Raytheon Co. posted a $35 million loss for the third quarter on Oct. 23 due to cost growth on key defense electronics programs and changes on technical service contracts. The $35 million net loss for the quarter compares with a $147 million net profit a year ago. Net sales for the quarter totaled $4.4 billion, compared with $4.1 billion a year ago. Overall government and defense sales for the quarter increased 3 percent, from $3.6 billion a year ago to $3.7 billion.
The "dream" of developing a hypersonic vehicle that can take off from a runway and fly into space is still alive at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), according to Director Tony Tether. This vision was embodied in the joint DARPA/NASA/Air Force effort known as the National Aerospace Plane (NASP). The X-30 NASP program was aimed at demonstrating a single-stage-to-orbit space vehicle that would take off from a runway.
A key Senate panel is considering a proposal to have the U.S. Air Force lease 20 KC-767A tankers and buy 80 of the Boeing-made planes, instead of leasing all 100 aircraft as the Air Force wants to do, congressional sources said Oct. 23. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has begun pitching the 20/80 proposal to other committee members in one-on-one meetings, a Senate source told The DAILY.
The U.S. military not only needs increased bandwidth, it also needs to manage the bandwidth spectrum more efficiently, according to senior military officials. Appearing Oct. 21 before the House Armed Services Committee's Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities subcommittee, Army Lt. Gen. William Wallace said coalition commanders in Iraq quickly learned the value of satellite communications for transmitting information on the battlefield.
Northrop Grumman has protested the U.S. Air Force's choice of a team of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to upgrade the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS). The Air Force chose the team Oct. 2, awarding it a contract of $157 million (DAILY, Oct. 6). The contract is valued at some $360 million over the life of the program, which is known as DCGS 10.2 Multi-INT upgrade.
NEW DELHI - The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch Brazilian microsatellites on Indian vehicles as part of a growing cooperation between the two countries on space programs. Senior ISRO officials told The DAILY that a delegation from the Brazilian Space Agency is in Bangalore to complete the agreement.
REVIEW: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is calling on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct a new review of the U.S. Air Force's proposal to lease tanker aircraft from Boeing. In a letter to OMB Director Josh Bolten, McCain cited recent reports by the General Accounting Office and Congressional Budget Office analyzing the cost of the deal.
The Boeing Co. will pay Spacehab Inc.'s Astrotech Space Operations subsidiary $17.5 million for canceling a payload operations contract, Spacehab said Oct. 22. Under the contract, Astrotech provided mainly commercial payload processing services to Boeing's Delta program, but Boeing canceled the work Oct. 1.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation aimed at making it easier for the Defense Department to pay for certain weapon system upgrades, such as new, fuel-efficient engines for the B-52 bomber and Abrams tank. The bill, which Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and seven other House members formally unveiled late last week, would authorize up to 10 pilot programs that would use fuel savings to pay for the upgrades. Contractors would finance the projects upfront and be paid back as the government realized reduced energy costs.
The Air Force still is trying to find ways to increase its planned purchase of F/A-22 Raptors, a top service official said Oct. 22. Gen. John Jumper, Air Force chief of staff, told reporters that the service continues to have a requirement for 381 Lockheed Martin-built F/A-22s. Although the Air Force has estimated it can afford only 276 Raptors under current budget constraints, it also has indicated it hopes to find efficiencies so it can get as close to the higher number as possible.
Within the next few months, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to send to Iraq a number of new technologies to counter terrorist activity, including electronics detection systems and a laser microphone that could be used to pinpoint snipers. An electronics detection system could be effective in warning troops of possible booby traps or other improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that rely on electronics to be set off, according to DARPA Director Tony Tether.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Integration on two levels is key to the effectiveness of the United States military in the decade ahead, according to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper. The technical capabilities of weapons systems and other equipment must be blended to function as one and the services must adopt joint concepts of operations, he said Oct. 21 in the keynote address to the National Defense Industrial Association's Expeditionary Warfare Conference here.
AAI Corp. of Hunt Valley, Md., has teamed with France's Giat Industries to produce a new mobile, lightweight 155mm artillery gun for the U.S. military, the company said Oct. 22. Under the agreement, AAI will develop, produce and market a U.S.-made, advanced variant of Giat's 155mm gun, which already is fielded with some allied military forces.
ANALYTICAL GRAPHICS, Landover, Md. Jeffrey McCrindle has been named eastern regional sales director. BOEING, Bellevue, Wash. Nancy Cannon has been named chief people officer and vice president of the people function in the Shared Services Group. Rich Smoski has been named vice president, employee services. GENERAL DYNAMICS, Falls Church, Va. Hans Michael Malzacher has been appointed president of General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems, based in Vienna, Austria. GOODRICH, Charlotte, N.C.
The Los Angeles-class submarine USS Pittsburgh (SSN 720) test-launched a Tomahawk cruise missile Oct. 21 while underway in the Atlantic sea range east of Jacksonville, Fla., Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced Oct. 22. The launch, of a Block II Tomahawk, was one of a routine series of eight to 12 operational tests carried out each year to keep the fleet proficient, according to a Navy spokeswoman. The operational evaluation of the Block IV Tactical Tomahawk is scheduled to begin next month (DAILY, July 22).
FLIR Systems, Inc., which makes thermal imaging and stabilized camera systems, said Oct. 22 it has reached an agreement to acquire Indigo Systems Corp. for about $190 million. Indigo, founded in 1996 in Santa Barbara, Calif., develops and produces a range of infrared products, including cooled and uncooled infrared (IR) detectors, camera cores and finished cameras. Estimated revenue for Indigo in 2003 is about $55 million. The deal is expected to be accretive to FLIR's earnings during 2004.
United Defense Industries' concept demonstrator for the U.S. Army's Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon (NLOS-C) successfully fired six rounds a minute in four demonstration missions, the company said Oct. 22. The demonstrator also has conducted other missions at slower intervals, totaling more than 140 rounds, at the Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., the company said. Mobility testing of the platform is scheduled to begin early next year.
CHINESE MISSIONS: China is expected to conduct up to 10 launches a year through 2021, a 50 percent increase from previous years, according to a new report from the Futron Corp. (DAILY, Oct. 20). The following chart indicates launches since 1970 and projected launches through 2021.
Northrop Grumman has publicly unveiled part of its proposed design for the Missile Defense Agency's boost-phase Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) program. At an Oct. 21 press briefing, company officials revealed that Northrop Grumman's proposal includes a prototype launcher consisting of an aircraft-transportable Oshkosh M983A2 tractor equipped to carry two interceptor missiles.
More Blue Force tracking units will have to be deployed with ground forces for the system to be completely effective, a panel of military leaders told members of Congress Oct. 20. Vehicles equipped with Blue Force tracking systems also need to have a complementary identification friend or foe (IFF) system to guard against friendly fire, the officials said.
