ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR: The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is seeking information on technology for developing adaptable tactical behavior in unmanned ground vehicles. Adaptable behavior means recognizing dynamic changes in the environment or tactical situation and using a combination of a priori and contextual information, and organic sensor data, to modify or recreate plans in real time. The behaviors may involve multiple unmanned systems, including combinations of air and ground vehicles.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has decided to amend its policies to allow for expanded and more flexible use of its Earth observation satellites for homeland security, national security, law enforcement, and humanitarian operations. The new rules, announced in the Federal Register Aug. 1, revise 1998 regulations that govern the "non-environmental" use of data collection systems (DCS) on NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) and Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES).
U.S. Special Operations Command says it will extend its CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft contract with the Bell-Boeing Joint Program Office to help ensure that various studies and analyses are completed well before the aircraft enters service, and to continue development of tactics required for clandestine missions. The CV-22 Trade Studies and Tactics Development contract will be extended for four more years, from 2004 to 2007, USSOCOM said in an Aug. 1 FedBizOpps notice.
UNDERWHELMING: The second-quarter rise in the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) wouldn't have been as strong without contributions from the aerospace and defense industry, according to analyst Paul Nisbet of JSA Research. The stock market jumped July 31 on news that the GDP rose 2.4 percent during the second quarter. The consensus expectation called for a 1.6 percent increase. But the market virtually ignored the 44 percent increase in the defense component of GDP, the greatest increase since the Korean War over 50 years ago, Nisbet says.
LAWSUIT: Boeing officials have asked the U.S. District Court in Orlando, Fla., to throw out Lockheed Martin's suit against the company, which says Boeing relied on proprietary Lockheed Martin information in the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle competition. Boeing said Aug. 1 that the suit is "opportunistic litigation" designed to "damage Boeing's reputation."
The Future Combat Systems and other Army systems could suffer if Congress approves a proposed cut in funding for the Army Evaluation Center, according to the Defense Department.
PRAGUE - A shareholder dispute over the appointment of former Czech defense minister Jaroslav Tvrdik to the board of state-owned Aero Vodochody ended July 31 when Boeing announced it would support his nomination.
GLOBAL HAWK: The first production RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is entering a final series of systems tests in preparation for its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., later this month, according to Northrop Grumman. "Global Hawk Air Force 1" is the eighth Global Hawk, following seven built under the advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) phase of the program. After its flight test program, the UAV will be delivered to the Air Force's 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, Calif.
EELV FATE: Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee's strategic forces panel, says he supports the Air Force's decision to punish the Boeing Co. for wrongfully obtaining documents from Lockheed Martin Corp., its main competitor in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The punishment includes a reduction in launch contracts for Boeing (DAILY, July 25). But Allard continues to support the Air Force's policy of sustaining both Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the EELV program.
INTEL BILL: The fiscal 2004 intelligence authorization bill, which would authorize funds for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) and other intelligence agencies, will head to a House-Senate conference committee after the August congressional recess, now that the Senate approved its version of the bill July 31. The House passed its version in June. Many of the details in the House and Senate legislation are not disclosed.
DAB APPROVAL: The $10 billion Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) program won a crucial green light from the U.S. Defense Department's Defense Acquisition Board on July 30, an Army spokesman told The DAILY July 31. This allows the U.S. Army to launch a system development and demonstration phase, the spokesman said.
As plans for an international Earth observation system take shape, it's "highly likely" that NASA and other participating organizations will have to launch additional satellites to fill gaps in humanity's knowledge of the climate, according to NASA Associate Administrator for Earth Science Ghassem Asrar. "We know that there are some gaps," Asrar told The DAILY. "We know that space will offer solutions towards... eliminating those gaps."
AURORA SENSORS: L-3 Communications WESCAM will provide MX-20 sensor systems for the Canadian Department of Defence's CP-140 Aurora Incremental Modernization Program (AIMP) under a $19 million contract, L-3 said July 31. The electro-optic/infrared video reconnaissance systems are in production and will be delivered in 2003 and 2004, the company said.
DELTA LAUNCH: A Boeing Delta IV rocket is scheduled to launch the final spacecraft for the U.S. Air Force's Defense Satellite Communications System on Aug. 3 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., the company said July 31. A Delta IV Medium vehicle is to launch DSCS III B6 from Space Launch Complex 37B. The launch window opens at 6:58 p.m. EDT and lasts for 83 minutes. The Air Force said last week that Boeing will lose seven launch contracts under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program due to fraud committed by employees (DAILY, July 25).
The U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater program received a political boost July 31 as Senate support solidified for a fiscal 2004 budget increase and a key lawmaker proposed starting a program acceleration in FY '05.
Lockheed Martin is a step closer to completing development work for its bid for the hotly contested Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program, the replacement for the U.S. Navy's P-3C Orion fleet, the company announced July 31. Lockheed Martin's team has wrapped up an integration technology demonstration on critical systems in its proposed design, an armed platform derived from the P-3C. The demonstration marked a key milestone in the 14-month second phase of the MMA's component advanced development program.
EDO Corp. will sell its Deer Park, N.Y., manufacturing facility to Deer Park Enterprise for $29 million, the defense contractor said July 31. The company builds aircraft defensive system upgrades and antenna products at the location, which it obtained by acquiring AIL Technologies in April 2000. The company received $1 million of the sale proceeds July 31, expects to get $21 million more when the deal closes Sept. 26 and will get the remaining $7 million once it vacates the facility, which could take up to 24 months. Raptor, JSF work
Raytheon Co. announced July 31 that construction is nearly complete on one of two power plants that cost the company millions more to complete than anticipated. The 800-megawatt Fore River power plant, in Weymouth, Mass., has been turned over to its owner, a unit of the energy company Exelon Corp. The plant was turned over to Exelon following the successful completion of "certain performance and reliability tests," Raytheon officials said in a statement.
The U.S. Army plans to resolve concerns raised by the Marine Corps about the combat performance of the Javelin anti-tank missile, which made its battlefield debut in Iraq, a division commander said. Although Marines have expressed support for the shoulder-fired weapon, Army Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, appeared to confirm reports of problems voiced by some Marines returning from Iraq. "We have to work our way through that, because the Marines have said that," Odierno said.
The U.S. Navy's DD(X) next-generation destroyer program successfully completed a two-day system requirements review (SRR) on July 25, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems said July 31. The company is in charge of the ship's electronic and weapon systems integration for the DD(X) National Team, which includes prime contractor Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. The team was awarded the DD(X) contract last year (DAILY, April 30, 2002).
The U.S. Air Force will sharpen the perimeter security of 10 of its installations in the U.S. with man-portable radars, a service official said. "The primary purpose is homeland defense," Gary Van Gorder, contracting officer of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, said in an e-mail response to a question from The DAILY. The Air Force plans to buy AN/PPS-5C Man-portable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar (MSTAR) systems from Systems and Electronics Inc. (SEI) of St. Louis.
The Department of Defense (DOD) has mismanaged pilot programs intended to help DOD labs and test centers tackle their business and human capital problems, according to the General Accounting Office (GAO). "If DOD intends to use the pilot programs to address laboratory and test center issues, it will have to address the factors - both process and statutory - that blunted previous proposals made through the pilot programs," GAO wrote in a report released July 29.
