COUNTER MEASURES: BAE Systems has been awarded a $32 million low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract by the U.S. Navy to build hundreds of countermeasures systems for the Navy’s F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft. The AN/ALE-55 towed decoy is part of the Navy’s Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) radio frequency countermeasures system. This provides military aircraft with electronic warfare defense against RF-guided missiles.
TIME TO REFLECT: The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee has started taking to his chamber’s floor to deliver a series of speeches calling for a “comprehensive strategy to advance U.S. interests.” Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton (Mo.), long noted for his historical perspectives as a congressman, said the world’s regional power balances are shifting and traditional security arrangements are fading. “We must acknowledge that much of the world does not necessarily see us as we would see ourselves,” Skelton said.
BEST FREND: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) announced July 14 the completion of development and testing of an advanced robotic arm for spacecraft servicing. California-based Alliance Spacesystems built the robotic manipulator to use in integrated mission rehearsals, which include a full-scale autonomous grapple of representative space hardware. The robotics testing is part of the Front-end Robotics Enabling Near-term Demonstration (FREND) program.
HAMPSHIRE, U.K. – EADS CEO Louis Gallois says commercial subsidiary Airbus’ strategic plans to develop a U.S. footprint for commercial aircraft “are not linked to one deal or another.” This appears to open the door for Boeing’s commercial rival to proceed with a move into the U.S. regardless of the timing and outcome of the Pentagon’s plans to recompete a deal potentially worth $35 billion to replace its aging KC-135 refueling tankers.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the aerospace and defense sector reached $30.8 billion in 2007, its highest level since 2000, and is unlikely to be dampened by the U.S. election or any new administration, says a new report by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Heads of the partner agencies that jointly operate the International Space Station are scheduled to meet in Paris July 17 for status reports and discussions on the future of the orbiting facility. Attending the session at European Space Agency (ESA) headquarters will be the top officials and senior managers of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), ESA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
PROPPED UP: The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command said Hawker Beechcraft has won a $48 million Marine Corps program for six new UC-12 aircraft contract. The new C-12 will be the military version of the Hawker Beechcraft King Air, a twin turboprop aircraft that can carry a mix of passengers, cargo or transport medical patients. Certified by FAA, it has a range up to 1,500 nautical miles, a maximum speed of 312 knots and a payload of up to 2,650 pounds. It will replace existing UC-12 Huron twin-engine utility aircraft, whose fleet is more than 25 years old.
FARNBOROUGH – In a long-anticipated management shake-up, Boeing has shifted some of the key players who will lead the company’s charge to win the U.S. Air Force’s aerial refueling contract. Dave Bowman, the company’s C-17 program manager, will now take over as vice president of the Boeing tanker enterprise. As an entirely new and separate business unit, the tanker program will report directly to Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) President Jim Albaugh and to John Lockard, chief operating officer for IDS.
LAYING FAVORITES: Several Wall Street analysts appear to favor Northrop Grumman and EADS over Boeing under the expedited, high-level Pentagon decision-making process recently announced over the U.S. Air Force’s KC-X aerial refueling tanker (Aerospace DAILY, July 10). “Given the accelerated timeframe outlined by DOD (hoping to re-award by 12/08), we think [Boeing] will be challenged to materially change its offer much beyond price,” Credit Suisse analysts say.
FARNBOROUGH – Raytheon is planning to display its new Laser Phalanx, a U.S. Navy ship defense gun modified for an anti-mortar role for ground troops, here at this week’s Farnborough air show outside London.
NASA is working to improve cooperation with the Defense Dept. on aeronautics research and has made good progress on increasing collaboration with the U.S. Air Force, a senior official says. “We have not been a very good partner with DOD in some areas,” says Jaiwon Shin, NASA associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “We would work with DOD for two to three years, hold coordination meetings and draw up roadmaps and wiring diagrams, then it would fizzle out.”
