Howard W. Kympton has been named vice president for Commercialization and Business Development. Kympton is a former Department of Homeland Security program director.
President Bush has nominated Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen to be chief of naval operations, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced March 2. Mullen is commander of Naval Forces in Europe, as well as commander of Allied Joint Force Command, Naples, Italy.
U.S. Army officials defended the service's request for nearly $57 billion of supplemental funds to members of the House Appropriations Committee on March 2, saying their plans will boost the service's flexibility and lethality. Moving from 33 to 43 Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) "will increase combat power 30 percent by 2007," Secretary of the Army Francis J. Harvey told members of the House Appropriations Committee on March 2. "Also, modularity will reduce stress of the force with more time at home base."
NASA on March 1 issued the final request for proposals (RFP) for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), which answers a number of questions raised by industry in response to an earlier draft and sets a deadline of May 2 for proposal submission.
Turkey is having an "ongoing discussion" with American officials about the limited role its companies are playing in the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, a Turkish official said March 2. O. Faruk Logoglu, Turkey's ambassador to the United States, told the Defense Writers Group that his government is concerned about the small number of JSF contracts won by Turkish firms.
The Civil Air Patrol unveiled a hyperspectral imaging system that it said will help aircraft identify objects as small as one meter in size from half a mile in the air. It said the system, called ARCHER - for Airborne Real-Time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance - will increase CAP's effectiveness in search and rescue, disaster relief, and homeland security missions.
MOSCOW - Russia's Khrunichev Center has announced plans for space hardware development that could fit NASA's vision for space exploration as well as be used in other large-scale space exploration programs.
Orbital Sciences Corp.'s strong financial results for the fourth quarter in 2004 and the full year "were primarily driven by growth in revenue from science, technology and defense satellite contracts," the company said March 2. Fifty-four percent of total revenue for the full year 2004 came from defense and intelligence, up from 46% in 2003, said David Thompson, chairman and CEO of the Dulles, Va.-based company.
The U.S. Air Force has authorized International Launch Services (ILS) to proceed with preparations to launch a next-generation Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite in early 2007. The launch of the GPS-IIF spacecraft will take place from Cape Canaveral, Fla., onboard a Lockheed Martin-built Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV). The mission was part of the first block of 28 EELV assignments made by the Air Force in 1998.
Jim Gillis has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer. Arlindo Marques Filho has been appointed chief engineer of Spiralock Europe. Jose Starosta has been hired as general manager of Spiralock Brazil.
Gen. Wesley K. Clark (USA-Ret.) has been appointed to the board of directors. Clark is a former presidential candidate and served as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.
NEW DELHI - India's annual budget for the fiscal year beginning in April pushes heavily to relieve unemployment and poverty but slows a requested increase in defense spending, providing only a $220 million increase over the previous year. That amount, $7.8 billion, is an increase of less than 8% and would drop defense spending as a share of gross national product from 2.5% to 2.1%.
L-3 Communications said on March 1 that its Link Simulation and Training division was awarded a $13.3 million follow-on Lot II production contract from the U.S. Navy to build the first P-3C Tactical Operational Readiness Trainer (TORT) at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla.
The Bush Administration's fiscal 2006 budget request does not fund $3 billion worth of Air Force requirements, including $41 million for advanced targeting pods and $97 million for Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM), according to a document obtained by The DAILY late March 1. Other items on the unfunded priority list include $164 million for unspecified "additional capability" on the Predator A unmanned aerial vehicle, and $77.5 million to accelerate the newer Predator B.
Lockheed Martin's Archbald, Pa., facility, which produces laser-guided weapon systems for the U.S. Air Force and Navy, has been named the winner of the 2005 Shingo Prize for excellence in manufacturing by BusinessWeek magazine. The prize is administered by Utah State University's college of business and several nonprofit and corporate organizations. It focuses on lean manufacturing, which aims to eliminate waste.
SECURITY: Northrop Grumman Corp. has been awarded a $33 million delivery order to provide security products to U.S. Air Force bases in Southwest Asia, the company said March 1. Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems sector will survey sites, install systems, and provide support services to help protect military personnel in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Qatar.
Aircraft targeting pods, night-vision equipment, radios and rockets are among the U.S. Marine Corps' needs that did not get funding in the Bush Administration's recently unveiled fiscal 2006 budget proposal, according to the Marines.
