AIR FORCE E.J. Mlynarczyk and Co. Inc., DBA: EJM Aerospace Services of Crestview, Fla., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract for $14,553,548.57. This requirement is for the additional production kits and storage containers for the Improved Ballistic Armor Suppression Sub-System in support of the HH-60G helicopter. At this time all funds have been obligated. Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, WR-ALC/580th ACSG, GFKAB, Special Operations Forces Contracting Division, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity (FA8509-05-D-0004-0020).
Northrop Grumman’s Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) is proceeding on schedule, with skins for the first of two demonstrators being installed onto the airframe. Manufacture of the second is also under way. The aircraft will be used by the U.S. Navy to demonstrate the ability of a tailless unmanned vehicle to operate with aircraft carriers. Flight of the first UCAS-D is expected in November 2009.
Seven months after India scrapped its bid for 197 light helicopters for the Indian army in a contract headed for Eurocopter, it has once again released a request for proposals (RFP) to replace its aging Chetak and Cheetah helos. Aerospace Daily has learned the RFP has not changed much and has been provided to the same companies as was the previous document. The helicopters are expected to go into service by 2010.
HARTFORD, Conn. – The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has a three-step plan to get to a reusable launch vehicle (RLV) flight demonstrator, but it won’t fly before 2025.
X-RAY VISION: Engineers and scientists from the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center at Crane, Ind., say they have developed a noninvasive scanning process that could save “millions” of dollars for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The scanning process is for inspecting critical fire control and missile components for MDA’s Ground Based Midcourse Defense Program (GMD).
ARMY Canadian Commercial Corp., Ontario, Canada, was awarded on July 23, 2008, a $15,778,311 firm-fixed price contract for MRAP sustainment spare parts. Work will be performed in Guateng, South Africa, Trenton, N.J., and Ontario, Canada, and is expected to be completed by July 5, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One bid was solicited on June 17, 2008. U.S. Army TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-C-0514). AIR FORCE
Pentagon acquisition chief John Young earlier this month laid out a financial argument that at least promoted the U.S. Navy’s DDG-1000 destroyer program, whose procurement was nonetheless curtailed July 23. The July 17 memo – to DDG-1000 supporters in the Senate – followed Young’s testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, and analyzed the costs of the DDG-1000 versus existing DDG-51s.
New engine development problems with the Europrop International TP400 powerplant make it increasingly unlikely that Airbus Military will meet its goal of flying the A400M military airlifter before November. During recent test runs of the engine, two problems were encountered that have slowed progress. One was during water ingestion trials, and the other occurred when a propeller gearbox leaked oil, says Tom Williams, Airbus executive vice president for programs.
ARMY Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas, was awarded on July 18, 2008, a $7,028,791 firm-fixed price contract for long lead items for improved thermal sight systems, replaceable units and spares. The work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One bid was solicited on April 7, 2008. TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (DAAE07-02-C-M001). DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY
RECORD DEFICIT: The Bush administration says the projected budget deficit for fiscal 2009 is expected to hit a record $482 billion. Jim Nussle, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), said that forecast included $70 billion for the fight against terrorism, including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
William Anderson, assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, resigned July 28, adding his name to a growing list of officials leaving the service – voluntarily or otherwise. In a memo to President Bush, Anderson said he based his decision on “recent changes in Air Force leadership and the resulting constraints on my ability to serve you.” He highlighted six priorities he said he hoped the president will continue to focus on, including the implementation of the Air Force Energy Program.
NEW DELHI – The Indian air force is looking at a flexible airspace model that would allow military airspace to be released for civil operations when not in use by the military. “Airspace of the nation is a finite asset and should be shared equitably,” said Air Vice Marshal D.C. Kumaria, putting to rest speculation that the military was not interested in freeing airspace for civil operations. The Indian air force is interested in looking at the U.S model but has yet to get a response, a senior official told Aerospace DAILY.
EUMETSAT CHOOSES: Arianespace has been selected to launch the fourth MSG-4 weather satellite for Eumetsat, in the second half of 2013. Arianespace had been chosen for MSG-3, set for launch in 2010, and the first two MSG spacecraft, currently in orbit. It was the third launch deal for the Ariane 5 operator this year.
