BAE Systems' Nimrod MRA4 maritime reconnaissance and attack aircraft has successfully completed a series of hot-weather trials during a 10-day deployment to Sicily, the company said Aug. 11. The tests were conducted by a joint BAE Systems-British air force crew in daytime temperatures of 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The aircraft was based at an Italian air force facility in Sigonella. A contract bid to produce a 12-aircraft Nimrod MRA4 fleet was submitted to the United Kingdom defense ministry last month. A decision is expected later this year.
EADS Defence Electronics will supply electronic core components for the EuroDASS Eurofighter self-protection system, the company said Aug. 12. The contract, to provide the systems for the 236 aircraft of the tranche 2 delivery, is worth EUR 260 million (USD $312 million) and is part of the EuroDASS (Defense Aids Subsystem) program, a system designed to increase the survivability of combat aircraft.
With congressional staff working to hammer out a compromise between the House and the Senate over the U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization program, a picture is emerging that President Bush's $966 million request won't be met and elements of the program will at least be trimmed.
Aug. 15 - 16 -- IPv6, "Understanding DOD's compliance requirements and latest challenges for implementation," Holiday Inn Tysons Corner, McLean, Va. For more information go to www.technologytraining.com. Aug. 15 - 19 -- Rotary Wing Technology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Penn. For more information go to www.outreach.psu.edu/c&i/rotarywing. Aug. 16 - 20 -- International Aviation & Space Salon / MAKS, Zhukosky, Moscow. For more information go to www.maks.ru.
A trio of Republican senators and one Democrat are looking to boost authorized funding for various missile defense efforts, including the U.S.-Israel Arrow ballistic missile defense system and futuristic interceptor materials. The efforts, via possible amendments to the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill, follow proponents' acknowledgements that missile defense spending may have to be sacrificed in light of ongoing war costs and testing setbacks (DAILY, May 16).
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), chairman of the House Armed Services projection forces subcommittee, remains skeptical about the U.S. Navy's next-generation DD(X) destroyer, despite considerable efforts by the ship's proponents to buttress the program. Speaking to reporters Aug. 9 in Westminster, Md., Bartlett said the Navy's latest plans to build just one DD(X) a year over the next five years makes the program more a catalyst for technology than a shipbuilding effort.
The Army's Rapid Equipping Force is developing a "very promising" new mini unmanned aerial vehicle called TACMAV that the service picked up from classified users, according to REF Director Col. Gregory Tubbs. Manufactured by Applied Research Associates Inc. of Albuquerque, N.M., the TACMAV (Tactical Mini Air Vehicle) has a wingspan of roughly 21 inches. Its flexible wings can be folded around its fuselage, allowing the entire UAV to be stored in a tube or in a soldier's backpack. When pulled out of the tube, the folded wings automatically snap into place.
Australia's government has approved the first phase of a navy amphibious ships project worth AUD 2 billion (USD $1.5 billion), the country's department of defense said Aug. 11. The government has committed AUD 29.8 million (USD $23 million) to the design and development of two ships that will be used for combat operations, regional disaster relief, humanitarian aid, peacekeeping and peace monitoring, Defence Minister Robert Hill said in a statement.
Northrop Grumman said Aug. 10 that it will provide two additional RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles to the U.S. Air Force under a $21 million contract. The new Global Hawks will join an advanced concept technology demonstration version already in service supporting anti-terrorism operations, the company said. Global Hawks have flown more than 4,300 combat hours during 200 missions, the company said.
NASA and Boeing are flight-testing new technologies for making aircraft quieter using a specially modified 777 passenger jet as part of NASA's Quiet Technology Demonstrator 2 program, the agency announced Aug. 10. Technologies under consideration include new designs for "scalloped" edges on jet engine exteriors and toboggan-like fittings that cover landing gear. Engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., conducted initial testing on the concepts using wind tunnels and computer simulations.
