The U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Command has ordered $49 million worth of Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS-JTRS) Production Transition Terminals (PTTs) from Data Link Solutions and ViaSat. SPAWAR's orders, which occurred April 27 but were announced late June 4 by the Defense Department, come as the companies said earlier that day that they conducted a live demonstration of MIDS-JTRS for Pentagon officials charged with getting the embattled JTRS effort back on track.
'YAMES TOWNE': When it lifts off on STS-117, shuttle Atlantis will carry a piece of early American history with it. To commemorate this year's 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Va., the first permanent English settlement in North America, the shuttle will carry a nearly 400-year old metal cargo tag - bearing the words "Yames Towne" - in its middeck floor cargo space. The discarded shipping tag, which identified a crate or trunk that arrived from England around 1611, was discovered at the bottom of a well during an archaeological dig at James Fort.
The U.S. Navy has signed with Northrop Grumman for construction of the LHA 6 (Landing Helicopter Assault 6), a big-deck amphibious assault ship emphasizing combat aircraft, which would be built in the giant contractor's Gulf Coast shipyards once ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. The Navy announced June 1 that it awarded Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Pascagoula, Miss., a $2.4 billion contract for detailed design and construction.
A modular version of the Active Denial System (ADS System 2) is being developed and is scheduled to be completed later this summer, said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Teresa Ovalle of the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate. The ADS System 2 is designed for higher temperature environments and can operate at either a fixed site or on the back of a tactically mobile truck, Ovalle said June 4. The System 2 millimeter-wave energy beam is identical to that of System 1.
When it lifts off on STS-117, shuttle Atlantis will fly with an upgraded main engine computer system providing enhanced safety during ascent, NASA announced June 5. This latest improvement to the Advanced Health Management System (AHMS) will provide new monitoring and insight into the performance of the main engines' two most critical components: the high-pressure fuel turbopump and the high-pressure oxidizer turbopump.
UAE RAM: Raytheon and Abu Dhabi Ship Building of the United Arab Emirates have signed a contract for seven Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Guided Missile Weapon Systems. The $76.5 million deal calls for the ship self-defense armament systems to be delivered starting in December and then installed on six Baynunah corvettes. It further provides for an onshore RAM test and training system, logistical support and other services, according to Raytheon.
Solid state lasers offer some of the most immediate promise for developmental and operational progress, says Doug Beason, a retired Air Force colonel and leading expert in directed energy research.
The U.S. Air Force is proposing to sell India six Lockheed Martin C-130J baseline aircraft, as well as four Rolls-Royce engines and other missile warning systems, radios and radars, in a $1.06 billion deal, Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler told Congress recently. Kohler, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, said the aircraft and equipment will strengthen the two countries' strategic relationship without tilting the balance of military power in the volatile South Asia region.
NEW BLOOD: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is hosting a workshop to discuss innovative research that will enable type O-negative red blood cells (RBCs) to be cultured from progenitor cells, eliminating the need for blood donors. "It is envisioned that RBCs of normal structure and function will be produced and that the automated culture system would process cells from starter population to packaged RBC unit ready for transfusion," DARPA says. The "Blood Pharming Workshop" will be held in Arlington, Va., on June 29.
The Airborne Laser (ABL) system has rounded its major technical corners, program officials say, and will be testing a surrogate lower-power laser in flight as early as this month. "We're on the verge of showing we have beam control and fire control," Greg Hyslop, Boeing vice president and ABL program director, said May 31. "We're on the verge of doing most of this work for real. All we have is integration issues."
A June 5 DAILY story misreported the scheduled retirement date of Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) President and CEO John Douglass. The correct date of his departure is Dec. 31. Aerospace Daily regrets the error.
Senior U.S. aerospace executives and program managers have a chance to offer "tangible information" about the impacts of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) on their businesses via a survey commissioned by the Space Foundation. The survey is set up to gather hard data on ITAR impacts on financial and personnel costs, schedule and other business factors, according to the Colorado Springs-based foundation.
U.S. Air Force Material Command (AFMC) has agreed to partner with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to incorporate technologies from DARPA's Prognosis program to help "revolutionize" field and depot maintenance of F100 and F110 engines, the service announced June 4. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with DARPA on May 22 at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. The MOU covers from fiscal 2007-2013.
NASA's exploration, science and aeronautics directorates have joined forces to instrument the heat shield for the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission to gather aerodynamics data that could help eventually land human astronauts on the red planet.
To help future astronauts establish a lunar outpost and explore the surrounding terrain, the advanced-technology program at NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) is studying rovers, a nuclear power source and in situ resource utilization (ISRU) techniques.
The Malaysian air force is still pushing for Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, but if it doesn't get them, it says it could seek more Sukhoi 30MKM fighters instead. The country expects its 16 remaining Su-30MKMs to arrive by the end of the year, joining two that have already been delivered. Chief of the air force Gen. Azizan Ariffin says airborne warning and control aircraft also are on the shopping list, along with combat search and rescue helicopters.
The House Homeland Security Committee is looking into how a Georgia man infected with a dangerous form of tuberculosis was able to board transatlantic flights in both the U.S. and Europe, even though authorities were looking for him.
The U.S. Navy could cut the number of Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs) planned for purchase if Congress again forces the Pentagon to continue funding an alternative engine for the aircraft, a Navy and Marine Corps acquisition official warned June 4.
China's ability to improve its navy fleet and capabilities make the country a force to be watched and reckoned with, according to a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. "Several elements of China's military modernization have potential implications for future required U.S. Navy capabilities," according to report author Ronald O'Rourke, a CRS specialist in its National Defense Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division.
