SPOKESMAN: The Senate Armed Services Committee on Dec. 19 favorably ordered that the nomination of J. Dorrance Smith as assistant secretary of defense for public affairs be reported to the full Senate for confirmation. Sen. Carl Levin (Mich.), the ranking SASC Democrat, had expressed discontent with Smith's assertions that there was an indirect relationship between U.S. media networks and Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al Qaeda through al-Jazeera.
HELO DELIVERED: Boeing Co. said Dec. 20 that it has delivered the first AH-64D Apache Longbow multirole combat helicopter for the Japanese government. The helicopter was received Dec. 15 in Mesa, Ariz., by Fuji Heavy Industries, which teamed with Boeing to produce the helicopter in Japan. Designated the AH-64DJP, the helicopter is the first production Apache to be delivered with air-to-air Stinger missile launcher capabilities. FHI will deliver two more of the Apaches to the Japanese government in March 2006.
The Government Accountability Office has denied a contract protest from Marine Industries NW, which said it was unfairly left out of a contract for repair services to Navy ships. The contract request for proposals, issued in March, contemplated the award of up to four fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts, under which the winners could compete for work.
Northrop Grumman will implement an emergency response management system for the U.S. Navy to support Navy police, firefighters and emergency medical services at shore locations in the continental United States, the company said Dec. 19. The work will be done under a two-year, $25.6 million contract. Northrop Grumman's Information Technology sector will provide the material to develop, deploy and maintain the Navy Emergency Response Management System.
The USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) is receiving structural and equipment upgrades to become the first U.S. Navy warship to accommodate the Marine Corps' MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The contracted upgrades are part of an array of maintenance and equipment modifications performed during the Kearsarge's shipyard period at BAE Systems in Norfolk, Va., until late February.
TRAINING: FlightSafety International Inc. will provide academic and simulator training for Navy UC-12B/F/M Huron turboprop utility transport aircraft, including pilot and aircrew training, under a $6.7 million contract, the Department of Defense said Dec. 19. The work will be done in Daleville, Ala., and is expected to be finished in October 2008.
The Government Accountability Office denied a contract protest by M&M Ret. Enterprises, which said the Air Force should have found the winning bid for information technology work from TD Support Services unacceptable.
Under a $50 billion immediate supplemental allotment to the Defense Department for Iraq and Afghanistan operations, congressional appropriators will fund Air Force Hellfire missiles for additional Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flights, as well as provide $3 million for the Pioneer tactical UAV.
SpaceX scrubbed the long-awaited first launch of its low-cost Falcon 1 rocket from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 19 because of a "structural issue" with the first stage fuel tank that must be repaired, the company said. "Consistent with our policy, we must be 100 percent green for launch with no outstanding concerns whatsoever," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a statement. "It is not just a matter of repairing the damage, but also understanding at a fundamental level how to ensure it never happens again."
House and Senate authorizers negotiating a fiscal 2006 defense authorization measure agreed to per-ship cost cap of $2.3 billion on the fifth DD(X) destroyer that the Navy contracts for, hoping to "discipline" the Navy but allow the program to continue. House Armed Services Committee aides told reporters Dec. 19 that the negotiators also maintained a prohibition on contracting the ship to just one shipyard - that is, one major shipbuilder.
The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence has awarded BAE Systems a GBP 130 million (USD $230 million) contract for combined maintenance and upgrade (CMU) work on the Royal Air Force's fleet of Tornado GR4 aircraft, the company said Dec. 16. Under the decade-long contract, BAE Systems Customer Solutions & Support will provide maintenance and upgrade work at RAF Marham for the Tornado Integrated Project Team.
The NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts is seeking "revolutionary" ideas for the aerospace agency's space exploration plan, NASA said Dec. 19. Responders from outside the agency are invited to submit 2006 Phase 1 proposals by Feb. 13, 2006, NASA said. NASA is seeking advanced concepts for systems and architectures that meet the agency's "grand visions," NASA said. The institute wants ideas that could help NASA's long-range plans.
Several defense shipbuilding contracts to Northrop Grumman Corp. will see a boost of $1.7 billion under a congressional deal that Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) announced Dec. 18. Under a $32 billion hurricane-disaster legislation, negotiators agreed to provide the extra Navy and Coast Guard funding to "ensure continuation of naval shipbuilding activities on the Gulf Coast," according to Cochran's office.
The Senate agreed to a bill on Nov. 16 that calls for the U.S. Coast Guard to play a "major role" in every federal response to natural disasters in the coastal United States or offshore area. The nonbinding language does not change previously established authority under the Defense and Homeland Security departments for domestic incidents.
The Global Positioning System satellite GPS IIR-14(M) spacecraft launched in September has been declared fully operational for GPS users worldwide, satellite builder Lockheed Martin said Dec. 19. It was launched Sept. 25 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and is the most technologically advanced GPS satellite ever developed, the company said. It has a modernized antenna panel that boosts signal power to ground receivers, has two new military signals for better accuracy and enhanced encryption and anti-jamming capabilities.
The Marine Corps wrapped up its "Agile Lion" demonstration at Yuma, Ariz., on Dec. 15, in which dismounted troops were able to send and receive data to airborne targeting pods via Northrop Grumman's Advanced Information Architecture (AIA) system.
ARMY General Electric Aircraft Engine, Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded on Dec. 15, 2005, a $177,879,422 firm-fixed-price contract for an overhaul and repair effort for the entire T700 family of engines. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 25, 2005. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Aug. 25, 2005. The Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. , is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-06-C-0038). NAVY
Congress has approved a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier fleet of 12 flattops, sparing the USS John F. Kennedy from being mothballed early and making Mayport, Fla., a nuclear-capable naval port. The decision is a relief to some Florida workers, shipbuilding advocates and the industrial base supplying aircraft carriers, which this year formed its own caucus to fight fleet reduction proposals (DAILY, Jan. 7).
