The recent successful transmission of data from software-defined radios to the Future Combat Systems (FCS) network is a big step forward for the U.S. Army, which has been battling public criticism and doubts about the viability of the overarching FCS network. The Army has demonstrated for the first time that the Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radios (JTRS GMR) can receive data from unattended ground sensors and pass the data to nearby vehicles equipped with the FCS network integration system.
Negotiations between the U.S. Navy and industry over a multiyear contract for eight Virginia-class submarines will begin “soon,” and the Navy expects to sign a deal late this year, according to the sea service’s civilian official and three-star admiral in charge of shipbuilding budgeting. The Virginia program is shared between General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman.
HELMET INTEGRATION: The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing $49.5 million to integrate its Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) into 145 F-15E aircraft. The first installation is expected in October 2008, with contract completion in December 2010. This is the ninth production contract for JHMCS, a system currently deployed on more than 2,500 F-15, F-16 and F/A-18 aircraft. The advanced helmet provides the pilot head-up control of aircraft targeting systems and sensors.
CANBERRA SAVES: The Australian government is looking for savings in defense administration worth A$1 billion ($900 million) a year that it could put into frontline forces and their equipment.
The amount of money the Pentagon has designated for its top 21 expenses has more than doubled since 2001 and while the Defense Department’s long-time largest outlay – fixed-wing aircraft – has remained at the top of the list, those contracts have been eating up smaller pieces of a much larger pie, an Aerospace DAILY analysis shows.
Mission managers have cleared the space shuttle Endeavour to return to Earth as early as March 26, ratifying engineering findings that the orbiter’s thermal protection system is in good shape to withstand the heat of reentry. Leroy Cain, chairman of the STS-123/1J/A mission management team (MMT), said March 24 that the orbiter systems were ready for the return. A slow pressure leak in one of the three redundant auxiliary power units that will drive orbiter hydraulics during reentry is not a concern, and controllers plan to use the system, he said.
CSAR-X AND TANKER: Another wrinkle in the Pentagon Inspector General’s investigation into the U.S. Air Force’s Combat Search and Rescue replacement (CSAR-X) helicopter program is the recent $35 billion tanker award to the team of Northrop Grumman and EADS, which has been protested by Boeing. Boeing won the original CSAR-X award, which losing bidders Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky have protested twice.
The Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) Advanced Electric Ship Demonstrator, the Sea Jet, has had its stern modified with a unique Rimjet propulsion system manufactured by General Dynamics Electric Boat.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking to develop an advanced, guided, actively controlled 50-caliber sniper rifle system whose range, accuracy and target speed are classified. DARPA released a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) March 21 requesting “innovative solutions that will expand the knowledge base and design capabilities” for the EXtreme ACcuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) program. The technology development and demonstration program to create the gun will be conducted in three phases. Initial proposals are due May 5.
WEBB SUNSHIELD: The tennis court-sized sunshield that Northrop Grumman has developed to protect NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has completed its preliminary design review (PDR). The sunshield is a five-layer structure composed of extremely thin, specially coated reflective membranes and a support structure that is critical to keeping solar heat from cooking the telescope’s science package, which includes instruments operating at cryogenic temperatures.
GWAC SURGE: Federal spending on task order contract vehicles, such as General Services Administration (GSA)-managed governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs) and agency-managed task order vehicles, increased by 39 percent over 2006, according to consultancy Input’s analysis of fiscal 2007 federal procurement spending data. But the majority of the increase came from non-GSA vehicles and stemmed from defense umbrella contracts.
PARIS - Elbit Systems has won an important competition in France to supply the Skylark 1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to the French special operations forces. The hotly contested competition, in which ten firms were vying for the award, also represents a big breakthrough for Elbit since it’s the company’s first UAV win in France. Rival Israel Aerospace Industries already has been supplying the SIDM tactical unmanned aircraft.
Leaders of both political parties from the House and Senate Armed Services committees have unveiled an unofficial panel of experts to study U.S. nuclear weapon forces and posture, called the Congressional Commission on United States Strategic Posture.
SWISS LICENSE: WorldSpace can operate hybrid space/land-based digital audio radio services (DARS) in Switzerland under a new license from the Swiss government. The company already has a license in Italy and expects to add four more this year for the DARS service, to be introduced next year using its Afristar satellite. WorldSpace reported a net loss of $169.5 million in 2007, up from a loss of $128.6 million the year before.
GPS FUTURES: NASA will host a meeting of the National Space-Based Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board on March 27-28 in Washington. According to a notice in the Federal Register, the public meting will include updates on the implementation of the Bush administration’s 2004 space-based PNT policy, Global Positioning System (GPS) modernization plans, how the U.S.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicated new calendar listing.) March 31 - April 1 — Maritime Security & Domain Awareness, “An Outstanding Conference on the Latest Missions, Plans and Prospects,” Doubletree Hotel Crystal City-National Airport, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.technologytraining.com
FAST FORWARD: The U.S. Army’s plan to fast-track elements of its Future Combat Systems (FCS) program will require extensive planning because there are “huge tradeoffs ahead,” one Army official says. The Army will receive $20 billion to move ahead with its plans, but where the money will come from has yet to be decided. A small group has been commissioned to do research analysis and “come up with the right answer,” according to the official.
