EUROPEAN CONSOLIDATION: The recent announcement of General Dynamics' plan to buy Alvis-Vickers of the United Kingdom underlines that European military vehicle manufacturers must consolidate, says Ben Moores, an industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan. Alvis, the leading armored vehicle manufacturer in the U.K. and Scandinavia, complements General Dynamics' European armored vehicle business, Moores says. Acquiring Alvis gives the company the Nordic and Middle Eastern market, he says.
Boeing's X-45A unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is expected to perform its first inert weapon drop at Edwards, Calif., within a week, according to a Boeing spokesman. The first drop will be unguided, using a dummy Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) deployed from the aircraft's weapons bay, according to Boeing spokesman Bill Barksdale. A guided drop is expected to follow by early April.
March 22 - 23 -- 12th Annual Conference on Quality in the Space and Defense Industries, Radisson At The Port Hotel & Conference Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla. For information contact Lester Lemay at (254) 776-3550 or go to www.asdnet.org/cqsdi. March 25 - 26 -- Aviation Week presents Defense Budget Conference, Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, Va. To register go to http://www.aviationweek.com/conferences.
GETTING READY: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has until May 16 to release a list of military installations slated for closure or realignment, but some elected officials are not waiting until then to take action. Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell has awarded $150,000 in grants to some facilities in his state to help shore them up, including developing part of the Letterkenny Army Depot as a repair facility for tactical unmanned aerial vehicles. Letterkenny lost 3,450 jobs in earlier base closing rounds.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is satisfied with the results of its Grand Challenge unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) competition, despite the lack of a winner, according to spokeswoman Jan Walker. None of the 15 UGVs managed to complete the 142-mile course from Barstow, Calif., to Primm, Nev., with the most successful vehicle traveling about seven miles (DAILY, March 16). DARPA had planned to award $1 million to the team that completed the course in the least time, provided it took them less than 10 hours.
JSF NON-SHUFFLE: The Defense Department, which had been considering changing the order in which the three variants of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter are designed, now plans to keep things the same: conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) first, followed by short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) and then carrier variant (CV). "The plan now is that we will keep the STOVL as the second one in the queue," Navy Secretary Gordon England says in recent congressional testimony. "And it's that way because there's commonality between STOVL and the CTOL.
PORTSMOUTH, VA. - One of the goals of the Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) is to integrate Combat ID and Blue Force Tracking across Department of Defense operations, according to Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) officials said at a conference here March 18. Combat ID is the process of accurately identifying objects to enable the use of the correct military options and weapons. Blue Force Tracking is a satellite-based system installed in ground vehicles and helicopters that monitors the movement of friendly forces.
READY FOR LAUNCH: Space Systems/Loral said March 19 that it has completed the integration and testing of the MTSAT-1R satellite and has shipped it to Japan's space center in Tanegashima, where is to be launched on an H-IIA rocket. The satellite was built for the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau and the Japanese Meteorological Agency.
HAPPY TOGETHER: Redesignating the secretary of the Navy as the secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps would help clarify the Marine Corps' status, former military leaders say. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) has pushed for such a change for years, and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says he supports it. "... While both services have made tremendous contributions to the cause of freedom, only one service in this team is recognized in the title of secretary of the department," Hunter says.
Defense technology company DRS Technologies Inc. realigned its businesses into two operating groups in the wake of its acquisition of Integrated Defense Technologies (IDT), which was completed late last year. IDT designs and develops a range of electronics and technology products for the defense industry.
SED: The Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are developing a prototype hypersonic missile for a first flight in 2008, according to Ron Sega, director of defense research and engineering at the Pentagon. The Single Engine Demonstration (SED) program will integrate the Air Force's Hypersonic Technology (HyTech) engine with DARPA air vehicle technology. The SED missile will be powered by a hydrocarbon supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) and ultimately should achieve speeds of Mach 7-8, according to Sega.
NEW DELHI - A deal between India and the United Kingdom for 66 Hawk 100-Y advanced jet trainers is back on track after overcoming a last-minute cost dispute. India and the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MOD) agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) March 19 on the $1.5 million deal and plan to sign it this week.
The U.S. Air Force is considering speeding development of a standoff electronic jamming capability for the B-52 bomber, sources said March 18. They said current plans call for development to begin in fiscal year 2005, leading to initial operational capability in 2011 or 2012. But, they added, options to speed the operational date to 2009 or 2010 are being investigated. - Rich Tuttle ([email protected])
The first priority for Boeing's new Space Exploration Systems (SES) organization, headquartered near Washington, will be to help sell NASA's space exploration plans to Congress and the public, according to SES head Chuck Allen. "The American people right now are very skeptical, as they should be, because they don't have any details," Allen said at a briefing in Arlington, Va., March 18. "Many in Congress are skeptical because they don't have any details. Everybody [has questions] that there just aren't answers to yet. It's just too early.
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The European Union and Israel have signed an agreement that lays the foundations for Israel's active participation in Europe's Galileo satellite radio navigation program. The agreement, initialed in Jerusalem March 17, covers cooperative activities on satellite navigation and timing in a wide range of sectors, including science and technology, industrial manufacturing and service and market development, as well as standardization, frequencies and certification.
NEW DELHI - India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has decided to begin production of the indigenously developed Nishant unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The production has been delayed by technical problems, but they have been overcome and limited production will begin by the end of the year, a DRDO scientist said.
Boeing will manufacture 14 T-45 training system airframes under a $247.6 million contract modification, the U.S. Department of Defense announced March 18. The work will be performed in St. Louis and Warton, Brough, England and is expected to be completed in September 2006.
Lockheed Martin has broken ground on an Owego, N.Y., facility for its US101 entry in the VXX presidential helicopter competition, although a decision between it and rival Sikorsky isn't expected until May. "In order to maintain the delivery schedule set by our customer for the presidential helicopter, it is necessary for us to invest our own funds to begin construction activities now, before contract award," Stephen D. Ramsey, the Lockheed Martin US101 vice president and general manager, said in a statement.
INTERFACE: Lockheed Martin has demonstrated that its Hellfire II missile and digital M299 launcher system can be integrated with the Australian ARH-1 Eurocopter Tigre helicopter, the company said March 18. Integration tests pave the way for the ARH-1 to carry the missile and also allow the Hellfire II to be used on European Tigres.
