FAA last week began full operational use of a new oceanic air traffic control system at its Oakland center, an important step in reducing separation and modernizing the way traffic is controlled on transpacific routes.
The Defense Department has delivered a classified report to Congress on the threat to the U.S. posed by an electromagnetic pulse, more than a year after members of a civil commission on EMP concluded that such an event could do trillions of dollars of damage to the country's critical infrastructure.
THAAD MISSILE: The first flight-test missile for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system has been shipped from its Lockheed Martin assembly plant in Troy, Ala., to the test site at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The test is slated to occur around Thanksgiving. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is developing THAAD mainly to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles as they transition from the midcourse phase of flight to the terminal phase.
Carl O'Berry, the former executive chairman of the Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium, said he is pleased with the progress the group has made in its first year of operations. Formally stood up in September of 2004, the NCOIC began as a group of 28 companies dedicated to creating industry standards and practices that will make their products interoperable and enable network-centric operations.
PAVEWAY: Raytheon Missile Systems has been awarded an $18.5 million contract modification for 140 production lot 2 Guided Bomb Unit-28C/B guidance control units and tail kits. The systems give the Air Force an improved aerial delivery capability for the 5,000-pound class BLU-122 warhead, the Defense Department said Oct. 19.
Australia's army, navy and air force are taking part in the country's largest annual national counterterrorism exercise, the defense ministry said Oct. 19. Naval vessels, air force aircraft, and army units, including special forces and reservists, are participating in this week's Exercise Mercury 05.
Raytheon's Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) completed a successful system function review late last month, marking its readiness to enter the system development and demonstration phase, the company said Oct. 20. The U.S. Department of Defense approved JLENS to begin the SDD phase in August (DAILY, Aug. 11). The system is intended to provide over-the-horizon detection and tracking of cruise missiles.
"Solid performance" by Textron's Bell, Cessna and Textron Financial units helped offset problems elsewhere in the company and resulted in a 12.3 percent gain in revenues for the third quarter of 2005. Revenues were $2.86 billion for the quarter, Textron reported Oct. 20. Earnings were $1 a share, up from the company's guidance of 85 to 95 cents. Hurricane Katrina shut down the company's Louisiana facilities, slightly reducing earnings, Textron said.
Establishing safety and the perception of safety among members of the public will be crucial to the growth and success of the space tourism industry, according to a panel of former astronauts and space entrepreneurs. Dennis Tito, the world's first space tourist, said that in his experience roughly half the people in a given room say they are willing to take a suborbital space flight for $50,000 or less.
Czech Republic-owned aircraft producer Aero Vodochody said it was awarded a contract this week to perform overhauls of Algerian L-39 military jet trainers. Financial terms were not disclosed. Aero will do the work in cooperation with longtime partner Pamco International of Prague. The companies will perform an audit of Algeria's repair center before furnishing technical assistance for the overhauls. Repairs of selected parts and assemblies also will be done.
SHIPBUILDING: The Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. almost $51 million for additional long lead-time materials in support of two Amphibious Transport Dock Ships, LPD 22 and LPD 23. Limited advance construction activities for LPD 22 are also included, according to an Oct. 18 Pentagon announcement. The work will be performed in New Orleans (88 percent) and Pascagoula, Miss., (12 percent), and is expected to be completed by January 2010.
PAVEWAY: Raytheon Missile Systems has been awarded an $18.5 million contract modification for 140 production lot 2 Guided Bomb Unit-28C/B guidance control units and tail kits. The systems give the Air Force an improved aerial delivery capability for the 5,000-pound class BLU-122 warhead, the Defense Department said Oct. 19.
The U.S. Army has begun having a "dialogue" with the Air Force about the possibility of jointly developing intelligence-gathering aircraft, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said Oct. 20.
Three British air force heavy lift CH-47 Chinook helicopters are being sent to Pakistan to help with earthquake disaster relief, the United Kingdom defense ministry said Oct. 19. The first of the aircraft will depart from Royal Air Force Odiham in North Hampshire on Oct. 22. They will be transported on C-17 cargo aircraft to Islamabad before flying into the affected area. A U.K. Operational Liaison Reconnaissance Team already is in Pakistan and will decide what tasks the Chinooks will perform.
Croman Corp. of White City, Ore., beat five other offers to win a one-year, $12.2 million U.S. Navy contract to provide airlift and recovery functions for all Hawaiian military ranges. A story Oct. 19 said the contract was not competitively procured due to incorrect information provided by the Defense Department.
British soldiers test-fired infantry rifles, machine guns and a grenade launcher during an exercise on Oct. 18, the defense ministry said. Among the weapons were a sniper rifle, the SA80A2 rifle and light support weapon, an underslung grenade launcher and the Minimi light machine gun, general purpose machine gun and heavy machine gun. Soldiers from the Infantry Training Centre Catterick fired the weapons at the Infantry Battle School in Brecon, Wales.
Northrop Grumman has selected Federal Equipment Co. of Cincinnati to design and build the advanced weapons elevator for the next-generation CVN 21 aircraft carrier, the company said Oct. 20. The company awarded the $50 million contract after a year-long design competition. Federal Equipment and its technology partner, MagneMotion, of Acton, Mass., now will develop a full-scale prototype elevator for land-based testing.
Jacksonville, Fla.-based Armor Holdings Inc., which produces vehicle armor and security products, reported a 74 percent jump in revenue and a 10.8 percent increase in net income for the third quarter of 2005. Revenue was $447.7 million for the quarter ending Sept. 30, compared with $256.8 million for the same period a year ago, the company said Oct. 20. Net income grew from $23.9 million, or 70 cents per share, to $26.5 million, or 74 cents per share.
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems will supply warheads for the Non-Line-of-Sight Launch Systems's Precision Attack Missile, Raytheon and NetFires LLC announced Oct. 20. The selection was based on an eight-month competition among warhead manufacturers, which included extensive live-fire testing, said Raytheon and NetFires, which is a joint venture of Raytheon Missile Systems and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
NASA is using the Hubble Space Telescope to search for oxygen-bearing minerals on the moon, which could be critical for sustaining a human presence there. The moon has no atmosphere, but minerals such as ilmenite could be used to generate oxygen for breathing or to power rockets, NASA said Oct. 19.
