The House Armed Services Committee has authorized $49.1 billion in supplemental funding in fiscal 2006 for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and antiterrorism efforts elsewhere. The move, which came May 18 as the committee marked up the FY '06 defense authorization bill, followed the Senate Armed Services Committee, which May 13 authorized $50 billion. With U.S. involvement in Iraq facing its third anniversary next March, and no withdrawal formally planned yet, many lawmakers have said the costs of military operations are increasingly known.
NASA is studying the phaseout of the Air Force's Titan IV rocket and other programs as it forms its plan for retiring the space shuttle and introducing the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) - a plan being anxiously awaited by shuttle contractors worried about retaining their work force and expertise during the transition.
A U.S. Air Force general insisted May 18 that the Defense Department's overall Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) is not in trouble despite problems that have arisen with part of the communications program. Lt. Gen. William Hobbins, Air Force deputy chief of staff for warfighting integration, said the MIDS JTRS cluster and the Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Station (AMF) JTRS cluster are on track, even though they plan to draw on some of the technology being developed by the embattled, Army-led Cluster 1.
Lockheed Martin has signed a contract with the Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) of Japan to build its next geostationary telecommunications satellite, BSAT-3a. The 1.8-kW spacecraft will provide direct broadcast services throughout Japan following launch during the second quarter of 2007. BSAT-3a will be based on Lockheed Martin's A2100A satellite bus, which is built at company facilities in Newtown, Pa.
Axsys Technologies Inc. of Rocky Hill, Conn., has received the initial infrared lens production order release from BAE Systems for the U.S. Army's Thermal Weapon Sight II (TWS) program, the company said May 18. The order is worth $4.4 million, and the work could be worth up to $24 million over five years, depending on Army demand.
NEW DELHI - India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has completed 406 test flight sorties, according to the Aeronautical Development Agency. Technology Demonstrator-1 and Proto Vehicle-1 were flown last week for 47 minutes each, the agency said. The flight tests were conducted to calibrate air data systems at different altitudes and speeds for TD1, which is now ready to explore the flight envelope further. TD-1 has been fitted with a new nose air data probe after its 75- hour scheduled servicing.
A new national space policy that apparently features more robust language on space weapons is in draft form and should be issued soon by the White House, analysts said. The last policy, published in 1996 by the Clinton Administration, was not as strong as some would have liked on space control and the Bush Administration's update is expected to be more forward-leaning in that regard, said John Pike of Global Security.org in Alexandria, Va.
The battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan are "rife with examples" of net centric warfighting that have changed the way U.S. service members engage the enemy, a Raytheon Co. official says. Dean W. Cash, director for joint concepts and experimentation for Raytheon NetCentric Systems (NCS) and director of the Net Centric Enterprise Priority, made the comment at a Raytheon press briefing in Arlington, Va., on May 18.
VALIDATION: NASA has awarded Titan Corp. of Reston, Va., and Northrop Grumman Information Technology of Falls Church, Va., contracts worth up to $200 million for Independent Verification and Validation of Software Services, NASA said. The work will be done at NASA's IV&V facility in Fairmont, W.Va., and other locations. The verification will determine whether software safety requirements are being fulfilled. The validation determines whether software designed for an intended use meets the agency or mission needs.
The House Armed Services Committee agreed May 18 to add $86.7 million in advance procurement funds to the futuristic CVN-21 aircraft carrier to speed it up a year, assuming the funds actually do so, and overlooked Navy objections to limit the service's foreign ship leasing to two years.
DISPLAY SUPPORT: The Boeing Co. was awarded an $8.8 million contract modification to provide engineering, logistics and program management services supporting development and low-rate initial production activities for the Advanced Mission Computer and Displays system for the F/A-18 and AV-8B aircraft, the Defense Department said May 16. The work, awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command, is expected to be complete in June 2006.
The first combat-capable F/A-22 Raptor fighter has been delivered to the 27th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Wing, at Langley Air Force Base, Va., the Air Force said May 18. The fighter was delivered May 12, joining three other Raptors, one of which is used as a maintenance trainer and the others are used for pilot training.
AUTHORITY BOOSTED: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has boosted budget authority for the Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization program to $1.6 billion, well above the fiscal 2006 request for $966 million. However, the committee's approval came a day after the House approved just $500 million for Deepwater in FY '06 as part of the Homeland Security Department's annual spending bill.
Carl A. Alleyne has been named vice president, components, commercial and overhaul and repair for the Electronic Systems sector, headquartered in Woodland Hills, Calif. Mark Casady has been named vice president, navigation and positioning systems for the Electronic Systems sector. Gorik Hossepian has been named vice president, situational awareness systems for the Electronic Systems sector. Robert L. Gunter has been appointed sector vice president, operations, for the Newport News sector, Newport News, Va.
Boeing's X-45A unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) began testing its fourth and final software upgrade with its 51st flight at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center earlier this month, paving the way for a final "graduation demonstration" expected in August. The two X-45A prototypes and their T-33 surrogate aircraft are expected to fly 10-15 missions total as part of this last block of testing, including the graduation demo ñ a multi-aircraft simulation of a suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) mission.
