SALES UP, NET INCOME DOWN: Axsys Technologies Inc. said July 26 that sales rose 30% in the second quarter of 2005, but net income fell 20%. Sales were $33.4 million, compared with $25.7 million in the second quarter of 2004. Net income fell to $1.6 million, compared with $2 million for the same period a year ago. Operating income was up 47% to $3.3 million and operating margin rose to 10% from 8.8%, the firm said. The Rocky Hill, Conn.-based company designs, manufactures and distributes precision optical products for aerospace, defense and commercial customers.
The Pentagon has given the Army the go-ahead to develop and begin buying the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH), clearing the way for Bell or Boeing to be picked as the prime contractor within days. A two-sentence statement released by the Defense Department July 26 says DOD has given "Milestone B" approval for ARH to enter into a system development and demonstration phase. Low-rate initial procurement of 38 aircraft also was endorsed in the statement, which was initialed by Pentagon acquisition chief Ken Krieg.
TORPEDOES: Spain's cabinet has authorized its defense ministry to award a 10-year contract worth 76.3 million euros ($91.6 million) to purchase 40 torpedoes for its S-80 submarines, the country's defense ministry said. The contract will include related equipment, test installations, simulators, documentation, technical assistance and personnel training. The S-80 submarine protects Spain's naval task forces and has anti-ship and anti-sub capabilities that include long-range torpedoes.
Schneider Electric of Rueil-Malmaison, France, will acquire San Francisco-based BEI Technologies, which builds motors, sensors, optical and linear encoders and other products used in military, aviation and space systems. "This acquisition of a leading sensors specialist with strong brand names and excellent reputation for innovation and performance is a breakthrough for our customized sensors platform," Schneider CEO and Chairman Henri Lachmann said in a statement.
INCOME, SALES GROW: Crane Co., which manufactures engineered industrial products for the aerospace industry and others, reported July 26 that net income grew 14.4% in the second quarter of 2005 and sales climbed 10%. Net income was $35.7 million, compared with $31.2 million for the same period in 2004. Sales increased $46.5 million, from $479.1 million to $525.6 million. Crane Co. is headquartered in Stamford, Conn.
The U.S. Navy on July 26 announced that it would go to an all-digital nautical navigation regime by October 2009, in which traditional paper charts will be replaced with interactive, electronic systems throughout the surface and submarine fleet.
Senate leaders could not muster enough votes July 26 to cut off debate on the $441 billion, fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill, which still has a growing list of amendment proposals. Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist (Tenn.), Majority Whip Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called for the vote to invoke cloture, which would trim amendments to those that were immediately germane and end debate within 30 hours (DAILY, July 25).
(Editor's note: The following is excerpted from written responses by Gen. Peter Pace (USMC), nominated by President Bush to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to written questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee. He testified June 29, and was confirmed by the Senate on July 15.) Q: How do you believe the United States should respond to the Chinese military modernization program?
SHIP SUPPORT: Anteon International Corp. announced July 26 that it would provide acquisition management support services for the U.S. Navy's Program Executive Office for Ships, Acquisition Management Directorate, under a five-year deal worth $33.2 million. Anteon workers will supplement the directorate's staff at the Washington (D.C.) Navy Yard. PEO Ships is responsible for the acquisition and modernization of all non-nuclear surface ships, and Anteon noted in particular that it would help with combat system acquisitions.
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston is requesting information from potential subcontractors for the Crew Exploration Vehicle, which teams led by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman/Boeing are vying to build. NASA plans to downselect to one Phase II CEV prime contractor early next year as part of an effort to accelerate the program and minimize any gap between the 2010 retirement of the space shuttle and the CEV's debut.
Preparations continued without a hitch over the weekend at Kennedy Space Center in Florida as NASA counted down to its second attempt to launch Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-114, currently scheduled for 10:39 a.m. EDT July 26.
UAV PROGRAM: Spain has joined France, Italy and Norway in a 700,000 euro ($844,365) program to develop a technology demonstrator of a micro unmanned aerial vehicle, the Spanish prime minister's office said July 22. The vehicle will have a wingspan of 50 centimeters (19 inches) and weigh about one kilogram (2.2 pounds). It is to be able to fly forward and hover. The system will also include a lightweight ground control station. The four-year project began in 2004 and is set to be finished in 2007. Spain will share in about 13.5% of the program's value.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress last week of two pending sales of F-16 and F-15 aircraft equipment, accessories, and services in the Middle East that could be worth a combined total of $750 million. The possible sales focus on Israel and Bahrain and are necessary for maintaining their U.S. aircraft, DSCA said. Israel wants to buy a fleet management program for the Pratt & Whitney F-100 model engines used by its fleet of F-16s and F-15s, in a potential sale valued at $600 million.
MORE MESHED: The U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research has awarded a Herley Industries Inc. subsidiary a $1 million contract to strengthen ONR's OpenMesh system from ad-hoc routing protocols and high-speed connectivity into "robust and reliable" systems made up of radio technology, routing algorithms, military mission system specifications and "swarm" capabilities. The award was made to Innovative Concepts Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Herley Industries, the company said July 22.
An undisclosed Middle Eastern client has placed an order worth $4 million for Environmental Tectonics Corp.'s Gyrolab GL-1500 trainer, which helps pilots of high-performance aircraft deal with spatial disorientation. Spatial disorientation occurs when a pilot mistakes an aircraft's position and motion with respect to the Earth. The GL-1500 Advanced Spatial Disorientation Trainer uses three axes of motion and simulator technology to reproduce the common causes of this situation, the Southampton, Pa.-based company said July 25.
BAE Systems has started conducting flight-tests of the electronic warfare (EW) system it is developing for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, company officials said July 25. The EW device flew on a T-39 Sabreliner business jet-type aircraft out of China Lake, Calif., on July 18, 20 and 21 and is scheduled for two more flight missions on that plane the week of July 25-29.
URGENT ACORNS: The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command on July 15 awarded General Dynamics Corp. an almost $7 million contract to provide 1,550 "Acorn" Systems and accessories by next January. "The Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division has a requirement to procure Acorn Systems, which will provide critical force protection measures to patrols within Afghanistan," the Navy announced late July 20. The contract - not competitively procured - was awarded under Unusual and Compelling Urgency authority.
The U.S. Marine Corps has ordered up to $50 million worth of nonlethal and anti-terrorism force protection capability sets that include riot gear and vehicle nets for its bases and facilities worldwide. The Navy announced late July 22 that the Marine Corps Systems Command decided on Aardvark Tactical Inc. of Azusa, Calif., after a competition for an undefined number of sets and related training. The contract runs until July 2010, for which Aardvark also will act as warranty administrator between the Marines and the manufacturers of the items in the sets.
HADITHAH, Iraq - Light counter mortar radar (LCMR) used by Marines in northern Iraq to pinpoint launch points is little match against the surging guerilla warfare being waged in the region, according to one noncommissioned officer.
SUCCESSFUL: A Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile was launched July 25 from a B-1 bomber and is believed to have flown as planned, the second apparently successful test of the U.S. Air Force's stealthy cruise missile in less than a week. During a July 20 test, the Lockheed Martin-built missile hit its target after being fired from an F-16 (DAILY, July 22). The House Appropriations Committee has proposed killing the JASSM program based on earlier tests that failed.
