By combining the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) program contract to include both General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Army will accelerate the program's development, the WIN-T project manager said Sept. 14. Combining contractors establishes a single baseline for the WIN-T program, rather than two that would be offered by competing WIN-T teams, according to Col. Angel Colon, the WIN-T project manager. Under the previous acquisition strategy, the Army would have selected one of the proposed systems in late 2005.
The consolidation of Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems' (ATK) medium-caliber manufacturing operations to the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, W.Va. has been successfully completed, the company said Sept. 15. Four months after stopping production in Minnesota, the company is producing medium-caliber components in West Virginia.
BAE Systems Avionics Group and Kaman Aerospace Corp. are teaming to provide an intermediate maritime helicopter package based on BAE Systems' mission system and sensor suite and Kaman's SH-2G Super Seasprite, BAE Systems said Sept. 14. Initial efforts will be focused on autonomous self-protection suites, NATO interoperable communications and navigation systems, and sensor and target acquisition packages, as well as a range of anti-surface and anti-submarine weapons, the Basildon, England-based company said. Kaman Aerospace is based in Bloomfield, Conn.
The U.S. Air Force is attempting to pull together a set of joint requirements from across the services to build a stronger case for the beleaguered Space Based Radar (SBR) program, according to Peter Teets, undersecretary of the Air Force for space.
The U.S. Air Force/Department of Defense's acquisition system needs to go "back to the future" to improve its speed and efficiency, a retired lieutenant general's study has concluded.
The U.S. Air Force is writing a new concept of operations (CONOPS) for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) that will help guide future acquisition decisions, a general said Sept. 14.
Starting Sept. 14, a NASA-led team will spend two weeks in the desert near Flagstaff, Ariz., testing prototype equipment that could be used for the human exploration of the moon and Mars. The sand, dust, rough terrain, and temperature variations in the desert help approximate conditions that may be encountered on the moon or Mars, according to NASA. As part of the Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS) program, engineers and scientists from inside and outside NASA will wear new prototype spacesuits as they evaluate the new gear.
Information technology provider Titan Corp. will open its new 280,000 square-foot office complex in Reston, Va. on Sept. 15, the company said. Titan's new, 16-story facility, located at Two Freedom Square, will serve as the company's Washington headquarters for five of its eight business sectors that provide technology and systems to the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the intelligence community and other government agencies, the company said Sept. 14.
External Tank 120, scheduled for the space shuttle's return to flight mission next spring, has been moved to the vehicle assembly building at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, La., to prepare for the application of foam insulation to a tank structural connection point, NASA said Sept. 13. The move is "a major step toward returning the space shuttle to flight," NASA said. The loss of the shuttle Columbia in 2003 has been blamed on shedding foam that punched a hole in a thermal panel on the shuttle's wing.
U.S. Air Force officials are expressing renewed confidence about the service's two fighter aircraft acquisition efforts. Air Force Secretary James Roche told reporters late Sept. 13 that the F/A-22 Raptor, now in a key test phase, is exceeding a requirement to be twice as capable as the F-15 it is designed to replace. "The data so far show it to be more than twice as capable over and over and over and over," Roche said at a press briefing at the Air Force Association's Air & Space Conference.
CIT: BAE Systems Information & Electronic Systems Integration Inc. of Greenlawn, N.Y., will provide 33 new F/A-18 combined interrogator transponder (CIT) receiver-transmitters under a $6.5 million contract, the Department of Defense said Sept. 13. The contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (94 percent of the contract) and the government of Australia under the Foreign Military Sales program, DOD said.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.'s new aerial refueling boom is using electrical instead of hydraulic systems as much as possible to reduce weight, EADS officials said Sept. 14 at the Air Force Association's Air & Space Conference in Washington. "We are reducing the workload on the boom, and making it fail-safe so no single failure could abort it, and using as many commercial off-the-shelf equipment as possible to reduce cost," said David Ferro, EADS' technical director for its advanced tanker team.
Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) has been given responsibility for exploring the military utility of "near-space" altitudes, according to AFSPC Commander Gen. Lance Lord. Near-space is defined as altitudes of 65,000 to 350,000 feet, according to Lord. Because this area is not technically part of space, some have wondered whether near-space would be under the province of AFSPC or Air Combat Command (ACC).
Intelsat has been tapped to be the lead provider of satellite capacity for oil and gas companies, as Houston-based SkyPort International has bought two long-term capacity leases on the IA-7 satellite, the company said Sept. 14.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are playing a prominent role in the war on terror, and the retooled CV-22 Osprey has an "awesome capability," the commander of the Air Force Special Operations Command said Sept. 14. Lt. Gen. Michael W. Wooley, speaking at the Air Force Association's Air & Space Conference in Washington, said the UAVs act as "tiny eyes in the sky" and are saving coalition forces' lives. Some of the UAVs weigh as little as two pounds, he said.
ITT Industries will deliver instruments for the next generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) under a NASA contract that could be worth up to $359 million through 2029. The company will deliver infrared and visible-wavelength environmental imaging instruments for the GOES-R satellite series, to replace older instruments.
The head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Airborne Laser (ABL) is expressing cautious optimism that the program will meet its goal to achieve two key milestones by year's end.
The next flight-test of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system is being delayed at least two more months, MDA said Sept. 14. Integrated Flight Test 13C (IFT-13C), which previously slipped from mid-to-late August to mid-to-late September to fix a computer glitch in the interceptor's booster (DAILY, Aug. 18), now will be moved to late November or early December, partly to give program officials more time to find the root cause of the computer problem, MDA said.
Lockheed Martin's Maritime Systems and Sensors will provide the design and system engineering to the U.S. Navy for the Advanced Deployable System (ADS) program under a $21 million contract, the Department of Defense announced Sept. 13. The work will be used to provide a preliminary design and integrated baseline for the ADS variant to be deployed by the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), DOD said.
The cost of the future U.S. Air Force Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV) will be approximately $1.1 billion in development funding, including the engine, and a total of $9 billion, said David Oliver, EADS North America's chief operating officer. The $9 billion figure doesn't include support over the life of the program, Oliver said Sept. 14 at the Air Force Association's Air & Space Conference in Washington.
Northrop Grumman is on schedule to deliver by year's end the first four B-2 bombers to be equipped with new bomb racks that will enable the aircraft to drop five times as many precision weapons on a single flight, according to company officials. "We promised that we'd have four airplanes all equipped, certified and ready by the end of this year, and in fact we'll make that commitment," Harry Heimple, manager of government requirements for Northrop Grumman's Air Combat Systems division, said during a briefing in Washington Sept. 14.
Aculight Corp. of Bothell, Wash., will develop a compact, rugged, short-pulse fiber laser source under a $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the Department of Energy, the company said Sept. 14. The system could be used in active imaging and remote sensing systems, the company said, and will be based on Aculight's pulsed fiber laser technology. Aculight also will produce a compact ultraviolet laser for use in Raman spectroscopy for the National Institute of Health under a $100,000 SBIR contract.
The damage done to NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) by Hurricane Frances is not a "showstopper," according to Administrator Sean O'Keefe, and should not interfere with the agency's goal of returning the space shuttle to flight by March or April of next year. Although the three shuttles were undamaged by the storm, damage done to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and the facility that manufactures the shuttle's thermal tiles and blankets were seen as possible threats to a spring 2005 launch (DAILY, Sept. 8).
