Lockheed Martin Argentina S.A. rolled out the first upgraded AT-63 Pampa jet trainer for the Argentine air force on Dec. 15, the company said. The upgraded low-cost advanced trainer and light attack aircraft is ready for ground testing and is scheduled to begin flight-testing in mid-2005, the company said. The aircraft features an upgraded crew station and modern avionics suite with advanced mission computers, Lockheed Martin said.
In accordance with the White House's new policy on the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Transportation Department will take a larger role in planning and paying for enhancements to the system's civil services.
S-92 ACCEPTED: Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (PHI) has accepted its second Sikorsky S-92, the company said Dec. 16. The aircraft was flown to PHI's Lafayette, La., facility to join the other S-92 in supporting deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Sikorsky has offered a variant of the S-92 for the presidential helicopter competition, which is expected to be decided in January.
Work on obstacle avoidance systems for autonomous helicopters taking place at the University of California at Berkeley is feeding into the Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) program, UCAR Program Manager Don Woodbury said in a statement released by the university.
JDAM: The Boeing Co. has been awarded a $209 million contract by the Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to produce Joint Direct Attack Munitions for military sales to various foreign countries over the next five years, the company said Dec. 15. The work will be completed by December 2009.
The U.S. Army's industrial base for armor on tactical wheeled vehicles has grown considerably since the fall of 2003, when the Defense Department began to see a need for the armor in Operation Iraqi Freedom. "In August 2003, the vehicle armor industrial base consisted of seven vendors, of which only one was a steel manufacturer," said Col. John Rooney, chief of staff of the Army Developmental Test Command. Rooney spoke Dec. 15 at a Pentagon press briefing.
The Stafford-Covey Return to Flight Task Group closed out three more Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) recommendations during a meeting in Huntsville, Ala., Dec. 16, satisfied that NASA has taken sufficient steps to fulfill them. Before the meeting, the group had "conditionally closed" five of the CAIB's 15 return to flight recommendations, meaning that it required additional information for a final approval. NASA last week submitted to the Task Group "closure packages" describing its efforts on the remaining 10 recommendations.
Excess weight is becoming a key challenge for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's High Altitude Airship (HAA) program, according to a top agency official. Lt. Gen. Henry "Trey" Obering (USAF), MDA's director, said Dec. 16 that materials being eyed for the HAA are proving to be heavier than hoped, potentially limiting the airship's endurance and power. Obering did not disclose details about the weight problem but said program officials are looking for fixes.
KNIGHT HAWKS: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. will produce 15 Navy Knight Hawk helicopters for the U.S. military under a $180.7 million contract modification awarded by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., the Defense Department said Dec. 15. The work will be done in Stratford, Conn. It is expected to be finished by the end of 2007.
STOCK CONTROL: Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo, Calif., has been awarded a contract worth up to $107.8 million to provide Stock Control System logistics support to the U.S. Air Force's Materiel Systems Group, the company said Dec. 16. CSC will carry out operations and maintenance support, enterprise resource planning and transition planning. Other tasks include performance monitoring, database and system administration and software development and maintenance. The contract has a one-year base period, three one-year options and one seven-month option.
Parker Hannifin Corp. has acquired the operations of Houston-based Trilogy Systems, which builds linear motors, for an undisclosed amount, the company said Dec. 16. Trilogy will become part of Parker Automation Group's Electromechanical Automation Division, based in Rohnert Park, Calif. This division manufactures motion control products including controllers, servo and stepper drives and servo motors, and produces products involving robotics and automation.
REFUELING AIRCRAFT: India's air force recently received the fifth of six IL-78 tanker aircraft purchased from Uzbekistan, India's Ministry of Defence said Dec. 15. The sixth aircraft is expected to be delivered this month. The delivery of the third and fourth aircraft was delayed by eight months. India signed a memorandum of understanding for the aircraft purchase in 1997. In December 2001, India's Defence Ministry signed a $150 million contract with Uzbekistan's Chkalov aviation plant to build the aircraft (DAILY, Sept. 5, 2002).
The Czech Republic's military will receive the upgraded version of the RBS 70 Air Defence Missile System under a 204 million kronor ($30.2 million) contract awarded to Sweden-based Saab Bofors Dynamics AB, the company said Dec. 15. The system includes a night sight, aircraft identification and the new Bolide missile. Deliveries are set for 2005, 2006 and 2007.
TESTING: The Lockheed-Martin developed Aegis Weapon System recently underwent successful testing during a three-day trial at sea aboard the U.S. Navy destroyer Halsey, the company said Dec. 16. The testing took place Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in the Gulf of Mexico and was overseen by Navy and Lockheed Martin engineers. It included gun exercises and two successful Standard Missile-2 firings. The Aegis now is 10 for 10 in missile sea test firings, the company said.
A flight-test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system was cut short when the interceptor missile inexplicably shut down shortly before launch, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency announced Dec. 15. The target missile for Integrated Flight Test 13C (IFT-13C) was successfully launched from Kodiak Island, Alaska, at 8:45 p.m. Alaska Standard Time Dec. 14, or 12:45 a.m. Eastern Standard Time Dec. 15. But about 16 minutes later, the interceptor shut down automatically while preparing to launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
Despite delays, NASA's Deep Impact team is confident of launching its mission by Jan. 28, which it must do to successfully rendezvous with and smash into comet Tempel 1 next July.
INTERESTED: As many as 10 countries are interested in buying the joint Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, the Times of India News network said Dec. 14. At least three "trusted nations" have been shortlisted to get the new weapons, the network said, quoting sources in India's Defence Research and Development Organisation.
DRS Technologies Inc. has bought Night Vision Equipment Company (NVEC) for $42 million in cash, with additional payments possible if the company meets revenue targets, DRS Technologies said Dec. 14. Allentown, Pa.-based NVEC is expected to generate $45-50 million in annual revenues in its first year of operation under DRS ownership. For DRS's current fiscal year ending March 31, 2005, the business is expected to contribute about $15 million to DRS's sales, the Parsippany, N.J.-based company said.
THIRD TEST: Orbital Sciences Corp. conducted a third successful test flight of the GQM-163A "Coyote" Supersonic Sea-Skimming Target system on Dec. 14, the company said. The test, at the Navy's Point Mugu, Calif., missile-testing range, achieved all of its objectives, the company said, including the verification of booster ignition and stable first-stage flight. Capt. Richard Walter, the U.S.
A senior Pentagon official warned the unmanned aerial vehicle industry Dec. 15 that UAVs could lose favor with the U.S. military if concerns about affordability and interoperability are not resolved. Michael Wynne, the Defense Department's acting acquisition chief, told Shephard's UV North America conference that UAVs are poised to be the "wave of the future" but face several "potential pitfalls."
The U.S. Air Force said it is set to award risk reduction contracts of about $1.25 million to each of the four competitors most likely to bid for the Personnel Recovery Vehicle, the planned follow-on to the aging HH-60G Pave Hawk combat search and rescue helicopter. "The four contracts are planned to be issued to Northrop Grumman, Bell-Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky," according to an Air Force notice in the Dec. 14 issue of FedBizOpps.
