2008 Pentagon Logistic Support Services Expenses 2008 Pentagon Logistic Support Services Expenses Contractor Number of Contracts and Modifications Total Amount For Contracts and Modifications Average Amount Per Contract or Modification Kellogg Brown And Root
Russia is developing the anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon capability that the old Soviet Union allowed to degrade as the Cold War drew to a close, building on “basic, key elements” already in its arsenal that can be used in an ASAT system, according to the country’s deputy defense minister. Responding to a reporter’s question about Chinese and U.S. satellite shootdowns, Gen. Valentin Popovkin, a former commander of Russia’s military space forces, told reporters in Moscow “we can’t sit back and quietly watch others doing that.
MOSCOW – The Russian air force will receive 50 new fixed-wing and 50 rotary wing aircraft this year, according to army Gen. Valentin Popovkin, deputy defense minister for armaments. He did not elaborate on specific types and numbers to be procured. Nevertheless, the figures were immediately decoded by industry experts here who suggested they not only included brand-new aircraft, but also overhauled aircraft.
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says the recent rise in piracy is tied to the effects of globalization and is comparable to threats like terrorism and cyber warfare.
MOSCOW – The Russian helicopter industry shipped 169 rotorcraft of all types last year both for export and domestic customers, and is planning to deliver more than 230 additional helos this year, according to a Helicopters of Russia company statement. In 2008, 114 Mil Mi-8/Mi-17s heavy transports, 20 Mi-24/Mi-35 and Mi-28N attack helicopters, and 11 Kamov Ka-27/Ka-32 heavy coaxial-rotors naval rotorcraft were manufactured. Two dozen overhauled-and-upgraded Mi-2 light rotorcraft also were included in the industry’s output figure.
Iridium has completed its recovery from last month’s orbital collision that destroyed a spacecraft in the 66-satellite low-Earth orbit constellation, and is calling for more vigorous efforts by the space community to provide warning of such events. The Feb. 10 collision with the 16-year-old Russian Cosmos 2251 satellite created about 700 pieces of orbital debris (Aerospace DAILY, Feb. 12, 13). Iridium completed the replacement of the lost satellite with an on-orbit spare on March 4, the company said March 9.
The U.S. Army has struggled to get a handle on its numerous wireless programs, particularly the expensive Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), whose projected future costs could total nearly $42 billion, according to a recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assessment.
LONDON – Delay in the completion of safety modifications is forcing the U.K. to withdraw Nimrod MR2 and R1 aircraft support from ongoing combat operations for several months. Aircraft awaiting modification will not be flown after the end of March, pending the work being carried out. The modification work resulted from the loss of a Nimrod MR2 and all crew onboard during a 2006 operation in Afghanistan.
BUG OUT: The Australian Defense Science and Technology Organization and an industry team have unveiled a demonstration technology called Bioseeker that aims to capitalize on how insects see and navigate. Bioseeker could boost the capability of the rocket on the Aussie Tiger Helicopter, various air delivered weapons and shoulder launched or mortar based land weapons, according to the defense ministry.
The U.S. military services will present a consolidated list of all programs and investments related to unmanned aerial systems (UAS) by the end of March, in preparation for the development of a common ground control architecture. Pentagon Acquisitions Chief John Young pushed for the common system in a Feb. 11 memo, following a program review of ground control station (GCS) development and procurement programs for the Air Force’s Predator/Reaper and Army’s Sky Warrior UAS in December 2008.
A trouble-free countdown and nominal launch into clear skies sent NASA’s Kepler mission to find planets outside our solar system on its way March 6 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The 2,320-pound spacecraft, built by Ball Aerospace, was lifted into an Earth-trailing orbit by a United Launch Alliance Delta II.
AIR FORCE The Air Force is awarding an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., for a maximum of $12,000,000. The action will develop methodologies, tools, and techniques for producing adaptive, distributed sensing architectures in support of the Air Force Research Laboratory multilayered sensing vision. At this time, $299,956 has been obligated. AFRL/PKSE, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. (FA8650-09-D-1500)
The U.S. Navy’s plan to homeport one of its nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs) at Mayport, Fla., is likely to raise questions in Congress, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Among the issues, CRS says, is whether the Navy will need to make the shift because the service may not be able to afford the fleet size it wants.
NEW T-AKE: The newest ship in the Lewis and Clark (T-AKE) class of underway replenishment ships was christened March 8 at General Dynamics’ National Steel and Shipbuilding Company shipyard in San Diego, Calif. The USNS Wally Schirra is the eighth T-AKE ship. The program calls for up to 14 ships, the first 11 of which will serve as combat logistics force ships. The last three are expected to be part of the Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future).
THAAD TEST: A test of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system later this month is expected to pit two interceptors flown in a salvo against a single target, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. The test will take place at the range off Hawaii and will be the second attempt at a trial originally slated for last year. In September, officials aborted a salvo shot due to a glitch with the target missile.
CHINOOK WORK: Boeing Integrated Defense Systems has named Singapore Technologies Aerospace as a center for CH-47 Chinook engine transmission maintenance, repair and overhaul work. The designation is the first of any kind for STAero in the Chinook program and allows it to serve customers beyond Singapore.
STILL DEBATABLE: A decision must be made about the size of the U.S. Navy’s fleet soon, according to House Armed Services Committee chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.). Skelton addressed the American Shipbuilding Association March 3 in Washington, saying, “the debate about the future surface Navy needs to end this year.” Whether the fleet comprises 313 or 340 ships, Skelton said, “we need to fund the surface construction program at the level necessary to restore our fleet.”
