Aerojet is proposing that it take over rocket motor work on two Lockheed Martin missile programs that has been carried out by Pratt & Whitney, an Aerojet official said. Aerojet, the missile and space propulsion unit of GenCorp Inc., already is doing some work on motors for the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile, which would help defend Army troops against enemy aircraft and cruise missiles, and the Boost Vehicle-Plus, planned by the Missile Defense Agency for use in the U.S. ballistic missile defense system.
NEW TECHNOLOGY: The wave of the future for ship weapon elevators may be "ropeless," say Navy officials and industry members. The technology's first application may be on the future aircraft carrier CVN-21, says Matthew Mulherin, vice president of CVN-21 at Northrop Grumman Newport News. Instead of the traditional cable-and-hydraulics elevator systems found on current Navy ships and in buildings, the CVN-21 program is considering using a linear motor solution that won't involve pistons driving cables, Todd Webber, president and COO of MagneMotion, tells The DAILY.
Aerospace and defense industry members have some concerns about the implementation of the Department of Defense's Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system, Alan Estevez, the DOD deputy undersecretary for supply chain integration, said April 9. DOD held an April 6-8 summit in Washington to discuss those concerns.
The first guided weapon drop from Boeing's X-45A unmanned combat air vehicle prototype is expected within the next two weeks, according to Mike Francis, director of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) program office. Originally scheduled for the weekend of April 4, bad weather over the test range at China Lake, Calif., combined with other pressing priorities, have pushed the drop back, according to Francis. The X-45A conducted its first drop of an unguided inert Small Smart Bomb late last month (DAILY, March 26).
Boeing is ready to resume discussions on the KC-767A tanker lease-buy agreement with the U.S. Air Force because the Pentagon's inspector general found "no reason not to proceed with the tanker deal," the company said April 9, although the IG's report was highly critical of the way the agreement was put together. A redacted summary of the report from the Defense Department's top auditor, released April 9, said the U.S. Air Force used an inappropriate procurement strategy in its negotiations with the aircraft manufacturer.
COMPLIANCE: Anti-bribery efforts are gaining momentum in the international marketplace, including among defense and aerospace companies, says a recent survey by a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization. "Bribery of public officials in foreign markets is no longer being shrugged off as just another 'cost of doing business' by multinational corporations," says the April 6 survey released by Transparent Agents and Contracting (TRACE), which specializes in anti-bribery due diligence reviews and compliance training for international commercial intermediaries.
NASA is preparing to relieve the Expedition 8 crew onboard the International Space Station (ISS) later this month, while managers on the ground mull a suggestion from the Russians that station missions be extended from six months up to a year. NASA and Russia are performing a joint analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of year-long missions that should be complete in the next few weeks, according to ISS Program Manager Bill Gerstenmaier.
MAKING THEIR DEBUT: Lockheed Martin plans to roll out its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) on April 15 at its facility in Camden, Ark., the company said April 9. HIMARS is the newest member of the family of MLRS launchers and GMLRS is the latest addition to the MLRS family of munitions, the company said.
POWERED FLIGHT: Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne flew its second powered flight on April 8, reaching a speed of Mach 2 and a maximum altitude of 100,000 feet, according to a statement released by the National Space Society. The first powered flight took place Dec. 17, during which the suborbital spacecraft reached speeds of Mach 1.2 and a maximum altitude of 67,800 feet. SpaceShipOne is carried to its release altitude by the White Knight aircraft, which takes off from Mojave Airport in California.
An article in The DAILY of April 7, "Lockheed Martin JCM completes inert munitions testing," incorrectly described the kind of testing the Joint Common Missile's motor has completed. It has completed insensitive munitions testing, meaning it won't detonate when subjected to fire or struck by debris.
NO SUPPORT: The General Accounting Office says it could find no evidence that the U.S. Department of Defense provided guidance to combatant commanders on how to implement legislation allowing the agency to support coalition liaison officers. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2003 authorized Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to provide services and support to foreign coalition officers temporarily assigned to the headquarters of combatant commands as part of the war on terrorism.
