Boeing would have had a reasonable chance of winning the hotly contested U.S. Air Force refueling tanker program had the service followed its own procurement guidelines, according to the findings of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO, Congress’ auditing arm, released an abbreviated assessment June 18 of its review of Boeing’s March 11 protest to the KC-45A award (Aerospace DAILY, June 19). On June 25 a redacted version of the agency’s findings was released in a 67-page document.
ASTRONAUT DEADLINE: NASA’s application deadline for the 2009 Astronaut Candidate Class is July 1. To be considered, a bachelor’s degree in engineering, science or math and three years of relevant professional experience are required, the agency says. After a six-month evaluation period, NASA will announce final selections in early 2009. Astronaut candidates will report to Johnson Space Center in Houston during the summer of 2009 to begin their basic training program.
PRESIDENTIAL LIFT: The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ VH-71 presidential helicopter program “anticipates achieving several more significant milestones this year” now that all five of the initial aircraft are delivered, program officials said June 25. The program’s future was uncertain early this year after it encountered development, production and so-called concurrency concerns, which led to a dramatic restructuring (Aerospace DAILY, Feb. 26, March 17).
Swedish company Saab says that Europe is “lagging at least five years behind the U.S.” in developing products to protect civil aircraft against the threat from man-portable air-defense missiles (MANPADS). Yet an industry team formed by Swedish-South African Saab Avitronics and Chemring U.K. has now signed up the first two customers for their Camps-100 civil aircraft missile protection system.
CHINESE MENU: Growing Chinese military capability increasingly puts U.S. forces in the region at risk, if only because it is unclear why China is ramping up, while military improvements could lead Chinese leaders to become more confident in pursuing confrontations, according to two U.S. Defense Department officials. “What does the party leadership intend to do with its increasing capability,” asks James Shinn, assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs. He and Air Force Maj. Gen.
A $19.2 billion NASA authorization bill for fiscal 2009 adopted by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee June 24 tracks in its major points a bipartisan bill adopted by the House as a space exploration “blueprint” for the next presidential administration.
The U.S. Navy shipbuilding plan fails to guarantee a 313-ship fleet over the long term, Congressional Research Service (CRS) naval affairs specialist Ronald O’Rourke reiterated in a recent report.
The Royal Australian Air Force has flown the first production F/A-18 installed with a new radar warning receiver (RWR), putting crews closer to receiving the long-delayed capability. The F/A-18s are being fitted with the Raytheon ALR-67(V)3 system after efforts to use a BAE Systems device (the ALR-2002) failed because of development problems. This time, the Australian defense ministry says “the project is within budget and on track.” The country’s fleet is to be upgraded by 2012.
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Sweden has sketched out how it plans to go about procuring a new armored personnel carrier (APC), now that the SEP development program has been scrapped. The Swedish defense procurement agency, FMV, is still crafting detailed plans, but for now the goal is to buy an off-the-shelf system, with a quantity of around 150-300 units. Several variants of the vehicle would be needed, including a basic APC, ambulance model, recovery vehicle, command and control system, and repair vehicle.
Sensis Corporation and Saab Microwave Systems have entered a cooperative agreement for Sensis to sell and support Saab’s Giraffe Agile Multi-Beam (AMB) radar to the U.S. military. The Giraffe AMB is a multimission 3-D radar system capable of surveillance, military air traffic control and 360-degree ballistic weapon tracking and locating. The radar is available in land-based and maritime versions, and is tailored for operations with medium- and short-range surface-to-air missile systems.
NASA planners have tentatively added an engine to its planned Ares V moon rocket, and increased the length of its shuttle-derived solid-rocket boosters to accommodate a larger hydrogen tank, as early work on lunar surface operations gets under way.
IAI PARTNERS: Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is to form a joint venture with Brazilian conglomerate Synergy Group to offer aerospace and defense products and provide commercial aviation services in the Latin American market. The venture will offer unmanned aerial vehicles, missile systems, radars, electronic warfare and intelligence systems. Synergy has interests in aviation, oil and gas production, power generation and construction, and owns Colombian airline Avianca.
SKY-SAILOR: An unmanned aircraft designed to evaluate the feasibility of continuous solar-powered flight on Mars has completed a 27-hour flight from an airfield in Nierderwil, Switzerland. The 10.5-foot wingspan Sky-Sailor prototype UAV flew through the night using a battery, which was then fully recharged using solar energy, demonstrating the capability for continuous flight, according to its builder, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. Design of the Sky-Sailor was started under a European Space Agency study for a Mars flyer.
The U.S. Navy has conducted the first test of the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) extended range anti-air warfare missile at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The Raytheon-built missile was launched from the Navy’s Desert Ship and successfully intercepted a BQM-74 aerial drone using its new SM-6 active seeker. The launch demonstrates the first successful integration of the Navy’s active missile technology into the weapon system to provide for both near-term advanced anti-air warfare and future over-the-horizon capability, according to Raytheon.
STSS STUDY: Northrop Grumman and Raytheon have completed a satellite payload trade study for the Northrop-led Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS), Raytheon announced June 24. “Results of the study may be used to enhance the performance of follow-on satellites, improving their capacity to provide timely midcourse tracking data and report missile attacks,” Raytheon said. Under development by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, the STSS constellation (formerly SBIRS Low) is designed to detect enemy missiles in all phases of flight.
Capitol Hill denizens are increasingly debating whether the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) should alter its research and spending priorities to better address more immediate concerns than defending against a long-range strike.
MADAME GENERAL: If U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ann Dunwoody passes her Senate confirmation hearing to take the reins at Army Materiel Command, she will become the first female four-star general in the service’s history. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced June 23 that Dunwoody has been nominated to receive a fourth star as well as the appointment to head Materiel Command, where she holds the position of commanding general and chief of staff. Dunwoody was commissioned in 1975, and is among only 57 active duty female general officers in all the U.S.
REAP DIVIDENDS: Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney reported June 23 that the company’s board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of 40 cents per share. The dividend is payable Sept. 5.
While the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is falling into line with audit changes suggested by the Pentagon Inspector General (IG), DIA still has to complete nearly half the task to be in compliance, the IG reported recently.
AIR FORCE Kern Steel Fabrication Inc. of Bakersfield, Calif., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract for $13,626,906. This effort will provide for the design and production of an Isochronal (ISO) Maintenance Stand for the C-5 aircraft. The award amount in item #3 involves the design and one first production unit (Albeit not exercised yet, Option I involves quantities of one to three maintenance stands. At this time $13,626,906 has been obligated. Kern Steel Fabrication Inc., Bakersfield, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8533-08-C-0004).
Canada has provided details of its plan to increase defense spending over the next 20 years, including a timetable and budget for replacing its major aircraft, warship and combat vehicle fleets. Quietly posted on the Department of National Defence Web site late last week, the plan answers criticisms that the new Canada First defense strategy lacked detail when it was unveiled by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in March.
Plans for French President Nicolas Sarkozy to make a big announcement next month at the Farnborough air show related to his country’s own refueling tanker program have apparently fizzled out after recent events in the United States, according to industry sources. Sarkozy was set to announce that Paris was planning to buy A330-based tankers assembled at the yet-to-be built EADS North America manufacturing facility in Mobile, Ala. The country has a need for new refuelers, though a procurement strategy hasn’t been released.
