TACTICAL TARGETING: Rockwell Collins has completed a Critical Design Review (CDR) with representatives of U.S. military services for its Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT), a high-speed Internet Protocol-based network that will connect military platforms. The TTNT CDR provided the military with a thorough review of the detailed design of the TTNT waveform.
Congressional auditors say NASA isn’t getting its money’s worth from the investigations carried out by the space agency’s inspector general. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, says in a report released Jan. 9 that of the 71 reports issued by NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) in fiscal years 2006 and 2007, only one had any recommendations on how to save taxpayers’ money.
ROC ON: Within the next couple of weeks, Lt. Gen. James Thurman, operations director for the U.S. Army, will usher a new requirements document for the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter through a process that will land it before the Army Requirements Oversight Council (AROC). “Then I’ll bring that rascal forward” to the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) in February or March, Thurman said. He and his team will review the Key Performance Parameters with a fine-toothed comb. “I’ve got to make sure we’ve got this right,” Thurman said.
The global demand for U.S. naval forces continues to rise, but the Navy is already drawing on reserves with little room left to maneuver, the service’s chief of integration and resources has warned. The problem: the already marginal extra fleet capacity is being used now.
Newly minted Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) is calling Afghanistan a “toxic political environment” that requires more American, NATO and Afghan troops, with the caveat that simply adding troops alone “without fundamentally changing the political dynamics on the ground could very well be fuel on the fire.” Perriello, now on the House Armed Services Committee, shared a panel at the recent United States Institute for Peace with U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, with the increasingly vexing issue of Afghanistan dominating conversation.
GLOBEMASTER SUSTAINMENT: DOD has awarded Boeing a $1.1 billion contract for C-17 Globemaster III total systems support. The award is part of the fiscal 2009 C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership (GSP), a performance-based logistics (PBL) program. It includes a previous award of $514 million for the first six months of FY ’09 and extends the period to September 2009. Boeing has been providing support for the U.S. Air Force’s C-17 airlifter for 10 years under PBL contracts.
LOS ANGELES Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) has successfully completed tests of a modified RL10 upper-stage rocket engine that show combustion stability and throttle-ability over a wider than expected range of 8-104 percent.
ARCTIC POLICY: Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, expressed his support for President Bush’s new Arctic policy Jan. 12. In a Coast Guard statement, Allen said the directive “reaffirms our nation’s obligation to protect the Arctic domain, its environment, and those who work and live in it.” Allen has been vocal in the past about the need for a coherent U.S. policy in the Arctic, particularly in the face of melting ice and Russian encroachment on the territory (Aerospace DAILY, Jan. 17, 2008).
In observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday holiday, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish on Jan. 19. The next issue will be dated Jan. 20.
NEW DELHI The Indian Air Force is denying reports that it has already received the first of its three ordered Phalcon Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEWC) systems fitted on an Il-76 aircraft. Instead, the first one is expected by March, a senior official said. It will be based at Agra Air Force station, a three-hour drive from Delhi. The other two will be delivered in intervals of four months each, and India is looking at purchasing three additional systems.
SEE FAR: The U.S. Army’s first Apache battalion equipped with Video from Unmanned aircraft systems for Interoperability Teaming — level 2 (called VUIT-2) is drawing positive results from the field. Brigade commander Col. Eric Peterson says VUIT-2 “is proving its worth.” The unit has 24 Apaches, nine with Fire Control Radar (FCR) and nine with VUIT-2 B-kits. VUIT-2 currently enables communication between an unmanned aircraft and an Apache at 40 kilometers, as well as 10 kilometers from the Apache to the ground.
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Due to a transcription error, a quote from U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey in the Jan. 15 Aerospace DAILY was incorrect. The correct quote reads: “I don’t believe right now it’s going to be enough to disrupt our continued progress to getting more dwell,” regarding a potential increase in troop numbers.
The Swiss government has issued a new call for offers for its F-5 Tiger replacement program. The document went to Saab Gripen, Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon, the three contestants that underwent flight trials last year. The updated request for proposals asks for pricing for 22 aircraft and also how many aircraft Switzerland can get for 2.2 billion Swiss francs.
The U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS), a projected shortfall in Navy and Air Force tactical aircraft and missile defense are among the myriad issues the House Armed Services Committee plans to monitor over the next two years. In its organizational meeting Jan. 14 for the 111th Congress, the Armed Services Committee (HASC) approved a 38-page oversight plan that lists scores of areas it plans to keep an eye on for the two-year term.
NASA is preparing the space shuttle Discovery to deliver the final truss element and U.S.-built solar array wing to the International Space Station (ISS), adding another 20 kilowatts of usable electricity before the crew doubles to six. Set for a Feb. 12 launch from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla., the STS-119/15A mission will install the S6 truss element to kick off what promises to be a busy year at the ISS. The truss section, with the 240-foot-long solar array wing folded into it, will completely fill Discovery’s payload bay at launch.
U.S. officials are delaying trials for new modes of its developmental ground-surveillance radar, opting instead to test existing imaging and moving-target modes on the Global Hawk Block 40 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The U.S. Air Force is looking for contractors interested in competing to design and build the next Air Force One for transporting the president worldwide. This could set the stage for a new trans-Atlantic battle between global widebody rivals Boeing and Airbus. Design options could include the Boeing 787, 747-8 and Airbus A380.
Israeli officials say privately that they are not going to get involved in ground combat in the built-up urban areas and that they will likely be out of Gaza in another two weeks. They contend that the lack of action from Hezbollah since 2006 shows that the combat in Lebanon – despite revealing some disarray in Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) ground operations – has served as a deterrent for two years. They note that Hezbollah hastened to absolve itself of responsibility for a few missile launches into northern Israel in recent days.
The U.S. Navy’s first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1), USS Freedom, has been performing up to specifications in sea trails, according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin, and the Navy says the program is back on course following its restructuring. “We were out on Lake Michigan for 10 days in all kinds of water,” said Joe North, Lockheed vice president and LCS program manager. “The more she rises [off the surface at speed], the more stable she is. But there was nothing that surprised us. We had been doing this on paper for so many years.”
PARIS – EADS Astrium has completed the acquisition of U.K.-based Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) following approval of the merger in late December by the European Commission (EC). The EC had delayed approval last month to study potential repercussions, but as expected the review did not generate any objections.
FULL PLATE: The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General (DHS IG) warns in a December report that the U.S. Coast Guard’s homeland security missions may jeopardize future performance of other, unrelated missions. Data show that in fiscal 2007, homeland security mission resource hours increased, as do projections in dollars and personnel from FY ’07 through ’09 for homeland security, with a corresponding decrease in resources for other missions.
South Korea has ordered six Type 214 submarines from Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW), adding to three units of the class that it ordered in 2000. Local shipyards, beginning with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering for the first boat, will assemble the six submarines with packages supplied by the German company. Local builders also have been responsible for the first three, of which two have been delivered.
