The 2,000-pound version of the Joint Precision Airdrop System, which uses precision-guided parachutes to deliver equipment and supplies to forces in remote areas or behind enemy lines, should be delivered this month, according to U.S. Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr.
LOGICAL: The Department of Defense's process for coming up with the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list was "generally logical, reasoned and well documented," the Government Accountability Office says in a required report on the DOD's recommendation and selection process. However, the report says that there are "clear limitations" on DOD savings estimates for this BRAC round, which is larger than all previous rounds combined.
Defense electronics and propulsion company DRS Technologies Inc. has acquired WalkAbout Computers Inc. from Scorpion Holdings in a stock purchase deal, the company said earlier this week.
A U.S. senator is urging the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to follow through on a pledge to hold contractors more accountable for their work on the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) said that an independent review team found that contractors were not doing all they could to ensure the program's success. Quality control problems have been blamed as a key cause of recent test failures.
Japan's Astro-E2 observatory is set to launch July 6, carrying a NASA-developed X-ray detector and other X-ray imaging and detecting instruments. Astro-E2 will study phenomena that radiate predominantly in X-rays, including black holes, the ejecta of star explosions and the optically invisible gas between stars and galaxies. The spacecraft's main instrument is the X-ray spectrometer developed jointly by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Md.
FMTV ORDERS: Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicle Systems will provide the U.S. Army with 1,706 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicle trucks and trailers under a $219.1 million contract modification, the company said June 29. The work will be done in Sealy, Texas, and is expected to be finished in 2008. Deliveries are set from June 2006 through September 2008. The company will increase its 2006 production capacity to meet the delivery schedule. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich.
Switzerland's cabinet has approved the sale of 180 M113 tanks which will go to Iraq, sparking protests that the deal hurts the country's longstanding principle of neutrality, the Swiss Information Service said June 29. The tanks, worth 12 million Swiss francs ($9.4 million), will be sold to the United Arab Emirates, which will give them to Iraq, Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said. The tanks are part of a Swiss army surplus and in good condition, it said.
JUDGMENT DAYS: The Bush Administration on June 30 sent Congress proposed legislation that would create two types of federal commissions, "sunset and results," to regularly review the performance of government agencies and programs and make recommendations for improvement. The Government Reorganization and Program Performance Improvement bill outlined seven-member commissions, which would be appointed by the president.
RECEIVER ASSEMBLIES: General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products has been awarded a $5.3 million contract to produce receiver assemblies for M2HB machine guns, the company said June 29. The receiver assemblies, which form the body of the weapon, will be used to refurbish machine guns at Anniston Army Depot, Ala. The assemblies will also be used as spare parts for fielded M2HBs. The work will be done at the company's Saco, Maine, facility. Program management will take place at the company's Burlington, Vt., facility.
LOS ANGELES - Project officials are anxious about unexpected outbursts from the comet 9P/Tempel 1 as the Deep Impact flyby and impactor spacecraft hurtle toward it for a July 4 EDT close approach and collision.
ASTM International plans to hold the next meeting of its unmanned aerial vehicle standards group in Dallas this November, according to ASTM Operations Manager Dan Schultz. Founded in 1898, ASTM specializes in the development of voluntary industry standards. The group kicked off an effort in 2003 to begin developing consensus technical standards for UAVs and related systems, with the goal of helping enable routine UAV flights in the national airspace (DAILY, Jan 21). Two so far
W. James McNerney Jr., Boeing Co.'s new chairman, president and CEO, gave some glimpses June 30 of how he will run the company. McNerney, 55, who was chairman and CEO of 3M, was named to replace Harry Stonecipher, who departed in March after an affair with a female executive. Stonecipher himself replaced Phil Condit, who left in December 2003 in the wake of a Pentagon contract scandal.
LANDING SYSTEMS: Herley Industries Inc. said June 29 that it received a $1.3 million, multiyear contract from the U.S. Navy for component repair of the Tactical Instrument Landing System (TILS) and the Automatic Carrier Landing Systems (ACLS). The systems are used on Navy F/A-18, EA-6B, F-14 and S-3 aircraft to provide pilots approach guidance information. The TILS is a manual system always used by the pilot, while the ACLS is used when the pilot requires assistance to land the aircraft, the Lancaster, Pa., company said.
In the next decade, terrorist groups "poised to attack the United States and actively seeking to inflict mass casualties or disrupt U.S. military operations" represent the most immediate challenge to the nation's security, according to the Strategy for Homeland Defense and Civil Support, released June 30.
President Bush's nominee to be the next chief of the U.S. Air Force on June 29 blamed the service's acquisition problems on too much downsizing, and committed to promoting the "traditional" procurement process. During a confirmation hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Teed Michael "Buzz" Moseley, currently the Air Force vice chief, said the failed Boeing tanker lease deal should have undergone an analysis of alternatives beforehand and that more acquisition officials on the job could have helped.
SUPPORT SERVICES: Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo, Calif., has been awarded a contract worth up to $62.5 million to provide support services to the Missile Defense Agency's senior leadership, the company said June 30. CSC will furnish scientific, engineering and technical assistance services to the MDA director's executive management team, focusing on ballistic missile defense programs. The effort will include engineering analysis of missile defense capabilities, program and acquisition planning and analysis and related defense program support.
Leaders of the first U.S. Air Force unit to field the new Sniper targeting pod praised the Lockheed Martin-built system June 30, saying it helped them find enemy weapons that could have been used to kill Americans or Iraqis.
Following a two-day flight readiness review at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA has chosen July 13 as the day it will attempt to launch space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-114 to the International Space Station. The agency has picked the first day of a launch window that extends through July 31. Primarily a flight to test new safety equipment and procedures in orbit, the mission will mark the first time the orbiter has flown since the loss of Columbia in February 2003.
Joe Davis has been appointed chief of strategic communications, and will oversee the offices of public, legislative and external affairs, as well as the Office of Education. David R. Mould has been named assistant administrator for the Office of Public Affairs.
ANTI-TORPEDO SYSTEM: The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has opted for three more AN/SLQ-25A torpedo countermeasure systems from ST Production Systems Inc. of Smithfield, Pa., under a $20.5 million contract modification announced June 28. The AN/SLQ-25A is a digitally controlled, modular design, electro-acoustic "soft-kill" countermeasure decoy system that defends ships against wake-homing torpedoes, acoustic-homing torpedoes, and wire-guided torpedoes. The units will be built in Smithfield and are expected to be ready by March 2007.
