domestic priorities such as jobs, energy and transportation. The cautionary note comes as general anxiety in the aerospace and defense sector is increasing over rumored cuts or cancellations to major Pentagon programs, as well as moves by the White House and Capitol Hill to instill greater acquisition process reforms.
HANG ON: Embraer President and CEO Frederico Fleury Curado is dampening expectations that the Brazilian Air Force is weeks from ordering the manufacturer’s proposed C-390 transport. Instead, the company’s top executive tells Aerospace DAILY “intense dialogue” continues with the Brazilian government on technical specifications and contractual requirements, and he expects a launch order by year-end, although nothing firm has been agreed upon yet.
FIXED UP: Measat Satellite Systems of Malaysia says its new Measat-3a satellite has been rescheduled for a June launch. Initially planned for launch last August atop a Land Launch booster, Measat-3a was damaged in a crane accident at the launch pad in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, requiring it to be returned to the Orbital Sciences Corp. Dulles, Va. plant for repairs (Aerospace DAILY, Nov. 11, 2008).
PARIS Government officials are looking for “significant” lifecycle cost reductions for the Eurofighter Typhoon and have delayed further talks on Tranche 3 production to give industry a chance to respond. The German defense ministry says talks about the procurement of the next batch of 236 Typhoons have been postponed until the end of the month. That decision was made March 12 during a meeting of state secretaries for defense from Germany, the U.K., Italy and Spain.
RESCUE REMEDIES: Eurocopter EC225 and Sikorsky S-92 helicopters will be pitted against each other for the U.K. Defense Ministry and Maritime Coastguard Agency’s Search and Rescue Helicopter program. AirKnight — comprising Lockheed Martin UK, VT Group and British International Helicopters — is proposing the EC225. Soteria — made up of CHC Helicopter Corp., Thales UK and the Royal Bank of Scotland — is offering the S-92. The aircraft is due to debut in 2012.
U.S. Army officials and congressional auditors have reignited a lively debate over the status of the land service’s Future Combat Systems modernization program. The Army gathered four generals for Pentagon reporters March 13 to dispute claims in a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report issued the day before that said FCS is facing a potential $19 billion in cost increases — $17 billion for procurement and $2 billion for development — over the $159 billion it already officially costs.
INTELLIGENCE PAYS: Even during a budget crunch, some Defense Dept. programs can expect to see continued strong funding — especially if they provide support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Keith Sanders, deputy director of air warfare for the Pentagon’s acquisition office, says one area like that is intelligence sensors. Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support has been given a virtual blank check and there’s no sign of that ending, Sanders says.
COMSAT COORDINATION: The European Defense Agency (EDA) has decided to establish a procurement unit to coordinate the purchase of commercial satellite communications services by European Union (EU) member states for the EU’s growing crisis management operations. The three-year pilot project, which is expected to have a business volume of at least 30 million euros ($37.5 million), is intended to facilitate the purchase of satcom services and pave the way for creation of a permanent EU body to handle such buys.
HELO EXERCISE: Five European countries are conducting a helicopter exercise near Gap, in the French Alps, to improve interoperability and training levels for helicopters deployed in overseas theaters. The exercise, being run under the auspices of the European Defense Agency at the urging of France and the U.K., involves ten helicopters from Belgium, France, Hungary, Spain and the Czech Republic. Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden also are involved. The exercise began March 9 and is slated to end March 20.
