Logistical problems associated with the rebuilding of Chinook helicopters because they were transported on commercial vessels prevented some wartime training for the aircraft, according to a recent Pentagon inspector general (IG) report. "We initiated this audit in response to allegations made to the Defense Hotline," the June 21 report says. The IG "identified an internal control weakness" in U.S. Transportation Command's (TRANSCOM) compliance with DOD policies in the use of commercial transport during wartime.
Bigelow Aerospace launched its Genesis II inflatable space module June 28 on a converted Russian ICBM as the company continues the highly successful orbital test of its first sub-scale module, Genesis I, launched last July.
In what is becoming a trend in India - opposing what the other political party endorses - the planned visit of the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to the Chennai Port has the Left party raising questions as to why it is being permitted to dock. The carrier's visit is a part of the government's move to expand defense cooperation with the U.S. The Nimitz is set to dock at Chennai Port on July 1 and will be anchored until July 5.
RRW CUT: The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal 2008 Energy Department spending bill that includes $66 million for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program -- a cut of roughly 25 percent from the Bush administration's $88.8 million request. Committee member Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said during a markup hearing June 28 that RRW should proceed slowly until the U.S. makes decisions about the future of the country's nuclear stockpile. The House denied the RRW request in their version of the bill for similar reasons.
Due to accounting changes and incomplete reviews, the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center's (NAWC) data for past year-end carryover funding amounts for working capital funds -- such as depot maintenance, ordnance, and research and development -- were unreliable, and the amount needed may be greater than set aside, a recently released U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says.
Leaders of a House Homeland Security subcommittee complained June 27 that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was not devoting enough money to cybersecurity research. Only $37 million of the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate's budget request was for cybersecurity R&D, said Rep. James Langevin (D-R.I.), chairman of the emerging threats, cybersecurity, science and technology subcommittee. 'This program hasn't been taken seriously," he said.
GERMAN RAM: Raytheon's German partner for the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), RAM-System GmbH, has been funded to develop an evolved missile radio frequency sensor that will provide better sensitivity and target discrimination in light of potential future guidance radars, Raytheon said June 27. The combined U.S.-German RAM Block 2 system demonstration and development should reach initial operating capability in 2011.
Russia will replace all six German-made computers that shut down during the STS-117 International Space Station (ISS) assembly mission just completed, even though the hardware is back up and stable.
Raytheon's protest of a $2 billion U.S. Army award to a competitor hinges on what company officials feel was an errant scoring process during the source selection this spring.
A new report by a leading House Democratic government watchdog and ardent Bush administration critic claims to identify 189 federal contracts valued at $1.1 trillion that have been "plagued by waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement."
The proposed takeover by BAE Systems of Armor Holdings has been approved by the interagency U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment but still awaits Justice Department antitrust approval, as well as shareholder approval. An article June 27 on BAE Systems stated U.S. approval was granted. Aerospace Daily regrets the error.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) ballistic missile defense program conducted a nonintercept flight-test at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico June 26 The endoatmospheric test was intended to provide engineers with performance and aerodynamic data for the lowest altitudes at which the system might be called on to intercept a missile.
NASA MARKUP: The Senate Appropriations committee on June 28 will mark up a fiscal 2008 spending bill that allocates $17.5 billion for NASA, including $4 billion for space shuttle operations and $2.2 billion for the space station. The bill also provides $4.2 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including $450 million to implement the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative's recommendations and $30 million to restore critical climate sensors to NOAA weather satellites.
Military microwave components provider Herley Industries said June 27 that the U.S. government has suspended two of its eight manufacturing facilities from receiving new government contracts pending an investigation into whether Herley employees falsified test data on equipment shipped to an undisclosed U.S. defense contractor.
Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) staff said the panel on June 26 voted on several Bush administration nominations, including the so-called war czar and a fully empowered U.S. Army secretary. SASC members were asked to vote on Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute to be assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan by roll-call vote.
NASA is beginning to pick some scientific investigations to fund on and above the lunar surface, as it works toward an eventual human return there. The agency's Science Mission Directorate has picked seven "suitcase science" experiments for further development in anticipation of the day when astronauts can deploy them on the moon's surface.
NO VOTE: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hopes to send the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill to the Senate floor this week, but the heated debate over the future of U.S. commitments in Iraq is expected to delay a final vote until sometime in July. "I think a lot of us are still optimistic we'll get to defense authorization in July," Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a member of the Armed Services Committee (SASC), said June 26. "There's a lot of amendments," SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said, adding: "We may move to Iraq issues this week.
BAE Systems received a subpoena June 25 from the U.S. Justice Department concerning anti-corruption law issues, including the company's long-standing Al Yamamah deal to supply and support weapons systems for Saudi Arabia. News of the subpoena precipitated a nearly 10 percent drop in share price for BAE, the U.K.'s largest defense manufacturer.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) believes the United States depends too much on digital dominance and would try to exploit that kind of vulnerability in a conflict, a recent RAND study says.
