LONDON - The British Defense Ministry is maintaining its Nimrod MR2 aircraft are airworthy in responding to calls by a British coroner that the aircraft be grounded, following his inquiry into the loss of an aircraft – and 14 personnel – in Afghanistan in 2006.
FT. BLISS, Texas – As the U.S. Army faces further potential budget cuts to its Future Combat Systems (FCS) modernization program, the service continues to announce earlier spin-outs of FCS components and a renewed effort to evaluate the program holistically.
Editor’s Note: These are the next in an exclusive series of articles exploring how the U.S. Air Force came to initially choose Boeing’s HH-47 for its Combat Search and Rescue helicopter replacement (CSAR-X), and the ramifications of that choice for the service, the industry competitors and the warfighter (Aerospace DAILY, May 22).
Editor’s Note: This is part of an exclusive series of articles exploring the U.S. Air Force’s Combat Search and Rescue helicopter replacement (CSAR-X) program. Survivability was another essential combat, search and rescue replacement (CSAR-X) key performance parameter (KPP), initial program requirement-setters said.
ROBOT ORDERS: iRobot Corp. has received a $16 million order, the third under the U.S. Army’s xBot contract, for more than 200 robots and spare parts to be delivered by Oct. 31, 2008. XBot orders to date now total $27 million out of a possible maximum value of $286 million. The company also received a $6.3 million U.S. Army delivery order for a combination of bomb disposal and explosives detection robots, as well as spare parts and equipment. iRobot expects to complete delivery by Sept. 30, 2008. The company has delivered more than 1,500 PackBot robots to date.
FT. BLISS, Texas – The U.S. Army is trying to ensure a bright future for its Future Combat Systems (FCS) modernization program by running FCS components through its modeling and simulation test bed, the Army Evaluation Task Force (AETF).
CONTRACTORS REFORMED: The House looks set to pass a swath of contracting-reform measures trying to rein in alleged warfighting acquisition abuses while demanding more disclosure and cooperation from contractors. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) combined several provisions from House- or Senate-passed bills and formed the 52-page “Clean Contracting Amendment” to the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill being considered May 22 on the House floor.
In observance of Memorial Day, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish an issue on Monday, May 26. The next issue will be dated Tuesday, May 27.
ISRAELI JSFs: Israel has formally requested the purchase of 25 Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighters, with an option for another 50. If approved by the U.S. government, the deal would make Israel the first foreign military sales customer for the JSF. Deliveries would begin in 2014. Israel has also requested between three and five Lockheed Martin C-130J transports, possibly with options for a similar number. Lockheed, meanwhile, has received a $2.2 billion contract for the second production lot of 12 F-35s.
PASADENA, Calif. – NASA Phoenix Mars lander flight controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are intensively assessing two final major variables that could affect the success of the Phoenix landing on the planet at 7:53 p.m. EST May 25. One factor is the weather, specifically atmospheric density, at the north polar landing site. Data from Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) are being examined to determine if any updates will be needed to the timing of Phoenix parachute deployment.
Airspace restrictions limiting training flights by U.S. Air Force Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., have been eased by FAA. Training was limited to three flights a week by FAA restrictions on access to national airspace, but these are being relaxed incrementally, says Lt. Col. Kevin Quamme, high-altitude reconnaissance operations branch chief at Air Combat Command (ACC).
The Senate passed a massive emergency supplemental spending bill May 22 that includes $166 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through early 2009 – but it did not contain war policy language or a troop withdrawal timeline.
As the Air Force continues its re-evaluations of the proposed Combat, Search and Rescue (CSAR-X) platforms, the competitors are caught up in a swirl of questions regarding rotor downwash. The focus has been mainly on the Boeing HH-47 Chinook variant, whose tandem-rotor design, experts say, will create the most downwash of all three competing CSAR-X aircraft. Boeing, though, says its helicopter meets program requirements and is used daily in missions with U.S. Army personnel working directly underneath it.
As NASA this week prepares to land a spacecraft on Mars, an equally revolutionary spacecraft is poised for launch to observe the stars. The Phoenix Mars lander is being readied for its perilous May 25 descent (see p. 1) while technicians at Cape Canaveral are preparing a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy for the June 3 launch of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) mission.
The uncommanded ballistic re-entry of the Soyuz capsule returning International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 16 to Earth April 19 was caused when the vehicle’s propulsion unit failed to separate in a timely fashion, according to a top Russian space official.
MORE ENCORE: BAE Systems, Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI, CSC, Electronic Data Systems, IBM Business Consulting Services, Jacobs Technology, L-3, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, SAIC, Systems Research and Application (SRA) and Unisys all have been awarded slots on the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency’s revamped indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to provide information technology services for the Defense Department and other federal agencies.
The Integrated Program Office for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite system (NPOESS) has selected the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to develop the microwave imager/sounder sensor for the NPOESS constellation.
When the U.S. Air Force first went to Capitol Hill in the early part of this decade to discuss the type of CSAR-X aircraft it wanted, the service received pushback from lawmakers. The Air Force wanted a speedy, maneuverable aircraft that could survive the worst combat zones while carrying the latest communications technology.
APOLLO IMAGING: Japan’s lunar orbiter has taken 3-D images of the Apollo 15 landing site. Released May 20, the images were taken by the Terrain Camera onboard the SELenological and ENgineering Explorer satellite on Feb. 24, and also show a whitened area thought to be the movement of lunar gravel at the landing site near Hadley Rille in an area of the Mare Imbrium called Palus Putredinus (Marsh of Decay).
Editor’s Note: This is the first in an exclusive series of articles, based on dozens of interviews, reviews of key documents and analysis of military databases, exploring how the U.S. Air Force came to choose Boeing’s HH-47 for its Combat Search and Rescue helicopter replacement (CSAR-X), and the ramifications of that choice for the service, the industry competitors and the warfighter.
Intelsat controllers can begin to raise the new Galaxy 18 telecom spacecraft toward its geosynchronous orbital slot following a flawless launch from the Sea Launch Odyssey floating platform early May 21.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is one step closer to testing a new focal plane array technology that could be used on its next-generation kill vehicle. Last month, the agency calibrated a new BAE Systems telescope that will be a test bed for demonstrating the capabilities of two new infrared focal plane arrays designed by DRS and Raytheon Vision Systems. Calibration took place with a 256 x 256 pixel infrared detector; this technology exists and is in use today.
Groundbreaking export control treaties between the United States and the United Kingdom and Australia tripped on a legislative stumbling block May 21 when Senate Foreign Relations Committee leaders warned they could block ratification if they do not receive more information over treaty enactment details.
PASSING BY: The French naval ship FS Dupleix arrived at Visakhapatnam in South India May 14 on a two-day visit commanded by Capt. Henri Schricke. The Dupleix is an F70 type anti-submarine frigate of the French Marine Nationale. The ship was received by the officers and sailors of Eastern Naval Command with the ENC Band in attendance at the Jetty when the ship arrived.
Paradise Point Resort & Spa San Diego, CA November 12-14, 2008 A new U.S. President – what it means to the A&D industry Just one week after the 2008 Presidential Election, AVIATION WEEK will provide insight into the new administration and what it means to the A&D industry – from impact on research programs to shifts in priorities. Learn more at www.aviationweek.com/conferences