BIG SMALL DEAL: The U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have agreed to try to improve federal contracting opportunities for more than 240 small or disadvantaged businesses. Under the deal, Naval Sea Systems Command will use its SeaPort-e services acquisition vehicle to “expedite the process of awarding federal contracts directly to firms participating in the 8(a) program without SBA as an intermediary,” officials announced July 14.
TRACKING REVENUE: Canada awarded a $367 million contract to General Dynamics (GD) Land Systems-Canada for lifecycle support services for the Canadian Forces fleet of wheeled light armored vehicles. The five-year award, which could include further options, is the second phase of a lifecycle support contract originally awarded in April 2004. Services provided under this contract include fleet management, supply support, repair and overhaul, major vehicle repair, obsolescence management, and engineering and technical services.
India’s Sarang Helicopter demonstration team will participate at the Farnborough Air Show for the first time this year, flying the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).
FARNBOROUGH – A high-level meeting is being convened of senior European government officials to break a logjam in negotiations for the third Tranche of Eurofighter Typhoon production.
FARNBOROUGH – Israel Aerospace Industries for the first time is bringing the Gulfstream G550-based Conformal Airborne Early Warning and Control (CAEW) aircraft to Farnborough. Two of the aircraft are fielded with the Israel Air Force, the first having been delivered into operational service in February with the second following in May.
FARNBOROUGH – The U.K. intends to fly its Mantis long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) advanced concept technology demonstrator in early 2009. The Defense Ministry and BAE Systems are jointly funding the Mantis program, formally unveiled here at the Farnborough Air Show July 14 (Aerospace DAILY, July 8).
FARNBOROUGH – Lockheed Martin, ATK and Northrop Grumman are in talks to form a team to develop air-launched dual-role weapons, according to industry officials. For the partnership, Northrop Grumman would provide some seeker technology, with ATK contributing its motor and Lockheed Martin potentially handling integration and possibly some seeker work for the group, industry officials say. The market for weapons capable of destroying aerial and ground targets is expected to mature in the coming decade.
Industry Canada has awarded Ciel Satellite and Telesat 11 new orbital slots to expand Canadian telecom and broadcasting coverage. The awards followed preliminary okays issued in June 2007. Ciel, which is majority owned by SES, received six slots – a pair of Ka-band positions at 91 deg. and 109.2 deg. W. Long., three 17-GHz. BSS slots at 91, 103 and 107.3 deg. W.; and a 17-GHz. BSS position at 138 deg. W.
DRAC DELIVERIES: The French army has received the first batch of 25 DRAC hand-launched unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In conjunction with the June 30 handover, the French armaments agency DGA also placed another order with prime contractor EADS for 35 more of the systems – each containing two air vehicles. The-90 minute endurance, 10-kilometer range UAV is based on the Tracker UAV, provided by SurveyCopter, which also is responsible for the on-board sensors.
MP-RTIP PLANS: The Pentagon is again questioning whether to proceed with plans to develop a new ground surveillance sensor for use on the U.S. Air Force Global Hawk and, potentially, a widebody aircraft. A new cost and schedule for the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) are being drawn up. Officials now plan to have testing of the 1.5 x 4-foot active electronically scanned array radar finished on the high-flying Proteus testbed by February; the most recent restructure called for them to wrap up in the fall.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicated new calendar listing.) July 21 - 23 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 44th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit. Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford.
BAE BLIMP: BAE Systems is planning to conduct the first flight of a new airship designed for persistent surveillance by October. The system was designed with civil applications in mind, such as imagery and communications for policy and emergency responders. Eventually however, BAE is eyeing military applications, including persistent surveillance, communications relay and targeting support.
WARRIORS & PREDATORS: The U.S. Army and Air Force are expected by October to finalize a plan to settle on a common Predator/Sky Warrior unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to reduce complications and save money operating and maintaining the similar Predator, Sky Warrior and Reaper fleets simultaneously. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is conducting integration flight tests of its Block 1 U.S. Army Sky Warrior, a derivative of the U.S. Air Force Predator.
