RAILGUN PROTOTYPE: The U.S. Office of Naval Research has awarded BAE Systems a $21 million contract to develop an advanced electromagnetic railgun for the U.S. Navy. The 30-month contract is for the detailed design and delivery of an Innovative Naval Prototype (INP) Railgun. BAE Systems will develop railgun technologies, including a composite launcher (barrel) that will be demonstrated in 2011. The INP program is part of the Navy’s science and technology investments focused on developing new technologies to support Navy and Marine Corps needs.
Despite some uncertainty about the future of defense spending in its core U.S. and U.K. markets, BAE Systems is “quietly positive” about the company’s prospects in 2009 and beyond, Chief Executive Ian King said in releasing 2008 annual results.
Clyde Space, a Glasgow-based firm specializing in components for cubesats and other small spacecraft, is at work on a constellation of tiny satellites that can give emergency services personnel worldwide quick notice of a blooming wildfire before it erupts into a conflagration like the one that has ravaged southern Australia. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers on NASA’s Earth-Observing System satellites have been monitoring the deadly fires in the mountains east of Melbourne. But those large satellites cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
March 11 - 12, 2009 National Press Club Washington, DC Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., Chief of Staff of the United States Army Gen. William M. Fraser, III, Vice Chief of Staff for the Air Force LTG Raymond Johns, USAF Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans & Programs MG Jay H. Lindell, Director, Global Power Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition
The U.S. Navy recently awarded General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company a $3.5 million contract for the first phase of design for the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) program. The MLP is being developed to provide a surface interface between other ships and connectors in the squadron and sea base. It will provide the vehicle transfer system that permits transferring personnel and equipment between Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off Ships (LMSR) to the MLP and smaller craft.
STEAMING AHEAD: Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy said the industry team has completed the builder’s sea trials of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). The carrier’s design has been 70 percent “updated” since January 2001, when the detailed design and construction contract was awarded. Next the ship will undergo acceptance trials with the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey to test and evaluate its systems and performance.
AERIAL TARGETS: The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman a $49 million contract modification to a previously awarded contract for procurement of 160 BQM-74E Aerial Targets and associated technical data. The BQM-74E is a high-fidelity, subsonic, jet-powered aerial target capable of being launched from land-based, shipboard or airborne platforms. It is used to replicate enemy cruise missiles and aircraft for fleet training, and to test and evaluate anti-ship and anti-aircraft defensive weapons systems. The work is expected to be completed by May 2011.
NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have agreed to jointly pursue a new outer planets mission that would send separate U.S. and European spacecraft to visit the four largest moons of Jupiter circa 2026. Meanwhile, the agencies also will work together on a less mature mission concept for visiting Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus, which would include a NASA orbiter and an ESA lander and research balloon that would descend to Titan’s cloud-shrouded surface.
AVIATION WEEK Management Forums ADS-B & NextGen Air Traffic Modernization March 26-27, 2009 Washington, DC What will it take to make NextGen and ADS-B adoption viable and cost-effective for all stakeholders? Takeaways: • Making ADS-B a Reality • The Latest on Airport Infrastructure Re-Design
ROTORWASH: Debates on the future of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps VH-71 presidential replacement helicopter program could be a “key” test for U.S.-exposed companies, according to analysts at Exane BNP Paribas Capital Goods Team. “This could imply that more programs could become under scrutiny as the U.S. state deficit rises under the pressure from the economic downturn and the U.S. stimulus plan.” For instance, they say, it could affect BAE Systems and Cobham. The analysts in a Feb.
Sea Launch has postponed the launch of Italy’s Sicral 1b military communications satellite until further notice because of unspecified payload issues. Launch of the spacecraft, built by Thales Alenia Space, has already been pushed back several times for various reasons, and was most recently scheduled for late January/early February. Industry sources say an April liftoff is now likely.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – As the Obama administration mulls the best strategy for conducting the war in Afghanistan, a former top Pentagon leader advises a go-slow policy – at first. Shifting U.S. spending, military and political priorities from Iraq to Afghanistan will probably take a couple of years and it is important to “start with a strategy first,” said Jack Keane, former Army vice chief of staff. The retired four-star general noted previous U.S. officials did not get the strategy right at first in Iraq.
The U.S. Marine Corps is initiating a public comment period, and has scheduled three public comment meetings, over a proposed action to base up to 10 MV-22 squadrons (120 aircraft) on the West Coast to replace nine squadrons with 114 aircraft in California. The nine to be replaced are currently authorized for basing at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, MCAS Camp Pendleton, and Edwards Air Force Base.
Snecma and Europropulsion, a joint venture of Snecma and Italy’s Avio, have been awarded a contract to supply the cryogenic propulsion system and solid rocket motors for 35 additional Ariane 5 launch vehicles.
SMARTSAT: A Jordanian Internet service provider, SmartLink, and an unnamed Kuwaiti investment firm plan to create a company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) offering broadband satellite services. Backers say the company, SmartSat, will be funded to the tune of $500 million, sufficient to begin operations using leased-in satellite capacity and order a dedicated satellite and ground infrastructure.
GLOBAL PURCHASING: Lockheed Martin — the world’s largest defense contractor — has completed more than $40 billion in industrial “benefits” in more than 37 nations over the last 40 years, according to Larry McQuien, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics’ vice president for business ventures. Lockheed executives said that more than 70 partnerships with Italy’s industrial base have been implemented and are projected to provide more than $2 billion in long-term economic effects to the Italian economy.
The U.S. Air Force has completed its investigation into the July 21, 2008, crash of a B-52 30 miles off the U.S. island of Guam in which all six crew members were killed.
Two key command and control (C2) systems being developed by the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force still need quite a bit of polishing, according to a recent report by the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). In its annual report released early this month, the DOT&E found developmental issues with both the Marines’ Common Aviation Command and Control System (CAC2S) and the Air Force’s Battle Control System-Fixed (BCS-F).
NEW DELHI India will increase its defense spending by about 24 percent percent to $28.9 billion for its fiscal year starting in April, according to the interim budget submitted to the government. The 1.23-million strong army gets the largest allocation: $11.79 billion, the air force was allotted $2.86 billion and the navy $1.66 billion. Acting finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said the rest would fund wages, pensions, military research and sundry expenses.
AUTO FUEL: The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a follow-on contract for its inertial navigation system designed for the Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) program. The Air Force Research Laboratory demonstrated the ability of the AAR system to autonomously execute aerial refueling maneuvers in close proximity to a tanker during flight-tests in November 2007. Initial flight-tests scheduled for the next program phase will focus on integrating and characterizing multiple LN-251 units, with final flight-tests planned prior to system delivery.
BRAGGING RIGHTS: The U.S. Air Force’s Defense Satellite Communications System III constellation has set the record for the longest-serving on-orbit military communications system, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The system has surpassed 200 years of uninterrupted secure voice and high-data rate communications for Defense Department users worldwide, the company says. In all, 14 DSCS III spacecraft have been built.
