The Force Application and Launch from the Continental U.S. (FALCON) program plans to open the second phase of its Small Launch Vehicle (SLV) portion to all respondents in a request for proposals (RFP) expected in two weeks. "Task 1" for FALCON is the SLV effort, which is developing a launch vehicle capable of putting 1,000 pounds into low-Earth orbit at very short notice or boosting a hypersonic munition known as the Common Aero Vehicle (CAV) to suborbital altitudes. The SLV is expected to come online by 2010.
O&M: "Addressable" operations and maintenance (O&M) budgets will grow at 6 percent a year for fiscal 2005 through fiscal 2009 period, the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association (GEIA) predicts in a recently updated forecast. "Addressable" means the amount of the budget available to electronics and professional services contractors. GEIA segments O&M into seven services and support categories: logistics, maintenance, and depots; information services; training; military operations; base operations; health care; and administration.
JSF AMMO: The move by the Defense Department's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program office to consider adding the PGU-25/U High Explosive Incendiary (HEI), an air-to-air ammunition, to the aircraft's 25mm gun design (DAILY, April 15) came in response to a four-year-old requirements document that calls for such a capability on what will primarily be an air-to-ground fighter, program spokeswoman Kathy Crawford says.
CONVOY PROTECTION: Because of the "extreme measures" the U.S. Army is taking to protect its convoys in Iraq, it is finding and deactivating most of the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) being placed along convoy routes, according to Lt. Gen. Richard Cody, the Army's deputy chief of staff for operations. "Sixty-five percent of the IEDs that are put along convoy routes we are finding today ... before they explode," Cody says. "We knew during this time that our convoys would be increased just because of the sheer movement, so we took military steps.
ACHILLES' HEEL: The Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) program is being careful to make sure that bandwidth hunger doesn't become a weakness of the operational system, according to J-UCAS Program Office Director Mike Francis. "The problem isn't just J-UCAS," Francis says. "It's all the other systems that have bandwidth demands." Because the J-UCAS may have to operate before DOD's Transformational Communications System comes online, "we'll be working with something less.
UPGRADING: Lockheed Martin will provide new transmitters, receivers and power supplies to upgrade five AN/TPS-59(V)3 radar systems and spares that were used in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The work will be done under a $13.8 million contract from Marine Corps Systems Command, which has options that could boost its value to $27.7 million, the company said April 15.
COORDINATION: More needs to be done to coordinate U.S. Department of Defense air traffic management activities with those of other parts of the government, says Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) President John Douglass. The Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), established within the FAA to plan air traffic management over the next two to three decades (DAILY, Feb. 26), is a good start, he says. It consists of the FAA, DOD, Transportation Security Agency, Office of Science and Technology Policy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA.
CANDIDATES: The European Space Agency's Directorate of Earth Observation plans to meet near Rome April 19 and 20 to discuss scientific and technical evaluations of six candidates for ESA's next generation of Earth Explorer missions.
AWACS RENEGOTIATION: The U.S. Air Force and the Boeing Co. say they plan to renegotiate the $1.3 billion price of a modernization contract for NATO's airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, following the release of a report by the Defense Department's Inspector General (IG) that asserts that the Air Force, which spearheaded the contract work, did not follow all of its procedures in determining the price. "To remove any doubt that our customer got a fair and reasonable deal, we volunteered to renegotiate the contract.
A team led by Northrop Grumman Corp. and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) has been picked to develop and build the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO announced April 16.
SBR WORK: Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, as expected, have been awarded 24-month, $230 million U.S. Air Force study contracts for the Space Based Radar program, the Defense Department said April 16. A prime contractor is expected to be selected for the system in 2006.
NIMROD UPGRADE: Three teams have been selected for the first stage of Project Helix, an effort to upgrade the mission suite of the United Kingdom's Nimrod R1 reconnaissance aircraft. Teams led by L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman were chosen by the Defence Logistics Organisation, an office of Britain's Ministry of Defence, for an initial nine-month "problem definition" phase. Two of the teams will be chosen to proceed to the next phase, concept definition, which lasts 12 months. One team will be picked in 2006 for the risk reduction phase.
Australia chose European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS) over Boeing in a $1.5 billion deal to supply new tanker aircraft, handing Boeing its second defeat in the worldwide aerial tanker market in just three months. Boeing lost to EADS in the United Kingdom's $23 billion tanker competition in late January, prompting observers to say at the time that the development could prompt Australia to go for EADS as well (DAILY, Jan. 27).
April 20 - 22 -- Aviation Week presents MRO Conference & Exhibition 2004, including MRO Latin America and the new MRO Military, Cobb Galleria Centre, Two Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, Ga. To register go to http://www.aviationweek.com/conferences. April 20 - 22 -- 2004 UAV Concepts, tactics and technologies for the 21st Century Conference and Exhibition, Westin Hotel, Sydney, Australia. For information go to www.uvasiapacific.com.
Following several days of fact finding and a hearing April 16, the Stafford-Covey Task Group has concluded that NASA has fulfilled three of the return-to-flight recommendations made by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), according to Task Group Co-Chairman Richard Covey. "The progress that has been made by NASA in implementing the recommendations of the [CAIB] is substantial," Covey said during a press conference April 16. However, "they still have much work to do before they will be truly ready to return to flight."
The U.S. Department of Defense plans to expand its use of Blue Force Tracking (BFT) by installing "tens of thousands systems like those used by the coalition to track forces in Iraq and Afghanistan," the Army FBCB2 program office said April 14. FBCB2/BFT (Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade-and-Below/Blue Force Tracking) is a tactical command-and-control system that links troops, vehicles, aircraft and sensors via satellite or terrestrial radio to provide a digital picture of the battlefield.
Defense and aerospace companies and other contractors would be required to include stock option values in their earnings, according to a new Federal Accounting Standards Board (FASB) rule scheduled to go into effect Dec. 15. However, they still wouldn't be allowed to bill those expenses to government contracts. The new rule would affect small to mid-sized companies more than larger companies, according to industry officials and analysts.
Sensytech, Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding stock of Imaging Sensors and Systems, Inc. (ISS), the company announced April 14. The purchase price is in the form of cash and stock, with earn-out payments if performance objectives are met. The closing is expected to occur later this week, Sensytech said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The recent discovery of an extrasolar planet using a new technique will help inform upcoming NASA planet-finding efforts such as the Terrestrial Planet Finder and the Space Interferometry Mission, according to Philippe Crane, Origins theme scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
PARTNERS NAMED: Boeing completed its 7E7 Dreamliner supplier team by selecting its Wichita division to produce the jet's pylons and Goodrich Corp. to produce the nacelles, including the thrust reverser, the company said April 15. Pylons attach the engines to the airplane and nacelles are the engines' outer coverings.
A U.S. Air Force team of experts charged with assessing whether aging aircraft should be retired plans to turn its attention to the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker fleet. The Air Force Fleet Viability Board (AFFVB) is expected to begin its KC-135 assessment on or about May 10, the Air Force told The DAILY April 15 in a written response to questions. A projected completion date has not been determined.
The Wideband Gapfiller System is a constellation of U.S. military communications satellites intended to bridge the gap between current defense communications satellites and the Transformational Communications Architecture planned for later in the decade. The communications capabilities of WGS will be significantly greater than those of current systems, and the system will be compatible with existing control systems and terminals.
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The Czech government is working on a new law that would allow it to bypass Czech companies in international arms deals. The law, which was passed by the Czech chamber of deputies last week but has yet to be discussed by the senate, would simplify concluding a deal with Sweden on the lease of 14 Gripen JAS-39 aircraft, according to defense minister Miroslav Kostelka.
