DOCUMENT BLASTED: The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has blasted the Joint Planning and Development Office's (JPDO) new concept-of-operations document for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS) due to be up and running by 2025. AOPA President Phil Boyer calls it the "Next Generation Airline Transportation System" plan. The FAA and NASA's ideas on how the new system is supposed to operate leaves general aviation out in the cold, he says.
The positive flight performance of the ice-frost ramps on two space shuttle external tanks is leading NASA to reconsider whether the components should be replaced for safety. The ramps - relatively small foam structures designed to prevent ice from forming on brackets that hold tank pressurization lines in place - are currently classified as probable/catastrophic in a risk matrix that uses descriptive terms many managers believe are overstated.
Boeing has completed testing its new enhanced/synthetic vision system (E/SVS) and will be including it with its HH-47 entry for the U.S. Air Force's combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter replacement fleet, company officials said Sept. 27 at the Air Force Association's annual conference in Washington. The new system is meant to increase situational awareness during approaches and landings in different lighting and other conditions.
Techsphere Systems International has tested a paint-on antenna applied to one of its SA-60 spherical airships. The antenna, a combination of polymer-based dielectrics and highly conductive paint, is to be used on high-altitude (67,000-70,000 feet) communications and surveillance platforms. During the flight, the paint-on electromagnetic antenna communicated voice and data to an Iridium Global satellite. Later, the material will be applied directly to the airship.
SPARES AND REPAIRS: URS Corp. announced Sept. 26 that it received a potentially five-year, $275 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract from the U.S. Air Force to provide Foreign Military Sales spare parts and repair services on allied weapon systems. Under the Parts and Repair Ordering System (PROS) III contract, as the U.S.
Northrop Grumman Corp. and its B-2 program partner Raytheon Co. have decided on a strategy of proposing incremental, annual advances in technology and capabilities in the hopes of extending the legacy bombers' usefulness - and program - far beyond Pentagon plans, Northrop and Raytheon executives say.
Silicon computer chips soon will be able to perform digital, radio frequency and photonic functions in a single chip, BAE Systems claims now that it has been awarded $6 million under Phase II of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Electronic and Photonic Integrated Circuits (EPIC) program. "Based on our current advances, I foresee a viable mixed-signal electronic/photonic application in less than five years," said Mike Grove, BAE's EPIC program manager.
Under pressure from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to control costs, Boeing is trying to find "synergies" with its upcoming new, larger 747 commercial airliner that could make the installation of the laser on future Airborne Laser (ABL) aircraft less expensive than the first. The ABL team is working with Boeing's commercial aircraft division on "numerous" ideas, Boeing ABL Program Director Greg Hyslop said Sept. 26 during a briefing at the Air Force Association symposium in Washington.
Congressional defense appropriators have agreed to allow a multiyear contract for F-22A Raptor procurement, but decided against allowing foreign sales of the futuristic fighter after considering otherwise. Their conference agreement includes authority for a multiyear procurement of 60 F-22A aircraft, beginning with 20 fully funded aircraft in fiscal 2007, according to the legislation's report in the Congres-sional Record.
Lockheed Martin is developing a variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's electro-optical targeting system for use on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and hopes to fly a demonstration within the next year and a half. Known as ALERT (Advanced Low-observable Embedded Reconnaissance and Targeting), the package weighs about 225 pounds. Lockheed Martin envisions it possibly flying on UAVs such as General Atomics' Predator B, Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk, and the U.S. Navy's upcoming Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS-N).
Boeing and Northrop Grumman officials said Sept. 26 that they saw the draft request for proposals (RFP) for a tanker fleet replacement as a strong sign the Air Force was moving forward with its plans for the work. But what remains unclear is what requirements the service would make to handle international competition and foreign content concerns - and what impact those requirements could have on the tanker replacement participation.
