A story in the June 26 issue of The DAILY incorrectly stated which military would operate P-3 Orion aircraft the White House plans to sell to Pakistan. They would be operated by Pakistan's navy to track maritime smuggling and pursue al Qaeda operatives.
The first Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) was delivered to the U.S. Navy by Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector on June 26. ASDS is a battery-powered mini-submarine designed to carry eight Sea Air Land (SEAL) special operations forces and their equipment. The 65-foot submarine, with a range of 125 nautical miles, can reach speeds of up to eight knots.
ODYSSEY CONTINUES: NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter is revealing new details about ice in the high northern latitudes of Mars that will affect science strategies for future missions looking for past or present life, according to NASA. The spacecraft's neutron and gamma ray sensors have tracked seasonal changes as layers of "dry ice" (carbon-dioxide frost or snow) accumulated in winter and then dissipated in the spring, exposing a soil layer rich in water ice.
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) late June 26 rejected a proposal by the House International Relations Committee (HIRC) aimed at making it easier for U.S. firms to export commercial communications satellites. HASC Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) said he objected to the measure because it would nullify laws designed to ensure national security concerns are considered during the licensing process for satellite exports.
July 8 - 9 -- Fuze IPT APBI & Industrial Base Workshop, Crystal City Marriott, Crystal City, Va. Contact Christy O'Hara at (703) 247-2586, or email [email protected] or go to www.ndia.org. July 10 -- Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) "Briefing to Industry," Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, Va. For more information call (703) 247-9471, fax (703) 243-1659, or go to www.trainingsystems.org/events.
Lockheed Martin said it has completed the first phase of testing of a more powerful General Electric engine for the F-16. The F110-GE-132, with about 32,500 pounds of thrust in maximum afterburner, is slated for use in the Block 60 F-16, 80 of which were ordered in 2000 by the United Arab Emirates. First flight of a Block 60 with the new engine is slated for later this year. "The engine met or exceeded all of our expectations during extensive ground and flight testing," Dan Levin, Lockheed Martin project test pilot, said in a June 26 statement.
Two days after the Army Tactical Missile System Penetrator (ATACMS-P) completed a milestone development event, the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) passed a measure that eliminates money in fiscal 2004 for the program. The House panel on June 26 passed the FY '04 defense appropriations bill, which includes a measure dropping the U.S. Defense Department's request for $55.075 million in FY'04 for research and development on ATACMS-P.
BLACK BUDGET: The U.S. Defense Department plans to spend more on classified acquisition programs in fiscal 2004 than in any proposed budget since a Cold War-era peak in FY '88, says a new study by the Center for Strategic Budgetary Assessments. So-called "black" programs consume 17 percent, or $23.2 billion, of the Pentagon's proposed acquisition budget in FY '04. The total includes $11.3 billion for weapons procurement and $11.8 billion for research and development. Since FY '95, spending on classified programs has jumped 75 percent.
MOSCOW - The Russian government plans to consider creating a single national civilian aircraft manufacturing company, according to a government official with oversight of the industry. Boris Alyoshin, the recently appointed vice premier for industry issues, described the plan June 26. Russia previously announced plans to create large aircraft manufacturing holding companies, which would include leading aircraft and helicopter firms and several subcontractors (DAILY, May 24, 2001).
JSOW DROP: A B-1B Lancer test crew dropped Raytheon's Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) from the bomber for the first time on June 17, the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center said June 27. The crew successfully released two JSOWs are part of ongoing separating testing on the B-1B, the Air Force said.
HEALTHY DEBATE: The appointment E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., former undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, to Lockheed Martin's board of directors is likely to spark healthy debate in the company's boardroom, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Christopher Mecray of Deutsche Bank. Although it's unclear what Aldridge will bring to the board in terms of financial oversight, he will bring a perspective different from that of management, Mecray says. "He's a very respected and independent thinker, and that's a healthy thing.
NASA has formed an investigation team to determine why the Helios solar-electric unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed into the Pacific Ocean 29 minutes into a routine flight at the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii on the morning of June 26.
