Lockheed Martin Corp. on Oct. 28 reported a 23 percent increase in third-quarter sales, but net earnings fell due to a charge totaling nearly $83 million. For the quarter, net sales rose from $6.5 billion a year ago to about $8.1 billion this year. Net earnings fell from $290 million a year ago to $217 million. In a conference call with investors and analysts, company officials said the decline was due to a nearly $83 million after-tax charge for the early retirement of debt.
GOODRICH JOBS: Goodrich Corp. plans to add 125-150 new jobs in Monroe, N.C., near its Charlotte headquarters, in late 2004. The facility will be a major repair and remanufacturing site for Goodrich aerospace systems and will serve as a stocking point for critical spare parts inventories and as a management center for commercial and military aerospace service programs.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is working to re-establish communications with its Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) II, known as Midori-II, which went mysteriously silent on Oct. 25.
GENERATOR SELECTED: Quantum3D of San Jose, Calif., will provide its Independence Image Generator to Lockheed Martin for use in F/A-22 Raptor air combat simulators, the company said Oct. 27. Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin also picked Quantum3D's image generator for use in F-35 Joint Strike Fighter air combat simulators, and it is providing graphics subsystems to drive F/A-22 avionics displays. The Independence series of generators has a resolution of up to 2,048 by 1,536 pixels, the company said.
PRAGUE - Germany has followed Turkey and the United Kingdom by pulling out of a bidding process to supply 14 used supersonic aircraft to the Czech Republic. The Czech ministry of defense said Oct. 27 that German defense minister Peter Struck had written to his Czech counterpart, Miroslav Kostelka, to say Germany is not able to meet conditions attached to the process. No further details about the letter were released.
House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) and Ranking Member Ralph Hall (D-Texas) are urging NASA to defer the development of the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) until the government has agreed on a vision for space exploration. In an Oct. 21 letter to NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, Boehlert and Hall said the OSP program "will not be successful on its current track," and expressed doubt over the validity of NASA's OSP budget estimates.
The market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is expected to be worth about $10.6 billion over the next 10 years, according to a revised report from Forecast International/DMS. The Oct. 27 report, entitled the "Market for UAV Reconnaissance Systems," says successful U.S. military actions around the world have sparked more interest in UAVs. U.S. operated UAVs have seen action in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Yemen and most recently, Iraq, the report says.
ACCEPTED: The Danish air force accepted three new C-130J-30 Hercules transport aircraft in an Oct. 21 ceremony at Lockheed Martin's Marietta, Ga., facility, the company said. The aircraft will be outfitted with Denmark-specific equipment and are scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2004.
NEW DELHI - To counter India's airborne early warning capabilities, Pakistan plans to buy an unspecified number of FT 2000 surface-to-air missiles from China. India recently signed an agreement with Israel and Russia to install three Israeli Phalcon radars on Ilyushin Il-76 to serve as an airborne early warning system (DAILY, Oct. 13), prompting Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to request a weapon system from China to counter that capability, a Pakistani diplomat here said Oct. 27.
TESTING: GE Aircraft Engines has completed all qualification testing of its higher-thrust F110 engine, the F110-GE-132, for the Lockheed Martin Block 60 F-16E/F, the company said Oct. 27. The engine has been cleared for operational service on the aircraft. Flight tests of the Block 60 F-16 are scheduled for late this year.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) highlighted the need for sea basing, which is intended to free U.S. forces from dependence on other nations for overflight, transit, and basing support in future conflicts, said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael T. Hagee. Sea basing will require inter-service cooperation and major technological advances by industry to become a reality, he said last week at the National Defense Industrial Association's Expeditionary Warfare Conference here.
The U.S. Navy has awarded a $100 million contract modification to General Dynamics for work on the fire control systems for the Ohio-class ballistic missile and cruise missile submarine variants.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. - The first use of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and dolphins in combat mine-clearing operations was highly successful, said Capt. Michael P. Tillotson, who commanded Naval Special Operations Task Force 56 in Operation Iraqi Freedom. However, a lack of understanding of mine countermeasures (MCM) by senior commanders produced unrealistic expectations of when humanitarian aid could be delivered through the Port of Umm Qasr, and intelligence shortfalls emerged, he said.
PRAGUE - The purchase of used supersonic fighters for the Czech military may help reduce the large number of pilots planning to leave the air force to take up civilian flying jobs, according to Czech defense officials. About 60 pilots indicated recently that they planned to leave the air force before the end of the year. Many of them are concerned about their futures in the face of cutbacks being forced upon the military by planned budget reductions.
GROUND EFFECT: Control problems continue to delay the first flight of the X-50A Dragonfly unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), according to Tony Tether, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). A joint effort by DARPA and Boeing, the Dragonfly is a unique hybrid helicopter that can transition to a fixed-wing jet by stopping its rotor in flight (DAILY, Aug. 21). "When you only have one vehicle, you're very cautious," Tether says.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) announced Oct. 24 it is seeking U.S. suppliers to help build its A400M military transport. The announcement followed an A400M supplier conference held in Washington last week. More than 30 U.S. companies attended the event, as did representatives from the departments of State, Commerce and Defense.
NEW DELHI - As part of a move for closer defense ties, China has agreed to train Pakistani air force pilots at bases in both countries. An agreement on training was completed Oct. 23 in Beijing by Cao Gangchuan, China's defense minister, and Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat, head of Pakistan's air force, who is visiting China, according to a Pakistani diplomat here. Under the agreement, China also will train Pakistani air force engineers to overhaul and maintain the jointly produced JF-17 Thunder fighter, training that will take place in China.
BOEHLERT ON ISS: House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) is "very concerned" that NASA did not tell Congress about the degradation of environmental monitors and exercise equipment onboard the International Space Station (ISS). "The Science Committee has asked repeatedly whether the grounding of the space shuttle presented any threats to the ISS crew, and we were told that it did not," Boehlert says. "Clearly, that was not the case.
Oct. 27 - 28 -- Light Armored Vehicles 2003, "Improving the Lethality, Survivability and Mobility of the Warfighter," Doubletree Hotel, Crystal City, Arlington, Va. For more information call 800-882-8684, email [email protected] or go to www.idga.org. Oct. 28 - 29 -- Nanotech Venture Fair 2003, Loews Coronado Bay Resort, Coronado, Calif. For more information call (818) 888-4444, email [email protected], or go to www.nanotechventurefair.com.
