A SITDOWN: The Democratic leadership of the House Science and Technology Committee wants to sit down the President Bush in the "near future" to discuss what they see as a "mismatch" between NASA' budget and the ambitious slate of tasks it's been given to perform.
The U.S. Army and Air Force are under increasing pressure both inside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill to better coordinate their Predator and Warrior unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs. But the services have "repeatedly resisted collaborating," sparking the ongoing public spat over who controls military UAV development and acquisition, congressional auditors have testified.
NASA has added $385 million to Lockheed Martin's development contract for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), delaying the company's original targeted delivery date for the vehicle by two years to synchronize its arrival with other Constellation program hardware.
The new procurement and maintenance schemes agreed on by the British government and contractors for the EH101 Merlin helicopter fleet put the contractors more at risk if they fail to perform, according to Capt. Doug Whittaker, Merlin Integrated Project Team Leader for the Royal Air Force (RAF). On the procurement side of the program, the AgustaWestland-Lockheed Martin team has agreed to invest its own money in developing fly-by-wire and other technologies in upgraded Merlin aircraft, Whittaker said at an April 19 briefing.
An RTCA special committee in the U.S. has delivered its first report to FAA outlining how unmanned aerial vehicles might be allowed to fly more freely in civil airspace, and a similar European committee expects to finish its working plan next month. FAA's Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) office in turn expects to issue its Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) roadmap next month.
Lockheed Martin and Aurora Flight Sciences have been awarded U.S. Air Force contracts for an Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft, the Pentagon said April 20. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Air Vehicles Directorate is buying the demonstrator, which features advanced structural design and manufacturing techniques integrated with advanced aerodynamic design, in an effort to find structural design and manufacturing technologies that can significantly cut the weight and cost of future military air transports.
SPACE COSTS: The Defense Department is likely to continue facing cost overruns on problematic space programs, says Cristina T. Chaplain, director of acquisition and sourcing management for the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The Pentagon investment in space should increase by about 46 percent over the next three years, according to Chaplain's April 19 testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.
An astronaut crew led by veteran space repairman John Grunsfeld is on track to launch in September 2008 on a final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, following back-to back-reviews at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
DIVIDING LABOR: Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sees merit in the idea that the U.S. Air Force should have the lead in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations. If the Air Force provided the Army with UAV operators, that would "free up Army troops to do other things," he says, while avoiding the creation of a separate Army corps of UAV operators and maintainers. "It's not a bad idea to take a look at all UAV operations to see who ought to be on the control stick," he says. Pace also sees an advantage in apportioning combat airspace.
President Bush and the Democratic-run Congress are set this week for their official showdown over fiscal 2007 supplemental appropriations, with House and Senate conferees meeting April 23 to hammer out their formal proposal to the White House. Both sides spoke out April 20, repeating their arguments and allegations that the other was risking national security or failing to support military personnel on the battlefield.
BEYOND PREDATOR: The U.S. Air Force is requesting information from industry for a future hunter-killer unmanned aerial system (UAS) that eventually could replace the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator. In an April 19 request for information (RFI), the service asks not for system solutions, but for data on "synergistic technology interactions" that can exceed the intelligence gathering and engagement capabilities provided by today's UASs in a low- to moderate-threat environment.
The U.S. Air Force is expected to issue the revised request for proposals (RFPs) by early next week for the combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter replacement fleet, which will focus only on maintenance cost issues raised by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) when the agency upheld the contract award protest, according to industry sources. Protest points
China's improving networking, strike and reconnaissance capabilities, along with some specific North Korea developments, are spurring programs for advanced aircraft among their neighbors including India, Singapore, Australia, South Korea and Japan. It also has influenced the U.S. to shift its Boeing F-15Cs with advanced radars for cruise missile detection to Okinawa from Alaska and to schedule the first air expeditionary force deployment of the Lockheed Martin F-22 to Japan. The stealth fighter also has a small target detection capability.
RADAR R&D: The U.S. Army Communication-Electronics Command has awarded Lockheed Martin a $10.2 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for a research-and-development effort to design and develop the tactical reconnaissance- and counter concealment-enabled radar program, the Defense Department said April 18. The contract, awarded April 12, is expected to be finished by Dec. 15, 2009. There were two bids solicited on Dec. 1, 2006, and two bids were received, according to the DOD. Work will be performed in Goodyear, Ariz.
TACTICAL TRUCKS: Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle Systems L.P. has been awarded a $19 million contract modification to produce the family of medium tactical vehicle trucks, the Defense Department said April 19. The work will be done in Sealy, Texas, and is expected to be finished by Nov. 15, 2008. The U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., awarded the contract.
The U.S. Army soon could announce significant contracts toward new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, favoring a leading joint venture of Force Protection and General Dynamics, as well as major ground-vehicle providers BAE Systems and Oshkosh Truck, according to an industry source.
Japanese military officials are eyeing the F-22 Raptor as an antidote to growing regional missile threats, Aviation Week & Space Technology will report on April 23. The Lockheed Martin-built fighter is expected to become a key element in missile defense because it can detect and destroy small cruise missiles and also evade sophisticated air defenses to bomb ballistic missile launch sites. Whether Japanese law might be interpreted to allow the country's Self Defense Force to use the bombing to defend against ballistic missiles is still an open question.
The head of U.S. Central Command said April 18 that there are no plans in place to intervene if Turkish forces follow up on a threatened incursion against Kurds in northern Iraq. "I certainly hope they don't carry out this threat," Adm. William Fallon, new commander of Central Command told the House Armed Services Committee, adding: "We're trying to convince them that this is not a good idea."
Raytheon has demonstrated new Internet-like Web-portal capabilities through its Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) that the company says should improve information sharing across the military services and intelligence agencies and facilitate closer collaboration.
Buoyed by the ramp-up of work on NASA's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, Orbital Sciences Corp. saw first quarter 2007 revenues rise 19 percent compared to the same period last year, the company announced April 19. Orbital is a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin, the prime for Orion. Orion work was the major contributor to a 21 percent increase in revenues for Orbital's satellites and space segment, according to the company.
JSF APPROVAL: The Pentagon's acquisition chief has approved full funding for two conventional-takeoff-and-landing (CTOL) Joint Strike Fighters and long-lead funding for six more, as well as six short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variants, the Defense Department said April 19. The two fully funded CTOL JSFs occur under low-rate initial production Lot 1, while the other 12 in the announcement comprise Lot 2. The JSF program is juggling engine, cost, schedule and weight issues.
Democratic Rep. Ellen Tauscher (Calif.), head of the House Armed Services Committee's (HASC) strategic forces subcommittee, said April 19 that "nothing is off the table" and that her panel could significantly alter the Bush administration's $310 million request for establishing a third ground-based midcourse ballistic missile interceptor site in Europe.