Irvine Sensors Corp. said Aug. 11 that it posted a 75% gain in revenues in the third quarter of 2005 and reduced the amount of its net loss to less than $100,000. Driven by gains in research and development, revenue for the period ending July 3 grew from $3.5 million the year before to $6.2 million, the company said. R&D accounted for $5.6 million of the third quarter 2005 total. R&D revenue for the same period a year ago was $3.2 million.
Weight is expected to be a key challenge for the U.S. Army's Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor (JLENS) system when it heads into its development phase, an industry official said Aug. 11. The program will have to squeeze several items onto a JLENS aerostat, which will have room for about 5,500 pounds of payload, said Ralph Acaba, who manages JLENS for prime contractor Raytheon Co. Items that will have to fit include radios, cooling and power-generation systems and a radar.
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), an advocate of boosting the military's armored ground vehicle fleet, has targeted $390.1 million in additional funds for U.S. Army tactical wheeled vehicles.
Space Adventures Ltd. announced that it is selling two commercial seats on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that could be launched on a trip around the moon by the end of the decade. The seats in the three-person spacecraft would be priced at $100 million each, with the third seat reserved for the cosmonaut pilot. Space Adventures said it has identified more than 1,000 people around the world with the resources to buy tickets, and some have expressed interest.
ON THE WAY: Northrop Grumman cut one of the first pieces of steel, a 15-ton plate for a side shell unit, for the first of the next-generation CVN 21 aircraft carriers, the company said Aug. 11. The company also opened the Newport News sector's new heavy-plate bay facility, one of several new facilities for CVN 21 construction.
New Mexico's Republican and Democratic senators are calling for $3 million more to be authorized to U.S. Air Force research and development funds to study "the reliability of field programmable gate arrays for space applications." Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici say the R&D should include design of an assurance strategy, reference architectures and radiation hardening, as well as "outreach" to industry and localities to develop core competencies for the devices, which process information.
Satellite communications company Intelsat's revenues rose 11% for the second quarter of 2005, but it still had a net loss, the company reported Aug. 11. Intelsat recorded revenue of $289.8 million for the quarter, up 11.3% over the same period last year. The company largely attributed the increase to a jump in lease services as well as the acquisition of Comsat General last year.
The launch of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter from Cape Canaveral, Fla., was put off 24 hours while engineers addressed a software problem with the Atlas V rocket's fuel sensor system. The problem was discovered the morning of Aug. 11 during fueling of the rocket, when a fuel gauge showed a faulty "dry" reading. Engineers didn't have enough time to troubleshoot the issue before the launch window closed, according to NASA.
BLACK HAWKS: Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) has submitted an amendment to the Senate's pending fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill that would boost the U.S. Army's UH-60 Black Hawk replacement fund from $29.7 million to $40.6 million. The move would allow the Army to buy four replacement helicopters instead of two. Lieberman would take the additional money from Black Hawk medical evacuation kit funds, which would cut the buy of those from 10 to six.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has signed a contract to provide aircraft maintenance and other support services to the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force for its fleet of E-3D Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, the company said Aug. 11. The company was selected over Boeing to do the work under the Sentry Whole Life Support Program by the U.K. Ministry of Defence last year (DAILY, Aug. 6, 2004).
NUMBERS DOWN: Revenue, income from operations and net income all fell for CPI Aerostructures in the second quarter of 2005, the company said Aug. 11. The firm, which makes structural aircraft parts mostly for the U.S. Air Force, reported revenue fell 12% to $6.3 million from $7.1 million the year before. Income from operations decreased 44%, from $1.5 million to $867,817. Net income dipped to $509,193 from $963,199, a 47% drop.
Simulation and modeling technologies provider CAE Inc. of Montreal posted a 15% jump in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal year 2006, the company said Aug. 11. Revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2006 was CDN 266 million (USD $221.3 million), compared with CDN 230.9 million (USD $192.1 million) for the same period a year ago. The company attributed the boost to higher simulation products revenues in its civil and military segments.
