TRISHUL REDUX: The Czech Republic has received four new Mi-24V/Mi-35 transport-combat helicopters from the Russian Federation, completing a seven-helicopter deal arranged as partial payment of Russian debts dating back to the Communist era. Czech defense officials said July 28 that the helicopters arrived recently at Prerov in central Moravia. The first batch of three arrived in late January but only started operations last month due to paperwork delays.
CAPPS: Congress is on the verge of approving new restrictions on one of the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) keystone aviation security programs, the second-generation Computer-Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System (CAPPS II). Legislation (H.R.2115) reauthorizing the FAA over the next four years requires the TSA to report to Congress on the effectiveness and fairness of CAPPS II before doing any major work on the program.
QUANTICO, Va. -- No U.S. Marine Corps attack helicopters was shot down during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), but the fleet was so heavily damaged in combat that service officials are expressing doubt about two fundamental wartime roles for rotor-wing aircraft, a senior commander said July 29.
PRESOV, Slovakia - Helicopter pilots from the Slovak air force and Britain's Royal Air force (RAF) completed their first joint exercise July 28 at the 3rd air base in Presov, east Slovakia. To Merlin HC3 medium support helicopters and more than 30 personnel from No. 28 Squadron based at RAF Benson took part in the exercise along with an unspecified number of Slovak helicopters.
The Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate has awarded Boeing a $23 million contract to develop a mobile test bed for tactical laser beam control technologies. Dubbed the Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated eXperiments (MATRIX) test bed, it will allow for the evaluation of new beam control algorithms as well as sensors for aiming, target acquisition, and target identification.
President Bush's nominee for Army chief of staff has told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he plans to keep a close eye on the troubled RAH-66 Comanche program to ensure the Boeing-Sikorsky armed reconnaissance helicopter stays on track. "If confirmed, I will conduct my own assessment and work hard to ensure that the Comanche program continues forward on a solid path," Gen. Peter Schoomaker said in written comments to the committee, which held a hearing on his nomination July 29.
MOU SIGNED: The Boeing Co. and RTI-Systems Concern of Russia signed a memorandum of understanding on July 29 to work together in analyzing radar systems. Boeing and RTI-Systems hope to cooperate on matters related to missile defense, pending government approvals.
The Defense Department is seeking changes in the fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill to help keep the Air Force's 767 tanker lease plan on track. In documents submitted to Congress, DOD said it "supports the basic objective" of a provision in the House-passed bill that would provide $229.2 million for either sustaining the Air Force's aging KC-135E refueling aircraft or preparing for a purchase or lease of new Boeing 767 tankers (DAILY, May 8). The Senate version of the bill contains no such provision.
NEW DELHI - In a shift of stance, the Indian government now says it has not shelved the homegrown Trishul surface-to-air missile. Defense Minster George Fernandes told Indian Parliament that technological problems have been overcome and there is no decision to shelve the Trishul anti- missile missile program. Trishul missile is indigenously designed and developed by India's state-owned defense research agency, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
European Union commissioners have approved plans by Rheinmetall A.G. of Germany to take over the division of STN Atlas Electronik GmbH that manufactures fire control systems for combat vehicles. STN Atlas' Land and Airborne Systems division, which make the fire control systems, is owned partly by BAE Systems PLC. BAE Systems has decided to sell its shares in the business. The July 28 decision by the commissioners opens the way for Rheinmetall and BAE Systems to split STN Atlas in two.
As the deadline for bids to win the U.S. Air Force's Small Diameter Bomb SDB contract comes due later this week, Lockheed Martin announced July 28 that it had staged the latest test flight of its design. (See story, P. 6) The Air Force is planning to receive competing bids by Lockheed Martin and Boeing for the SDB contract, which covers a three-year System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase for 250-pound class weapon.
DRAGON EYE: The contractor downselect for the Marine Corps' Dragon Eye unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program is expected at the end of August, according to a spokesman for the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. A fixed-wing UAV with a 45-inch wingspan, the Dragon Eye can be stored in a backpack and launched by hand or with a bungee cord. Downselect between AeroVironment, Inc. and BAI Aerosystems has been pushed back repeatedly from an original schedule of late last year.
A House-Senate conference committee has approved legislation directing the FAA to set up a research and development program aimed at achieving dramatic improvements in rotorcraft technology.
SMALL BOMB: Lockheed Martin's Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) has been released successfully from an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bomber, completing another step in the bomb's flight testing, the company said July 28. In a statement, the company said the F-15E released the bomb at 20,000 ft. while flying at Mach 0.66 over Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The company said the test demonstrated the aircraft-to-weapon interface, safe separation, and fin and wing deployment and operation.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to award a $1 million prize to the winner of an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) race next March, in the hope that the resulting technical innovations can be applied to its military UGV programs. The DARPA "Grand Challenge" is scheduled for March 13, 2004. Thirty-four teams already have signed up for the race, in which unmanned vehicles will have to make their way autonomously from Los Angeles, Calif., to Las Vegas, Nevada.
NEW DELHI - India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has entered into a collaboration with Aerospace Equipment Corporation of Moscow to jointly produce spares and kits for the MiG-21 aircraft. An Indian defense ministry official told The Daily July 25 that the joint effort also would produce advanced avionics at Indian facilities. The official added that HAL and Aerospace Equipment Corporation would form a separate entity, which would include equity sharing between the companies.
NEW DELHI - After three years of rigorous effort, the Indian Air Force has fine-tuned its Air Defense Ground Environment System (ADGES) for effective management of air defenses of the country. ADGES has been refined at a cost of around $200 million with the help of the state-owned Defense Research and Development Organization, DRDO and defense firms from Israel and France.
PRAGUE - Boeing's Czech arm, Boeing Ceska, is to review its position on the controversial nomination of former defense minister Jaroslav Tvrdik to the board of Aero Vodochody after shareholders failed to appoint him at a general meeting. In a statement released July 25, Boeing Ceska - which holds a 35 percent stake in the state-owned aircraft manufacturer - said it had asked last week for postponement of a decision on Tvrdik's nomination until is has been reviewed further.
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) late July 25 became the third congressional panel to approve an Air Force proposal to lease 100 Boeing 767 refueling aircraft, leaving the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) as the potential deal's last remaining hurdle on Capitol Hill.
Northrop Grumman Corp. reported a 57 percent jump in second-quarter sales and a 36 percent increase in contract acquisitions on July 28. The sales growth was driven largely by the company's Space Technology and Mission Systems sectors, which were acquired from the former TRW Inc. The Integrated Systems and Ship Systems also recorded strong quarter-over-quarter sales growth of 19 percent.
