The U.S. Air Force is taking a hard look at how it will support the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS), a top general said April 28. The Air Force is evaluating such things as how to resupply FCS units and how to meet the Army's desire to be able to transport the system through hostile territory, said Gen. John Jumper, Air Force chief of staff. FCS, which is under development by a Boeing-SAIC team, is designed to be a network of unmanned aerial vehicles and manned and unmanned ground systems.
The U.S. Air Force has decided to recompete most of its C-130 avionics upgrade program to address claims that the Boeing Co. received preferential treatment when it was picked to be the prime contractor. The Air Force said April 28 that the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) will hold a new competition for two future phases: production and installation. Boeing will remain the contractor for AMP's development, which has been under way for several years.
DEDICATED: Boeing held a ceremony April 27 to mark the official opening of its new Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. SLC-6 is the new West Coast launch site for the Boeing Delta IV, which supports the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. The site will give the Air Force the capability to launch national security satellites to polar, sun-synchronous and high-inclination orbits, the company said April 28. The first launch of a Delta IV from the site is scheduled for later this year.
A squadron of U.S. Air Force Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be permanently stationed on the island of Guam in 2008 or 2009, according to Gen. Paul Hester, commander of Pacific Air Forces.
Armament and defense electronics company EDO Corp. reported revenue of $116.5 million in the first quarter of 2005, up 5% from the $110.9 million recorded in the same period of 2004.
Thales will offer expanded sales, support and maintenance for the aerospace industry in a new expansion in Singapore, which will be built by local company Ascendas. Ascendas will own, develop and manage the property for Thales, which will be the sole tenant, the Paris-based company said April 28.
(Editor's note: The following is excerpted from written responses by Kenneth J. Krieg, who has been nominated to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, to written questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee. Krieg testified April 21). Q: How important is it, in your view, for the department to mature its technologies with research and development funds before these technologies are incorporated into product development plans?
Net income for Northrop Grumman Corp. surged 73% in the first quarter of 2005 and sales increased 4%, the company said April 28. First quarter 2005 net income grew to $409 million, or $1.11 per share, from $236 million, or 65 cents per share, a year earlier. The 2005 first quarter net income includes an $11 million after-tax gain from the sale of Teldix GmbH, the company said. First quarter 2005 sales increased from $7.2 billion to $7.5 billion, the company said.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Patrick Stillman, the program executive officer for the Deepwater recapitalization program, on April 28 defended the revised budget plan recently provided to Congress and asserted that the service is on top of its implementation. "I appreciate the fact that there are some individuals that call for acceleration," he said. "I, on the other hand, recognize that this is a marathon, and one that has to be undertaken with due diligence."
UAV TEAMS: Lockheed Martin, Aerosonde North America and Aerosonde Pty Ltd. have established a "multinational strategic alliance" to provide unmanned aircraft systems for U.S. and international markets. The companies will build, integrate and test advanced unmanned systems for customer demonstrations and trials, Lockheed Martin said April 28.
Raytheon Co.'s net income and net sales grew in the first quarter of 2005, and its earnings per share outlook also increased, the company said April 28. First quarter 2005 net income was $166 million or 36 cents per share, compared with $128 million or 30 cents per share in 2004, the company said. Net sales grew from $4.7 billion in the first quarter of 2004 to $4.9 billion in the same period of 2005. Raytheon also upped its 2005 earnings per share from continuing operations to $1.85-1.95. Its previous guidance was $1.80-1.90.
The consulting company Input of Reston, Va., has released its tally of top federal information technology contractors, a list dominated by defense-related firms. According to the firm, the contractors received more than $36 billion of the overall $50 billion spent by the federal government in fiscal 2004, with more than $17 billion going to the top 10.
CORRECTION: A story in the April 27 issue of The DAILY, headlined "Israel requests 100 bunker-buster GBU-28s," included incorrect information from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) that said Lockheed Martin is the contractor. The company is not involved in the program or the proposed sale. The primary contractors for the sale are Raytheon Co., Ellwood National Forge Co. and Kaman Dayron, DSCA told The DAILY.
Missile and bomb contractors are getting ready to demonstrate that their weapons can be networked together, government and industry officials said. The overall goal of the effort, being carried out under the Weapon Data Link Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (WDL ACTD) program, is to develop a common backbone that would connect air-to-ground systems in the same way that aircraft and ships, for example, are now being linked.
FINAL MEETING: The Stafford-Covey Return to Flight Task Group has scheduled its final public meeting for May 6 in Webster, Texas. During the meeting the group plans to complete its assessment of NASA's responses to the return-to-flight safety recommendations made by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Originally scheduled for March 31, the group postponed the meeting to await more data from the space shuttle program.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) lobbied the Pentagon's top acquisition official on April 25 to release $84.4 million earmarked for General Dynamics Corp.'s Bath Iron Works for the design and advanced procurement of the second DD(X) destroyer. "This funding is critical to sustaining progress in the DD(X) program, including efforts to retain the skilled surface combatant shipbuilding design work force at Bath Iron Works," Collins said in a statement.
Integrated Systems Solutions Inc. of Pomfret, Md., has been tapped for $64 million in research and development services to increase the government's understanding of lighter-than-air platforms and their usage for sensor technologies, the Navy said late April 25.
Aurora Flight Sciences' GoldenEye-50 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made its first long-awaited in-flight transitions from vertical to horizontal flight and back again during test flights in Manassas, Va., last week.
Israel has requested 100 Lockheed Martin-built Guided Bomb Unit-28s (GBU-28s) for use on its F-15 aircraft, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said April 26. The sale, which could be worth as much as $30 million, would include BLU-113A/B penetration warheads, WGU-36A/B guidance control units, FMU-143H/B bomb fuzes and BSG-92/B airfoil group guides, as well as support equipment, spares and technical and logistics support, DSCA notified Congress.
Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Lester L. Lyles, former commander of Air Force Materiel Command, will chair a new committee to advise NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.
The United States and Turkey have signed a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for a $1.1 billion upgrade of Turkey's F-16s, fighter aircraft maker Lockheed Martin said April 26. The upgrade will create "a robust, common avionics configuration for Turkey's fleets of F-16 Block 40 and Block 50 aircraft," Lockheed Martin said. "Other countries have expressed interest in a similar upgrade package for their F-16s," June Shrewsbury, vice president of F-16 programs for Lockheed Martin, said in a statement.
CACI International Inc. of Arlington, Va., said it was awarded a $9.4 million prime contract to provide C4ISR support services for the Naval Surface Warfare Center-Dahlgren Division. CACI subcontractors include Sabre Systems Inc. and Global Technology and Management Resources. The CACI contract, for up to five years, was awarded under the Naval Sea Systems Command's 15-year, $50 billion SeaPort Enhanced contract vehicle.
In a speech on the floor of the Senate April 26, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) called upon President Bush to help find money for further servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. "I want the president to look at those NASA pictures," Mikulski said, referring to new images released by the agency to commemorate Hubble's 15th anniversary. "I want to work with him on a bipartisan basis to find the money to keep Hubble flying and see to the edge of the universe."
