The U.S. Navy plans to test a new type of submarine steering system next month at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Carderock that uses shape memory alloys (SMA) to direct the outflow from the sub's propeller. The "Smart Duct," which encloses the propeller, changes shape after an electrical charge is applied to it. SMA actuation eliminates the need for traditional hydraulic actuators, provides enhanced maneuvering and control at low speeds, and offers a reduced acoustic signature, according to developer Continuum Dynamics, Inc. of Ewing, N.J.
The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) plans to continue with initial production of the AN/ALQ-211 electronic defensive system despite a fresh warning that the $1.5 billion manufacturing plan should be halted until more testing is complete.
NEW YORK - Ducommun, a maker of aerostructure assemblies and electromechanical systems for sea, air and space platforms, said May 5 it remains reluctant to become a risk-sharing partner on aircraft development programs despite the company's goal of becoming a systems supplier. Risk-sharing partners are suppliers that agree to share the financial risks of developing a new aircraft upon being awarded a design contract by the aircraft's prime contractor.
NEW DELHI - India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) was named Tejas by the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at a ceremony May 4 in Bangalore. Two Tejas demonstrators, TD-1 and TD-2, flew at the event. An Indian air force official said the Tejas will be comparable to the latest versions of the U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon or the French Dassault Mirage 2000. The official said the aircraft's small size and extensive use of composite equipment also make the aircraft more agile and stealthier than its counterparts.
NEW DELHI - The Indian Ministry of Defence has begun setting up an aerospace command within the Indian air force to develop and use space technology for reconnaissance and communication. "Work has begun [at] a preliminary stage to know the requirements in terms of satellites, AWACS aircraft and other elements in the setting up of an aerospace command," a defense ministry official said.
ACQUISITION: Aerojet-General Corp., a subsidiary of GenCorp, will acquire the propulsion business of Atlantic Research Corp. (ARC) for $133 million in cash, the company said May 5. ARC develops and builds advanced solid rocket propulsion systems, gas generators and auxiliary rocket motors for space and defense markets. The transaction is expected to close this summer, the company said.
A low-cost, shoulder-launched missile the U.S. Navy Department is developing for the Marine Corps and special operations forces eventually will be adapted for use on unmanned aerial vehicles, according to program representatives. The Naval Air Warfare Center's Weapons Division is developing the Spike missile and launcher system initially for use by people on the ground. The system is envisioned as a safer, more accurate alternative to rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and as a relatively inexpensive complement to the man-portable Javelin anti-tank missile.
Air Force Secretary James Roche could face opposition in the ranks if he is nominated to head the Army, but he also could bring his transformation-oriented background to bear, according to several analysts. "Roche is a card-carrying member of the OSD transformation club," senior analyst Jay Korman of DFI International said.
10-YEAR TREND: Investors looking at the U.S. aerospace and defense market should take a long-term view and not expect big gains from the war in Iraq, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Eric Hugel of Stephens Inc., an investment bank based in Little Rock, Ark. "In our opinion, we are only at the beginning of a 10-plus-year trend in increased military spending to rebuild and transform U.S military capabilities," Hugel says.
Two major aspects of the Missile Defense Agency's approach to developing anti-missile systems came under close scrutiny at a closed-door hearing of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, according to a source who attended the May 1 meeting.
HASC SCHEDULE: The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) has announced a revised schedule for its consideration of the fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill. Under the new plan, the strategic forces, projection forces and total force subcommittees will meet May 7, followed by the tactical air and land forces, terrorism and readiness subcommittees May 9. The full committee is slated to take up the legislation May 13.
REVIEW PENDING: Three weeks before a scheduled decision on the future of the program, the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey has completed a year-long flight test program designed to disprove doubts about the aircraft's high-rate-of-descent and ship-deck landing capabilities, U.S. Navy spokesman Ward Carroll says. V-22 officials believe they have developed a "compelling case" to present May 20 to the Defense Acquisition Board, headed by E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, Carroll says.
GRIP: The first major modification of a C-17 Globemaster III at Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga., is complete, Boeing said May 2. The work was done under the Global Reach Improvement Program (GRIP), an annual modification and retrofit plan to update operational C-17s, the company said. Previous GRIP modifications were done at Boeing Aerospace Support Center in San Antonio, Texas.
CLEAN COCKPITS: The U.S. military should begin developing "semi-clean" cockpits that are resistant to chemical and biological agents, rather than buy chem/bio suits for pilots, according to Cmdr. Andrew Cibula, director of the Joint Aircraft Survivability Program Office (JASPO). "When's the last time you saw a pilot ... get out of his aircraft and then he trips and falls because he's wearing a chem/bio suit?" Cibula says. "You don't see that ... because they don't wear the chem/bio suits. They're big, they're bulky ... you can't conduct your mission with them.
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence late May 1 approved its version of the fiscal 2004 intelligence authorization bill, which would authorize funds for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and other intelligence agencies. The bill also includes a requirement for a report on intelligence lessons learned in the war with Iraq, the committee said in a statement.
NEW DELHI - After more than two months of delays, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has scheduled the launch of its second demonstration Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D2) for May 8. GSLV-D2 is to carry scientific instruments and the GSAT-2 experimental satellite, which has one four-channel C-band fixed satellite service (FSS) transponder, a two-channel Ku-band FSS transponder and a mobile satellite service transponder.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The combat power, intelligence and command and control used in Operation Iraqi Freedom constitute a "new American way of war," according to Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The war revealed "what I'll call a deliberately decisive force that's more capable" than the one used over a decade ago against Iraq, "and it means the way we fight is very different," Myers said in a May 1 address to the Air Force Academy here.
May 5 - 7 -- Aerospace & Defense Finance Conference, Grand Hyatt New York Hotel, New York City. To register go to http://www.AviationNow.com/conferences. May 6 - 8 -- AHS International 59th Annual Forum and Technology Display, "Vertical Flight Transformation," Phoenix Civic Plaza, Phoenix, Ariz. For more information call (703) 684-6777, fax (703) 739-9279, email [email protected] or go to www.vtol.org.
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., has completed the first flight phase of its Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) program, after a total of 50 flights flown in a unique F/A-18A outfitted with flexible wings that literally twist in the wind.
UAV DEMO: Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) will conduct the second public demonstration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on July 14 at the Webster Field Annex of Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The Program Executive Office for Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aviation is sponsoring the event in conjunction with the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). Possible UAVs at the demo include Scheibel's CamCopter, Boeing's ScanEagle, Northrop Grumman's Fire Scout, the Marine Corps' Dragon Eye and InSitu's Aerosonde.
Lockheed Martin will participate in the June 2003 Paris Air Show, but will send 70 fewer people than it did it in 2001 and will not display or fly any of its aircraft, a spokesman said May 2. "We're going," Tom Jurkowsky said in response to a reporter's question. "We're just going to have a reduced presence." In 2001, Lockheed Martin sent 200 people to Paris for the show, but this year only 130 are to attend, he said. By comparison, in 1997, 450 people from the company attended.
WEAPON STUDIES: Studies being conducted by the Pentagon on weapon performance in the Iraq war could reflect favorably on older systems and unfavorably on some proposed systems, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan of Merrill Lynch. "We believe that program areas with reputations enhanced from the war include the M1 [Abrams] tank and Bradley [Fighting] Vehicle" and communications and electronics equipment for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, Callan says.
