Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he will seek to repeal a fiscal 2006 appropriations provision for the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon because it could separate the program from the Army's Future Combat Systems and result in higher costs.
Two Chinese astronauts safely returned to Earth early Oct. 16 local time after spending nearly five days in Earth's orbit, the China Internet Information Service said. Astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng landed in the Shenzhou VI's re-entry capsule at 4:33 a.m. and were in "fine condition" after being examined by doctors. The capsule touched down just one kilometer (.62 miles) from the planned target area.
REWORKING: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. will conduct a special progressive aircraft rework in fiscal 2006 of a VH-3D presidential helicopter under a $6 million modification to a previous contract, the Department of Defense said Oct. 17. The work is expected to be completed in September 2006.
CACI International Inc. said Oct. 17 that it has completed its purchase of National Security Research Inc. of Arlington, Va. Financial terms were not disclosed. NSR provides professional and analytic security services and products to federal government, aerospace, and defense industry customers. It is an employee-owned firm with about 100 workers and 50 consultants in Virginia, New Mexico, and client sites around the country.
The U.S. Navy has awarded a $223.3 million contract to General Dynamics for detail design and construction of the second Littoral Combat Ship. The company's team will begin construction this month, and ship delivery is scheduled for October 2007, according to a Naval Sea Systems Command announcement.
Bell Helicopter Textron has received a $30.2 million order under a previously awarded contract to repair various components of the AH-1W Super Cobra and UH-1N Huey helicopters, the Defense Department said Oct. 17. The work will be done in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be finished by December 2006. The contract was awarded by the Naval Inventory Control Point, Philadelphia, Pa.
Researchers are investigating waterjets as a safe and lower-cost method for anti-landmine operations for the U.S. military, including on unmanned vehicles, according to a leading academic in the field. David Summers, curators' professor and director of the Rock Mechanics and Explosives Research Center at the University of Missouri-Rolla, said the "incredibly simple" technology can be easily applied on land and underwater.
Arianespace will launch two Spirale microsatellites for EADS Astrium, the company said Oct. 17. The Spirale spacecraft will be launched in 2008 on an Ariane 5. EADS Astrium is building the spacecraft on behalf of the French defense procurement agency. The Spirales are part of a demonstrator space-borne optical early warning system for detecting the launch of ballistic missiles. The system eventually will be "a strategic component in a ballistic missile defense system," Arianespace said.
Boeing successfully demonstrated the boost-phase performance of the hypersonic strike vehicle HyFly in the second of five planned flights, the company said Oct. 17. In the Aug. 26 test at the Navy's sea range at Pt. Mugu, Calif., a Boeing F-15E launched the HyFly, at which time the vehicle's solid-rocket booster ignited and propelled the vehicle to a speed greater than Mach 3. In the first flight-test, conducted in January, an unpowered HyFly demonstrated safe separation from an F-15 as well as guidance and control functions.
DROPPING OUT: The Space Frontier Foundation said it has dropped out of the multi-group Space Exploration Alliance, saying it was not doing enough to promote real space exploration. Foundation Chairman Bob Werb said in an Oct.
SSGN CONVERSION: The Naval Sea Systems Command awarded General Dynamics Corp.'s Electric Boat division in Groton, Conn., a $162.4 million award to convert the USS Georgia from an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine to an Ohio-class guided missile submarine, SSGN 729. The conversion will be conducted concurrently with the ship's engineered refueling overhaul being performed at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Va. The conversion is supposed to be done by September 2007.
Goodrich Corp. will supply the flap actuation package for Airbus' A400M military transport aircraft, and Aerolec, its joint venture with Thales, will supply the main and auxiliary power unit generators for the aircraft's electrical power generation system. The flap actuation contract is Goodrich's first A400M contract, Brian Gora, president of the company's Actuation Systems division, said in an Oct. 17 statement. The company provides flight control actuation systems for all current Airbus models.
Colombia is seeking two UH-60L medevac Black Hawk helicopters and related equipment and services in a deal that could be worth up to $43 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress Oct. 14. Colombia wants the helicopters equipped with T700-GE-701C or 401C engines, spare and repair parts, communications and support equipment and other related equipment and services, DSCA said. The helicopters would be "of critical value" in setting up a Colombian army search and rescue/medevac program, DSCA said.
The U.S. Air Force began its first practice deployment of the Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor over the weekend, but a technical glitch left it without its full complement of eight jets.
The U.S. Air Force is considering replacing its aging Minuteman III nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile by incrementally upgrading the existing system until it evolves into Minuteman IV, rather than by buying a new missile outright. An incremental modernization approach would be more affordable than a new system and would still significantly improve missile performance and reduce ownership costs, said Col. Richard Patenaude, chief of the deterrence and strike division in Air Force Space Command's requirements directorate.
Johnstown, Pa.-based Concurrent Technologies Corp. announced Oct. 17 that it was awarded a five-year, $150 million contract from the Office of Naval Research to continue to operate the Navy Metalworking Center, whose purpose is to transition advanced metalworking technologies to build new naval weapon systems. In a statement, Concurrent CEO Daniel DeVos said the center's work would be applied to the proposed CVN-21 aircraft carrier and the DD(X) destroyer, the Joint Unmanned Aircraft System, the Littoral Combat Ship and the M777 Lightweight Howitzer.
The U.S. military is continuing to provide a variety of aircraft to help survivors of the deadly Oct. 8 earthquake in Pakistan, the Defense Department said. Two U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster IIIs and three C-130 Hercules aircraft have transported more than 141,300 pounds of supplies, and Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26 sent two aircraft and 25 sailors to Pakistan on Oct. 15 and 16.
CONFERENCE: Congressional negotiators working out differences between the House and Senate over fiscal 2006 appropriations for the Defense Department will be pressed to find common ground on naval shipbuilding. The Bush administration requested $8.72 billion for four new ships including one Virginia-class submarine, one Littoral Combat Ship and one T-AKE dry cargo/ammunition ship.
Oct. 18 - 19 -- 3rd Annual Interoperability Tools & Case Studies, Georgetown University Conference Center, Washington, D.C. For more information call 1-800-882-8684 or go to www.idga.org. Oct. 18 - 20 -- Aviation Week's MRO Europe Conference & Exhibition, Hotel Estrel & Convention Center, Sonnenallee 225, Berlin, Germany. For more information go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences.
LANDING CEV: NASA and the industry teams competing to build the Crew Exploration Vehicle know that the CEV will parachute down onto dry land in the western U.S., but its precise method of touching down safely still is being debated. According to Boeing CEV Deputy Program Manager Leonard Nicholson, engineers are weighing several options: installing an airbag under the vehicle to absorb the impact, designing a "crushable zone" of material between the heat shield and the pressure compartment to absorb the shock, or employing retro rockets to slow the descent.