SPECTRUM ACCESS: European telecommunications satellite operators are calling on the European Union to protect the access of satellite communications services to required spectrum and ensure they do not suffer from unwarranted interference from other users. Unless amended, a new regulatory framework for electronic communications currently being debated within the European Parliament could jeopardize the long-term stability of satcom services, the operators said during a meeting of space ministers in Kourou, French Guiana.
Japan’s Selene lunar explorer team has stopped using a malfunctioning reaction control wheel from the spacecraft’s attitude control system as of July 23. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is confident the issue is a minor problem, as the probe’s three other wheels are functioning perfectly and are sufficient for good attitude control. Some high-voltage observation equipment has deliberately been switched off, as controllers reprogram the satellite to a three-wheel-control scheme. Normal operations are expected to begin sometime this week.
ISS RESEARCH: The U.S. Agriculture Dept. will conduct plant research on the International Space Station (ISS) under a memorandum of understanding signed July 23 by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and Edward Schafer, the U.S. secretary of agriculture. The agreement, part of NASA’s effort to develop the U.S.-controlled facilities on the ISS as a national laboratory, will make experiment racks available to the Agricultural Research Service for plant research into biological cellular mechanisms.
AUDITING AUDITORS: The U.S. Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) is asking the Defense Department’s Inspector General (IG) to review congressional auditors’ allegations of shortcomings within the DOD agency. The move comes after a stark Government Accountability Office report and scathing criticism from lawmakers, especially Sen. Claire McCaskill (D), a former Missouri state auditor (Aerospace DAILY, July 25). “We take the GAO report very seriously,” DCAA Director April Stephenson said in announcing the DOD IG request July 25
OPERATIONAL ADAPTATION: The Office of Naval Research (ONR) will run a simulation exercise for its Operational Adaptation program at the MITRE Corporation’s demonstration facility in McLean, Va., Sept. 14-19. The test is the second of five demonstrations planned through 2015. Operational Adaptation is a concept that combines hardware, software, remote sensors and networked communications that create the capability to sustain and develop a decision/action tempo that is beyond a terrorist adversary’s ability to maintain position.
The political battle on Capitol Hill over the best way to help Americans cope with soaring gasoline prices is threatening the chances for passage of any fiscal 2009 spending bills before the current fiscal year ends. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told Aerospace DAILY’s sister publication, Aviation Week & Space Technology, that Senate passage of all 12 annual appropriations bills before the end of FY ‘08 on Sept. 30 is “looking less likely” with each passing day.
LONDON – After more than a year of posturing, the U.S. State Dept. has given the nod for Northrop Grumman to market its Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to Spain. Spain hopes to use the high-flying, long-endurance UAV for maritime and overland surveillance missions. Deliveries would take about two years after a contract is signed. An eventual sale is expected to include five air vehicles and ground support equipment. Indra Defense and Security, a Spanish electronics company, could receive some work from the program.
NEED A RIDE?: The U.S. needs to get back to using operational launch-vehicle missions as testbeds for future technologies, as was done in the 1960s, says United Launch Alliance (ULA) president and chief executive Michael Gass. The Boeing/Lockheed Martin joint-venture’s Atlas V and Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs) have a capability to carry experiments that is not being used, he says.
A COLLEAGUE REMEMBERED: Charles Rabb, who worked as a writing editor at Aerospace DAILY and Aviation DAILY for almost 35 years, died July 25 from complications of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and heart disease. He was 75. Rabb covered Congress for most of his career at the two dailies, providing prompt, accurate updates on legislation and issues affecting the aerospace industry. A veteran of the U.S. Army during the Korean War and a graduate of New York University, Rabb received a master’s degree in journalism in 1959 from Columbia University.
COUNTERMEASURES NEEDED: The U.S. Navy is reprogramming nearly $13 million in fiscal 2008 to address threats posed by new capabilities in anti-ship missiles employed in the Pacific region. About $7 million will provide an active/passive sensor simulator that will help the Navy to develop countermeasures for new missiles that employ both passive and active guidance seekers.
