The House and Senate approved a fiscal 2005 spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security that includes $724 million for the U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization program, $88 million above the White House's budget request.
SkyTower Inc. is seeking $40-50 million in government funding to pay for the development of a commercial follow-on to the Helios unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that could serve as a long-duration telecommunications platform. Jointly developed by NASA and SkyTower parent company AeroVironment, Helios had a 247-foot wingspan but weighed less than an average car. The highly flexible flying wing was in the midst of a flight-test program designed to demonstrate flight durations of several days when it crashed last year (DAILY, June 30, 2003).
AMC-15: SES Americom's AMC-15 telecommunications satellite is ready for launch Oct. 15 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, aboard a Proton rocket, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. AMC-15 will carry 12 125-MHz Ka-band spot beams along with 24 36-MHz Ku-band transponders. The launch is being managed by International Launch Services (ILS), which offers flights on Proton and Atlas launch vehicles. AMC-15 will be the third spacecraft launched by ILS so far in 2004, following AMC-10 and AMC-11. AMC-16 is scheduled to follow on an Atlas V in December.
The House of Representatives voted unanimously Oct. 7 to extend the law under which the government insures companies that launch satellites for damages or deaths sustained by third parties.
House and Senate lawmakers approved a $447 billion fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill on Oct. 9, sending it to President Bush for his approval. The bill authorized an Air Force purchase of 100 new tanker aircraft but prohibited a lease-buy arrangement the service had worked out with the Boeing Co., confirmed another round of base closings in 2005 and included a modified version of a House "Buy American" provision (DAILY, Oct. 11).
Boeing Co. has awarded BVR Systems Ltd. of Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel, a $1.5 million contract to integrate the EHUD Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) system on Boeing F-15K aircraft that will be supplied to the Korean air force, BVR Systems said Oct. 11. BVR will provide integration, hardware upgrades and software for the EHUD ACMI system in Korea to support the advanced capabilities and features of the Boeing F-15K fighter, BVR Systems said. Boeing will deliver the F-15K to Korea beginning in 2005.
An upgrade of the EP-3E Aries II Sensor System Improvement Program (SSIP) has passed a review by the commander of the Operational Test and Evaluation Force, the U.S. Navy said Oct. 8. On Sept. 7, a final report on the operational assessment of the fleet issue 4.0 upgrade was issued. It found that the system is operationally suitable and operationally effective. It also said the upgrade "is recommended for fleet introduction" and is a "significant improvement in capability over previous versions."
ELACHI ADDRESS: Charles Elachi, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., and director of advanced planning for the aerospace agency, will address the Wings Club luncheon in New York on Oct. 21. He plans to discuss how JPL achieved success with its Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers and the Saturn orbiter Cassini, as well as how NASA plans to organize its exploration of the moon, Mars and outer solar system.
The U.S. Army's schedule for the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) program calls for release of the draft request for proposals (DRFP) late this month, with a day of briefings for industry to follow. "The Light Utility Helicopter Product Office anticipates release of the draft RFP no earlier than 29 October 2004," and the industry day "to follow the release of the draft RFP," according to an Oct. 7 Army Aviation and Missile Command FedBizOpps notice.
Lockheed Martin has received another increment in its overall $1.5 billion contract for the Integrated Space Command and Control (ISC2) program, intended to modernize the command and control system of North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Strategic Command. The $54.2 million contract exercises the fifth option for ISC2, according to an Oct. 6 announcement by the Department of Defense.
An instrument on the European Space Agency's Envisat satellite has helped create a high-resolution global atmospheric map of nitrogen dioxide pollution to show how human activities affect air quality, ESA said Oct. 11. The Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography (SCIAMACHY) records the spectrum of sunlight shining through the atmosphere. The results then are studied to find spectral absorption "fingerprints" of trace gases in the air, ESA said.
