NET-CENTRIC SUB: The U.S. Navy is launching an era of "unprecedented capability" for its fleet with the Oct. 23 commissioning of the USS Virginia (SSN 774), says Lockheed Martin, which designed the sub's sonar, combat system, radio room and electronic support equipment. "USS Virginia's network-centric communication capabilities are a significant departure from legacy systems and address many of the Navy's FORCEnet transformational communication needs," says Michael LaRouche, senior executive for the company's Navy command and control programs.
The mission team for NASA's Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) is weighing the pros and cons of incorporating a lander that would touch down on the surface of Europa. JIMO's Science Definition Team (SDT) has recommended that the spacecraft include a lander that would perform a soft landing on Europa and bore into its frozen surface. The team determined that the lander was valuable enough to devote up to one quarter of the JIMO's 1,500-kilogram (3,306 pound) science payload to it.
Government representatives from nine nations are expected to gather in Australia in the coming days to review progress in the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. The event, the sixth semi-annual meeting of the program's executive committee, will include officials from the United States and its eight international partners for JSF.
The first flight of a Gripen multirole fighter aircraft bound for export to the Czech Republic took place Oct. 18 in Linkoping, Sweden, the FMV Swedish Defense Material Agency said Oct. 20. The aircraft, painted gray with the Czech Republic national insignia on its tail, was flown by a Saab test pilot. "This flight is a very important milestone for the Czech program and shows that the production of Gripen aircraft for the Czech Republic is on schedule," Per Nilsson, FMV program director for the Gripen for Czech Republic, said in a statement.
Lockheed Martin Systems Integration will complete the integration of avionics and support software into the MH-60S helicopter under a $15.6 million delivery order, the U.S. Department of Defense said Oct. 22. The work will be done under a previously issued agreement to provide Block 3A Armed Helicopter Phase III engineering efforts needed to complete the work. The work will be performed in Owego, N.Y., and is expected to be completed in August 2006.
The United States wants to lease one of the Swedish navy's Gotland-class submarines to play the enemy role in naval exercises, Swedish naval supplier Kockums AB said, citing Swedish press reports. The long-term lease would include the submarine's crew and support services, Kockums said. The Swedish government is considering the deal. Kockums provides the Stirling Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system for all of the Swedish navy's subs, which allows them to remain submerged for weeks without using nuclear power.
The European Space Agency and German space agency DLR have inaugurated a control center for the European elements of the International Space Station, ESA said Oct. 20. The center has been set up in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, Germany. The Columbus Control Centre will conduct its first real-time observations next April, when Italian ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori is scheduled to visit the ISS for 10 days. An ESA/DLR team will control the scientific program of the European experiments aboard the ISS for the first time during his stay.
Honeywell's 2004 third-quarter net income increased to $372 million from $344 million from the third quarter of 2003, the company said Oct. 20. Defense and space sales grew 3 percent in the quarter. This segment margin increased to 15.4 percent, compared with 14.6 percent a year ago, primarily due to strong commercial aftermarket sales growth, Honeywell said. Also, Honeywell was selected by Lockheed Martin as supply services provider for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
JSF WORK: Vektrex of San Diego will develop a power interface for performing high-fidelity power testing on F-35 Joint Strike Fighter communications avionics, the company said Oct. 21. The work will be done for Northrop Grumman Corp., which is developing the communications avionics for Lockheed Martin.
The Pentagon is staying the course with the Space Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High) after assessing alternatives to the often-troubled program. The Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have completed an analysis of alternatives, and the Air Force "has been directed to continue to execute the SBIRS program of record," a program official told The DAILY Oct. 20 in a written response to questions.
The project team for NASA's ambitious Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) plans to work with NASA leadership to obtain a higher budget request for the mission during its crucial development years. Scheduled to launch no earlier than 2011, the multibillion-dollar JIMO mission will be the first flight demonstration of the space nuclear power and propulsion technology being developed under NASA's Prometheus effort.
DRS Technologies Inc. of Parsippany, N.J., has received $34.3 million in new orders to provide engineering services, spares and production for the U.S. Navy's AN/UYQ-70 Advanced Display Systems and related computer equipment, the company said Oct. 20. The systems and equipment are on the Navy's new Aegis destroyers, cruisers and other surface ships, as well as E-2C Hawkeye aircraft and USS Los Angeles class SSN 688 attack submarines.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Information Technology sector a three-year, $49.8 million contract to provide advanced IT upgrades to improve the sustainability and readiness of existing weapon systems, the company said Oct. 20. Northrop Grumman will provide data services, including applications software development, system testing, configuration management, database administration, help-desk support and government-furnished hardware operation, the company said.
NASA is grappling with a defect discovered in the Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that are used in many of the agency's spacecraft. An FPGA is an integrated circuit that can be programmed in the field after manufacture. FPGA manufacturer Actel Corporation of Mountain View, Calif., discovered the anomaly with the FPGAs, in which some of them begin to behave unpredictably after 700 hours of use.
Lockheed Martin has received $20.9 million for additional work on the Advanced Deployable System (ADS), an undersea surveillance system intended to detect and localize submarines for a joint task force commander (JTFC). The new contract, awarded Sept. 13 by the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), bolsters the company's original ADS contract, for program development and risk reduction, awarded in 1995.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has concluded it cannot afford for now to begin developing an interceptor missile to destroy long-range ballistic missiles in their final phase of flight, Defense Department officials said Oct. 21. MDA had been looking at the feasibility of a terminal-phase Long Range Atmospheric Defense (LRAD) system to complement systems it is already pursuing for earlier phases of flight (DAILY, Nov. 20, 2003). The agency is charged with developing a layered system to provide several chances to intercept an incoming missile.
Raytheon Network Centric Systems will deliver prototypes of all three of its ground sensor systems for the Army Future Combat Systems (FCS) ground vehicles in late 2006 through 2008, Johnny Garrett, director of integrated systems at Raytheon Network Centric Systems, told The DAILY.
F-16 UPGRADES: Lockheed Martin will support midlife upgrades to 17 F-16A/B fighter aircraft being transferred to Jordan's air force, the company said Oct. 21. The upgrades are the same as the ones being done for 400 F-16s operated by European air forces.
Raytheon Co. has won a $79.7 million contract to provide sonar transmit group subsystems for the next series of Virginia class submarine shipsets, the company said Oct. 22. The transmit group sonar provides active, multisensor, high-power sonar that supports submarine underwater communication capabilities, anti-submarine warfare, mine hunting and depth sounding, the company said.
Aerospace and defense revenues continued to rise during the third quarter of 2004, but the rate of increase is expected to drop over the next two to three years, an industry analyst said. High single-digit and low double-digit top line revenue growth rates are expected to dip to 3- to 5-percent growth rates, Eric Hugel of Stephens Inc. told The DAILY.
The Navy transferred operation of the former Naval Space Surveillance System to the Air Force earlier this month, the Navy said Oct. 20. The "Fence" system, the oldest sensor system built to track satellites and debris in orbit around the Earth, was transferred Oct. 1 from the Naval Network and Space Operations Command to the new 20th Space Control Squadron.
The U.S. Defense Department is pooling similar weapon system programs into "communities of interest" (COIs) and directing each group to improve data-sharing among its members to increase interoperability.
Northrop Grumman has named 12 U.S. companies as its suppliers of the year, the company said Oct. 20. The company presented awards to the companies at a suppliers luncheon in Manhattan Beach, Calif. They are:
