The White House's Office of Federal Procurement Policy has issued new policies that more broadly define the federal acquisition work force and more closely aligns civilian and defense acquisition work force requirements. The move, long favored by new OFPP Administrator David Safavian, was announced April 18. Civilian agencies should use Oct. 1 as a general guideline for adopting the Defense Department's curriculum, OFPP said.
New legislation to update how the Pentagon buys goods and services in the 21st century could emerge this year on Capitol Hill, according to comments made by senators and defense officials April 19. The next likely deputy secretary of defense, Gordon England, said at his Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing that the mid-1980s acquisition reforms of the Goldwater-Nichols Act need to be re-examined as the Defense Department moves from buying lots of large platforms to fewer, smaller items that are more capable.
PRAGUE -- A comprehensive test of the JAS-39 Gripen's air-to-air refueling capabilities over the past month has been a success, according to Swedish defense, aviation and space company Saab. The company reported April 15 that the successful test program involved 19 sorties with the Gripen C single-seat and Gripen D two-seat versions and a South African Air Force Boeing 707 tanker. Saab said the test, held at its facility in Linkoping, Sweden, was designed to verify Gripen's refueling capabilities with a NATO standard compatible tanker.
Implementation of the U.S. Coast Guard's program to replace and modernize more than 90 ships and 200 aircraft used in its offshore missions -- including homeland security, drug and migrant interdiction and fisheries law enforcement -- will be the topic of a Congressional oversight hearing on April 20.
NASA will begin an internal review on the possibility of reinstating the fifth space shuttle servicing mission (SM4) to the Hubble Space Telescope immediately after the space shuttle completes its return to flight mission, according to Administrator Michael Griffin.
The U.S. Army has awarded FLIR Systems Inc. of Portland, Ore., a $13 million contract to develop an advanced stabilized electro-optical infrared system for lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles, the company said April 19. The small and lightweight stabilized thermal imaging system will offer long-range performance, color visible imaging and advanced laser capabilities, the company said. The work will begin immediately in Billerica, Mass., and be done over three years.
DRS Technologies Inc., which provides defense and intelligence products and services, has purchased Codem Systems Inc. of Merrimack, N.H., for about $29 million in cash, DRS said April 18. Codem Systems produces signals intelligence systems, network interface modules and antenna control systems. Parsippany, N.J.-based DRS said it expects Codem to generate about $25 million in revenues in its first year under DRS ownership and be accretive to earnings. Existing cash on hand was used for the buy, DRS said.
The U.S. Army is scheduled to conduct the preliminary design review (PDR) for all manned ground vehicles (MGVs) for the Future Combat Systems in March 2008, an Army representative told The DAILY. Before that, the Army will decide which long-lead items it will need to buy, she said. The Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon (NLOS-C) and Non-Line-of-Sight Mortar (NLOS-M) are the first two MGVs to be procured for the FCS program.
General Dynamics Land Systems of Sterling Heights, Mich., has been awarded a $138 million delivery order to provide the U.S. Army with 99 additional Stryker combat vehicles, the company said April 18. The vehicles are part of a $4 billion contract awarded in 2000 to produce more than 2,100 Strykers for the Army's new Stryker Brigade Combat Teams. More than 1,000 vehicles have been delivered so far.
The U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center has awarded BAE Systems a $58 million technical services contract, which could reach $314 million over five years, for antiterrorism force protection systems at U.S. government facilities worldwide. The award, replacing an existing contract, is expected to be completed by March 2006.
NEW SAT: Orbital Sciences Corp. said April 18 that it will build a new communications satellite for PanAmSat Corp. The spacecraft, PAS-11, will carry 16 C-band and 18 Ku-band transponders to provide telecommunications and direct-to-home TV broadcasting services. It is to be delivered in the first quarter of 2007.
Titanium forging companies, locked into firm fixed price contracts with their prime contractors, are "expecting an answer in the next couple of weeks" on whether the Defense Department will change regulations to protect them from rising titanium costs, an industry representative told The DAILY April 18.
Lockheed Martin said it is delivering two upgrades of the Theater Battle Management Core System (TBMCS) that make it easier to coordinate air battles. TBMCS, which was first deployed in October 2000, is the primary system for planning and executing the joint air campaign, according to the company. It said it has evolved from a large client-server system to a much more streamlined, Web-based enterprise.
The U.S. Department of Defense expects to unveil the first part of a massive two-phase shipbuilding study and industrial plan by late May or early June, which will call on Congress to create a Shipbuilding Industrial Base Investment Fund to help industry. It also is expected to suggest ways to cut the amount of work that the U.S. Navy itself creates, such as through design changes to ongoing ship construction.
LONDON - The United Kingdom may not build complete airliners anymore, but a recent report from the House of Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee says the U.K. aerospace industry seems to be in good health, bouncing back from downturns in global air travel caused by the 9/11 attacks, SARS outbreaks and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The U.S. Army-led Joint Common Missile (JCM) program is gearing up to conduct several more tests before a late-June review that could help decide its fate. An instrumented measurement vehicle that closely resembles JCM's structure is being integrated onto an Apache helicopter at Fort Rucker, Ala., and will soon fly aboard the aircraft for "captive carry" tests to ensure the missile does not hurt the helicopter's aerodynamics, officials at prime contractor Lockheed Martin said April 18.
The U.S. Navy has announced that Magneto Inductive Systems Ltd. USA of San Bernadino, Calif., was awarded an $8.6 million contract to further develop its Magneto-Inductive Signaling Device System. The new hardware is supposed to improve precision demolition from very shallow water to beaches where acoustic or radio signals cannot permeate, the Navy said April 15. Most of Magneto's work will be done in Head Jeddore, Canada, with the rest in San Bernadino. Work should be finished by April 2008.
