With the U.S. Coast Guard already implementing unprecedented oversight to its largest-ever acquisition effort, senators are pushing a bill on Capitol Hill that would direct the service to use a competitive process for selecting future contractors for its embattled Deepwater recapitalization and modernization program.
Even as the U.S. Marines prepare to deploy the first MV-22 squadron to Iraq in the coming months, defense analysts are still debating whether the tilt-rotor aircraft is the technological leap the service says it is.
LONDON - A pending funding decision will fundamentally inform key choices the U.K. will make on the extent and nature of its long-term participation in space exploration within the next 12 months. While the government is struggling with the timetable for its comprehensive spending review - elements of the package have now been delayed until toward the end of the year - top-level figures for science funding are still expected around mid-year.
AIR FORCE UAVS: The U.S. Air Force has declared it will make history when it stands up the 432nd Wing - its first-ever unmanned aerial systems wing - at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. on May 1. Col. Chris Chambliss will assume command of the new wing. The wing will assume control of the missions of the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper squadrons that are currently operated by the 57th Wing at Nellis AFB, Nev. The service has touched off a heated debate with the other armed services over a proposal to lead high-flying UAV development and aircraft.
Engineers at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) have gotten a specially equipped RL-10 rocket engine to run at 10 percent of its full 13,000-pound thrust in a series of tests aimed at using the venerable cryogenic engine for the descent stage of NASA's planned lunar lander.
SMALL VESSELS: The potential use of small vessels by terrorists in U.S. waters is a major concern of Customs and Border Protection (CPB), says the head of the agency's Office of Anti-Terrorism. U.S. officials have no specific information about a planned terror attack using small water craft, but attacks overseas on the USS Cole in 2000 and the French supertanker N.V. Limburg in 2002 have them planning ways to counter the threat, says Thomas Bush, acting executive director of the CBP anti-terrorism office.
The Bush administration's plans for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) at the Energy Department are drawing increasing skepticism inside Washington's Beltway, if for no other reason than its planning seems thin.
GUNSHIP TESTING: Boeing has begun flight testing the AC-130U Gunship with new Bushmaster 30-mm cannons at Hurlburt Field, Fla., the company announced April 27. The 30-mm cannon eventually will replace both the 40-mm cannon and 25-mm gun on U-model gunships. Boeing is modifying four gunships for U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command and is due to deliver them later this year.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the U.S. Navy jointly conducted a successful intercept test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System on April 26th off the coast of Hawaii, making the eight successful intercept out of ten flight tests for the system, according to MDA.
BEST GLOVES: On May 2-3, teams from around the nation will compete for a total of $250,000 in prize money from NASA for an improved astronaut glove design. One of NASA's seven Centennial Challenges, the Astronaut Glove Challenge will take place at the New England Air Museum at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn. NASA is offering a total of $200,000 for the team that designs and manufactures the best glove, with an additional $50,000 going to the team that best demonstrates Mechanical Counter Pressure gloves. Volanz Aerospace, Inc.
SPACEX: Although SpaceX now has the go-ahead from the U.S. Air Force to operate future Falcon commercial launches off Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 40, the agreement covers ground use of the launch pad only, and does not constitute specific permission to fly SpaceX launch vehicles like the large Falcon 9 off the pad. Those discussions still are underway with the service.
NASA's list of top contractors shows the agency's emphasis on launch services and research throughout the decade, according to an Aerospace Daily analysis. The number one and two contractors for 2001, 2002 and 2006 were United Space Alliance and the California Institute of Technology, according to the analysis of millions of contracts and modifications for those years provided by the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (see chart p. 6). CalTech manages NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
Aircraft carriers make big targets in lots of ways, and industry supporters are swarming Capitol Hill to make sure the U.S. Navy's CVN-21 and other flattop efforts don't become a casualty of budget wars. The burgeoning Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition (ACIBC) met with legislators, their staff and others on the Hill April 25-26 to press for Congress to support funding levels outlined in President Bush's fiscal 2008 budget request. In particular, they spotlighted CVN 78, the first carrier in the CVN-21 class, as well as other carrier programs.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] May 7 - 10 -- AIAA Infotech@Aerospace 2007 Conference and Exhibit, Doubletree Hotel Sonoma Wine Country, Rohnert Park, Calif. For more information go to www.aiaa.org/events/infotech@aerospace. May 7 - 10 -- Joint Service Small Arms Symposium, Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia Beach, Va, For more information call (703) 522-1820, fax: (703) 522-1885 or go to www.ndia.org.
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) flew for the first time April 26 after extensive modifications to accommodate a German-built 45,000-pound, 2.5-meter infrared telescope. L-3 Integrated Systems in Waco, Texas, modified the Boeing 747SP with a 16-foot tall door that can open in flight to give the telescope a view of the heavens at altitudes as high as 45,000 feet, above 99 percent of the water vapor that hampers infrared observations at ground level. The aircraft also carries a liquid-nitrogen cooling system for the telescope.
SPEAKING THE FUTURE: Lt. Gen. Stephen Speakes, Army deputy chief of staff for budgeting, says the service's funding plans will increasingly switch from equipping modular brigades of today to the science and technology development needed for outfitting planned Future Combat Systems (FCS) brigades. Precision munitions and sensor capabilities are major spending imperatives under the new paradigm, he told the Precision Strike Association's annual programs review conference.
A secret National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) dual-satellite ocean surveillance mission to track potential terrorist movements at sea and monitor Chinese and Iranian ship tactics is being readied for liftoff June 14 from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas V, intelligence sources tell Aviation Week. The National Ocean Surveillance System (NOSS) flight is designated NRO L-30. The importance of NRO's space ocean surveillance role in connection with the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard has been elevated since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
COMING HOME: NASA plans to bring astronaut Sunita Williams home from the International Space Station on the upcoming STS-117 mission, now scheduled for June, instead of the STS-118 mission after that. Williams left Earth on Dec. 9, 2006, with an original plan to return after about six months in orbit. However, the delay in launching the space shuttle Atlantis that resulted after a hail storm damaged the foam insulation on its external propellant tank led to the decision to switch her ride home.
CLOUDY UAV SKIES: Despite the bright future of unmanned military aviation, possible cuts in defense spending in coming years could pose a threat to several developmental drone efforts, according to an analysis from Frost & Sullivan. The unmanned aerial system (UAS) industry will have to focus on technology advancement and timely system production to keep developmental programs on time and financially supported, the consultancy says. Market revenue totaled $1.3 billion in 2006 and estimates are it will more than double by 2013, Frost & Sullivan said April 24.
SDB GLITCH: Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, the U.S. Air Force's top uniformed acquisition officer, says the new 250-pound Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) continues to perform well since being deployed to support Iraq operations last year on the F-15E. The Boeing-made weapon has, however, had a glitch. Officers noticed what Hoffman says is "wear and tear" on some weapons that were not dropped on their first sortie. Those weapons experienced more aerodynamic forces and showed some minor problems, he says.
JUMPING JSF: While initial plans called for the three Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) models to be developed sequentially ("A" followed by "B" and then "C"), the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing "B" model has moved to the front of the line, defense officials say. "The Marines have the greatest need due to the age of the Harrier fleet," says Marc Trinklein, deputy director for the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
NASA has spent or obligated roughly the same amount of money each year thus far through most of this decade -- with a major focus on engineering, research and development, according to an Aerospace Daily analysis. But while the bottom line expenses have remained the same, the agency has been spending less per contract or modification, according to the analysis of millions of records from 2001, 2002 and 2006 provided by the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (see chart p. 7 and related story p.4).
