The U.S. Coast Guard is evaluating basing options for its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as collaborative flight tests with Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) using a Predator B wrap up this week. The Coast Guard has a requirement for maritime surveillance, according to Capt. Matt Sisson, Coast Guard aviation acquisition chief. Within the requirement, “a shore-based or shipboard unmanned aerial system may provide that kind of economical surveillance for us,” he told Aerospace DAILY.
The future of Northrop Grumman’s Guardian anti-missile system for commercial airline use now rests with the Dept. of Homeland Security, which will review findings of operational testing, report them to Congress, and decide on program production startup.
LONDON - The British Defense Ministry and an EADS-led consortium are expected to finally clinch a deal covering the provision of 14 tanker aircraft for the Royal Air Force March 27. The Airbus A330-200 was selected in 2004 to meet the air force’s future strategic tanker aircraft program to replace its Tristar and VC10 aircraft. The private finance initiative procurement, however, has taken an extended period to negotiate.
After several notable setbacks during testing, the U.S. Navy announced March 24 that it was cancelling Raytheon’s Extended Range Guided Munition (ERGM), although the requirement for viable naval surface fire support (NSFS) remains.
TACTICAL DATA: General Dynamics received a $375 million contract from the U.S. Navy for its Tactical Data Network Data Distribution System-Modular (TDN DDS-M). Deliveries of production quantities of TDN DDS-M are expected to begin in September 2008 and be completed in March 2013.
ICO Global Communications is making final preparations for an April 14 launch of its first 2 GHz mobile service satellite aboard an Atlas V. The spacecraft arrived at Cape Canaveral, Fla., Feb. 28 and is currently undergoing final processing. ICO G1 will be the first of a series of hybrid geostationary satellites intended to offer high-speed mobile satellite services (MSS).
Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) on March 11 declared the U.S. Air Force’s award of its next refueling tanker program to Northrop Grumman and EADS the “worst decision” he had seen in 40 years on Capitol Hill. An Aerospace DAILY article March 12 attributed the quote to Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), who shares Dicks’ concerns with Boeing’s loss and who also led an impassioned discussion with Air Force leaders at the hearing.
German missile and defense system manufacturer Diehl BGT Defence demonstrated its new IRIS-T SLS short-range air defense system during a live firing at the South African OTB Test Range early this month, the company announced March 26. According to the company, government officials from more than seven nations witnessed the interception of a maneuvering target drone in what it calls a “representative air defense scenario” with a direct hit, after the missile had locked onto the target at a distance of more than 10 kilometers.
Lockheed Martin said the U.S. Navy and the Defense Department have given its Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) industry team, which includes General Dynamics C4 Systems and Boeing Satellite Systems, permission to proceed with follow-on MUOS spacecraft.
HALIFAX PROGRAM: The Canadian navy, which like U.S. counterparts is updating to Evolved SeaSparrow (ESSM) self-defense missiles on its Halifax-class ships, plans to make changes to its supporting sensor systems as part of its Halifax Modernization Program, according to Raytheon. The company is part of a team, led by General Dynamics Canada, now competing for that project. U.S.
LOS ANGELES - XCOR Aerospace has thrown its hat into the space tourism ring by announcing plans to develop a two-seat, sub-orbital spacecraft called the Lynx.
The next decade promises strong financial tailwind for the international fighter market, according to a new study that predicts manufacturers will deliver 3,345 new fighters over that time. Forecast International estimates the total value of production for the fighter market during the next ten years will be worth $164.5 billion, according to its study, “The Market for Fighter Aircraft 2008-2017.”
Alan Stern, NASA’s hard-charging associate administrator for science, abruptly resigned from the agency March 25. “Yesterday I offered and Mike Griffin reluctantly accepted my resignation as associate administrator,” Stern wrote in an e-mail message sent to Science Mission Directorate staffers March 26. “Mike will shortly be naming an interim AA. I will remain at NASA for a few weeks.”
U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne briefed the press March 25 on a recently discovered mistaken shipment to Taiwan of four non-nuclear nose cone assemblies and associated ballistic missile electrical components. Although the incorrect shipment was made in the fall of 2006, the mistake was only uncovered by the Pentagon on March 21, Wynne said. “Upon learning of the error, the U.S. government took immediate action to acquire positive control of the components and arranged for their safe and secure recovery to the United States,” he said.
An advanced atmospheric sounding instrument being built for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) has successfully completed vibration testing.
HYDRA ROCKETS: The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command has awarded General Dynamics a $166 million contract for the production of 2.75-inch Hydra-70 rockets. The award, part of a five-year requirements contract signed in 2005, has the potential to exceed $900 million if all options are exercised. Hydra-70 is a family of unguided rockets offering several warhead configurations. Rockets can be fired from a variety of platforms, including the Army Apache helicopter and the Air Force F-16.
Damage to a critical solar array rotating mechanism on the International Space Station (ISS) probably was caused by excessive loading, possibly from an out-of-kilter bearing that fractured the coating on one of its moving surfaces. Mike Suffredini, NASA’s ISS program manager, said late March 24 that data collected to date suggest “a high-friction event” damaged the station’s starboard solar alpha rotary joint (SARJ) last summer.
With the biggest problem facing U.S. Navy aviation being the looming shortage of strike fighters, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead says he is not tempted to sacrifice the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter - specialized for carrier operations - which congressional researchers say is running into projected cost increases and schedule delays.
Boeing expects to resume testing of its Airborne Laser (ABL) this summer, starting with ground tests. Flight tets using the beam control and high-energy chemical laser will follow. The chemical laser modules are now being integrated onto the 747-400 ABL airframe at Edwards AFB, Calif., following a series of beam-control flight tests using a low-energy surrogate laser last year.
Boeing executives indicated March 25 that a planned ballistic missile intercept test under the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s ground-based midcourse defense (GMD) program may slip later in 2008 as program officials look to cut risk while boosting testing complexity.
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In flight tests this week, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) AA-1 proved mid-air refueling capabilities, according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The aircraft demonstrated it can operate behind a tanker and hook up and receive fuel, said Doug Pearson, Lockheed Martin vice president of the F-35 Integrated Test Force. “This is the first time we’ve done this. These are the kinds of things we’re trying to do early in the program.”
A Washington-based analyst expects the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve the proposed $5 billion merger of satellite radio providers XM Radio and Sirius within the next few weeks, following the Justice Department’s March 24 greenlight of the deal. “We continue to believe the Federal Communications Commission will approve the deal as well, although battles over merger conditions will likely take at least a few weeks to play out,” Stanford Group Analyst Paul Gallant said March 25.
