FLIR CONTRACT: FLIR Systems Inc. will supply enhanced targeting sights for use with the Special Operations Forces Laser Marker (SOFLAM) under a $19.8 million U.S. Navy contract, the company said Oct. 14. The sight is a companion sight for the SOFLAM. Deliveries are expected to begin in early 2004 and be completed in by July 2005.
Pratt & Whitney has begun testing the first production-configuration F135 engine for the Defense Department's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The engine, designated the FX631, successfully ran for the first time at 1:53 p.m. on Oct. 11 at Pratt & Whitney facilities in West Palm Beach, Fla., company spokesman Dave Morgillo told The DAILY Oct. 14. The engine, which is mounted on a test stand, now has run for a total of two hours. Testing data show the engine "performed as expected," Pratt & Whitney said in a statement.
MBDA CONTRACT: The French defense ministry has awarded MBDA a contract to integrate the ASMPA medium-range air-to-ground missile on the next-generation variant of the French air force's Mirage 2000 N, the 2000 N K3, the company said. ASMPA, which has a tactical nuclear warhead, will replace the current ASMP missile, which has been in service on the Mirage 2000 N since 1988, the company said.
AIR SUPPLY: Boeing will use air transportation as the main method for delivering supplier parts for its new mid-sized 7E7 passenger aircraft, the company said Oct. 13. The company projects savings of 20 to 40 percent compared with traditional shipping methods, Boeing said, and will cut delivery times to as little as one day. The company plans to use at least three modified 747-400s to move the 7E7 components.
Major aerospace and defense contractors are expected to post strong earnings for the third quarter, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Christopher Mecray of Deutsche Bank. "We expect most aerospace and defense companies to meet or beat expectations, with lingering concerns [about the commercial sector] lying mostly beyond 2004 and defense names benefiting from the ramp-up in budget outlays," Mecray says in an investor's report released last week.
On Oct. 15 the U.S. Air Force will make its third attempt since early 2001 to launch an upgraded Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft atop a refurbished Titan II missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. A series of technical issues and schedule bumps have plagued the $450 million spacecraft, which was removed from the launch pad twice in 2001 and 2002 (DAILY, Jan. 24, 2001). Launch is now set for a 10-minute window opening at 9:17 a.m. PDT Oct. 15.
Operation of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles that work together to carry out missions as part of the Future Combat Systems (FCS) is the subject of an exploratory development program being run by the U.S. Army's Aviation Applied Technology Directorate at Fort Eustis, Va.
HONEYWELL BUY: Honeywell International will acquire video monitoring company Silent Witness of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, Honeywell said Oct. 10. The company plans to buy all outstanding shares of Silent Witness for CDN$11.27 ($8.6) per share. The buy will broaden Honeywell's capabilities in the video surveillance market, the company said.
Tactronics, a prime contractor to Special Operations Command (SOCOM), is undertaking an internally funded effort to create a handheld computer for special operators that can run a full 32-bit operating system, according to company president Billy Silhan.
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control has received a $119 million contract from the U.S. Army to develop and demonstrate a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) variant with a unitary warhead. Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will develop 86 rockets, 71 of which will be flight articles. The remainder will be used for tests and other activities.
NEW DELHI - The Indian government is looking to international markets for beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles to be installed on the Sea Harrier fleet on the country's only aircraft carrier, INS Viraat. Defense ministry officials said the purchase of 20 BVR missiles and training missiles is part of a project to upgrade India's Sea Harrier fleet. The ministry has invited Israel's Rafael and Elbit Systems, the United Kingdom's BAE Systems, South Africa's Denel, Russia's Rosoboronexport and France's MBDA to submit offers for the missiles.
Gripen International has opened the production line for 28 Gripens ordered by South Africa, the company said Oct. 13. Jacob Zuma, the deputy president of South Africa, opened the line at an Oct. 10 ceremony at the Saab Aerosystems plant in Linkoping, Sweden.
HONEYWELL TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS INC. (HTSI) has been awarded NASA's Near Earth Networks Services (NENS) contract, with an estimated maximum value of $785.2 million. HTSI will support NASA's Space and Ground Networks managed by Goddard Space Flight Center's Mission Services Program. Major elements of the work include administration of an integrated contract team for Space and Ground Networks operations and maintenance; hardware and software development; and systems engineering.
UPGRADING: DRS Technologies will provide system electronics and interfaces for upgrading U.S. Air Force MH-53J Pave Low III helicopters to the MH-53M Pave Low IV configuration, the company said Oct. 10. The work is being done under a $4.8 million contract from Modern Technologies Corp.
NEW DELHI - Officials from India, Israel and Russia signed an agreement Oct. 10 completing Israel's sale of Phalcon radars to India, a deal worth roughly $1 billion. The three radars will be mounted on Russian-built Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft to serve as airborne early warning systems, with each combination costing about $350 million. The radars will be able to track up to 60 targets over an 800 kilometer (500 mile) radius.
TRANSFORMATION ASSESSMENT: Rep. William "Mac" Thornberry (R-Texas), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, plans to give a speech Oct. 15 assessing the Bush Administration's efforts to transform the military. Thornberry's address, which will take place at the Heritage Foundation, is entitled, "Ready for the Missions of the 21st Century?"
Pratt & Whitney is almost ready to begin testing the first production-configuration F135 engine for the Defense Department's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), government and industry sources said Oct. 10. Pratt & Whitney spokesman Mark Sullivan told The DAILY that the testing will begin "within the next few days," as early as late Oct. 10.
A team of industry representatives is scheduled to make its first recommendations in early November on the reference model for building an open digital architecture for the U.S. military, according to an industry executive. The team will make its recommendations at the third meeting of the Net-Centric Operations Industry Forum (NCOIF), a group of 25-30 commercial and defense companies brought together by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).
