CSAR-X RESCUE: Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) sent a letter Aug. 16 to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) offering his "full support" for GAO's ongoing review of the U.S. Air Force Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter program. The letter comes on the heels of a recently revealed e-mail in which Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne (see page 3) expressed a desire to remain with the original CSAR-X selection: Boeing's HH-47 Chinook.
The U.S. Air Force is expecting the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to weigh in by the end of August on the second round of protests against the service's decision to award a contract to Boeing to build more than 140 combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopters for between $10 billion and $15 billion, industry sources say.
NOT TO WORRY: U.S. Army Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ed Anderson, a principal at the Booz Allen Hamilton consulting firm, says space-based missile defense is "a trend for the future" despite political concerns over potentially starting a space weapons race. Such systems would be useful for space control and anti-satellite capabilities, Anderson argues. Russia has asked the United States to agree not to engage in space-based weapons efforts as a precondition to negotiations seeking Moscow's support for U.S.
HEL TD: The U.S. Army on Aug. 17 awarded Northrop Grumman $8 million to develop the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL TD) - a truck-mounted laser weapon for countering rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds. Under the contract, the company will develop and complete a preliminary design of a rugged beam control system on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT). The effort could reach $50 million if all contract options are exercised.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] July 30 - Aug. 2 -- 2007 Naval S&T Partnership Conference, "The Navy After Next... Powered by Naval Research II -- Power & Energy for the Fleet and Force," Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.ndia.org/meetings/7200. Aug. 6 - 9 -- AUVSI's Unmmaned Systems North America 2007, Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.auvsi.org.
SMALL FUROR: The House Small Business Committee says the Bush administration continues to fall short of a 23 percent government-wide small business prime contracting goal by 4 percent. The charge, which the Democratic-run panel calculated itself but based on Small Business Administration figures, comes as large contractors and government officials increasingly feel pressured after years of small business contracting angst.
EA-6B ICAP III: Northrop Grumman will upgrade at least three additional EA-6B Prowler aircraft with the latest electronic attack system under a U.S. Navy contract potentially worth $9 million. The EA-6Bs will get Northrop's Improved Capability (ICAP) III kits, which include the ALQ-218 receiver, a new crew-workstation display system and other hardware and software. First delivery is April 2008. Installation, with a fourth aircraft as a $2 million option, will occur at the company's St. Augustine, Fla., manufacturing center.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded Rolls-Royce and General Electric separate contracts to develop technology for the Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology (ADVENT) program, the service's next-generation propulsion system. The goal is to achieve high-thrust capability and a separate loiter operation with reduced fuel consumption.
PREDATOR COMPLEX: Stewart-Matl Ltd. of Austin, Texas, will build a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) aircraft operations complex in Houston under a $5.7 million contract from the Texas National Guard Bureau. The Texas ANG is one of the organizations that will remotely fly reconnaissance missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere from sites in the U.S. As the UAV mission expands, the ANG and Air Force Reserve will be called on to perform these combat missions regularly from their home bases.
Although the Super Hornet's up for sale on the foreign market - and there's been interest - the aircraft hasn't rung up the sales and that could impact the domestic program, according to a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. "The Boeing Co., with assistance from the Navy, is aggressively marketing the Super Hornet for export," CRS says. "Despite these efforts, international orders for the F/A-18E/F have not yet emerged. Some believe that a lack of international business is hindering Boeing's efforts to reduce the aircraft's price."
ALTERNATIVE AATE: House defense appropriators are concerned that the Army's current Advanced Affordable Turbine Engine (AATE) development approach may lead to selecting a single engine supplier prematurely, according to their report accompanying that chamber's fiscal 2008 defense spending bill. "It is imperative for the Army to pursue and alternate engine design and test demonstration from a second manufacturer," they say. In turn, the panel "directs" that, from existing funds, $5 million "may" be used to pursue an alternative AATE engine.
CAD & MEMS: Under a $1.25 million contract from the Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA), the Georgia Institute of Technology will participate in a multi-university research center developing a computer-aided design (CAD) environment for use with micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS). The new research center will be led by the University of Illinois and will include teams from Purdue and Lehigh Universities as well as Georgia Tech.
CUBESAT TESTING: Boeing's CubeSat TestBed 1 (CSTB1), launched April 17 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, will enter a test phase to support additional experiments such as taking more photographs using CubeSat's ultra-low power imager and evaluating non-traditional attitude control algorithms. Boeing will correlate the data it has collected from more than 500,000 sensor data points during 1,650 orbits with simulations and ground testing, applying it to development tools for future nano-satellites.
ICE2 & EFV: The U.S. Air Force is awarding General Dynamics Network Systems a firm-fixed-price and cost reimbursement contract modification for $2.25 billion. The Intelligence Information, Command and Control, Equipment and Enhancements (ICE2) contract provides worldwide information technology sustainment and technical support.
CAE USA has won a $66 million contract from the U.S. Navy to design and manufacture three MH-60S operational flight trainers (OFTs) and two MH-60S weapons tactics trainers (WTTs). The Navy already has exercised its first option to begin the design and development of the OFTs, which is valued at more than $15 million. CAE USA is currently under contract to build seven MH-60S OFTs and six MH-60S WTTs. The OFTs will be full-motion simulators of the Sikorsky aircraft, which is an amalgam of the UH-60L Black Hawk and its Navy variant, the SH-60B Seahawk.
The European Defense Agency (EDA) is looking to improve equipment to protect troops from the growing threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) weapons. EDA says those means of attack "are amongst the greatest threats facing [European Union] operations." But there is a problem with the current equipment, EDA says, because it either protects well against IEDs or CBRN hazards, but not both.
SPECIAL LASERS: The U.S. Navy has chosen Litton Systems Inc.'s Laser Systems for a $98.5 million, five-year contract for up to 940 Special Operations Forces Laser Acquisition Marker (SOFLAM) Special Operations Forces Laser Rangefinder Designators (SOFLRD). The SOFLAM SOFLRD is a lightweight integrated laser designator and rangefinder that provides special forces the ability to locate and designate enemy targets for destruction via laser-guided bombs. It is capable of remote firing and for mounting accessories such as pointers and night sights.
A modified hydrogen valve design less susceptible to freezing up in extremely cold temperatures will be fitted into Pratt & Whitney RL10 upper-stage engines in Atlas V and Delta IV launchers to prevent a recurrence of the early engine shutdown that took place June 15 during the launch of two National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) ocean surveillance spacecraft at Cape Canaveral on an Atlas V.
The Pentagon Inspector General's (IG) office says it has found developmental and acquisition problems associated with the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) modernization program. "The XM25/XM29 and XM307/XM307G Programs had fundamental internal control weaknesses in several areas," the IG says in a recent report.
CENTCOM ATCALS: The U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center is awarding Readiness Management Support LC a potentially five-year, $388.3 million contract for equipment maintenance of Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems (ATCALS) and flight operational services at air bases.
