The second Northrup Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout introduced into the test fleet will be used this spring for electromagnetic interference (EMI) testing, to ensure the unmanned rotorcraft can operate in the signal-rich U.S. Navy ship environment. The first MQ-8C conducted its initial flight Oct. 31, and it has flown 41 sorties culminating in 67 flight hours to date, says George Vardoulakis, vice president for medium-range tactical systems at Fire Scout prime contractor Northrop Grumman. The second of two MQ-8Cs conducted its first flight Feb. 12.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) feb. 19 - 21 — Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition, Orlando, Fla. For more information go to www.afa.org/airwarfare/home feb. 19 - 21 — 2014 AUSA Winter Symposium and Exposition, "America's Army: Sustaining, Training, and Equipping for the Future," Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Ala. For more information go to www.ausa.org
LONDON — The U.K. National Audit Office (NAO) says the country’s Defense Ministry has made great strides in its programs for new equipment required by the armed forces.
The U.S. Air Force and the United Launch Alliance are scheduled to launch GPS IIF satellite 5 Feb. 20 on a Delta IV rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 Cape Canaveral, Fla., the first of three planned launches through July 2014.
HOUSTON — The terrifying Chelyabinsk explosion over Russia one year ago has significantly altered the debate over efforts to detect and deflect asteroids that pose an impact threat to the Earth, according to one of the nation’s top experts in the field. “It was a wake-up call for the world,” said David Morrison, senior scientist at NASA’s recently established Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), at the Ames Research Center Feb. 14.
Rover drivers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are sending the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity to explore north-facing rock layers, after discovering the source of a tiny rock fragment that triggered an unusual lawsuit. Dubbed Pinnacle Island, the 1.5-in.-wide red-and-white rock turned up in a rover image collected Jan. 8 in a spot where it had not been four days earlier. After collecting more images, JPL experts concluded that the rock had broken loose from a larger rock that was hit by one of Opportunity’s six wheels and rolled downhill.
SPACE SPENDING: Government spending on space programs worldwide dipped last year for the first time since 1995, according to Euroconsult, dropping $800 million total (1%). The consulting company said this was “a direct result of the cyclical nature of countries’ investment in space-based infrastructures, combined with governments’ belt-tightening efforts during tough economic times.” But the advisors said there are positive signs for industry, starting with growing international activity in space.
The Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace is considering adapting its miniature version of the supersonic BrahMos-M (Mini) to more platforms, and exporting it to friendly countries. The weight of other BrahMos missiles had blocked integration on other Indian air force (IAF) platforms, says Praveen Pathak, general manager for market promotion and export at BrahMos Aerospace. “That prompted us to develop the BrahMos-M.”
The Office of Naval Research Global (ONR Global) is looking to “improve understanding of conditions in the Indian Ocean, including validating satellite data on salinity, or salt, levels,” ONR officials say. Confirming satellite findings with actual field-level research is an area scientists have deemed essential to improving the Navy’s oceanographic models, officials note.
NEW DELHI — The Indian air force (IAF) may be within months of getting its intermediate jet trainer (IJT), which has been in development since 1999. The Sitara is being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) for the IAF and the Indian navy. “The much-delayed Sitara IJT is likely to be operational this year . . . All efforts are being made by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. for achieving the final operational clearance by December 2014,” Defense Minister A.K. Antony says.
With the sting of recent reports blasting U.S. Navy surface ship maintenance programs still fresh, the service is fulfilling its stated commitment to make ship repair and improvements a priority. For example, the Navy allocated about $517.6 million in contracts and contract modifications to BAE Systems—mostly for such work on destroyers and cruisers—between January 2013 and January 2014, according to an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) analysis of Pentagon contracting data.
In observance of Presidents Day in the U.S., Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish a Feb. 18 issue. Aviation Week Intelligence Network subscribers can visit www.aviationweek.com/awin for updates.
Bell and Boeing are studying a potential gunship capability for the CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor. The studies are part of a road map of capabilities for the aircraft, according to U.S. Navy officials. The idea is being looked at by Air Force Special Operations Command, according to Lt. Col. Eric Ropella, V-22 program manager for international programs, speaking at the Singapore air show on Feb. 13. “Afsoc is interested in that capability,” he said. “The Marines are not participating.”
NEW DELHI — India is developing a canister-based version of its Agni-V ballistic missile, which is expected to be inducted into the country’s armed forces in 2015. The Agni-V, an intercontinental, nuclear-tipped, three-stage ballistic missile, has already been successfully test-fired twice from a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 4 of the Integrated Test Range in the eastern state of Odisha.
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PARIS — A team of French aerospace manufacturers may have to renegotiate details of an €800 million ($1.08 billion) contract awarded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year to build and launch a pair of high-resolution Earth observation satellites, after the companies failed to meet a Jan. 29 deadline for obtaining U.S. export licenses for some components that will be used to build them.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) is planning to make things much harder for teams that will compete in the finals of its disaster-response Robotics Challenge, now being planned to take place in the next 12-18 months. Teams competing in the Darpa Robotics Challenge (DRC) trials in December did better than expected, so the agency plans to raise the bar for the finals, requiring more robust performance from the robots in more difficult conditions. A $2 million prize is at stake.
NEW DEHLI — With an inordinate delay in the purchase of Dassault Rafale fighters and the development of its fifth-generation fighter, the Indian air force (IAF) is looking at boosting production of the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) to plug the gap of retiring aircraft.
U.S. Air Force contracting officers failed to properly validate costs when buying about $1.6 billion worth of spare parts for F119 engines for F-22 Raptors, a recent Inspector General (IG) report says. The Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, awarded a $215.8 million cost-plus-fee service contract on Feb. 19, 2008, to Pratt and Whitney to establish a sole-source, 10-year, performance-based logistics business arrangement for sustainment of fielded F119 engines, the IG notes in its report.
BUDGET PREVIEW: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is expected to preview the Pentagon’s fiscal 2015 budget request on Feb. 24, a week before the official release of the Obama administration’s budget plan to Congress, Reuters reports. Hagel is expected to use the announcement to outline the Defense Department’s priorities and challenges in budgeting for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, sources told the news agency.
BEIJING — The rover of China’s Chang’e 3 lunar mission is showing signs of life after almost being declared dead. Jade Rabbit, as the rover is known, is again receiving signals from the Earth, Chinese media report.
