With progressive and conservative think tanks in Washington all calling on President Barack Obama and Congress to toss some of the stimulus package money at the military to help create jobs, an odd alliance seems to be growing to back the idea. But commenters note the extra federal funds likely will be accompanied by new scrutiny.
The U.S. Air Force has failed to develop air sovereignty alert (ASA) operations as it is supposed to, a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says. GAO’s questions about ASA operations come on the heels of a recently reported Air Force Audit Agency investigation skewering the service for its procurement and development of a system meant to marry NORAD and FAA radars to help prevent terrorist attacks (Aerospace DAILY, Feb. 11).
DROPPING IN: The French government and Sagem have jointly carried out the first test drop of a 125-kilogram (275-pound) version of the AASM air-to-ground bomb. The test involved a Mirage 2000N flying at the French defense ministry’s Biscarosse test range. The drop, from high altitude against a target located “several tens of kilometers away,” involved only inertial navigation system-guidance and met accuracy projections, according to the contractor.
AUTO NAV: General Dynamics Robotic Systems has selected Northrop Grumman to supply the navigation system for the Phase II Global Positioning System (GPS)/Inertial Navigation System (INS), a major component of the Autonomous Navigation System (ANS) for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems program. Under the $10.7 million contract, Northrop’s system will provide inputs for the ANS. The company was awarded a system development and demonstration contract for nine LN-270 units, and it was also awarded a future, limited-rate-initial-production contract by General Dynamics.
Topline numbers for the U.S. military services in the forthcoming fiscal 2010 budget request could be issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as soon as next week. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is meeting with the military service chiefs by Feb. 12 to discuss potential program cuts in preparation for final issuance of these service topline allocations.
SECOND ROUND: The U.S. amphibious assault ship Makin Island (LHD 8) completed its second round of builder’s trials Feb. 7 after four days at sea. Acceptance trials are scheduled for March and the ship is expected to join the fleet in October. Makin Island had to undergo a second round of Northrop Grumman’s own trials to test the ship’s propulsion system, which includes gas turbines and a hybrid electric drive, after severe shipbuilding problems emerged a year ago (Aerospace DAILY, April 17, 2008). LHD 8 is designed to be the first U.S.
PARIS – France appears ready to pull out all the stops to convince partners that they should agree to renegotiate price, delivery terms and specifications for the A400M, and not stop the troubled multibillion euro initiative.
Four Eurofighter aircraft left Germany to be flown to Bangalore for Aero India 2009, but only three made it on the first attempt. The fourth German air force aircraft experienced a technical issue en route, which meant it remained at a stopover location in the Gulf states to await support. The aircraft remained in the United Arab Emirates, at Al Dhafra Air Base, as a result of a display caution during preflight checks. A German air force technical team was due to be dispatched to return the aircraft to flight-ready status.
AVIATION WEEK Laureate Awards Tuesday, March 3, 2009 Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium -- Washington, D.C. Black Tie AVIATION WEEK’s Laureate Awards were conceived more than 50 years ago to recognize the extraordinary achievements of individuals and teams in aerospace, aviation and defense. REGISTER NOW http://www.aviationweek.com/conferences/laumain.htm
A Russian government Proton M rocket has launched a pair of spacecraft for Russian Satellite Communications Co. (RSCC). Both spacecraft were built by Russian contractors using Thales Alenia payloads. The 2.6 metric ton AM44, built by Reshetnev ISS, which has long worked with Thales Alenia for RSCC, carries 16 Ku-, 10 C- and one L-band transponder and will be located at 11 deg. W. Long. Express MD-1, a smaller unit manufactured by Khrunichev, will provide voice, data and radio broadcasting capacity from 53 deg. E.
With the help of simulation software, Honeywell expects to cut hardware iterations by 50 percent for the navigation, guidance and other subsystems it is developing for Lockheed Martin for NASA’s Orion crew launch system. Virtual development of the entire electronics system – software and processor cores – holds the promise of cutting 12 months out of the development cycle, with a corresponding cut in development costs, compared to proceeding directly to hardware and having to debug the development process.
Engineers at the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., are starting facilities upgrades that will be a key enabler for hypersonic weapons and vehicle developments, allowing testers to vary Mach numbers during each test using a single nozzle.
MALMSTROM PASSES: The U.S. Air Force’s 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., received a “satisfactory” grade (the highest possible) from the Air Force Inspector General after a five-day Nuclear Surety Inspection in early February. About 12 inspectors from Air Force Space Command conducted the inspection, which was prompted by an October 2008 inspection that noted deficiencies in the organization. The USAF announcement this week came after a Feb.
A broadside collision between two satellites – one of them an operational Iridium communications relay – was the worst orbital accident on record and may wind up rivaling the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite weapon test in the debris cloud it created. The Iridium satellite – one of 66 in the “Big LEO” low-Earth orbit constellation – and the 16-year-old Cosmos 2251 Russian government communications satellite collided at an altitude of 790 kilometers with a closing velocity of about 7 miles per second shortly before noon Feb. 10 EST.
LYNN APPROVED: The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed the nomination of former Raytheon lobbyist William J. Lynn III for the No. 2 spot at the Defense Department Feb. 11. The Senate voted 93-4, to confirm Lynn as deputy defense secretary. The White House issued Lynn a waiver from tough new conflict-of-interest regulations to clear the way for his appointment.
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
South Korea will develop an air combat engagement model and reconfigurable flight simulator that can model and simulate the combat effectiveness of various different fighter types, including its F-15K, F-16C/D and FA-50 by November 2011. The Agency for Defense Development, a government body responsible for all defense-related research and development, has issued a request for proposals for the indigenous engagement-level model and flight simulators, aiming at detailed analysis of air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.
Drastic shifts in the axis of rotation on Mars over time could have created polar ice sheets that flowed in some areas, shaping the terrain below in ways that can be seen today. Scientists examining erosion in mid-latitude craters on both sides of the planet’s equator see differences that suggest local warming from sunlight was a factor in the direction that long-gone ice-rich material — or perhaps liquid water — once flowed in.
Boeing has named Rob Pasterick, 53, vice president of finance and corporate controller and Ray Ferrari, 54, to replace him as finance officer of the Commercial Airplanes business unit. Ferrari had been vice president of finance for Network & Space Systems at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. He will be replaced by Craig Saddler, now president of Boeing Australia and the South Pacific.
STIMULATING BUSINESS: Federal consultancy Input is telling contractors to key on commonalities in the respective House and Senate stimulus bills and focus their businesses on the Obama administration’s priorities regardless. “The common priorities that are mission-critical, create jobs or address high-priority, long-term federal goals have the most staying power,” said Deniece Peterson, Input’s principal analyst. For instance, border and transportation security were highlighted in both versions, with funding set aside for detection and checkpoint technologies.