DEFENSE APPROPS: The Senate Appropriations Committee hopes to take up its version of the fiscal 2004 defense appropriations bill soon after Congress returns from a weeklong Fourth of July recess. Tentative plans call for the committee's defense panel to consider the legislation July 8 and the full committee to mark up the bill July 10. The House version of the bill already has cleared the House Appropriations Committee and awaits consideration by the full House after the recess.
NATIVE ELECTRONICS: Australia's Ministry of Defence, striving to overcome a recent string of costly weapons procurement fiascos, is looking to boost its native military electronics industry. Mick Roche, undersecretary of defense materiel, unveiled the Defence Electronic Systems Sector Plan last week at the 2003 Defense + Industry Conference in Canberra. "The plan would see [the MOD] engaging the suppliers in early definition of requirements, and developing technologies to support the suppliers with better intellectual infrastructure," Roche says.
NEW DELHI - Indian scientists have confirmed that the first hot-fire test of an upper stage containing the country's new cryogenic engine will be held by the end of the year. The stage is being developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) as part of India's Cryogenic Upper Stage Project (CUSP). India has decided to fly the stage on its next Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) (DAILY, May 27). The first two flights of the GSLV used Russian-made cryogenic upper stages.
Lockheed Martin Corp. said June 27 it is forming a new business area to meet what it called the U.S. military's growing need for highly integrated systems. The unit, to be called Integrated Systems and Solutions (ISS), will be the company's fifth business unit.
U.S. Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR) effort to develop a replacement presidential helicopter is heating up following a White House request to accelerate the introduction of the aircraft to 2007. NAVAIR released a broad agency announcement calling for designs for the new Vertical Lift Aircraft (VXX) in January (DAILY, Jan. 29). The VXX would replace the VH-3D Sea King helicopter, which was derived from the Sikorsky S-61 and first flown nearly 40 years ago.
CAIB RECOMMENDS: Before NASA flies the space shuttle again, the agency should develop a means for inspecting and repairing damage to the shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS) while the orbiter is docked to the International Space Station, according to the latest preliminary recommendation from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB). The CAIB also is recommending a "comprehensive autonomous ... inspection and repair capability" for missions when the shuttle doesn't visit the ISS.
Lawmakers are pressing the U.S. Navy to re-examine some of its approaches to anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare. In a new report accompanying its version of the fiscal 2004 defense appropriations bill, the House Appropriations Committee suggests the Navy has lacked a coordinated approach to developing technology for anti-submarine warfare, resulting in "a piecemeal patchwork of sensors and platforms."
NEW DELHI - Senior Indian government officials have issued conflicting statements about whether India's fleet of aging MiG-21 fighters will be retired. Indian Minster of State Chaman Lal Gupta said June 25 that they will be, but Air Chief Marshal Sriniwaspuram Krishnaswamy, head of the air force, said they won't. Krishnaswamy said at a press conference June 25 that the probability of a MiG-21 having a fatal accident is less than 1 percent, and that the short-range, multirole fighter will continue as the mainstay of the air force.
COMMUNICATIONS TESTING: Telenor Satellite Services of Oslo, Norway, said it is conducting in-flight testing of its new communications service, Swift Mobile Packet Data Service (MPDS). The service, based on Inmarsat's Swift64 technology, gives users Internet access, including web access and email, while in flight. Telenor's service is a mobile packet data service, which lets customers pay only for the data they transmit and receive, the company said June 26.
NEW DELHI - The Indian Ministry of Defence will buy four Embraer Legacy aircraft for its executive service, a ministry official said. Three of the Brazilian manufacturer's 20-seat aircraft will be used by the Indian air force's New Delhi-based communication squadron, which ferries top government officials across the country. The fourth aircraft will be used by the Ministry of the Interior for the deputy prime minister and dignitaries visiting India.
A hastily organized joint training exercise to be staged in August will evaluate dozens of new technologies and warfighting doctrines designed to avoid "friendly fire" accidents and more accurately identify battlefield targets. U.S. Joint Forces Command plans to sponsor the 12-day training event starting Aug. 4 in Gulfport, Miss., said Col. Greg Brown, commander of the Joint Combat Identification Evaluation Team (JCIET) at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The event was arranged in the weeks after Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) began.
