AMPLIFIED AWARD: BAE Systems said it will build a 160-watt solid-state, gallium nitride power amplifier for U.S. military communications, electronic warfare and radar applications. The solid-state technology will replace older vacuum tubes, called travelling wave tubes, currently used to produce high-power radio frequency signals, the company said Aug. 22. The $8 million Army Communications-Electronics Command contract stems from DARPA's Disruptive Manufacturing Technology program. The high-power amplifier technology is supposed to guard U.S.
UPPER STAGE: NASA plans to announce the winner of the upper-stage contract for the Ares I crew launch vehicle at 4 p.m. EDT Aug. 28. A Boeing-led team is squaring off against a team led by ATK that also includes Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney/Rocketdyne. The value of the program to the winner has been estimated at $900 million. The Ares I will boost Lockheed Martin's Orion crew exploration vehicle to orbit.
NASA began wildfire mapping missions using its Predator-derived Ikhana unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Aug. 16 and expects to keep flying fire missions over the western states through September.
IT ONSLAUGHT: Spending on information technology (IT) in the final months of the U.S. federal government's fiscal 2007 is expected to reach more than $20 billion - greater than 33 percent of the total 2007 federal IT amount - continuing the trend toward a fourth quarter spending spree, according to consultancy Input. The firm says the increased purchasing activity - a growing trend in the last decade - favors established vendors who have put in the up-front work of relationship building.
The French government is beginning the process of drafting a new "White Book" on defense and security, the first revision in over a decade. In the run-up to presidential elections in France this year, politicians across the political spectrum had called for a review of the country's strategic defense imperatives. One of those urging such an undertaking was Herve Morin, who has since been named defense minister.
The Pentagon's vaunted Transformational Satellite (TSAT) network is necessary for future military operations, but its future remains in doubt because of funding issues, a recently released Lexington Institute briefing says. "TSAT is arguably the single most important technology initiative the military is currently funding," says the report, "TSAT: Essential To National Security," released this month by Loren Thompson, Lexington military analyst.
New estimates for the U.S. Marine Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), the Navy's LHA Replacement (LHA-R) amphibious warship and the Air Force's B-2 Radar Modernization Program (RMP) have helped push up the total costs of major defense acquisition programs by almost $4.3 billion to just under $1.7 trillion. According to the latest Selected Acquisition Reports (SARs) submitted to Congress for the June reporting period and released by the Defense Department Aug. 22, EFV costs have increased $4 billion, 34.2 percent, to almost $16 billion.
As concerns over the modernization of Chinese naval forces grow, Congress needs to worry about how much it should weight China's growing power in its planning for U.S. Navy capabilities, says a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
TIME SENSITIVE: Lockheed Martin announced it has developed and delivered to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) a software suite that cuts the time an Air Operations Center (AOC) needs to prosecute time-sensitive targets. The Time-sensitive Target Dynamic Decision Enabler, which manages the flood of data that can burden the Dynamic Target Cell Chief, supposedly trims the timeline from at least 30 minutes to two minutes or less, the company said.
The Pentagon has cut the number of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles it expects to deliver to Iraq by year's end to 1,500 from 3,500 due to transport and equipment-installation delays, rather than production issues. John Young, director of Defense Research and Engineering, said July 17 he expected "hopefully more than 3,500" MRAPs would be delivered to troops by Dec. 31.
Europe is moving to create a single European Union (EU) market for mobile satellite services. The European Commission is proposing a rule that would centralize the selection and authorization of mobile satellite services for operators at the EU level. Currently, those processes are done at the member state level, but that creates potential conflicts in terms of frequency allocation.
U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) awarded a contract with a potential value of about $1.6 billion Aug. 17 to Menlo Worldwide Government Services, LLC of San Mateo, Calif., to manage DOD freight movements in the continental U.S. (CONUS) to cut cost and improve service.
NASA's Integrated Enterprise Management Program (IEMP), launched in April 2000, has run into implementation issues, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) wants NASA to take steps to protect its $800 million investment.
Chief House defense appropriator John Murtha (D-Pa.) is acting on frustration over perceived Defense Department services contracting run amok and has shepherded congressional language that could grow the federal contracting work force. "Despite the growing and seemingly unconstrained reliance on contractors to accomplish DOD's mission, no system of accountability for contract service cost or performance has been established," the House Appropriations Committee said in its report accompanying that chamber's fiscal 2008 defense spending bill.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) needs better internal controls for its governmental purchases, according to a recent DOD Inspector General (IG) report. MDA acquisition officials failed to follow proper procedures in buying or providing services or equipment, especially when using Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requests (MIPRs), says the Aug. 20 report.
Small businesses seeking Defense Department work could enjoy unprecedented attention and access in the post-9/11 acquisition environment but also confront affordability concerns and pressure to adhere to acquisition "roadmaps," several DOD acquisition officials and business executives said Aug. 21.
TESTING CEV: NASA has selected Benham Constructors LLC of Oklahoma City to receive a $51.4 million contract to design, build and commission a vibration and acoustic test capability that will support development of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) at the Space Power Facility at Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. Plum Brook Station is operated by NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
Endeavour returned safely to Earth Aug. 21, reaffirming an extensive ground analysis that concluded that two damaged thermal tiles under the orbiter's right wing could support a safe reentry without repairs in space. "The tile did very well during reentry," said NASA Administrator Mike Griffin.
BLAKEY LANDS: Departing FAA Administrator Marion Blakey was named Aug. 21 as new head of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). Blakey, head of the FAA since September 2002, succeeds John Douglass as president and CEO of the industry group. Blakey's term as FAA chief ends Sept. 13. She has been shepherding FAA reauthorization through Congress as well as the development of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).
MCAS FUTENMA, OKINAWA - Soon a U.S. Marine forward observer will be able to call in a burst of electrons - for jamming or perhaps erasing computer memories - just as he now calls in artillery or a precision bomb.
LANGLEY AFB, Va. - The new A-10C Warthog was declared fully operational at a ceremony here Aug. 21 and will be deploying to Iraq in less than a month. "In simple terms: it went from analog to digital," says Lt. Col. Timothy Smith, USAF, A-10 pilot with the Maryland Air National Guard. "Now I'm integrated with the airplane a lot better. I can receive information and integrate it into my system faster, quicker, more effectively."