FUEL EFFICIENT: Sens. Sue Collins (R-Me.), Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) are pushing legislation to increase energy efficiency in military vehicles. Under the proposed National Defense Energy Savings Act, which they introduced last week, the government would pay no up-front costs for private contractors' energy-efficient upgrades to military vehicles such as tanks, aircraft and ships.
The U.S. Marine Corps is trying to plug a $1.6 billion funding hole caused by higher than expected demands for equipment and other items in ongoing military operations, officials said April 8.
The Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) radio did well in recently completed operational tests and the U.S. Air Force plans to issue a full-rate production contract to prime contractor Boeing before the end of the fiscal year, said Lt. Col. Tom Kennedy, the Air Force's CSEL program manager.
Roughly a year after delivery to the U.S. Navy, the upcoming X-Craft demonstrator will be fitted with a lifting body to enhance its speed and provide additional stability for helicopter operations, according to Chief of Naval Research Adm. Jay Cohen. A lifting body is an underwater wing that raises the hull of a boat off the surface of the water at high speeds while providing enhanced stability at low speeds. Pacific Marine of Honolulu, Hawaii will provide the 350-ton lifting body for X-Craft.
The U.S. Navy's CVN-21 future aircraft carrier passed Milestone B April 2, which means the program can move into the detailed design phase, according to Rear Adm. Dennis Dwyer, program executive officer for aircraft carriers. "Passing Milestone B allows us to start ship construction in October 2006. In the meantime, we will buy long-lead material for initial assemblies and currently are negotiating the contract for construction preparation," Dwyer said. "Electric Boat is helping with the design. We intend to build some shipboard units in this period.
A recently redesigned portion of the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) has started to undergo testing, according to Raytheon Co., the prime contractor for the sea-based interceptor. The first ground test was conducted in mid-February, and several more ground tests are expected in preparation for flight-testing in 2005. "The first test worked like a charm," said Dean Gehr, a business development director for Raytheon Missile Systems.
The newest version of the Lockheed Martin-led team's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) design would allow the ship, at full weight, to move at 46 knots, Lockheed Martin representative Keith Mordoff told The DAILY. The ship could move at up to 60 knots in special operations outfitting for shorter ranges, Mordoff said. The ship would be able to accelerate to full speed in less than two minutes, and turn a 360-degree radius in less than eight boat lengths at its rated sprint speed, he said.
RETIRING: The Bush Administration's chief architect for missile defense plans to retire later this year, the Defense Department announced April 8. Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency since June 1999, will step down in a few months and be replaced by his current deputy, Air Force Maj. Gen. Henry Obering. Kadish, who has been on active duty for 34 years, will retire effective Sept. 1, though he will likely take an extended leave starting in July.
The Large Aircraft Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system is intended to give tanker and transport aircraft an improved capability to defend against proliferating man-portable missiles, according to the Air Force. The colorless, eye-safe, multi-band Viper laser, mounted in a small pointer/tracker turret, is designed to be more effective than flares, which mimic the heat of aircraft engines to draw heat-seeking missiles away their target. LAIRCM's laser dazzles a missile's guidance seeker, sending it astray. It requires no human intervention once it is activated.
The U.S. Navy's EA-6B Improved Capability (ICAP) III aircraft began its operational evaluation (OPEVAL) April 2, the Navy announced April 8. During the five-month OPEVAL the Navy will operate the two upgraded EA-6B Prowler test aircraft normally while testers evaluate the performance of the ICAP III system, the reliability and maintainability of its components, and other metrics. Operational Test Squadron VX-9 out of China Lake, Calif., is conducting the OPEVAL.
Military leaders told a Senate panel this week that while unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have proved useful in Iraq and Afghanistan, the short ranges of some models, and a lack of sufficient numbers of the aircraft, have caused problems. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) asked military witnesses how they plan to address such problems during the Senate Armed Services Committee's strategic forces subcommittee's April 7 hearing on defense intelligence programs.
LICENSED TO FLY: The Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation has issued the world's first license for a suborbital manned rocket flight, to Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif. The FAA license is required for U.S. contenders for the X Prize, a $10 million award for a commercial manned, reusable space launch vehicle.
