Senate displeasure with the $615-million Boeing-Justice Department settlement that ended investigations of two Air Force contract scandals continued to build July 18 as the Senate Finance Committee chairman added his voice to concerns that the company was not specifically barred from exempting the charge from its taxes.
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report questions whether the Bush Administration's proposed $3 billion sale of 36 F-16 C/D Block 50/52 combat jets to Pakistan will help that country better battle terrorists or help solidify the American military aircraft manufacturing base as promised. "The Block 50/52 variant that is being proposed for export is the most advanced version of the F-16 flown by U.S. military forces," writes CRS aviation analyst Christopher Bolkcom in his July 6 report, "Combat Aircraft Sales to South Asia: Potential Implications."
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a maximum $224,417,752 firm-fixed-price contract for spare parts to support aircraft platforms for federal civilian agencies. This is a sole source competition with one solicited and one responded exercising option year one. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is July 7, 2007. Contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Richmond, Richmond, Va. (SP040005D9413). NAVY
AIR FORCE Boeing Co., Wichita, Kan., is being awarded a $39,616,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification. This action provides for engineering change proposal 0305, Sweden C-130 avionics modernization program engineering and manufacturing development. At this time, $19,808,000 has been obligated. This work will be complete January 2010. Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-01-C-0047/P00099).
The space shuttle STS-121 astronauts piloted Discovery to a safe touchdown July 17 in a dynamic weather situation at the Kennedy Space Center that forced a runway change 14 minutes before landing as the vehicle was at about Mach 10 off the coast of Central America. Mission commander USAF Col. Steve Lindsey, assisted by copilot Navy Cdr. Mark Kelly, and flight engineer Navy Cdr. Lisa Nowak piloted Discovery to a 9:14 a.m. EDT landing on Runway 15.
RETRIEVABLE DECOYS: The U.S. Air Force and BAE Systems said they have completed design, development and testing of a "conceptual" deployment and retrieval mechanism for the AN/ALE-55 fiber-optic towed decoy for use on F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft. The decoy's reel-out/reel-in mechanism would replace a dual-canister launcher. Retrievable decoys also are supposed to cut costs by allowing reuse of decoys. Additional ALE-55 flight tests on the F-15 also are evaluating a new fast-deploy mechanism, they said July 17.
Lockheed Martin Corp. and Alliant Techsystems announced July 17 that they have successfully test fired a first-stage booster motor under the Submarine-Launched Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile booster system demonstration for the U.S. Navy.
TANKS, BUT NO TANKS: Stefan Zoller, CEO of EADS Defence & Security Systems, says that as EADS turns toward acquisition to broaden both its portfolio and its backlog, the company's land systems strategy is likely to mirror the approach it's taken with naval systems. "You have not to own the manufacturing of armored vehicles, but we have to be in a position to integrate armored vehicles of any type," he says.
Only two weeks after winning its first-ever U.S. Defense Dept. prime contractor award, EADS is finding out just what it means to answer directly to the Pentagon, agreeing in a meeting last week to absorb the costs of moving the lift-hoist on the UH-72A light utility helicopter (LUH) from the aircraft's left side to the right.
AWACS TESTS: The Boeing Co. said July 17 that it has conducted a successful first test flight of an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft upgraded under the Block 40/45 program, the largest enhancement in the U.S. Air Force E-3 AWACS fleet's history. Boeing outfitted the test aircraft with new hardware and software, upgraded radar equipment, and navigation and communications systems for the July 15 flight. Airworthiness tests are scheduled for 24 more flights over the next few months.
NAME GAME: The U.S. Army's tradition of naming helicopters after Native American tribes won't go away with the Light Utility Helicopter, but which name to use can still be a thorny issue. EADS North America CEO Ralph Crosby quips that while the name "Lakota" has been proposed, the "program manager is from DA-kota, so I think we know how that's going to go."
The U.S. Air Force's design to become the lead Pentagon provider of electronic airborne surveillance is being erased by budget cuts, program problems and Navy successes with its own platforms, said Loren Thompson, military aviation analyst for the Lexington Institute. All of the Air Force surveillance platforms are facing hurdles now, Thompson said in his July 17 briefing, "Air Force Plans for Surveillance Planes Are in Disarray."
WELCOME ABOARD: As the U.K. government wrangles with how to protect its interests if British Aerospace goes ahead with plans to divest its 20 percent stake in Airbus, Tom Enders, co-CEO of parent EADS, offered during the weekend to welcome a British representative to EADS' board. "We certainly envisage" British representation, he told reporters during the weekend in the run-up to the Farnborough air show, but that person can't be linked to BAe.
The U.S. Army's multibillion-dollar decision to award EADS North America for the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) is an "outrageous decision completely at odds with supporting American industry," said Lynn Tilton, MD Helicopters Inc.'s acting chief executive.
COUNTERMEASURES: The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $49.5 million order for Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) hardware and support for the C-17 and C-130 cargo aircraft as part of a five-year indefinite deliver/indefinite quantity contract with an expected ceiling of $3.2 billion, the company announced July 17.
July 17 - 23 -- 45th Farnborough International Airshow 2006, Farnborough Aerodrome, Hampshire, England. For more information go to www.farnborough.com. July 24 - 26 -- Geospatial Intelligence, "Imagery Exploitation on All Fronts," Westin Arlington Gateway, Arlington, Va. For more information go to www.idga.org. July 31 - Aug. 2 -- Night Vision Systems 2006, "Addressing Key Issues in Night Vision Requirements and Technologies," Hilton Arlington, Arlington, Va. For more information go to www.idga.org.
