PARTNERS: Boeing and Korea's NEX1 Future signed a memorandum of agreement on Oct. 20 to partner on Korea's EX airborne early warning and control aircraft program. NEX1, a Korean defense contractor, will supply VHF and UHF radios for Boeing's proposed 737 AEW&C system, Boeing said.
NATO has reduced barriers to military cooperation among its 26 member-countries in recent years, but improvement is still needed in several areas, a key U.S. general said Oct. 20. When it comes to NATO members talking with each other on the battlefield, maritime forces are the "most interoperable" component, and air forces are "the next most interoperable," said Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, head of U.S. European Command. Land forces need "the most work," Jones told The DAILY after speaking to the Defense Writers Group.
An influential voice in anti-terrorism circles said Oct. 19 that local officials, not the federal government, should lead the response to future terrorist attacks and natural disasters in the United States.
(Editor's note: The following is excerpted from written responses by Donald C. Winter, nominated by President Bush to be secretary of the Navy, to written questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee. He testified Oct. 6.) Q: If confirmed, what would your goals be for Navy and Marine Corps transformation? A: ... I would continue the transformation process. The Navy and Marine Corps are well on their way toward capitalizing new technologies, better business practices, and becoming more effective in personnel policies.
Matthew Thear has been appointed customer service manager. Maxim Ivanov has been appointed marketing and business development manager for the Asia Pacific Region for AirBridge Cargo, a company subsidiary. Sagami Katsuhiko has been appointed to head up AirBridge Cargo development in Japan. Alexander Mazilin will be in charge of hub development in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, for AirBridge Cargo. Bart Schellens, finance manager at AirBridge Cargo, will also take the position of regional director of finance, based in Amsterdam.
Australia's defense department has awarded Boeing a contract to provide the Joint Direct Attack Munition for its AIR 5409 Bomb Improvement Program. Australia is seeking an upgraded weapon system for its Boeing-built F/A-18 fighters. Boeing's offer included JDAM guidance kits, integration with the aircraft and operational support.
Honeywell reported an 8 percent increase in third-quarter 2005 sales, which reached $6.9 billion compared with $6.4 billion for the same period in 2004. Sales for the company's aerospace segment were up 6 percent overall, with a 9 percent growth from commercial markets and a 3 percent growth in defense and space sales, the company said Oct. 19.
General Dynamics posted 16 percent increases in both net sales and net earnings in the third quarter of 2005, the company said Oct. 19. Operating earnings also climbed 19 percent, while the company registered net sales gains in its information systems and technology, combat systems, marine systems, and aerospace segments. Those segments, with the exception of marine systems, also bettered their operating earnings compared with the third quarter of '04.
LAST LAUNCH: A Lockheed Martin Titan IV booster - the last one to be launched - successfully carried a National Reconnaissance Office satellite to space on Oct. 19 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. In all, 39 Titan IVs have been launched, 12 from Vandenberg and 27 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
The U.S. Navy captain in charge of developing and fielding the Littoral Combat Ship's modular mission packages said Oct. 19 that starting next year, his office will conduct annual searches for the latest technology to fit into them. The goal is to reach out to several suppliers to make sure the LCS sports the latest technology available in the short term instead of relying on one contractor promising a "silver bullet," said Capt. Walt Wright, program manager for LCS mission modules.
DHS FUNDED: President Bush on Oct. 18 signed the fiscal 2006 appropriations bill funding the Homeland Security Department. The $30.8 billion legislation includes $933 million for the Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization program and $400.2 million to the DHS for operations, maintenance and procurement of marine vessels, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and other equipment for the air and marine interdiction program.
The T-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer, built by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with help from Lockheed Martin, made its debut Oct. 18 at the Korea Aerospace & Defense Exhibition in Seoul. The companies are building the aircraft for Korea's air force but also plan to market it internationally. KAI is conducting ground and flight-tests of two production T-50s for delivery to the air force later this year. Five other T-50s are in final assembly and four more in major assembly, the companies said Oct. 18.
The U.S. Navy wants industry to begin looking at ways to prevent the use of improvised explosive devices, not just counter them, a service official said Oct. 19. "You might want to start thinking of how you would go about preventing IEDs," Roger Smith, the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for littoral and mine warfare programs, told an audience at the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement's 2005 Asymmetric Warfare Conference.
The Pentagon's joint task force working to counter improvised explosive devices will host a "lab forum" for interested industry vendors Dec. 8-9 and an industry day in early January. A story on the task force's industry outreach Oct. 19 reversed the dates due to mistaken information provided by a task force official. Companies looking to participate should e-mail [email protected] or call (703) 697-7118 to be put on a list for the events.
SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM: Sweden's Saab AB said Oct. 18 that it has signed a preliminary contract to provide Pakistan with an airborne surveillance system. Financial terms were not disclosed, and several issues must be settled before the contract is finalized, the company said. The system would include Saab 2000 turboprop aircraft equipped with Ericsson Microwave Systems' airborne radar system ERIEYE.
The head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) said Oct. 19 that the Defense Department's geospatial intelligence arm is on its way to developing a sensor- and platform-neutral processing system for digesting imagery data. Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper Jr., NGA's director, told the Defense Writers Group that the agency is transitioning between the first and second major phases of its Geoscout program, the core of its transformation effort to provide a digital architecture for geospatial intelligence.
Maj. Gen. Jack A. Davis (USMC Ret.) has been named to the board of directors. Davis was most recently Vice Commander, Marine Corps Forces Atlantic/Deputy Commander Marine Corps Forces Europe.
South Africa's air force has received four AgustaWestland-built twin-engine A109 Light Utility Helicopters powered by Turbomeca's Arrius 2K2 engines, France-based Turbomeca said Oct. 19.
