March 20, 2002 Sikorsky Aircraft Co., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded an $84,000,000 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract (DAAJ09-97-C-0005) for 13 MD060S aircraft. Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn., and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2002. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source contract initiated on Oct. 4, 2000. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.
March 21, 2002 McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Boeing Co., is being awarded an $11,533,383 firm-fixed-price order under a long-term contract (N00383-98-D-003H-7049) for continuing repair of an estimated 740 ailerons, flaps and horizontal stabilizers in support of F/A-18 aircraft. Work will be performed Mesa, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by October 2002. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Inventory Control Point, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.
The biggest challenge in meeting the program goals for the Joint Strike Fighter will be integrating the activities of companies and facilities spread across nine time zones through a seamless sharing of information, senior JSF program officials said March 22.
New systems using space-based assets made a big difference in how U.S. forces fought in Afghanistan, according to Lt. Gen. Joseph M. Cosumano, the head of Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) and U.S. Army Space Command. The value of constant surveillance and precision targeting provided through systems using space-based assets "is the big lesson learned" from Afghanistan, Cosumano told The DAILY in a March 25 interview.
REJECTION URGED: TRW Inc.'s board of directors unanimously recommended March 25 that its shareholders reject Northrop Grumman proposals that TRW establish an independent committee to review Northrop Grumman's stock exchange offer, and provide it with confidential financial information. Northrop Grumman has proposed exchanging each outstanding share of TRW common stock with $47 of Northrop Grumman stock.
The ongoing delay in raising NASA's newest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) to its operational orbit is unlikely to affect the operation of the TDRS constellation, according to NASA. Satellite manufacturer Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS), which still owns the satellite, is working on raising TRDS-I to its operational geosynchronous orbit, after detecting a pressure problem in one of the spacecraft's four propellant tanks that could jeopardize its operational life (DAILY, March 25).
The House March 20 approved a $10 billion war reserve as part of the fiscal 2003 budget resolution despite calls by some members to spend the money right away on weapon systems and other urgent needs. Some lawmakers, including Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Armed Services procurement subcommittee, objected to the Bush Administration-proposed reserve, saying the $10 billion should be immediately allocated to unmanned aerial vehicles, tactical aviation, a third DDG-51 guided-missile destroyer and other shortfalls (DAILY, March 15).
After a successful series of automatic collision avoidance flight tests, NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) team is turning its attention to other projects that could help get unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) accepted into the national airspace. The recent flight tests used Scaled Composites' Proteus as a UAV stand-in, as well as a variety of other manned aircraft flying simulated collision courses over Las Cruces, N.M. (DAILY, March 13).
Boeing Ceska president Tom Stringer said March 25 the company will remove some of its advisers from Aero Vodochody, but he refused to comment on whether the company is planning to sell its 35 percent stake in the Czech aircraft manufacturer. Stringer's comments came at a press conference called to clarify Boeing Ceska's position on issues related to the company, following what Boeing termed "significant differences of opinion" with Czech government officials over the company's performance in Aero (DAILY, March 22).
JSF PICK: Lockheed Martin has selected Dassault Systemes and IBM to provide computer-based development tools and processes for the Joint Strike Fighter. The companies will support the Lockheed Martin Virtual Development Environ-ment, for computer-assisted construction of the aircraft.
March 20, 2002 Northrop Grumman Corp., Melbourne, Fla., is being awarded a $38,409,000 (not-to-exceed) fixed-price-incentive and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide for one joint surveillance target attack radar system Lot XI aircraft advanced procurement effort. At this time, the total amount of funds has been obligated. The Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (F19628-02-C-0022).
AEGIS TESTING: Lockheed Martin has completed equipment testing of the seventh generation of its Aegis Weapon System, the company announced March 22. The latest upgrade, called Baseline 7.1, contains a new radar and the first complete commercial-off-the-shelf Aegis computing architecture. The system will be installed on the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Pinckney in November. Sea trials for Pinckney are slated to start in August 2003.
ACC AND HOMELAND DEFENSE: Air Combat Command's new Homeland Security Division will provide forces on standby to several new task forces under Joint Forces Command. The purpose of Joint Task Force Civil Support, Joint Task Force Consequence Management, and Joint Task Force Consequence Management-East is to help offset the effects of a terrorist attack by weapons of mass destruction. The task forces would concentrate on cities other than New York and Washington.
The Defense Department's adoption of performance-based contracting in recent years is requiring defense contractors and suppliers to change their approach to supply chain management, according to a retired Air Force general. Five or six years ago, most of the contracts awarded by the DOD to defense contractors in the post-production phase of a weapon program were task oriented, said George Babbitt, now director of aerospace and defense operations for KPMG Consulting Inc.
The International Space Station's robotic arm has developed a balky joint, but NASA officials said March 21 they have planned a workaround and the trouble probably won't affect the next construction mission, slated for April 4. However, it will delay the shuttle mission after that, originally scheduled for May 6, because NASA plans to fly a replacement joint on that flight. NASA bumped that flight to May 31, which officials said would give the agency time to get the equipment on the shuttle and plan the spacewalk needed to install it.
BETTER GUIDANCE: The new guidance system for the Minuteman III is performing well after experiencing some problems last year, according to a senior military official. "We've had some successful shots," with the new system, the official says. The system is being installed as part of a package of upgrades intended to extend the ICBMs' life to at least 2020. The new system will be "as good" as the one it's replacing, the official says, and should be more reliable.
Military avionics technology could be the key to a future decentralized air traffic control system, according to John Douglass, president, CEO, and general manager of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). However, this technology won't transfer into the civil sector until America's outdated air traffic management (ATM) system is updated, Douglass said at an AIA press luncheon March 21.
Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) is working on a plan to get the company's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-I (TDRS-I) to its operational geosynchronous orbit, after detecting a problem with one of the spacecraft's four propellant tanks. Although there is enough propellant in the other tanks to raise the orbit, if the problem isn't solved it could jeopardize the operational life of the satellite, according to Boeing spokesman George Torres.
An Air Force-chartered independent review team has found that the Space Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High) was "too immature" when it entered the system design and development phase several years ago, according to Air Force Undersecretary Peter Teets. The review team also discovered other deficiencies in SBIRS-High, including "inadequate systems engineering" and "a significant breakdown in execution management," Teets testified before the Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee March 20.
CCS-C PROGRAM: Integral Systems Inc., winner of an Air Force competition to provide the Command and Control System-Consolidated (CCS-C), says new satellite programs being considered for addition to the contract by the Air Force's Milsatcom Program Office include Advanced Polar EHF and Advanced Wideband. The basic CCS-C contract calls for the Lanham, Md., company to replace the portion of the Air Force Satellite Control Network that supports military communications satellites and advanced satellites.
U.S. aerospace and defense companies may be in for a period of moderate growth at best, despite the war on terrorism and such other concerns as the Middle East, according to a new report from Standard&Poor's. The report, produced every six months, says current military actions in Afghanistan won't necessarily result in outsize long-term earnings growth and return on capital for defense companies.
