A recent report by the Defense Science Board (DSB) concludes that the U.S. Air Force's Space Based Radar (SBR) program has the potential to make "substantial contributions" to ballistic missile defense.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has resumed the use of its Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) after a pebble that had jammed the tool's rotors two weeks earlier apparently fell out. The RAT is used to bore into martian rocks, exposing their interiors for further analysis. Mission controllers had planned to rotate the mechanism in the other direction to dislodge the pebble, but apparently the rover's normal movements were enough to make it fall out (DAILY, Aug. 19).
The U.S. Marine Corps plans to set up new programs in the Middle East to sustain H-1, CH-46 and CH-53 helicopters deployed in Iraq, according to a service official.
BAE Systems is bringing together Alvis and RO Defence to create a new Land Systems business, the company said Sept. 2. The new business will be led by Ian King, group managing director of Customer Solutions & Support (CS&S) and Land Systems.
China ranked first among developing nations in the value of arms transfer agreements with the United States and other nations, according to a Congressional Research Service report. "Developing nations continue to be the primary focus of foreign arms sales activity by weapons suppliers," says the report. "Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations," an unclassified annual study released this week, found that between 2000 and 2003 China had $9.3 billion in agreements with the United States.
The U.S. Air Force later this year plans to show that it can control multiple unmanned aircraft from a single ground station, an ability that would help boost the contribution of such vehicles to network-centric operations, according to Lt. Col. Eric Mathewson, chief of Air Combat Command's UAV division.
Raytheon Co.'s ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) targeting pods are deployed on the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 67) with two F/A-18C Hornet squadrons and successfully completed numerous missions in July without missing a sortie, the company said Sept. 1.
C-130S: Lockheed Martin Corp. has been awarded $8.4 million for seven C-130E aircraft for Pakistan's air force, the U.S. Department of Defense said Sept. 2. The sale was conducted under the Foreign Military Sales program. The work is to be completed by December, the DOD said. Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., awarded the contract.
NASA has awarded the first contracts for companies to perform preliminary concept studies on human lunar exploration and the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), the agency announced Sept. 1. The 11 contracts are worth approximately $27 million, with options for another $27 million. They are a result of the Concept Exploration and Refinement (CE&R) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) issued by NASA in May. Each contract covers a period of six months, with an option for an additional six months.
The U.S. Army's Tank and Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) recently awarded United Defense Industries Inc. (UDI) an $18.4 million contract modification to study ways to counter tank-fired kinetic energy (KE) rounds, UDI said Sept. 1. UDI will conduct active defense systems engineering, analysis, and testing. Experiments will simulate, model, define and help understand all aspects of defeating KE, and a direction will be decided on for future technology investments for full-spectrum protection, UDI said.
The Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile system intercepted both of its targets during a Sept. 2 test designed to demonstrate recent improvements to the PAC-3 missile, according to the U.S. Army. During the first engagement, two PAC-3 missiles were "ripple-fired" at a Patriot-As-A-Target (PAAT), which is an older Patriot missile modified to act like a short-range ballistic missile. The first PAC-3 missile hit the target, prompting the second missile to self-destruct.
AWARDED: Northrop Grumman Corp. has been selected to receive the 2004 U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Award (SPQA), the company said Sept. 2. A team of SPQA examiners evaluated the Newport News sector's operations group in several areas, including organizational results and leadership. The sector was identified as a model organization, with demonstrated maturity and excellence in each area, Northrop Grumman said.
The second operational interceptor for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system is slated for installation at Fort Greely, Alaska, "within the next few days," a Missile Defense Agency spokesman said Sept. 1. Weather, especially the desire for "favorable wind conditions," will determine the specific timing for inserting the Initial Defensive Capability 2 (IDC-2) interceptor missile in an underground silo, the spokesman told The DAILY. The first GMD interceptor, IDC-1, was placed in the ground July 22 (DAILY, July 26).
PAC-3 TEST: The next intercept test for the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile system will take place Sept. 2 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., the U.S. Army said late Sept. 1. The system will try to destroy a short-range ballistic missile target and a low-flying cruise missile target at the same time. Cost-reduction changes to the PAC-3 missile also will be demonstrated.
LOCKHEED MARTIN said a classified National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Aug. 31, marking the final flight of the company's Atlas II series of rockets. Liftoff of the Atlas IIAS took place at 7:17 p.m. EDT from Pad 36A, followed by payload separation 73 minutes later. The Atlas II now has logged 63 flights since its introduction in December 1991. The mission also marked the final flight of the Rocketdyne MA-5A engine, which has been in service for 47 years.
General Dynamics American Overseas Marine has been awarded a $24 million contract by the U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command for the operation and maintenance of nine Large Medium-Speed Roll On/Roll Off (LMSR) vessels. American Overseas Marine is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics. Under the contract, American Overseas Marine will provide supplies, provisions, tools, equipment, operational and technical support and qualified ship officers and crews to repair, maintain, and operate the vessels.
E-10A BMC2: The U.S. Air Force is on track to pick a prime contractor in mid-September to develop the Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) system for the E-10A Multi-sensor Command and Control Aircraft (MC2A), an Air Force spokesman said Sept. 1. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are competing for the BMC2 contract. The E-10A is designed to replace the E-8C Joint Stars air-to-ground surveillance aircraft. The Air Force plans to use a Boeing 767-400ER for an E-10A test bed. Northrop Grumman and Raytheon are developing the radar.
The first Wedgetail early warning and control aircraft for Australia has completed a series of flight tests ahead of schedule, according to an official of Boeing Co., which is building six of the highly modified 737-700 jets for the Australian Defence Force. The airworthiness tests, conducted at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and in Mesa, Ariz., beginning in June, included takeoff performance, flight handling, simulated air-to-air refueling and nacelle and engine component cooling.
Tel-Instrument Electronics Corp. has won a $1.6 million contract to supply T-36M ramp test sets to the Army National Guard, the company said Sept. 1. Tel-Instrument Electronics expects to complete delivery of all units during the current fiscal year. Tel-Instrument Electronics manufactures and designs avionics test and measurement systems for the general aviation, global commercial air transport and aerospace and defense markets. The company provides instruments to repair, calibrate, measure and test communications and airborne navigation equipment.
The first test flight of the Complementary Low Altitude Weapon Systems (CLAWS) was completed successfully at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., according to Raytheon Co. Company officials said Sept. 1 that all mission objectives were achieved with the launcher in full tactical configuration. U.S Marines operated the equipment.
The U.S. Coast Guard will make a decision next week on a contract for five VideoRay underwater surveillance robots for use in port security, according to company officials. VideoRay LLC of Exton, Pa., already has provided the Coast Guard with four submersibles for its Maritime Safety and Security Teams, a rapid response force charged with meeting emerging threats in key ports around the country, said company spokesman Erick Estrada. The contract for the additional robots will be worth $250,000-500,000, he said.
PREDATOR WORK: Raytheon Systems Co. has been awarded an $11.7 million task order in preparation for Multispectral Targeting Systems (MTS) "B" production for the Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle program, the Department of Defense announced Sept. 1. The MTS B is a forward-looking infrared system for the Predator B, and provides real-time imagery selectable between infrared and day TV, the DOD said. Work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed in June 2006.
