The Defense Department's drive to field land- and sea-based midcourse missile defense systems has advanced on several fronts in the past few days, including the successful test of a new interceptor booster for the ground-based program and a major contract award for the ship-based element.
A more systematic approach to tackling a military-wide aging aircraft problem is the goal of a new acquisition effort the U.S. Air Force plans to launch soon. The Aeronautical Systems Center's Aging Aircraft Division is creating an open-ended contract vehicle to act as a clearinghouse for ordering new analyses and evaluations relating to the aging aircraft issue.
DRS Technologies Inc. said Aug. 18 it will buy Integrated Defense Technologies, Inc., which DRS Chairman and CEO Mark Newman said will create "the industry's leading mid-tier defense technology company." DRS will acquire the company for about $373 million in cash and stock offerings. Integrated Defense Technologies (IDT), based in Huntsville, Ala., develops advanced electronics and technology systems and subsystems for U.S. military services.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate has built a lightweight, one-meter mirror out of an ultra-thin material that could one day be used to build much larger mirrors for space-based surveillance and astronomy, AFRL announced Aug. 18.
NASA and the Navy signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Aug. 15 to exchange information on vendor and supplier performance to improve safety and mission assurance at both organizations. Under the agreement, NASA will have access to the Navy's Product Data Reporting and Evaluation Program and its Red/Yellow/Green Program, and NASA will grant the Navy access to its own corresponding contractor performance records.
PRAGUE - The Icelandic entrepreneur behind a planned $20 million aircraft maintenance hangar project at Ostrava airport in the Czech Republic insists the project still is on track despite a lack of funding.
Arianespace's flight 162 has been delayed again to allow the Indian Space Research Organization more time to verify payload components on its INSAT-3E communications satellite. The launch had been scheduled for August, then was pushed to Sept. 3. No new launch date has been set, launch company Arianespace said Aug. 18. In addition to INSAT-3E, the Ariane 5 booster is scheduled to carry Eutelsat's eBird and the European lunar probe Smart-1.
NEW DELHI - The Indian army has rejected the Indian-built surface-to-air missile system Akash ("Sky") and has asked the defense ministry to buy similar missiles from international vendors. An army official said Akash is unsuitable because its Rajendra radar has a limited coverage area and the missile battery moves too slowly to engage aircraft coming from opposite directions simultaneously.
FIRST RESPONDERS: Northrop Grumman has released new first responder command and control software for law enforcement, fire, emergency medical agencies and other incident management, the company said. CommandPoint, released by the company's Information Technology public safety business, is designed as a core application for emergency operations centers, the company said. "CommandPoint brings a state-of-the-art integration capability to both first responder and emergency management solutions," Skip Funk, president of Northrop Grumman Public Safety, said in a statement.
TESTBED CONTRACT: The Boeing Co. is being awarded a contract worth up to $125.9 million to deliver a 767-400ER testbed for the U.S. Air Force E-10A Multi-sensor Command and Control Aircraft, Boeing announced Aug. 18. The final price still is being negotiated, the company said.
Manufacturing problems with the Wideband Gapfiller Satellite (WGS) program won't cost the U.S. Air Force money but will delay the fielding of the full system by about seven months, the U.S. Defense Department disclosed in the latest Selected Acquisition Reports (SARs) sent to lawmakers. The SARs list of 73 top acquisition programs grew in the June 2003 reporting period to include the Army's Future Combat Systems as well as the Navy's AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Advanced Seal Delivery System and the E-2 Advanced Hawkeye.
Precision Castparts Corp. announced Aug. 18 it is acquiring SPS Technologies Inc. in a stock and cash deal worth nearly $575 million. SPS Technologies, based in Jenkintown, Pa., manufactures fasteners and precision components for the aerospace, automotive and industrial markets, and super alloys and specialty metals for aerospace and industrial components.
The U.S. Navy has received four responses to its request for ideas on a potential replacement for the canceled Navy Area ballistic missile defense program, according to the service. Although the Navy declined to identify the respondents or reveal what they suggested, the service said the information that has been submitted "can support the formulation of the Navy's way ahead for ballistic missile defense.
TANKER HEARING: The Senate Commerce Committee likely will hold a hearing Sept. 3 to examine the Air Force's proposal to lease 100 Boeing KC-767A tankers. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the panel's chairman, is the leading congressional critic of the proposed deal. The Senate Armed Services Committee, whose membership includes McCain, already has announced it will hold a Sept. 4 hearing on the Air Force plan (DAILY, Aug. 11).
JTRS FALLS SHORT: The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), which is costing the Pentagon at least $14 billion to develop and produce, falls short of satisfying the military's long-term radio communications needs, according a new report by the Defense Science Board. JTRS, a family of 250,000 interoperable radios for troops and mobile systems, is "but a first step" toward a growing need for an agile network of wideband systems, says the report, released Aug. 14.
The U.S. Navy has offered several incentives to Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics as part of block-buy agreement to build six Virginia-class submarines between 2003 and 2007. The $8.7 billion agreement, announced Aug. 14, calls for the production of one submarine a year from 2003 to 2006 and two submarines in 2007 (DAILY, Aug. 15). General Dynamics' subsidiary Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman's Newport News Shipbuilding sector will have an equal workshare in the 30-ship construction program.
August 19 - 20 -- Space and Air Protection Conference, Aerospace Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif. Call (888) OLD-CROW or go to www.crows.org. August 25 - 27 -- Defense Supply Center Columbus Conference and Exhibition, "Transforming the DSCC Supplier Relationship," Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio. For more information email Phyllis Edmonson at [email protected] or go to www.ndia.org.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is urging President Bush to become personally involved in protecting the nation's commercial airliners against missiles, saying Bush Administration officials are moving too slowly to equip such aircraft with military-style countermeasures.
Raytheon last week unveiled the first development model of its SeaRAM anti-ship missile defense system. SeaRAM, which combines the technology used in the Phalanx Block 1B Close-in Weapons System (CIWS-1B) with the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), is designed to replace the 20mm M61A1 Gatling Gun. The system can be operated in both anti-surface and anti-air modes. Its footprint is virtually the same as the Phalanx 1B with slightly more weight, said John Eagles, spokesman for Raytheon Missiles Systems.
RADAR BASING: The Missile Defense Agency announced Aug. 15 that Adak, Alaska, will host the primary support base for the Sea-Based X-Band (SBX) radar. Adak was one of six sites under consideration (DAILY, Aug. 15). The radar, which will support the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, is being installed on a self-propelled, modified oil-drilling platform.
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, has been a staunch defender of the Pentagon's controversial plans to conduct research on new and modified nuclear weapons. But the congressman may be breaking that alliance.
NEW FUZE: A warhead and fuze for the U.S. Army's Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) designed to strike four classes of ground targets is the focus of a $3 million new research effort. The Army is seeking contractors interested in the early design work for a new warhead and fuze that can defeat infantry fighting vehicles, man-portable air defense systems, trucks and field fortifications and support military operations in urban areas, says an acquisition notice posted Aug. 14. Responses are due Sept.
One proposal to protect airliners from shoulder-fired heat-seeking missiles relies on the synchronization of relatively inexpensive infrared sources on an aircraft to fool a missile's guidance system, according to the president of a company advancing the idea. "What we have is a system that typically would have an infrared source on the wingtips and the tailtip," said Al Hastbacka, president of Sanders Design International Inc. of Wilton, N.H.
