The Senate Appropriations Committee has added tens of millions of dollars to the Pentagon's fiscal 2004 budget request for the Arrow missile defense system and the Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle, but slashed funding requested for the National Aerospace Initiative and the Joint Programmable Fuze.
The U.S. Navy echoed the Air Force July 10 in saying it does not intend to put weapons on the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle, despite an Army general's recent comments suggesting the Defense Department will try to arm the Northrop Grumman-made surveillance aircraft. "At this time, we have no plans to arm the Global Hawk aircraft," a Navy spokesman told The DAILY.
CARRIER WORK: Northrop Grumman Corp. will continue pre-system development and design work on the U.S. Navy's future aircraft carrier program, CVN 21, under a $107.6 million contract, the company said July 10. The contract is a modification to a previous contract, bringing the work's worth to $303.5 million, Northrop Grumman said.
Senior officials with the U.S. and Taiwanese navies have agreed on preliminary plans to design and develop eight diesel-electric submarines for sale to Taiwan. The plans were agreed upon last month when Taiwanese navy officials visited Washington, according to Rear Adm. John Butler, the Navy's program executive officer for submarines. Taiwan must allocate funding for the program before the U.S. Navy will issue a request for proposals (RFP) to U.S. defense contractors to build the submarines, he said.
(Editor's note: The following is excerpted from the written responses by Thomas W. O'Connell, who has been nominated to be assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low intensity conflict (SO/LIC). O'Connell testified July 10.) Q: The position of assistant secretary of defense for [SO/LIC] has been vacant for over two years. What changes, if any, have taken place during this time in the SO/LIC organization and the responsibilities of the ASD (SO/LIC)?
XCOR Aerospace's EZ-Rocket demonstrator, which has flown 15 test flights since July 2001, is approaching the end of its mission as engineers focus their attention on two follow-on vehicle designs, according to XCOR President Jeff Greason. "The EZ is pretty much wrapped up," Greason told The DAILY. "We might fly it one or two more times. If we go for a more ambitious test vehicle next, we might retrofit the EZ-Rocket with some of the easier-to-test things, but as far as its primary mission in life, it's pretty much done."
NEW DELHI - France's Eurocopter and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) confirmed they have agreed to jointly produce subassemblies for Cougar and Fennec helicopters, and eventually entire aircraft, at Indian facilities. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding after Eurocopter made the joint production offer (DAILY, June 23). They have agreed to draw up a plan for the work and for equity participation.
NEW DELHI - Germany's announcement that it has lifted sanctions against Pakistan should help Pakistan's attempts to buy military equipment, according to a Pakistani diplomat here. The sanctions were put in place after Pakistan's 1998 nuclear tests, but Germany announced last week that they would be lifted. Germany has agreed to supply spare parts for Indian air force radar systems, a supply that had dried up because of the sanctions, the diplomat said.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) wants industry's input on the idea of demonstrating a laser relay mirror on a high-flying airship. Fixed to the High Altitude Airship (HAA) being developed for test purposes by the Missile Defense Agency, the mirror would reflect a low-power laser beam from the Hawaiian island of Maui to track space or mid-course objects.
The Pentagon is applying a "finer and finer filter" to dispatching U.S. war machines and flag officers to an increasingly burdensome field of global defense exhibitions, including air shows, a senior defense official said July 9. Lt. Gen. Tome Walters, head of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), said the Pentagon's policy officially hasn't changed. Military planners will continue to assess U.S. participation in each event on a case-by-case basis, factoring in the current state of operational demands, he said.
"Buy American" provisions in the House version of the fiscal 2004 Defense Authorization Act drew both criticism and praise on Capitol Hill July 9. The provisions were introduced by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. They say that within four years, prime contractors and subcontractors should use machine tools, dies, and industrial molds made in America when working on defense acquisition programs of more than $5 million.
BAE SYSTEMS MISSION SOLUTIONS, San Diego William L. Ballhaus has been named president. BOEING, Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Tina Lange has been appointed media specialist to the company's Florida operations. CABOT SUPERMETALS, Columbus, Ohio Charles Wickersham has been appointed research and development manager. DYNAMIC MATERIALS CORP., Boulder, Colo.
Army Gen. Tommy Franks said July 9 that the Defense Department will try to weaponize the Global Hawk surveillance aircraft, marking what would appear to be a major policy reversal for the unmanned aerial vehicle. But Air Force officials disputed the general's comments, telling The DAILY that the service has no plans to put weapons on Global Hawk. Air Force officials have indicated in the past that they would not arm Global Hawk because some countries would object to having a weaponized UAV fly in their airspace.
Production of Sikorsky's Collier Trophy-winning S-92 utility helicopter is heating up as the company prepares to deliver its first units to customers next year. The first production S-92 began assembly in March and is expected to fly by mid-January, in time for delivery to the first S-92 customer in March 2004. Sikorsky is committed to producing 12 S-92s in 2004, 18 in 2005, and 27 in 2006. The company expects 27 to be the stable, long-term annual production rate, according to S-92 Program Manager Nick Lappos.
U.S. Global Aerospace is producing 11 radomes for Agusta's AB412 military helicopters under an order worth more than $120,000, the company said July 9. U.S. Global has delivered the first four radomes to the Italian company and is scheduled to complete shipment of the whole order by August 4.
The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) delivered more bad news July 9 to the Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program and the Missile Defense Agency's boost-phase interceptor missile effort, approving deep funding cuts in both programs as part of the fiscal 2004 defense appropriations bill.
The U.S. Air Force is moving ahead with a program to develop new technologies for a huge satellite-borne radar antenna that would yield images sharp enough to help battlefield commanders. A bidders' conference for the Innovative Space Based Radar Antenna Technology (ISAT) effort is slated July 22-23 in Chantilly, Va., the Air Force Research Laboratory says in a July 7 FedBizOpps notice.
TOMAHAWK TEST: Raytheon Co.'s Tactical Tomahawk missile was launched underwater from a U.S. Navy submarine for the first time on July 9, the company said. The USS Tucson fired the missile, which flew more than 800 nautical miles at the Naval Air Systems Command sea and land test ranges in Southern California.
The Senate Appropriations Committee's defense panel (SAC-D) approved a fiscal 2004 defense appropriations bill July 8 that adds $700 million to the Pentagon's budget request for National Guard and Reserve equipment and provides a slight increase to the missile defense request.
If France's Direction des Construction Navales (DCN) or Thales Group buys a minority or majority interest in German submarine builder Howaldstwerke Deutsche Werft (HDW), they would get revenues from nearly every diesel-electric submarine sale in the world, according to several U.S. naval analysts. The French news agency Agence-France Presse reported July 8 that DCN and Thales are interested in acquiring all or part of HDW. Quoting a German newspaper, the news agency reported that DCN made a bid of 800 million euros (about $905 million) for HDW.
Congress is reviewing a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) proposal to sell a $600 million maritime-based air defense package to South Korea. The potential contract calls for three Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) baseline VI shipsets, including 30 modules, worth $410.5 million, and related engineering, training and logistics support valued at $189.5 million, according to a notice posted July 8 in the Federal Register.
