U.S. intelligence agency analysts are using imagery from the eight to nine largest National Reconnaissance Office imaging spacecraft to keep an especially close watch on the several hundred miles of Iranian coastline along the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.
While Northrop Grumman is hoping the recent Hezbollah missile attacks on Israel will create interest in its Skyguard chemically powered high-energy laser weapon system either abroad or for American homeland security, it's clear that the U.S. Army wants to wait for a more tactical and mobile system. While more mobile and cheaper than earlier planned high-energy laser (HEL) proposals, Skyguard lacks the mobility of solid-state high energy systems the Army would rather have, according to Northrop and Army officials.
Iran has "hundreds" of technical advisors in Lebanon that have trained -- and continue to support -- Hezbollah forces in the use of sophisticated anti-ship and anti-tank missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Aviation Week & Space Technology is reporting in its Aug. 14 edition. While no evidence has yet emerged publicly that Iranians are operating weaponry in combat or even trained Hezbollah insurgents, the magazine quotes a U.S. intelligence official as saying, "It's not just a matter of turning weapons over to Hezbollah."
The Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., is embarking on a follow-on to its recently demonstrated Aerospace Relay Mirror System (ARMS) in an effort to prove that laser relay mirrors can be made deployable and operationally effective. 'Not our decision' AFRL's future vision is for a system small enough to be carried on an airship that could relay and redirect high-energy laser beams fired from other platforms to destroy mortars, missiles or other targets.
The Block III Apache helicopters will have net-centric communications and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control capabilities that should make the aircraft the technological templates for U.S. Army air power development, Army and Boeing officials said Aug. 9. The communications and UAV control will be the foundation for future Apache and Army aviation success, the officials said.
SUPPORTING STENNIS: NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi has exercised the first $42.4 million option of a six-year contract with Sverdrup Technology Inc. of Tullahoma, Tenn., to support propulsion test operations at Stennis and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Stennis also has awarded Mississippi Space Services a one-year contract extension to provide facility operating services at Stennis. The extension is valued at $61.6 million. Mississippi Space Services is a joint venture of Computer Sciences Corp.
APACHE HELOS: U.S. Army and Boeing officials acknowledge that Israel is using Block A and Block D Longbow Apache helicopters against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. The Longbow's digital control system, advanced cockpit and battlefield connectivity to ground and other air platforms should make it ideal for such battles, officials said. Israel also has developed its own internal communications network for use in its Apaches, the officials said.
A U.S. Navy Tomahawk Block III cruise missile was launched Aug. 8 from an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer underway in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California. The Navy said the vertically launched Tomahawk missile transitioned to cruise flight and flew a fully guided 560-nautical mile test flight using Global Positioning Satellite and digital scene-matching area correlator navigation to a target on a Naval Air Systems Command land range.
The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Corp.'s Bath Iron Works (BIW) a $115.8 million contract to start DDG-1000 destroyer detail design and procurement of vendor-furnished information (VFI) to support it. The total value of the detail design effort is $336.26 million, with $78.54 million funded at contract award for advanced zone detail design, the Defense Department said late Aug. 8. The remaining detail design is included in a priced option valued at $257.72 million.
Raytheon Co. and the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command have finalized a $95.4 million contract modification for lightweight and heavyweight torpedo hardware, engineering and support services, the company said Aug. 9. The result boosts fiscal 2006 procurement quantities to the consolidated torpedo contract awarded to Raytheon in 2004. Also awarded was a $5 million modification for torpedo spares, production engineering and technical support for fleet operational requirements for the U.S. and Royal Australian Navy's light- and heavyweight torpedoes.
Lockheed Martin Corp. and Alliant Techsystems said Aug. 8 that they successfully test fired a second-stage booster motor under the Submarine-Launched Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile Booster system demonstration for the U.S. Navy. It was the second static test firing conducted this summer under the 16-month, $9.2 million demonstration effort (DAILY, July 18).
DRS Technologies Inc. announced Aug. 8 that General Dynamics Corp. selected it for a new $186 million contract, including options, to design and produce sets of "Integrated Fight Through Power" systems for the U.S. Navy's planned DDG-1000 destroyers, formerly known as the DD(X) class. DRS will provide detailed design, development, qualification and production of advanced-power conversion modules for the DDG-1000 Ship Service Distribution System through March 2016.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Aug. 8 awarded Northrop Grumman $55.4 million for the third and final phase of the government's program to assess the feasibility of installing infrared countermeasures on commercial airliners.
Under a new management plan finalized by the Pentagon, the military's proposed Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) will have centralized funding, engineering and program development authority, which defense officials say should ease tensions between the Defense Department and prime contractor Boeing. Approved by Defense Deputy Secretary Ken Krieg, the plan consolidates authority, direction and control of JTRS by the joint program executive officer through the Navy. The Pentagon released details of the new arrangement on Aug. 8.
General Dynamics Land Systems said Aug. 7 that it has been awarded a $134.6 million contract by the U.S. Army to upgrade 60 M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks to the System Enhancement Package configuration. Sixty additional Abrams could also be upgraded under a $145 million option. The improvements will include better armor, second-generation thermal sights and a new command and control system, the company said.
GUN ASSEMBLIES: General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products said Aug. 8 that it has been awarded a $5.5 million contract to produce receiver assemblies for the U.S. Army's M2HB machine gun. The receiver assemblies form the body of the weapon. They will be used as spare parts for M2HBs in the field and to refurbish machine guns at Anniston Army Depot, Ala. Deliveries will run from January through October 2007. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive Command, Rock Island, Ill.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the U.S. Army will buy at least 37 Longbow Fire Control Radars (FCR) for Apache helicopters in a $125 million deal with Longbow Limited, company officials announced Aug. 8. The UAE will buy 30 FCRs, while the U.S. Army is slated to buy seven with an option to purchase an additional six or more, said Richard Russell, president of Longbow Limited, a limited liability company formed by Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.
The Defense Department said Aug. 7 that two companies have been awarded delivery orders worth a combined $73 million to provide the U.S. Army with outer tactical vest conversion kits in universal camouflage. Point Blank Body Armor Inc. of Pompano Beach, Fla., has won a delivery order worth $37.2 million as part of a $169.4 million firm-fixed-price contract. The work will be done in Pompano Beach, Fla., and is expected to be finished by Aug. 8, 2008.
Four conservative senators have tried and failed to get the Senate to provide an additional $1 billion to the Homeland Security Department's Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection agencies to accelerate needed air and marine acquisition projects.
Croman Corp. has won another U.S. Navy contract worth $12 million to provide airlift and recovery functions in support of all Hawaiian military ranges, the Defense Department said Aug. 4. The base-year entails 2,510 flight hours of work, which will be based at Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii. It is expected to run through August 2007. Croman received a similar award last October (DAILY, Oct. 19, 2005).
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico has tested a Boeing-developed prototype relay mirror for redirecting high-energy laser beams that could one day be carried by airships.
