CHAFF: Armtec Countermeasures Co. of Coachella, Calif., will manufacture RR 188 chaff cartridges for the U.S. Air Force's air countermeasures program, the Department of Defense said Feb. 16. The work will be done under a $5.9 million contract modification and is to be completed by July 2006.
House Armed Services Committee members complained to top defense officials on Feb. 16 about proposed cuts to shipbuilding and aircraft production in the fiscal 2006 defense budget proposal. "The hand-wringing bed wetters that say we don't need any more [defense] platforms have got to get on board, and you guys have got to make us give you the money for the platforms we need," Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) told Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers (USAF), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Tom Mackie has retired as president of the Fluid Connectors Group. Bob Bond has been promoted to replace Mackie. Roger Sherrard will replace Bond as president of the Automation Group.
Herley Industries Inc., which designs and builds microwave technology products for defense, aerospace and other industries, said its revenues for fiscal 2005 will be $150-160 million. The revenue projection includes the acquisition of Micro Systems of Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., which Herley bought this month.
Gen. William J. Begert (USAF-Ret.) has joined the company as vice president of international programs and business development, in the Military Engines unit.
Rockwell Collins has introduced a new version of its Kaiser Electro-Optics SIM EYE head-mounted display, the SIM EYE SR100, the company said Feb. 14. The SR100 offers full-color SXGA resolution and can be mounted to flight helmets, the company said, and is available now for delivery. The U.S. Army uses an earlier version, the SIM EYE XL100A, in its AVCATT-A trainer.
195 TEAMS: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) received 195 applications from teams hoping to compete in the next Grand Challenge robotic race, the agency announced Feb. 14. The teams represent 37 U.S. states and three foreign countries. Over the summer, DARPA will winnow the teams down to the 20 finalists that will compete in the race, to be held in the desert southwest on Oct. 8. DARPA plans to award a $2 million prize to the team whose autonomous ground vehicle completes the 175-mile outdoor course the fastest, provided it finishes within 10 hours.
Two Boeing X-45As flew their first simulated combat mission at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California Feb. 4, marking the 50th flight for the unmanned aircraft since it took to the air in 2002, according to Boeing. The X-45As flew at 24,500 feet and 25,500 feet altitude, separated by 25 miles while flying at 225 knots. They flew a simulated combat air patrol mission and were given two simulated pop-up ground threats to destroy.
Lockheed Martin Corp. said Feb. 14 that the U.S. Navy awarded it a contract for more than $61 million for continued support of the Acoustic Rapid Commercial Off-The-Shelf Insertion (A-RCI) program. A-RCI is a sonar system upgrade installed on all classes of Navy submarines. This contract will include both A-RCI backfits on existing submarines and installations on the new Virginia-class attack submarines, tasks previously separated in two contracts, the company said. Since the program began in 1998, A-RCI systems have been installed on 44 submarines.
Lockheed Martin and EEI Manufacturing Services of Clearwater, Fla., have signed a three-year, mentor-protege agreement, Lockheed Martin said Feb. 14. EEI is a woman-owned, small disadvantaged, HUBZone business that builds printed circuit card assemblies. Under the agreement, Lockheed Martin will transfer electronic manufacturing technologies to EEI to allow it to build more complex circuit card assemblies for use in the Sniper XR advanced targeting pod, Joint Common Missile and MH-60 helicopter.
Several House lawmakers on Feb. 15 expressed support for President Bush's $81.9 billion supplemental request for ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as tsunami relief efforts, although members of both parties promised oversight to support soldiers and Marines. "We will be asking some tough questions to ensure that our military men and women have what they need to get the job done," House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) said in a statement.
The TFD Group, of Monterey, Calif., has acquired Northrop Grumman's Electronic Maintenance & Training Systems' development team, which is now part of TFD's Electronic Documentation Division. The new division develops and deploys interactive electronic technical manuals, computer-based interactive training system modules, simulation software and troubleshooting systems, TFD said Feb. 14.
Lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee disagreed Feb. 15 over whether there is a requirement for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP), a nuclear bunker-buster. "I don't believe yet there is a military requirement for an RNEP," Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking Democrat on the committee's emerging threats subcommittee, told panel witness Samuel W. Bodman, the new energy secretary. "It appears that DOE and DOD are moving forward to try to resolve those requirements."
India has expressed interest in buying up to 126 new fighter aircraft for its air force and is looking at several U.S. models, including the Boeing F-15, Lockheed Martin F-16 and Boeing F/A-18E/F, sources said Feb. 15. India also is considering several non-U.S. fighters, including the Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen, MiG-29 and Mirage 2000, said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation consultant at the Teal Group. Plans for a formal competition apparently have not been announced.
DIVIDEND: EDO Corp.'s board of directors declared a regularly quarterly cash dividend of three cents per share, payable on April 8 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 11, the company said. EDO Corp., based in New York, provides defense electronics, communications, aircraft armament and other systems.
L-3 Communications of New York and Italy's Alenia Aeronautica announced a joint venture to produce and support the C-27J military transport aircraft and pursue the U.S. Army's Future Cargo Aircraft (FCA) competition, L-3 said Feb. 15. L-3 Integrated Systems and Alenia North America will manage the venture, named Global Military Aircraft Systems (GMAS), which also will pursue other Defense Department and international work.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Sea-Based X-band (SBX) radar program is expected to take a major step within the next few weeks when a Raytheon-built radar will be placed atop a modified oil-drilling platform, according to government and industry officials.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems will provide on-site technical, logistical and operational support for its I-Gnat unmanned aerial vehicle under a $5 million contract modification, the U.S. Department of Defense said Feb. 15. The work will be performed in Adelanto and San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2005. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., awarded the contract.
Northrop Grumman Corp. and the U.S. Army are integrating hardware and software for the Integrated Meteorological System (IMETS), an automated system that can forecast battlefield conditions, the company said Feb. 15. Northrop Grumman's Information Technology sector has been the IMETS systems integrator since 1992, and is continuing work on the program under a one-year follow-contract. The contract has five option years.
