Two Indian air force (IAF) pilots have set a new world record by successfully flying a microlight aircraft in the 300-500 kilogram (660-1,100 pound) weight category around the world in 80 days. The pilots covered 40,497 kilometers (25,164 miles) in 80 days, flying over 19 countries. The duo achieved an average speed of 21 kilometers per hour (13 mph), improving the record of 16.5 kilometers per hour (10.3 mph) set by Colin Bodil of the U.K. in 2001.
More than 78,000 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) will be produced between 2007 and 2016, Forecast International says. The total value of the SAM market will be $21.2 billion over that period, the consultancy said. MBDA and Raytheon are the world's largest tactical missile manufacturers, controlling close to 40 percent of the market, but exporting far more systems than any of their competitors, according to Larry Dickerson, senior missile analyst.
India's fifth Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle - GSLV-F04 - blasted off Sept. 2 from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, placing India's INSAT-4CR communication satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
The Airborne Laser (ABL) is still on target for an August 2009 in-flight ballistic missile kill test, as long as the Senate can mitigate a proposed $250 million budget cut by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), Boeing told a group of reporters during an ABL program update Sept. 4.
PROTEST COSTS: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that the U.S. Air Force reimburse Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky for the costs of filing their protests on the Combat, Search and Rescue replacement (CSAR-X) helicopter program. The reimbursement should include compensation for "reasonable attorneys' fees," according to GAO.
China is building on its experience with ramjets to take on the much more challenging step of developing Mach 5 scramjet air vehicle concepts where engine and aerodynamics are highly coupled. Aviation Week & Space Technology reports in its Sept. 3 issue that as part of this effort, an integrated Chinese scramjet model is about to begin testing at up to Mach 5.6 in a new scramjet wind tunnel in Beijing.
RISK MANAGEMENT: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) would like DOD to take action to more clearly identify critical members of the defense industrial base (DIB) and potential threats to their safety, in order to successfully fulfill the National Military Strategy.
NASA SLIP: Although NASA has done well this year in the authorization process on Capitol Hill, appropriations logjams mean the agency is looking down the barrel of another congressional continuing resolution, which would hold its fiscal 2008 funding to FY '06 levels. For the Constellation program, which is building the hardware needed to return humans to the moon by 2020, this would mean a cut of about $900 million from its $3.982 billion FY '08 request.
IED MARKETS: The non-U.S. market for technology, training and equipment to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is expected to grow rapidly over the next five years, according to a marketing research firm's analysis. Homeland Security Research Corp. (HSRC) says U.S. counter-IED spending now accounts for 65 percent of the market's outlays but that will shrink to 51 percent by 2012 as threats grow - particularly in Europe.
Honeywell is offering its F125 engine for test bed trials to be held in October leading up to the competition to replace around 120 Jaguar fighter engines for the Indian air force. The company will go up against Rolls-Royce with the Adour 821 in the competition (DAILY, Aug. 24). The request for proposals is expected in January 2008. Jaguars are currently powered by Adour MK 811 engines manufactured since 1981 under license from Rolls-Royce.
Concerned about which images from intelligence gathering satellites will be shared by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with civilian agencies and local law enforcement, the House Homeland Security Committee plans a hearing Sept. 6 on the civil rights implications of the plan.
CRUISE MISSILE DEFENSE: The Missile Defense Advisory Committee, a federal advisory panel to the Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency (MDA), will meet Oct. 11-12 for classified briefings on the "appropriate role for MDA" in cruise missile defense (CMD). Topics tentatively scheduled for discussion include responsibilities for CMD development, current MDA CMD capabilities and responsibilities, a review of governing directives and CMD capabilities development programs for the services. The Pentagon meeting was announced in the Federal Register.
LEADING EXIT: Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), one of the most respected senators on military and defense issues, will not seek re-election in 2008, leaving the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) facing a potential major turnover in leadership next year. Warner - the SASC chairman before Democrats took over Congress in January - has been leading SASC Republicans while ranking Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) campaigns for the GOP presidential nomination. That setup is likely to continue, although it leaves more room at the top of the panel's Republican side after November 2008.
The U.S. Air Force's reaction to the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) decision to sustain the second round of protests against the service's combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) contract award could decide how future Air Force acquisition programs fare with federal lawmakers, analysts say. GAO sustained the protests by Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky Aircraft lodged against the Air Force contract award to Boeing worth between $10 billion and $15 billion to build more than 140 CSAR-X helicopters (DAILY, Aug. 31).
PRAISING JAPAN: A group of House legislators is pushing a non-binding resolution praising Japan for being a strong U.S. ally, as well as buttressing cooperation - and sharing - over ballistic missile defense (BMD) efforts. Defense Department officials and industry representatives assert that despite a recent security breach at the Japanese naval academy concerning Aegis radar technology, Japan is known to keep defense secrets better than almost any other ally.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] Sept. 1 - 3 -- 2007 Cleveland National Air Show. For more information call (216) 781-0747 or go to www.clevelandairshow.com. Sept. 10 - 31 -- 2007 Joint Undersea Warfare Technology Fall Conference, "Maintaining the Competitive Advantage," Naval Base New London Groton, Conn. For more information go to www.ndia.org/meeting/7240.
PACIFIC TOUR: Guam "will be the tip of the national security spear for our country here in the Pacific," the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee told local residents after visiting on a trip that included unprecedented access to Chinese military facilities. The delegation was the first group from Congress, and the second of U.S. officials, to visit China's Second Artillery division, which controls both China's nuclear and conventional missile force.
Boeing's winning proposal to produce the upper stage of NASA's Ares I rocket prevailed because of its "significantly" lower projected cost, despite rival ATK's proposal rating higher on technical merits, according to a NASA source selection document. NASA announced Boeing's win of the up to $1.125 billion contract last week (DAILY, Aug. 29). ATK's final proposal received a technical rating of "excellent," whereas Boeing's received a final rating of "very good." Both teams were rated excellent in past performance history.
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and former Sen. Sam Nunn visited nuclear storage facilities in Russia last week and also spoke at a conference in Moscow on the 15th anniversary of the Nunn-Lugar program that has helped the U.S. and Russia cooperate on securing nuclear materials and dismantling weapons.
