A U.S. Defense Department review of weapons has found that the military services have no large shortfalls but do have gaps in "niche" areas, including capabilities to safely destroy biological and chemical weapons, a Pentagon official said late Nov. 10.
The number of companies in the running to win an $805 million contract to produce nearly 200 armored personnel carriers for the Czech Republic's military has been reduced to two, the country's defense ministry said Nov. 9. Patria Vehicles Oy of Finland and Austria-based Steyr Consortium will submit their final proposals by Nov. 14.
Lockheed Martin, which has been reviewing options for fixing the U.S. Army's weight-challenged Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) program, plans to present its findings to the Army on Nov. 14. Army acquisition chief Claude Bolton is expected to be among the officials attending the briefing.
South Korea's air force has successfully test fired an AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missile, the Korean Overseas Information Service said Nov. 9. The missile, fired from an upgraded A-50 supersonic jet trainer, struck an unmanned target 1.5 miles away from the aircraft. The test took place over an air base in Sacheon in South Gyeongsang Province. The AIM-9L is a supersonic, heat-seeking missile equipped with a high-explosive warhead and an active infrared guidance system.
Northrop Grumman Chairman and CEO Ronald Sugar stressed the national importance of space exploration during a speech to the press in Washington Nov. 9, calling it crucial to future U.S. technology pre-eminence.
Commercial space company Spacehab reported a loss of $1.9 million for its first quarter of fiscal 2006 as continuing delays in NASA's space shuttle program hurt its bottom line. Spacehab, which builds modules and pallets that fly in the space shuttle, had reported net income of $7 million for the first quarter of last year. NASA returned the space shuttle to flight this year but promptly grounded the fleet again to deal with more foam issues.
The Senate late Nov. 8 agreed to the House's expanded version of amendments to the Iran Nonproliferation Act that would allow some U.S. payments to Russia in support of the International Space Station, such as paying to use Soyuz vehicles to reach the ISS. The Senate's agreement clears the bill to be signed by President Bush. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin praised the move, saying it "helps to ensure the continuous presence of U.S. astronauts" on the space station.
ELECTRIC LASER: Northrop Grumman Corp. said Nov. 9 that the electrically driven, solid-state laser laboratory demonstrator it has developed for the U.S. Defense Department's Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program produced a 27-kilowatt beam with a run time of 350 seconds, exceeding the requirement for a 25-kilowatt device that runs for 300 seconds. The results seem to boost the company's chances of winning a contract for the program's next phase: developing a 100-kilowatt laboratory demonstrator.
H. Jeffrey Leonard has resigned as chairman of the board of directors, effective Nov. 30. Leonard Moodispaw, the company's CEO and president, has been appointed chairman of the board of directors, also effective Nov. 30.
The House Armed Services Committee has promised to expand its probe into the Defense Logistics Agency's $7 billion prime vendor contract vehicle, including calling some food services contractors on the carpet for alleged price gouging.
CONFERENCES AGREED: The House voted Nov. 9 to approve the House-Senate conference report for a bill funding NASA for fiscal 2006, as well as an appropriations bill that excluded Energy Department funds for a proposed nuclear bunker-busting bomb. The House voted 397-19 to approve the bill including NASA's $16.5 billion budget, and 399-17 on the agreement about the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator.
