NASA lobbyists are finding a troubling vein of opinion among freshmen Republicans on Capitol Hill as they struggle to rebuild the coalition that backed the International Space Station last year. Why, they are asked, is NASA shipping money to Russia for Station hardware at the same time it is cutting the NASA payroll by some 4,000 U.S. jobs? Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Tex.), who defeated longtime Democratic NASA-backer Jack Brooks, raised the question publicly in the House Science Committee's first hearing (DAILY, Jan. 9, page 29).
Despite the flurry of subcontractor and supplier agreements announced late last year on the MD-95, in most cases "we haven't put pen to paper," Lanese says. "We're fairly advanced on the whole infrastructure" but "we haven't negotiated final agreements yet," he says, calling the deal with Dallas' Dalfort Aviation for final assembly "probably the most important final agreement."
An X-31 research aircraft crashed Thursday near Edwards AFB, Calif., but test pilot Karl-Heinz Lang safely ejected. The aircraft, one of two used by the U.S. and Germany to explore the potential of extreme maneuvers by fighter planes, was returning to Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., after its third flight of the day. The crash occurred at about 2:30 pm local time.
Kaman Corp. said Friday that it will merge its Raymond Engineering subsidiary with Kaman Aerospace, and that it will take a pre-tax charge of about $44 million against its investment in Raymond Engineering. It said the write-down will likely result in a fourth quarter loss and an overall loss for 1994.
Muellner expects to see much more teaming among contractors as JAST matures. So far only one team-McDonnell Douglas, Northrop Grumman, Vought and British Aerospace-has been announced, but Lockheed, Boeing and Rockwell are in discussions, Muellner says. "You'll see some additional teaming occur," he adds.
Martin Marietta Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Norman R. Augustine yesterday plunged into the congressional debate over military readiness with a minority view that "we are in fact creating a highly unbalanced force" by neglecting modernization. "...We must be concerned both with readiness and with near-term modernization," Augustine told the House National Security Committee. "Lack of attention to the former produces near-term casualties, to the latter produces future casualties."
GENERAL DYNAMICS' Electric Boat Div., Groton, Conn., received a $36.5 million contract from U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command on Jan. 13 for development and design engineering technical services in support of the SSN-21 Seawolf and Advanced Submarine Research programs.
ADVANCED ACOUSTIC CONCEPTS, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., is in line for a Navy contract for engineering services in support of the Shallow Water Active Detection/Classification (SWADC) program. U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center Detachment, New London, Conn., said in a Jan. 17 Commerce Business Daily notice that "These services include advanced signal processing algorithm implementation which is expected to provide enhanced active sonar detection capabilities in a highly cluttered, shallow water environment."
U.S. Navy P-3 aircraft monitored the 1993 Somali attack that resulted in the deaths of 18 American soldiers, congressional testimony reveals. In the Oct. 3-4, 1993, incident, American Rangers who had gone into the Bardera Market area of Mogadishu on a mission were pinned down by Somali gunfire. Two Black Hawk helicopters attempting to help them were shot down. In addition to the Americans who were killed, 75 were wounded. The rescue was ultimately accomplished after U.N. troops from Pakistan and Malaysia linked up with American forces.
NASA will trade jobs for funds to start new programs in coming years, cutting the size of its staff even deeper than the Clinton Administration already has ordered as it streamlines and refocuses its efforts, Administrator Daniel S. Goldin told agency employees in a televised address yesterday.
The AlliedSignal/Allison joint venture working on the T800 turboshaft for the Army's hoped-for RAH-66 Comanche armed scout helicopter signed a deal this week to provide civil versions of the engine for a new light helicopter being developed by India's Hindustan Aeronautics.
COMPTEK RESEARCH INC., Buffalo, N.Y., said its defense electronics subsidiary has received a five-year, $11.9 million U.S. Navy contract for maintenance and modifications of the Command and Control Processor (C2P) computer program. The subsidiary, Comptek Federal Systems, will head a team of Synchrotech Software Corp., San Diego, and Questech Inc., Falls Church, Va. The contract was awarded by the RDT&E Div. of Naval Command, Control and Ocean Surveillance Center in San Deigo.
