The U.S. Air Force plans to stick to the same requirements, funding profile and, if possible, fielding date for the next round of competition in the Combat Search and Rescue-X (CSAR-X) helicopter program.
GREEK HELLFIRE: An agreement between the U.S. and Greece has authorized the sale of multiple warhead variants of Lockheed Martin's Hellfire II precision-strike laser-guided missile to Greece. The modular missile will be mounted on the Hellenic Army AH-64 Apache and Navy SH-60B Seahawk helicopters. There are three variations of the Hellfire semi-active laser warhead: a High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) missile, a blast fragmentation missile and a metal augmented charge missile. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
BAHRAIN DEFENSE: Lockheed Martin delivered what it says is the world's only 360-degree coverage mobile radar certified to detect tactical ballistic missiles to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The ballistic missile defense radar system is part of a May 2004, $43.6 million contract with the U.S. Marine Corps to provide a long-range radar system to the country. Members of the Bahrain Defence Force were trained to operate and maintain the AN/TPS-59(V)3B radar system earlier this year at Lockheed Martin's Radar Systems facility in Syracuse, N.Y.
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) failed to follow proper acquisition regulations in a contract worth $375 million, according to a recent audit by the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (IG). The audit was performed in response to allegations received by the Defense Hotline, according to the Sept. 26 IG report. Overall, the IG substantiated six of the seven allegations.
Senators passed their version of regular fiscal 2008 defense appropriations late Oct. 3, but not before earmarking for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) and unmanned aircraft for domestic border security.
The first Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) spacecraft will launch on Oct. 9, providing 10 times the communications capacity available from Defense Satellite Communications Systems (DSCS) spacecraft currently in orbit, according to prime contractor Boeing. The launch window opens at 8:22 p.m. EDT, and the WGS spacecraft will be launched atop an Atlas V rocket. Operators expect to receive the first signals from the satellite about 45 minutes after liftoff.
BAE Systems on Oct. 2 unveiled a proposed belly-mounted gun system for the Marine Corps' V-22 Osprey tiltrotor that the company says will provide 360 degrees of suppressive fire. Known as the Remote Guardian System (RGS), it was tested recently at Camp Ripley, Minn., using a GAU-17 7.62mm minigun mounted on a moving ground vehicle. The Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) has approved the requirement for a defensive weapon system on the V-22, BAE says. The company has been funding the effort internally since mid-2005.
Senators have argued over and ultimately rejected the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) proposed space-based missile defense test bed once again, likely sealing the fate of efforts to begin studies in fiscal 2008.
The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) X-band radar slated for the Czech Republic and the interceptors intended for Poland will undergo some modifications to respond to threats more quickly, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry "Trey" Obering told a group of reporters at the Pentagon Oct. 2.
50 YEARS AGO: On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik-1, marking the beginning of the Space Age. The first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, Sputnik 1 was a 23-inch diameter sphere covered with aluminum alloy weighing 184 pounds and featuring four antennas. It was launched atop an R-7 rocket and orbited the Earth at an estimated altitude of 150 miles for nearly three months before re-entering the atmosphere and burning up on Jan. 4, 1958. The mission kicked off the space race and the U.S.
The Pentagon needs to fortify its procedures to strengthen export controls, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (IG) said in a recent report. "Until changes are made, DOD will be at increased risk of other nations' countering or reproducing our technology," the IG said in a Sept. 28 report.
CHEMICAL DETECTORS: The Defense Department has selected Smiths Detection's M4 lightweight chemical detector to participate in the second increment of the Pentagon's Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) program. In July, the Pentagon awarded Smiths a $3.9 million firm-fixed price contract to supply lightweight detectors under the JCAD program. The M4, an advanced non-radioactive chemical point detector, can be worn by personnel or mounted on vehicles or robots.
A Coast Guard authorization bill working its way through the House, but still facing an uncertain future, would enact oversight measures that should lead to certain if unquantifiable savings, budget scorekeepers on Capitol Hill said. Assuming necessary appropriations are provided, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the Coast Guard would spend $5 million over the next two years to implement the provisions, according to a CBO report following late-September action by the House Homeland Security Committee.
The Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, now 44 months into what were to have been three-month missions, are beginning to explore terrain features strikingly different from their already diverse discoveries on Mars. Opportunity has descended several dozen feet onto the side wall of the 230-foot deep Victoria crater to a bright band of unusually smooth and polished white rock.
GAIA COMPUTERS: Maxwell Technologies of San Diego will provide the single-board computers (SBC) for the European Space Agency's Gaia astronomy mission to survey more than a billion stars and other celestial bodies in the Milky Way under a $3 million contract from the Astrium's UK-based satellite unit. Seven Maxwell SCS750 SBCs will be used to process images collected by the two-ton satellite's camera. Gaia is to be launched in December 2011 into an orbit at the second Lagrange point, 932,000 miles away on the "night side" of Earth.
LOGISTICS SUPPORT: The U.S. Army has awarded Northrop Grumman $331 million to provide logistical support services to the National Training Center and Fort Irwin, Calif., for annual programmed training, multiple joint services training exercises and unprogrammed support requirements, the company announced Oct. 3. The contract covers five years, four of which are options. Northrop Grumman has provided logistical support services to the National Training Center and Fort Irwin since 2001.
Bob Cabana has left his deputy director's post to take over as director of Stennis Space Center, Miss. Richard Gilbrech has been named associate administrator for exploration systems at NASA headquarters.
The Israeli air force has again confounded Syria's radar barrier, with what U.S. experts contend is a new technology that allowed its aircraft to infiltrate Syrian air defense communications networks and hide their presence during a bombing raid in Syria's northern desert last month.
Morocco may be preparing to jettison a bilateral fighter deal involving France and perhaps move to an international order, as India did a couple of years ago. French daily Les Echos says the U.S. is weighing in on a foreign arms export deal to sell Morocco up to 24 Lockheed Martin F-16s. The deal could be worth $2.1 billion for new aircraft, or $1.6 billion if they are bought second hand. The French have been negotiating to supply 18 Dassault Aviation Rafale combat aircraft for some 2 billion euros ($2.8 billion).
RRW REPORT: The Mitre Corp.'s JASONs, a group of scientists who advise the government on defense matters, has recommended more study, computer modeling and peer review of the proposed Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) design and concept. Substantial work remains on the physical understanding of the "surety mechanisms" that are of high priority to the RRW program, according to the group's September report summary.
Wayne Iurillo has been appointed vice president and general manager of Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC's Indianapolis-based Customized Engineering and Depot Support business unit. Les Janka has been named vice president, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Network Centric Systems operations. Dr. Thomas Kennedy has been appointed vice president of the Tactical Airborne Systems organization.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has delayed a controversial program to share classified satellite imagery with nonfederal agencies, including local law enforcement, according to a House oversight committee. DHS heeded congressional concerns and delayed its planned launch of the new National Applications Office (NAO), House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a statement Oct. 1, the same day the NAO was to start work.
