An air-to-ground radar project sponsored by five European militaries has passed a key developmental milestone. The Stand-off-Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar technology demonstrator (SOSTAR-X) on July 22 cleared a critical design review by the SOSTAR Steering Committee, representing France, Germany, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands, the company SOSTAR GmbH announced.
The secretary of defense should direct the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program Office to ensure that international supplier planning takes full account of the possible risks associated with technology transfer out of the U.S., the General Accounting Office (GAO) said in a July 21 report. A large number of export authorizations must be processed in order to ensure that prospective suppliers from the eight international JSF partner countries have the opportunity to compete for key contracts and subcontracts on schedule, the report says.
Northrop Grumman is exploring potential new uses for the ground-based Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL), including placing the system at or near airports to protect commercial and military aircraft against shoulder-fired missiles, a company official said July 23.
Upgrades to the electronic systems aboard the Navy's surface ships will be modeled on those made to the combat systems on submarines under the Acoustic Rapid COTS Insertion (ARCI) program, according to a senior Navy program official. Under the ARCI program, submarine hardware and software upgrades are done using commercial equipment and standards. Engineers with Lockheed Martin and its program subcontractors make software upgrades to the submarines about every two years and hardware upgrades about every three to four years
The House Appropriations Committee late July 21 approved the fiscal 2004 NASA appropriations bill, clearing the way for the full House to consider the legislation as early as the end of the week. Separately, the Republican majority on the House Science Committee July 22 blocked a Democratic proposal that would have required NASA to solicit concepts for increasing the crew survivability of the space shuttle.
Honeywell International and Dynamics Research Corp. have begun negotiations on contracts for the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, according to company officials The Army's lead systems integrator (LSI) team of Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) and the Boeing Co. selected Honeywell on July 10 to develop an integrated software program that collects, analyzes and transmits battlefield data on individual combat vehicles and soldiers (DAILY, July 11).
The U.S. Air Force has picked Textron Systems to develop autonomous ground sensors to provide data on mobile enemy vehicles and other targets. The Wilmington, Mass., unit of Textron Inc. was chosen to develop the Advanced Remote Ground Unattended Sensor (ARGUS) system for the Air Force and the Advanced Air-Delivered Sensor (AADS) system for the Marine Corps, according to Capt. Winston Campbell, who manages the program at the Air Force's Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, Mass.
LONDON - The Eurofighter Typhoon has successfully completed air refueling trials while bearing a full load of air defense weapons, manufacturer EADS CASA said July 22. The European Aeronautic and Defense Co. unit said its DA.1 development Eurofighter Typhoon flew the missions. The trials were undertaken for the first time with one of the three hose- and drogue-equipped Boeing 707 tanker/transport aircraft of the Spanish air force. They followed similar initial trials last year with a Spanish Lockheed KC-130H Hercules.
PRAGUE -- A former Czech defense minister who once criticized state-run Aero Vodochody's L-159 advanced light combat plane is being put forward for a place on the board of the company, which is the Czech Republic's leading aircraft manufacturer.
ELECTRONICS SALE: The Boeing Co. said July 22 it plans to sell its commercial airline electronics business. The business, located Irving, Texas, and Puget Sound, Wash., supplies avionics equipment and flight controls for all Boeing wide-body and narrow-body jets except the 717.
PRAGUE - The Czech Republic will continue most of its commitments to NATO despite the government's announcement of new, sweeping cuts in its military forces, defense officials said. The military, which already was facing substantial decreases in personnel and equipment under military reform proposals, has been told that the cuts will be "faster and deeper" than originally planned following new national finance reforms. Those reforms will trim the annual military budget from 2.2 percent of GDP to about 2 percent.
A dispute over a congressional proposal to increase restrictions on the Pentagon's use of foreign sources likely will be resolved "to the satisfaction" of industry leaders and others who have resisted such legislation, Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) said July 22.
The first acquisition program to participate in a strengthened Joint Staff oversight process called the Joint Capabilities and Integration Development System (JCIDS) fell behind by five months, and more programs could face similar snags during a transition period, a senior defense official said July 22. JCIDS scraps the Requirements Generation System, which was considered too service-specific. The new procedures are designed to identify capabilities needed as new weapons and operational concepts are proposed.
National defense and homeland security requirements in the wake of Sept. 11 are helping shape the government's interagency effort to increase the capacity of America's air traffic management (ATM) system, according to various participants.
Nine months after publicly demonstrating its military capabilities, the Australian Defense Force is deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the first time on an operational mission. Four Aerosonde UAVs, originally designed as a lightweight weather observer with a 9-foot wingspan, will participate in a stabilization effort in the Solomon Islands. "This is the first deployment of an unmanned aerial vehicle on operations by the Australian Defence Force," Defense Minister Robert Hill said in a statement.
CAE will upgrade two combat mission simulators for the U.S. Army's AH-64A attack helicopters under a $9.5 million contract the company announced July 21. The upgrade includes the CAE Medallion-S visual system and new instructor operator stations, the company said. One simulator, at the Western Army Aviation Training Center, Marana, Ariz., is scheduled to be ready in September 2004. The other, at Fort Campbell, Ky., is set to be operational for training in January 2005.
STREAKER: SpaceDev of Poway, Calif., will design and begin developing Streaker, a small launch vehicle, under a U.S. Air Force small business innovative research contract, the company said July 18. Streaker will be designed to affordably launch up to 1,000 pounds to low-earth orbit, the company said.
The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has awarded a $288 million contract modification to the National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) to design and build a fourth ship in the Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ship (T-AKE) class. NASSCO is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp. Work will be performed at NASSCO's facility in San Diego and is expected to be completed by December 2006. The award is an option on a $709 million contract awarded to NASSCO in October 2001 for the design and construction of the first two ships in the class.
A bipartisan group of representatives introduced a bill last week in the House designed to improve federal oversight of private contractors convicted of violating federal contract regulations. The bill, called the Contractor Accountability Act of 2003, calls for the creation of a central database of legal actions taken by the government against federal contractors "to provide debarring officials with the information they need to protect the business interests of the United States," according to a joint statement released by the representatives.
NEW DELHI - The Indian Air Force has decided to ground at least 20 Type 69 MiG-21 trainer aircraft following a MiG-21 crash last week in which both crewmembers were killed. The service has lost more than 220 aircraft in the last ten years, the majority of which were MiGs. An Air Force source confirmed that the trainer has been grounded, adding that these aircraft were bought from Ukraine in the last six to seven years. He also disclosed that the aircraft in which the two crewmembers were killed was bought second-hand from Ukraine three years ago.
A July 21 panel of space industry experts agreed that NASA's Orbital Space Plane (OSP) must be capable of evolving beyond only serving the needs of the International Space Station (ISS) if it is to be a worthwhile and sustainable investment. The OSP is intended to provide crew return from the ISS as early as 2008, and crew transfer up to orbit shortly thereafter. NASA has offered an OSP cost estimate of $2.4 billion for FY '03 to FY '07, although the agency has said that number is a placeholder and will be revised as development progresses.
Metal Storm Inc. wants to show officials in the U.S. its ability to fire ammunition at a rate of one million rounds per minute. The Arlington, Va., company will license the "electronic ballistic" technology to allow such a feat from its Australian sister, Metal Storm Ltd., and plans to conduct a U.S. demonstration this year, according to G. Russell Zink, senior vice president for business development.
