U.S. officials are in the process of selling $500 million worth of spare parts for F-15K, F-16C/D, F-4, F-5, A-37, T-37 and C-130 aircraft to South Korea, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) told lawmakers recently. Sales to Greece and Iraq are also in the works. "The uninterrupted supply of spare parts will allow Korea to keep its Air Force at the highest state of readiness," DSCA officials said in a required Dec. 7 letter to Congress.
Two recent changes in the Berry Amendment could make it easier for Pentagon contractors to buy certain types of metals and other materials needed for security, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. The Berry Amendment requires the Department of Defense to give preference in procurement to domestically produced, manufactured, or home grown products, notably food, clothing, fabrics, and specialty metals. Defense contractors have argued that the requirement makes it difficult and more expensive to get certain materials they need.
Space shuttle managers plan to give final approval Dec. 21 for the re-entry and landing of Discovery on Dec. 22, pending the results of a final inspection on Dec. 21 of the orbiter's reinforced carbon carbon (RCC) wing leading edge and nose cap by the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS). Discovery has only enough electrical fuel cell oxygen and hydrogen reactants to power the orbiter through Dec. 22-23, so managers are planning for a Dec. 22 landing unless an emergency forces an extra day aloft.
The costs to build the Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) remain uncertain and could balloon because of questions over per-unit prices, the service's ability to meet cost caps and the method the Navy pays for certain equipment, a recent Congressional Research Service report says.
President Bush said Dec. 20 that he has not made up his mind yet on whether to surge more troops into Iraq, but he wants to grow the Army and Marine Corps - a move that will require more funding than previously planned for personnel and counteracts former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's drive toward fielding fewer, lighter-outfitted forces.
The Department of Defense should establish a focal point within the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (ATL) responsible for improving the management and oversight of contractors supporting deployed forces overseas, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
NASA's Ames Research Center and Google have signed a Space Act Agreement to work together on various computing-related projects, including large-scale data management, massively distributed computing and human-computer interfaces. The first collaborative project between the two organizations will focus on making the best use of NASA information already available on the Internet. This includes incorporating NASA data into Google Earth.
WEAPONS SUPPORT: General Dynamics said Dec. 20 that one of its business units has been awarded a contract worth up to $1.9 billion to provide design and engineering technical support services for Department of Defense mission weapon systems, components and support equipment. The support includes process analysis and improvements for DOD systems maintenance operations. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Air Force Ogden Air Logistics Center.
The U.S. Navy's MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made its first flight Dec. 18 at the Webster Field annex of Naval Air Station Patuxent River in St. Inigoes, Md. The flight primarily tested the launch abort system. First operators made sure that the aircraft would not take off if it received an abort command immediately after receiving a launch command.
C-17 ORDER: The U.S. Air Force has ordered 10 Block 18-configured C-17 aircraft from Boeing under a $2 billion contract announced Dec. 18 by the Defense Department. The aircraft are a follow-on acquisition to the original 180 C-17 aircraft and follow Congress - with quiet approval from the Air Force - mandating the extra, unrequested airlifters (DAILY, Dec. 6). At this time, $980 million has been obligated. The work will be complete by October 2009, the DOD said.
U.S. aerospace and defense companies are optimistic they will begin signing agreements with Indian industry within a year that will position them to compete for an estimated $100 billion in defense purchases planned by the Indian government over the next decade, according to the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA).
The likely inability of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to put together an overall ballistic missile defense (BMD) plan could lead to major miscalculations by the Navy for fleet BMD assets, a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report says.
The story "Loral and Canada's BCE to combine satellite fleets in new Telesat" (Dec. 19) contained some inaccuracies. Loral will have a 64 percent economic interest in the new company, but PSP and its Canadian allies will retain two-thirds of the voting rights and seven of the 10 board seats. The company will be based in Ottawa.
Astronauts working with engineers on the ground managed to retract a balky solar array on the International Space Station late Dec. 18, wrapping up a carefully planned rewiring job that required a lot of last-minute improvisation. Astronaut Robert Curbeam, Jr., making an unprecedented fourth spacewalk in a single shuttle mission, used a jury-rigged toolkit to coax half of the solar array wing that has powered the U.S. side of the station for the past six years back into its box. Applause heard
The U.S. military faces two types of operations this century, conventional and counterinsurgency (COIN) operations, and Congress may have to force more attention - i.e., money - on COIN capabilities, according to the incoming Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
ACOUSTIC BOOST: A $10 million contract modification to continue producing multipurpose processor systems and total ship monitoring system kits as part of the U.S. Navy's Acoustic Rapid Commercial Off-The-Shelf Insertion (A-RCI) program for submarines brings the award's total to $127 million, General Dynamics Corp. said. The latest extension under the contract includes the production of seven processor systems, nine ship monitoring systems and associated spares in support of submarine modernization.
NASA's Orion crew exploration vehicle remains on schedule to carry humans to the International Space Station no later than 2014, and possibly earlier, but it will need to go on a New Year's diet to lose about 3,000 pounds of excess weight.
END STRENGTH: President Bush said Dec. 19 he is inclined to boost the number of U.S. Army and Marine Corps personnel to meet global antiterrorism needs. In a Washington Post interview published online, Bush said he asked new Defense Secretary Robert Gates to look into an increase and report back. Army and Marine chiefs have called for more ground forces as they struggle to meet ongoing operational needs.
EXCALIBUR TESTED: Raytheon Missile Systems and BAE Systems-Bofors successfully fired 25 Global Positioning System-guided Excalibur projectiles during an extensive First Article Test series in November, the companies announced Dec. 19. The Excalibur program is seeking an artillery projectile that uses satellite guidance to provide precision accuracy at extended ranges for all current and future 155 mm howitzers.
The $589 million NATO deal to buy Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft calls for up to four planes, as well as two Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 spare engines and as many as four AN/AAQ-24V(13) Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures Systems, according to a Defense Department notice Dec. 18 in the Federal Register (FR).
AIR FORCE L3 Communications Corp., Arlington, Texas, is being awarded a $15,163,795 fixed-price with award term contract modification. This contract action provides for aircrew training for E-3 AWACS aircrews. At this time, total funds have been obligated. Headquarters Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (F42630-00-C-0024/P00087).
