Bruce Murray is retiring as chairman of the board. Neil deGrasse Tyson will replace Murray. Bill Nye has been named vice president. Laurie Leshin has been named to the board of directors. Leshin is the Dee and John Whiteman Dean's Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences and director of the Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University.
Raytheon Co.'s GBU-10 Paveway laser-guided bomb, which had a troubled series of tests in late 2004, achieved a perfect score in a new round of tests, according to an industry source.
Although U.S. Air Force testers have rated the F/A-22 Raptor's performance as operationally "effective" (DAILY, Feb. 2), the stealthy fighter still needs better diagnostic software, parts reliability and interior and exterior lighting, the service said Feb. 2. Other areas needing improvement include maintenance instruction documents and flight-line procedures to assess the aircraft's radar signature, the Air Force said. 'Potentially suitable'
SAN DIEGO - The U.S. Navy's ability to fund fleet modernization depends on it making major changes in the way it develops and procures ships, retired Vice Admiral Arthur K. Cebrowski told the AFCEA/U.S Naval Institute West 2005 conference here Feb. 1. Citing a report he sent to Congress on Jan. 31 - his last day as the Director of the Department of Defense's Office of Force Transformation - Cebrowski said an alternative business model is needed to provide the Navy with the capable fleet it needs.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s fourth quarter 2004 profits increased 31%, to $294 million, compared with $224 million reported for the same period of 2003. The company's net income for 2004 rose 28%, to $1.1 billion, from $866 million in 2003, the company said Feb 2.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The Malaysian government is considering acquiring the Airbus A400M to replace the aging fleet of 12 Lockheed Martin C-130s currently used by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). Ministry of defense officials have been in talks with Airbus Military to buy the aircraft since Airbus parent EADS made an offer during the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace show in September 2003.
Despite charges from the mothballed U.S. Air Force 767 tanker aircraft lease-buy deal, which helped put Boeing's fourth quarter 2004 profits in a steep dive, the company reported revenue increases from its Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) segment.
John Gannon has retired as staff director. Ben Cohen will replace Gannon. Cohen has been deputy general counsel for the Defense Department since Jan. 1, 2002.
Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the leaders of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said Feb. 1 that the full committee will handle oversight of the Transportation Security Administration.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is planning a second industry day Feb. 11 for the Walrus cargo-carrying hybrid airship program. Walrus is intended to demonstrate the feasibility of a large hybrid airship capable of carrying a complete Army Unit of Action from "Fort to Fight," according to DARPA. The future vehicle would be able to bring 500 tons of cargo across intercontinental distances into unprepared landing sites, including water landings.
George R. Melton has been named CEO and president. Gus Yiakas, who is being succeeded by Melton, will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors.
A panel of witnesses from outside NASA debated the future of the Hubble Space Telescope during a hearing on Capitol Hill Feb. 2, endorsing options ranging from shuttle or robotic servicing to flying the telescope's replacement instruments on a new spacecraft. The debate took place against a backdrop of rumors that NASA has cut all funding for Hubble servicing from its fiscal year 2006 budget, and plans only to fund a disposal mission to de-orbit the telescope safely (DAILY, Jan. 25). NASA's budget will be released Feb. 7.
SIMULATOR INSTALLED: VirTra Systems Inc. of Arlington, Texas, has successfully installed an IVR-180 series simulator for the U.S. Air Force, the company said Feb. 1. The simulator, which includes recoil weapons, was installed last week at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. The simulator will be used to train in marksmanship, room-clearing, convoy maneuvers and combat readiness.
The U.S. tsunami warning capability could still fall victim to technological hiccups, including the loss of satellite services and sensors, regardless of the investment made in it, weather and geological officials told lawmakers on Feb. 2. "We do have some reliability problems, but when you are trying to deal with high technology - and I'm not trying to minimize that - that's not an unusual thing," said U.S. Geological Survey Director Charles "Chip" Groat.
MPDS CONTRACT: St. Louis-based Engineered Support Systems Inc. has received a contract order valued at $1.4 million for 63 Multipurpose Decontamination Systems (MPDS) and accessories, the company said Jan. 28. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Marine Corps' Albany Logistics Base. The systems will be fielded to U.S. Army and Marine Corps chemical units. The company said it was the fifth such contract order for MPDS.
Bob LaRose has been promoted to executive vice president. He had been serving as vice president, chief financial officer and secretary. He will continue serving as CFO and secretary.
Michael Zoltoski has been appointed acting executive director/technical director of the Tank-automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center's Research Business Group.
