EUROCOPTER: American Eurocopter will break ground for a new manufacturing facility in Columbus, Miss., on Aug. 7. American Eurocopter is a subsidiary of Eurocopter, the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world, which is owned by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). "The newest American Eurocopter facility represents the confirmation of a commitment made by EADS North America and its subsidiaries to expand our footprint in the United States and contribute to economic growth, job creation and good citizenship," EADS says.
Although Loral Space & Communications and Orbital Sciences Corp. have experienced financial difficulties, the business strategies pursued by each company has led to very different results, according to two space analysts. Loral, a provider of large telecommunications satellites and satellite services, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 15 and agreed to sell nearly half its satellite fleet to Intelsat for cash (DAILY, July 16).
EELV FATE: Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee's strategic forces panel, says he supports the Air Force's decision to punish the Boeing Co. for wrongfully obtaining documents from Lockheed Martin Corp., its main competitor in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The punishment includes a reduction in launch contracts for Boeing (DAILY, July 25). But Allard continues to support the Air Force's policy of sustaining both Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the EELV program.
NATO has approved the bulk of a $7.7 billion design for Europe's first integrated command and control system after a three-week review, launching the start of a development and integration phase.
Lockheed Martin and Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) said they have reached an agreement to acquire parts of each other's businesses. Under the agreement, Lockheed Martin will acquire ACS' federal government information technology business for nearly $658 million. ACS will acquire Lockheed Martin's commercial information technology business for about $107 million.
GLOBAL HAWK: The first production RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is entering a final series of systems tests in preparation for its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., later this month, according to Northrop Grumman. "Global Hawk Air Force 1" is the eighth Global Hawk, following seven built under the advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) phase of the program. After its flight test program, the UAV will be delivered to the Air Force's 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, Calif.
INTEL BILL: The fiscal 2004 intelligence authorization bill, which would authorize funds for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) and other intelligence agencies, will head to a House-Senate conference committee after the August congressional recess, now that the Senate approved its version of the bill July 31. The House passed its version in June. Many of the details in the House and Senate legislation are not disclosed.
JSF AWARDS: Three more Australian companies won contracts to support the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, bringing the national total to five awards, Australian government officials announced Aug. 1. Production Parts, of Victoria, won a bid to manufacture aluminum components for the F136 engine being designed by GE Aircraft Engines, the government says. Marand Precision Engineering, of Victoria, will produce a customized maintenance trailer to support JSF engines.
FLIR NEED: Combat experience in Operation Iraqi Freedom shows the U.S. Army's AH-64 Apache fleet urgently needs to upgrade Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) sensors, says an after-action report compiled by the 3rd Infantry Division. The report urges the Army to buy and install second-generation FLIR systems "as soon as possible" for the Apache fleet. The deficiency was identified during the march to Baghdad, as aircraft faced enemy air defense artillery units hidden in palm groves and farms near the Euphrates River, the report says.
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) has received a U.S. Air Force contract to develop a new weapon called Shredder that could dramatically bolster the military's ability to defeat chemical and biological weapons stored in hardened bunkers. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Munitions Directorate selected ATK for the $15 million effort after a nearly three-month competition that opened May 2. ATK so far has received a $1.9 million order for the Shredder program.
PRAGUE - A shareholder dispute over the appointment of former Czech defense minister Jaroslav Tvrdik to the board of state-owned Aero Vodochody ended July 31 when Boeing announced it would support his nomination.
Raytheon Co. announced July 31 that construction is nearly complete on one of two power plants that cost the company millions more to complete than anticipated. The 800-megawatt Fore River power plant, in Weymouth, Mass., has been turned over to its owner, a unit of the energy company Exelon Corp. The plant was turned over to Exelon following the successful completion of "certain performance and reliability tests," Raytheon officials said in a statement.
EDO Corp. will sell its Deer Park, N.Y., manufacturing facility to Deer Park Enterprise for $29 million, the defense contractor said July 31. The company builds aircraft defensive system upgrades and antenna products at the location, which it obtained by acquiring AIL Technologies in April 2000. The company received $1 million of the sale proceeds July 31, expects to get $21 million more when the deal closes Sept. 26 and will get the remaining $7 million once it vacates the facility, which could take up to 24 months. Raptor, JSF work
ALCOA GLOBAL BUSINESS SERVICES, Pittsburgh Rudolph "Rudi" P. Huber has been named to the new position of vice president and chief information officer. ANTEON INTERNATIONAL, Fairfax, Va. S. Daniel Johnson is slated to become executive vice president and chief operating officer, succeeding Mike Cogburn, who will retire in late August. BALL AEROSPACE & TECHNOLOGIES, Boulder, Colo. Carol Lane has been hired as vice president of the Washington, D.C. office. BELL HELICOPTER, Fort Worth, Texas
The U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater program received a political boost July 31 as Senate support solidified for a fiscal 2004 budget increase and a key lawmaker proposed starting a program acceleration in FY '05.
The Defense Department has launched a study to evaluate options for protecting the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) against shoulder-fired missiles launched by terrorists.
The U.S. Army plans to resolve concerns raised by the Marine Corps about the combat performance of the Javelin anti-tank missile, which made its battlefield debut in Iraq, a division commander said. Although Marines have expressed support for the shoulder-fired weapon, Army Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, appeared to confirm reports of problems voiced by some Marines returning from Iraq. "We have to work our way through that, because the Marines have said that," Odierno said.
AURORA SENSORS: L-3 Communications WESCAM will provide MX-20 sensor systems for the Canadian Department of Defence's CP-140 Aurora Incremental Modernization Program (AIMP) under a $19 million contract, L-3 said July 31. The electro-optic/infrared video reconnaissance systems are in production and will be delivered in 2003 and 2004, the company said.
The U.S. Air Force will sharpen the perimeter security of 10 of its installations in the U.S. with man-portable radars, a service official said. "The primary purpose is homeland defense," Gary Van Gorder, contracting officer of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, said in an e-mail response to a question from The DAILY. The Air Force plans to buy AN/PPS-5C Man-portable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar (MSTAR) systems from Systems and Electronics Inc. (SEI) of St. Louis.
The Department of Defense (DOD) has mismanaged pilot programs intended to help DOD labs and test centers tackle their business and human capital problems, according to the General Accounting Office (GAO). "If DOD intends to use the pilot programs to address laboratory and test center issues, it will have to address the factors - both process and statutory - that blunted previous proposals made through the pilot programs," GAO wrote in a report released July 29.
DELTA LAUNCH: A Boeing Delta IV rocket is scheduled to launch the final spacecraft for the U.S. Air Force's Defense Satellite Communications System on Aug. 3 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., the company said July 31. A Delta IV Medium vehicle is to launch DSCS III B6 from Space Launch Complex 37B. The launch window opens at 6:58 p.m. EDT and lasts for 83 minutes. The Air Force said last week that Boeing will lose seven launch contracts under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program due to fraud committed by employees (DAILY, July 25).
U.S. defense contractors could be subject to lawsuits by foreign nationals who suffered during U.S. military operation overseas, according to retired Navy captain who is now a lawyer. The suits could be filed under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789, which says "the district courts shall have original jurisdiction over any civil action by an alien for tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States."