U.S. NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER said in a Dec. 22 Commerce Business Daily notice that it plans to award a contract to TRW based on the company's unsolicited proposal for exploratory development of a novel approach to ship self-defense.
Senior Pentagon officials told the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday that they expect President Clinton to send a $2.55 billion defense supplemental to Capitol Hill on Feb. 6 along with his fiscal 1996 budget. At the same time, Pentagon Comptroller John Hamre proposed that the Defense Dept. be given new budget authority so it could take advances on supplemental appropriations to maintain readiness.
Norman R. Augustine, chairman and chief executive officer of Martin Marietta Corp., had six suggestions yesterday "to assure the adequacy and efficiency of America's defense forces." He told Congress that the U.S. should: -- Stabilize the Pentagon budget. President Clinton's plan to add $25 billion over the next six years is "constructive..., but does not address the full range of the challenge....nor does it significantly do so in the near term."
ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS, Minneapolis, is working under a $59 million contract from the U.S. Navy to build 204 Mk. 46 lightweight torpedoes and 70 upgrade kits for the international market. It said yesterday that deliveries are scheduled to begin in September of this year and continue through February 1997. Richard Schwartz, president and chief executive officer, said the timing of the award is particularly important for the company because manufacturing will begin just as final low-rate initial production work on the Mk. 50 lightweight torpedo is winding up.
Tuesday's earthquake in Kobe, Japan, inflicted some damage on ShinMaywa Industries, one of Boeing's structural subcontractors on the new 777 widebody twin, but how that might affect the program isn't yet clear, a Boeing official said yesterday. There were no Boeing personnel on site when the quake, which registered 7.2 on the Richter scale, struck. Boeing executives are on their way to the plant to take stock of the damage.
NASA's Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS), derided as an overpriced lemon before it was launched in September 1993, has drawn so much experimenter interest since it started operations that the space agency's Lewis Research Center runs it around the clock and plans to extend its service life beyond the original two years to meet the demand.
WESTINGHOUSE NORDEN SYSTEMS, Norwalk, Conn., has received an $11.3 million contract from U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command for AN/SPS-67(V)3 and (V)1 radars.
VITRO CORP., Rockville, Md., received a four-year, $15.8 million contract from U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center Detachment, New London, Conn., for engineering services. The Tracor subsidiary said yesterday that it will provide services for the AN/SQQ-89(V) Surface Anti-submarine Warfare Combat system and related software, hardware and firmware.
ANALYSIS&TECHNOLOGY INC., North Stonington, Conn., has won a competition for a $12.8 million award from U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Detachment, New London, Conn., for analysis and review of warfare system operational performance in support of attack submarine and ballistic missile submarine platforms and warfare systems.
The Defense Dept. announced yesterday that all U.S. helicopters stationed in South Korea will be retrofitted with Global Positioning Systems by March 1. A DOD spokesman said the retrofit rate was accelerated following the crash of an OH-58A in North Korea on Dec. 17. The surviving crewman said the helicopter, which wasn't fitted with GPS, had unintentionally crossed the border. At the time of the crash, the U.S. Army was in the process of installing GPS in all its helicopters stationed in South Korea, but half were still without the system.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency wants industry proposals for research on computer and network security in order to create and integrate advanced security technologies, ARPA said in a broad agency announcement in the Jan. 19 Commerce Business Daily. The solicitation is part of a larger strategy to develop technology for defensive information warfare, the BAA said. Proposals are due April 17. No formal request for proposals will be issued.
An article in The DAILY of Jan. 3 incorrectly identified the operational position of Russia's newest Raduga communications satellite. The satellite will be positioned at 70 degrees East longitude.
MALAYSIA's Binariang Sdn. Bhd. has exercised a contract option with Hughes Aircraft Co. to build a second second HS-376 model satellite, MEASAT-2, to serve as a backup to MEASAT-1. Hughes was awarded the contract for MEASAT-1 in May. The new satellite, scheduled for launch in December, will cover Malaysia, India, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, Kampuchea, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Taiwan, Hong Kong and southern China.
