JTRS CONTRACTOR: The U.S. Army, the lead service for the Defense Department's Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Cluster 5 program, plans to announce a contractor selection the week of July 12-16, a service spokeswoman says. General Dynamics and ITT Industries are competing to be the prime contractor for Cluster 5, which will provide man-packable and handheld radios and radios used with munitions and small unmanned aerial vehicles.
HELICOPTER ASSOCIATION INTL., Alexandria, Va. G. Edward Newton has been named treasurer. Roy M. Simmons has been elected chairman. Timothy H. Voss has begun serving as assistant treasurer. Timothy Wahlberg has begun serving as vice chairman. G. Edward Newton has been named treasurer. Roy M. Simmons has been elected chairman. Timothy H. Voss has begun serving as assistant treasurer. Timothy Wahlberg has begun serving as vice chairman.
EADS SPACE TRANSPORTATION and ESA will sign a 1 billion euro contract to allow Europe to begin exploitation of the International Space Station. The contract covers the operations of Columbus, ESA's lab aboard the space station, and the production of six European multifunctional cargo spaceships called Automated Transfer Vehicles.
FUTURE MISSIONS: The Advanced Concepts Team (ACT) at the European Space Agency's European Space Technology Research Center is identifying space missions that "sound like science fiction," ESA says. Among other things, the ACT is studying the feasibility of using satellites to generate electricity from sunlight and beam it to Earth, and "tumbleweed" robots that would roam across the surfaces of other planets.
Nearly 60 representatives from the Space Exploration Alliance (SEA) are expected to conduct more than 200 briefings to members of Congress on the importance of NASA's space exploration vision during a "media blitz" July 12 and 13, according to National Space Society (NSS) Executive Director George Whitesides. "As of yesterday, we had ... 120 [briefings scheduled], but these things all get done at the last minute, so we'll probably have over 200 by the end of the day," Whitesides told The DAILY July 9.
ACQUIRED: Esterline Corp., which builds avionics and sensors and provides advanced materials for the aerospace and defense markets, has acquired Leach Holding Corp., which builds electromechanical relays, switching devices and power distribution assemblies. The acquisition will add $120 million to the company's annual revenue base, Esterline said July 9. The deal is expected to be completed in early August. "Leach fits our stated strategy to consolidate manufacturers of superior aerospace components," Robert W. Cremin, Esterline's CEO, said in a statement.
For the first time, the U.S. Navy will simulate the launch of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from a submarine during the Silent Hammer exercise, scheduled to take place off the coast of California this fall. In previous exercises the Navy has tested controlling UAVs from submarines.
SI INTERNATIONAL INC. has been awarded a five-year blanket purchase agreement to provide services and technical support for the Space and Missile Systems Center Space Programs. SMC is a unit of the U.S. Air Force Space Command and is responsible for satellite items, command and control, development and acquisition of space launch, design and research. Under the contract, SI International will provide systems protection training support, integrated logistics support, software engineering, systems security engineering and systems engineering and integration.
The U.S. aerospace industry has lost more than 500,000 jobs in the last decade while production employment fell 58 percent, a trend that an aerospace labor group says could be made worse by the use of offsets in defense transactions. "When those work packages go offshore, we will be conceding production technology and capacity we have never held ourselves," said Stanley Sorscher, a labor representative with the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN, Herndon, Va. Robert F. "Bob" Brammer has been named vice president and chief technology officer of the information technology sector. L. William "Bill" Varner has been named vice president, intelligence operations for the company's TASC business unit.
GAITHERSBURG, Md. - Lockheed Martin's Integrated Systems and Solutions (IS&S) business unit is focusing on several major upcoming military competitions as it seeks to maintain and strengthen its position in the C4ISR market, according to Stan Sloane, the unit's vice president.
READY: Telesat's Anik F2 telecommunications satellite is ready for launch July 12, spacecraft builder Boeing said July 8. The satellite, slated to deliver commercial satellite-based broadband Internet service, is to launch from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, Boeing said. The satellite carries Ka-band, C-band and Ku-band transponders and is to provide two-way, high-speed Internet access from the southern United States to the northern reaches of Alaska and Canada, according to Boeing.
Boeing will provide two ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle mobile deployment units for use with the First Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) in Iraq, the company said July 8. Each deployment unit will include several UAVs, as well as the computers, classification links and ground equipment needed to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support for I MEF operations, Boeing said.
EA-18G Electronic Attack Aircraft The EA-18G aircraft, a derivative of the F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter, will replace the U.S. Navy's long-serving Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler electronic combat jet. The EA-18G, built by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, will feature a new and enhanced version of the airborne electronic attack system that Northrop Grumman builds for the EA-6B.
DELAYED: The launch of NASA's Aura spacecraft has been bumped from July 10 to July 11 to give NASA time to check out electronic transistors on the spacecraft, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., said July 8. NASA has detected a problem involving some transistors and wants to make sure it isn't related to transistors on the spacecraft, the Air Force said in a statement. Aura will study the Earth's ozone, air quality and climate.
More of a strain has fallen on the assets most used in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) - light helicopters, and to a lesser extent heavy-lift helicopters, said Lt. Gen. Chip Gregson, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Pacific. "We need convoy escorts and troop lift escorts," he told reporters July 8 at a Defense Writers Group breakfast. "We are being careful to manage these assets and sustain them over time."
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The Czech government has given its defense ministry the green light to sell nearly 50 L-159 light combat aircraft. The formal decision, which was taken at a cabinet meeting July 7, is part of a long-term strategy to reduce the air force's subsonic fleet of 71 Czech-built aircraft.
LIGHTER WEIGHT: Goodrich Corp. will develop mortar barrel segments incorporating its FyreRoc composite material system under a contract from the U.S. Army's Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. Goodrich will evaluate the performance of the FyreRoc material under live fire conditions when used in 81mm mortar barrels, the company said July 8. Use of the composite "could potentially reduce the weight of the current steel 81mm mortar barrel, allowing a soldier to more easily carry the weapon into battle," Ray Espinosa, systems project engineer at the arsenal, said in a Goodrich statement.