AIR INTERCEPTS: The U.S. Coast Guard officially assumed responsibility for air intercept operations in the nation's capital from U.S. Customs and Border Protection in a ceremony Sept. 25 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The Coast Guard will support the North American Aerospace Defense Command with Coast Guard HH-65C helicopters and crews responsible for intercepting slow-flying, unauthorized aircraft that fly into an air defense identification zone surrounding Washington.
EADS Military Air Systems has recovered its Barracuda unmanned aerial vehicle demonstrator following its crash into the sea during a flight-test on Sept. 23. The Barracuda, developed with support from the German Defense Ministry, is a test bed for both reconnaissance and unmanned combat air vehicle (URAV/UCAV) applications. The second flight-test campaign, like the first, was being carried out from San Javier Air Force Base in Spain. The 25-feet-long design has a maximum takeoff weight of three tons.
NASA has picked principals to run its planned Red Planet Capital fund, a government-backed venture capital pool designed to spur development of technologies the agency can use in its ambitious solar system exploration program.
Equipment shortages and personnel challenges have increased for the Army National Guard and Army Reserve which, if left unattended, may hamper their preparedness for future overseas and domestic missions, congressional investigators told a special commission examining Guard and Reserve issues.
HAAWC TEST: Lockheed Martin Corp. said Sept. 26 that it successfully performed wind tunnel and wing separation tests of its High-Altitude Antisubmarine Warfare Weapons Concept (HAAWC) system, intended to enable P-3C aircrews to launch torpedoes from outside the range of enemy air defenses. Lockheed Martin is working under a 12-month, $3 million contract from the U.S. Navy to demonstrate delivery of the MK-54 lightweight torpedo from a P-3C aircraft operating about 20,000 feet above ground.
ANOMOLY: Intelsat has reported a "sudden and unexpected" anomaly on its IS-802 satellite, located over the Indian Ocean and African region at 33 degrees east longitude, and is studying to what extent capacity will be affected. The operator said it had recovered control of the spacecraft, a Lockheed Martin 7000 series unit launched in 1997, and is moving customers to other satellites. A similar Lockheed satellite, IS-804, experienced a failure in January 2005, but Intelsat said it is unclear if there is any connection between the two incidents.
NEW THRUST: Scant weeks after defending its strategy in the satellite service sector, SES Global has unveiled a new thrust of the group's service expansion plans - third party operator services. Last week, SES Astra TechCom, an affiliate of SES' European operation, said it would supply a pair of ground antenna systems for Vietnam's VinaSat-1 satcom satellite, along with training for Vietnamese operations personnel. The 12-month project will be handled with Hitec, a Luxembourg engineering and consulting company.
The U.S. Air Force is cutting its investment in the space radar program by about half - and the service wants the intelligence community to put up the rest of the money, said Gen. Kevin Chilton, commander of the Air Force Space Command. "This will likely be a topic of discussion this fall," Chilton said Sept. 26 during a briefing at the Air Force Association's conference in Washington.
Telesat plans to go ahead with an initial public offering, dashing expectations for now that a new round of satellite operator consolidation might be in the offing.
The House and Senate are expected to take up the fiscal 2007 Homeland Security spending bill now that negotiators for both bodies have reached an agreement on their differing versions. Leaders of both chambers plan to adjourn for the fall campaign season by Sept. 29. The conference agreement approved by House and Senate appropriators contains $34.8 billion in discretionary spending for the Homeland Security Department - including $1.8 billion in emergency spending for border security.
NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Lisa Porter defended the agency's restructured aeronautics program during a House Science subcommittee hearing Sept. 26, fielding questions from lawmakers skeptical that the program can remain relevant given its shrinking budget profile.
The U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization program, a joint Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman effort, appears set to receive an unprecedented level of funding for fiscal 2007. While final allocations are unclear, the FY '07 appropriations looks to be well above the Bush administration's request, and similarly occurred for the Customs and Border Protection's air and marine recapitalization account.
