June 2, 2003 ARMY AM General Corp., South Bend, Ind., was awarded on May 30, 2003, an $11,535,757 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for 169 high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles. Work will be performed in South Bend, Ind., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on July 17, 2000. The U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (DAAE07-01-C-S001).
A June 7 shakedown flight of NASA's solar-powered Helios unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ended three hours earlier than planned after flight controllers detected a problem with the aircraft's electric fuel cell system. The flight took off at 8:43 a.m. June 7 from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Researchers from NASA and Helios manufacturer AeroVironment Inc. brought the remotely piloted UAV back to land 15 hours later.
A House panel is expected to give the Deepwater modernization program a significant boost by adding more than $200 million to the Bush Administration's fiscal 2004 budget request for the Coast Guard effort. The House Transportation Coast Guard subcommittee plans to approve $702 million for Deepwater, $202 million above the request, when it takes up a Coast Guard authorization bill June 12, according to a spokesman for Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), who chairs the panel.
SATELLITE LAUNCHED: After several delays caused by technical problems, International Launch Services (ILS) successfully launched SES Americom's AMC-9 satellite on a Russian Proton K booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on June 9. AMC-9, the 16th satellite in the company's communications satellite fleet, was placed in a geostationary target orbit and is scheduled to begin operations in July to support telecommunications in North America.
PRAGUE - The Czech Republic's premiere air show, scheduled for early September, may have to be relocated after the Czech air force announced it is pulling out as a main organizer of the event. The air force said June 5 that it could not participate in the organization of the Czech International Air Fest (CIAF) because it is facing "basic changes" as a result of an ongoing army reform process.
In an open letter published in several national newspapers June 9, Boeing Chairman and CEO Phil Condit said some Boeing employees "did not behave properly" during the company's competition with Lockheed Martin for launch contracts in the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The Air Force helped fund the development of two rocket families in support of the EELV program, Boeing's Delta IV and Lockheed Martin's Atlas V. So far, Boeing has received 22 of 29 EELV launch assignments, with the remainder going to Lockheed Martin.
NEW DELHI - Officials from Russia's RAC MiG aircraft company plan to ensure that India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) is using authentic spare parts as it upgrades the country's MiGs. A team of MiG officials is overseeing the maintenance and upgrading of India's MiGs (DAILY, May 28) to try to avoid future crashes. India has lost more than 200 MiG-21s in the last decade, including two upgraded MiG-21 bis aircraft that crashed within the last eight months.
SPACE WEAPONS: Although some Democratic senators expressed reservations about space-based weapons during recent debate over the fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill (DAILY, May 22, May 23), the Missile Defense Agency does not appear to be slowing in its pursuit of a space-based test bed that would use interceptor missiles to shoot down ballistic missiles. MDA is soliciting information from industry about its ability to design, develop and implement a test bed. The agency plans to hold an industry day in August to discuss its acquisition plans.
PACKARD AWARD: The U.S. Defense Department's top award for weapons buyers, the David Packard Award, goes to four programs in 2003, including two munitions, a small armored boat and a new family of decontaminants. The Air Force's Passive Attack Weapon, tested and fielded within about 90 days to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the Joint Direct Attack Munition, produced in half the time at half the estimated cost, both won. Awards also went to the Navy's Joint Services Family of Decontamination Systems and the Special Operations Craft Riverine teams.
'VISIBLE' DAMAGE: A June 6 foam strike test conducted using reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panels from the shuttle Discovery resulted in "visible and significant" damage to panel 6, some surrounding T-seals, and supporting hardware, according to a spokesman for the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB). After the strike, "there was a crack in the rib of the RCC panel," Lt. Col. Woody Woodyard said. "Inside it was about three inches long, outside about three-quarters of an inch."
The Coast Guard has chosen GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) to build the engines for its new CN-235-300M maritime patrol aircraft, company officials said June 5. Two GE CT7-9C3 turboprop engines will power each CN-235 aircraft. The aircraft are made by the EADS-CASA division of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS).
