ALMDS RAMPS UP: U.S. Navy officials say they expect to award another low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract for the new Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) this spring for an additional two pods following developmental testing. Delivery of the first one Jan. 26 from Northrop Grumman Corp. stemmed from an initial $35.7 million contract awarded in April 2006 for an LRIP of two AN/AES-1 ALMDS pods. The third LRIP contract and full-rate production are planned in 2009 and 2010, respectively, for an additional 11 pods.
ARMY AM General L.L.C., South Bend, Ind., was awarded on Jan. 19, 2007, an $8,529,906 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for the addition of M1035A1 and M1151A1 vehicles. Work will be performed in South Bend, Ind., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on July 17, 2000. The U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (DAAE07-01-C-S001).
Engineers are troubleshooting a second failure of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope, after an apparent malfunction of the backup power feed for the instrument. The entire telescope went into a safe mode at 7:34 a.m. Eastern time Jan. 27, apparently as a result of the anomaly. Controllers recovered the orbiting observatory at about 2 a.m. Eastern time Jan. 28, and plan to begin observations with the remaining instruments this week.
BLUM AGAIN: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of U.S. Army Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum for a two-year extension as chief of the National Guard Bureau. President Bush nominated Blum for the extension in December and the Senate confirmed him Jan. 26. Blum will have served as chief for four years come April. He has bucked top Army leaders in a previous attempt to cut Guard personnel and has brought focus on the Guard's readiness and equipment deficit, actions that have helped lead to likely growth in both areas of the overall Army.
The YAL-1A, a modified Boeing 747-400F - the Airborne Laser (ABL) - is undergoing a long-term test phase that started this month at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., that includes the test firing of the aircraft's low-power lasers in flight for the first time. The Missile Defense Agency is testing and developing the Airborne Laser as part of the boost phase defense segment of the Ballistic Missile Defense System.
SAT MODERNIZATION: Russia and India are planning to sign a bilateral agreement to jointly expand and modernize Russia's Glonass satellite navigation system. The countries are expected to launch two Glonass satellites using GSLV boosters and to share development and construction of a new generation Glonass-K satellite system.
SAT OPERATION: The first unit in Germany's 400 million euro ($515 million) SARLupe radar reconnaissance satellite system has entered operation. The one-meter resolution spacecraft, built by OHB System, was launched on Dec. 19 and began sending images on Jan. 12. By Jan. 18, all planned modes and resolutions had been verified, the company says. The second satellite is to be launched in July.
Countering China's recently tested anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon system with America's missile defense arsenal would be a "straightforward" job for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) if it were given that mandate, according to MDA Deputy Director Brig. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly.
The United States cannot trust that China will restrain itself against exploiting space for weapons and other military uses, and it must bolster its defensive and offensive capabilities high above the Earth, a longtime Senate proponent of missile and space systems said Jan. 29. Conservative Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, a leading Republican party policymaker in that chamber, also asserted that further arms control agreements regarding space could be "dangerous" in limiting the United States while adversaries continue their developments.
Worried about problems incurred in converting 110-foot U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats into larger vessels, the new head of the House Homeland Security Committee says the Deepwater recapitalization program should be delayed "until we get some answers to what I think are very valid concerns." Last month the Coast Guard decided to suspend normal operations of eight converted 123-foot patrol boats after deck-buckling and signs of hull weakness.
ARMY Chamberlain Manufacturing Corp., Scranton, Pa., was awarded on Jan. 24, 2007, an $11,619,948 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for M795 Projectile metal parts. Work will be performed in Scranton, Pa., and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 17 bids solicited on Jan. 31, 2003, and one bid was received. The Joint Munitions and Lethality Center, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., is the contracting activity (DAAE30-03-C-1114).
PAKISTANI ORIONS: The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command is awarding Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Maritime Systems and Sensors unit a $186.5 million contract modification for fabrication, integration and testing of seven P-3 Orion aircraft missions systems for Pakistan. The modification includes a fully capable Inverse Synthetic-Aperture Radar ISAR/SAR, electronic-support measures, an acoustic system, an electro-optical/infrared system, a communication system and an intercommunication system. The Foreign Military Sale also covers installation of P-3 mission systems.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program made some key strides in 2006 - shoring up international support with important contract moves and retaining support in Congress and the Pentagon. But the aircraft still faces budgetary battles, analysts say, especially as the Air Force continues to hunt for more F-22 Raptors. "On JSF, the level of international participation acts as insurance against the U.S. canceling the program," said Ray Jaworowski, defense aircraft analyst for Forecast International.
Florida has not met 2005 defense realignment and closure (BRAC) requirements to relocate the U.S. Navy's East Coast Master Jet Base from Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Va., to former NAS Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Fla., according to the Defense Department's acting inspector general (IG).
The five agencies involved in the International Space Station say plans to launch initial European and Japanese elements to the orbital facility are on track, but acknowledge the schedule will be tenuous.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system scored a successful intercept Jan. 26 during its first test at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii.
The U.S. Navy is exploring the use of commercial software for managing aviation spare parts inventory that some estimate could save several hundred million dollars annually. The Navy hopes that commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software can improve its Readiness Based Sparing (RBS) process, which identifies the best mix of spare parts required to keep a military system at its desired readiness level. The service has a roughly $10 billion annual aircraft spares inventory, so even a small percentage reduction could add up to significant savings.
Jan. 29 - 30 -- SMi: Future MRO in Civil Aviation, London. For more information call +44 (0) 20 7827 6000, fax: +44 (0) 20 7827 6001, email: [email protected]. Jan. 31 - Feb. 1 -- International Quality & Productivity Center's Air Dominance India 2007: "Shaping India's Future Aerospace Capacity," ITC Hotel Maurya Sheraton & Towers, New Delhi. For more information call +65 (67) 229-388 or go to www.iqpc.com.
FRESH START: The Pentagon has endowed the defunct Joint Common Missile, which was mired with fits and starts of support from the Army and Navy, with a new name for its rebirth in the fiscal 2008 budget. Both services are expected to include procurement funding in their upcoming spending plans for the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile, which will replace a host of existing programs, including air-launched TOW, Hellfire and Maverick missiles. JCM was terminated in the fiscal 2006 budget request. But supportive Pentagon civilians reviewed the program and moved it forward.
