Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $2.8 million contract by Boeing to support the Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) on U.S. Air Force B-1B aircraft. The Sniper ATP is already operational or near operational on a number of service aircraft including the A-10A, F-16 and F-15E. The pod provides real-time, television-quality streaming video, enabling a pilot to transmit directly to a ruggedized laptop in the field.
HYDERABAD, India - Data from an upcoming series of tile-repair development tests in the cargo bay of the space shuttle Discovery will give NASA engineers more confidence if they ever need to decide again whether to attempt to improve the ability of thermal tiles with complex damage to shield an orbiter from the heat of re-entry.
HYDERABAD, India - Cooperation between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the European Space Agency (ESA) is heating up on several fronts, with ISRO planning to submit proposals for Cosmic Vision, a European effort to advance space science. "The planning [for Cosmic Vision] will be frozen in 2008," ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain told reporters at the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2007) here Sept. 26. "This is the right time to see cooperation with Indian scientists." Selections
Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR) Wiring Systems branch is using Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants to develop more durable aircraft wire insulation and better wire strippers for maintainers.
A new war is breaking out inside the Pentagon, with defense budget cutters wanting to slash two-seat aircraft designs and phase out weapon systems officers, while warfighters say they need two-man crews as strike and electronic attack aircraft take on additional simultaneous missions, including tactical network attack.
President Bush is asking for $189.3 billion in fiscal 2008 for combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere - more than $42 billion more than previously advised, Pentagon officials announced Sept. 26. The additional funds include almost $9 billion to repair and replace equipment damaged or destroyed for a total of $46.5 billion toward "reconstituting the force," according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
JCA GUNSHIPS: U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley says he plans to procure a number of Joint Cargo Aircraft equipped with a 30mm gun for the Air Force Special Operations Command. This would be the same weapon now replacing 20mm and 40mm guns already on AC-130s. This requirement could add to the number of JCAs being purchased by the Air Force. Raytheon protested the Pentagon's selection of the L3-Alenia-Boeing C-27J and the Government Accountability Office has yet to rule on the protest.
Federal contractors should be given the opportunity to reject a government contract if they disagree with the contracting officer's determination to disallow a proposed charge as an excessive pass-through charge, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is telling defense regulators.
ENVELOPE EXPANSION: The Block 20 Global Hawk is ready to begin envelope expansion flights, according to Northrop Grumman officials, who are awaiting the results of the safety review process. "We are ready to start at any time, as soon as the approval is done," says Bill Walker, business development manager for Future Unmanned Systems at Northrop Grumman. "We'll have all our airworthiness certificates by summer of next year."
HYDERABAD, India - European Space Agency (ESA) engineers are open to collaboration with NASA and other agencies on a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, but they're not so sure about rigging the planned ExoMars rover with a sample cache for return to Earth later.
The Air National Guard has been discussing the possibility of using Block 40 Global Hawks for border security, Northrop Grumman officials said at the Air Force Association conference and exhibit in Washington.
HYDERABAD, India - Arianespace will launch the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) Insat-4G Ku-band satellite in late 2008 or early 2009 from the company's launch complex in Kourou, French Guiana. Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall made the announcement at the International Aeronautical Conference here Sept. 25. Weighing about 3,200 kilograms (7,000 pounds) at launch and carrying 18 transponders, Insat-4G has payloads for navigation, telecommunications, TV broadcasting and broadband services.
The Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) program is ready for its October launch, Boeing Network and Space President Roger Krone said at the Air Force Association conference and exhibit Sept. 25. "It's rocket- and weather-dependent," Krone said of the launch. Three WGS spacecraft are under contract, with two additional satellites in long-lead production. Discussions with the Australian government could also potentially mean a sixth satellite for Boeing.
The GE/Rolls-Royce team offering the alternative F136 engine for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is unsure how the program will proceed after next week when the fiscal 2007 budget runs out. Funding was provided in FY '07 to continue testing the engine, but the Pentagon does not plan to provide any support for it in the FY '08 request. Meanwhile, all four defense oversight committees have put marks in the budget with varying amounts of money for the JSF alternate engine to Pratt & Whitney's F135.
The National Security Space Institute (NSSI) is sending mobile teams on the road to train future leaders and educate senior advisors and members of Congress on space concerns, U.S. Air Force Reserve Maj. Gen. Erika Steuterman told Aerospace Daily Sept. 24 at the Air Force Association conference and exhibit.
Pemco Aviation Group has lodged a protest over the U.S. Air Force's recent decision to award Boeing a contract for KC-135 program depot maintenance (PDM) worth up to $1.07 billion.
The domestic and international helicopter market is soaring and should produce nearly 13,000 aircraft worth $138.7 million by 2016, a recent Teal Group industry report says. "This is the fastest growth market in Teal Group's coverage universe," says the "World Rotorcraft Overview," released last month. "High military demand (largely for force mobility) is the leading driver, but the long-stagnant civil sector is growing to a new level too."
KC-767 BOOM: Boeing does not plan to flight-test its new refueling boom, designed for its 767-based proposal to the U.S. Air Force, prior to the awarding of the development contract for KC-X. A downselect is expected by year's end. The boom, labeled a sixth-generation system, will be longer than the one designed for purchases from Italy and Japan. Company officials also say its engagement envelope is twice as large as the boom on the KC-767s being exported. Officials declined to provide the boom's specific dimensions.
Michael Jackson, the No. 2 official at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced Sept. 24 that he will leave the department in October. The deputy DHS secretary said he was leaving the department as of Oct. 26 because of financial considerations.
Boeing's proposed Transformational Satellite (TSAT) Communication System has shown in an end-to-end demonstration that it is capable of interoperability with numerous types of communication assets and sensors, the company says. "We don't have to buffer the communication," said John Peterson, TSAT program director at Boeing. "We can transmit data at the data rate output of the sensor."
Production of the second Airborne Laser aircraft could start as soon as 2009 if a lethal shootdown test goes as planned in August of that year, Boeing officials said at the Air Force Association conference and exhibit in Washington. "There's money in the budget for this," said Greg Hyslop, vice president and ABL program director for Boeing, during a briefing Sept. 25. "If the shootdown is successful, we would start work on the second jet as soon as possible."