POOR RELATIONS: Unlike some companies in other industries, aerospace and defense companies cannot afford to allow their supplier relationships to falter, according to Bill Lewandowski, vice president of supplier management for the Aerospace Industries Association. Poor supplier relationships could have devastating consequences. A report from Deloitte & Touche says the supply chains of many global manufacturers are becoming too fragmented, which could prevent them from responding effectively to increased customer demands.
The U.S. should fund the construction of early-warning radar stations in Russia to help that country close a gap in its radar coverage and to build trust between the two former Cold War adversaries, according to a new report by the RAND Corp.
Congressional leaders are expected to continue talks the week of June 9-13 aimed at resolving a dispute that has held up consideration of the fiscal 2004 defense and NASA appropriations bills. Lawmakers have been unable to decide how much money to allocate to each of the 13 Appropriations subcommittees in both the House and Senate.
MOSCOW - Russia's Space Forces launched the Kosmos-2398 satellite from Plesetsk Cosmodrome on June 4. Space Forces chief Gen. Anatoly Perminov attended the launch. The satellite is thought to be a Parus-class military navigation satellite intended to augment the Tsyklon-B constellation. That constellation has provided navigation and communication services for Russian ships and submarines since the mid-1970s.
MARKET ENTRY: Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A.) likely will become a certified supplier of homeland security and defense products to the U.S. government following the opening of a new production facility in Jacksonville, Fla., according to Merrill Lynch analyst Ronald Epstein. The Brazilian regional jet marker announced plans for the facility on June 2. "From a strategic perspective, this move will enable the company to offer the ERJ-145 regional jet as a platform for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) applications in the U.S.
TANKER LEASE: An Air Force proposal to lease 100 Boeing KC-767A tankers for six years would cost $15.5 billion, slightly less than the rough estimate of $16 billion announced in May (DAILY, May 27), according to a new summary of the potential deal. The document is circulating on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers will have 30 days to review the lease plan once they receive formal notification of the proposal. A report detailing the lease agreement should be submitted to the four House and Senate defense committees June 9 or 10, an Air Force spokeswoman says.
MMA STRATEGY: Top naval aviation planners were slated to meet June 7 to plot the acquisition strategy and future requirements for the Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA), a Navy spokesman says. Called by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark, the meeting's agenda focuses on discussing details of the aircraft's design and integration into the fleet. MMA is expected to replace the aging Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion as the primary maritime patrol aircraft and submarine hunter.
Testing is scheduled to begin on the fire control system of the Rapid Airborne Mine Clearance System (RAMICS) in about two weeks, according to a program official with Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector. The U.S. Navy will conduct the testing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Sam Densler, Northrop Grumman program manger told The DAILY in an interview.
The U.S. delegation traveling to the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) 2003 that begins June 9 in Geneva, Switzerland, is pledging to fight perceived spectrum threats to the Global Positioning System (GPS) and some U.S. Navy radars. WRC, held every three years, is a month-long meeting convened to administer disputes over spectrum allocation. Each invited country sends a delegation that has a single vote.
LOOSENED GRIP: One of those attempts to reach Mars, Europe's Mars Express spacecraft, accomplished a vital post-launch milestone when it released launch clamps on its Beagle-2 rover last week, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). The clamps kept launch vibrations from affecting the rover, but if they had not been released the rover could not be deployed once the spacecraft reaches Mars. "The Beagle-2 mission would have been over before it had even started," says ESA Lander Manager Con McCarthy.
June 9 - 12 -- 3rd Annual Intelligent Vehicle Systems Symposium, Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Traverse City (Acme) Mich. Call Dawn Harper at (703) 247-2584, fax (703) 522-1885, email [email protected] or go to www.ndia.org. June 11 -- AOC Intercrow 2003, Army/Navy Country Club, Arlington, Va. Call (888) OLD-CROW or go to www.crows.org.