Finmeccanica would be required to ensure that AgustaWestland will have the capabilities to design, develop and maintain helicopter systems within the United Kingdom before acquiring the company under an Oct. 6 proposal from U.K. Competition Minister Gerry Sutcliffe. Italy's largest defense company said earlier this year that it would buy GKN's 50 percent stake in AgustaWestland, their joint helicopter venture (DAILY, May 27), for $1.9 billion to "directly increase its exposure to the U.S. and U.K. defense budgets."
Kollsman, Inc., headquartered in Merrimack, N.H., intends to spin off its international defense business, and is calling the new business Advanced Defense Systems (ADS) Inc., Kollsman said Oct. 4. The reason for the spin-off is to "enhance Kollsman's focus on its core business area of commercial aviation, and to ensure the international defense business had its own unique focus," Randy Moore, Kollsman executive vice president and general manager, said in a statement.
In a compromise $447 billion fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill, House and Senate conferees prohibited the U.S. Air Force from leasing aerial refueling tankers from Boeing Co., gave the Department of Defense authority to move ahead with base closures and approved a watered-down version of the House's Buy American provision. The House and Senate were expected to vote on the bill Oct. 8.
Oct. 12 - 14 -- Aviation Week presents MRO Asia, Shanghai Convention Center. To register go to http://www.AviationNow.com/conferences. Oct. 12 - 14 -- Precision Strike Technology Symposium, "Accelerating Joint & Coalition Technology Advances for Precision Strike," Kossiakoff Conference Center, The John Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md. For more information, go to www.precisionstrike.org.
UNCLEAR SUCCESSION: The U.S. Air Force is seeking to resolve a succession problem caused by the decision of Gen. Gregory S. Martin to withdraw his name from consideration for commander of U.S. Pacific Command (DAILY, Oct. 8). Criticism from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) over Martin's past as an acquisition official led to the withdrawal, although Martin said he was not involved with the KC-767 tanker lease deal with Boeing Co. that McCain opposes. However, Lt. Gen. Bruce Carlson already has been confirmed to take Martin's place as head of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC).
CRYOSAT MILESTONE: The SAR/Interferometric Radar Altimeter (SIRAL) instrument has been delivered to EADS Astrium for integration into the CryoSat spacecraft, marking a milestone for the satellite, the European Space Agency says. The Alcatel Space-developed SIRAL is the key instrument for CryoSat, which is intended to study sea-ice thickness in the Arctic basin when it is launched next March. SIRAL will precisely measure the thickness of floating sea ice so that annual observations can be made, ESA says.
FOLLOW THE MONEY: The Senate defeated an amendment proposed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would have given appropriations authority to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, a move recommended by the 9/11 Commission. McCain proposed the amendment Oct. 7 to Senate Resolution 445, which contains an amendment offered by Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that overhauls how Congress oversees U.S. intelligence activities (DAILY, Oct. 6).
TURKEY F-16s: Turkey plans to buy up to $4 billion in equipment from the United States to modernize 218 F-16s, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) says. If all options are exercised, the proposed deal, which Congress is expected to approve, will include the purchase of 180 AN/APG-68(V)9 radars, 200 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems, 200 AN/AVS-9 Night Vision Goggles, 225 AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles and small quantities of several weapons for integration and testing.
UPCOMING DEADLINE: A request for proposals for the U.S. Army's Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) is expected by early December, an Army representative says. Responses are due back from industry within about 45 days and a decision is due next spring, the Army says. The draft RFP for the ARH, released Sept.
MISSILE TRACKER: The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) program is on schedule to launch two research and development satellites in less than three years, according to a Defense Department official. The sensor payloads, under development by Raytheon, are due to be delivered to STSS prime contractor Northrop Grumman in 2005 and integrated with the rest of the spacecraft in 2006. The two satellites, which are designed to track hostile ballistic missiles, are slated to lift off aboard a single Boeing Delta II booster in June 2007.
The U.S. Air Force's Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) program is progressing toward a Pentagon review next spring that will determine whether the air-to-surface weapon can begin low-rate production, according to a program official. The program has conducted 13 flight-tests so far with positive results, said Air Force Col. Jim McClendon, SDB's program director. "In every case, the key aspects we've looked for have functioned," McClendon told The DAILY in a recent written response to questions.
