Raytheon Co. has completed the first production-representative radar for the Missile Defense Agency's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, a company spokesman said March 12. The X-band radar rolled off the final assembly line in Andover, Mass., on March 8 and now is headed to White Sands Missile Range, N.M., for testing. The device is to track target missiles and provide communications with in-flight interceptor missiles.
A U.S. Air Force review of munitions has identified several shortfalls, including the need for lighter-weight flight termination devices and a common language for weapons datalinks, service representatives said March 12.
HUBBLE TROUBLE: Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) is "troubled" by statements made by NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe that he will never approve another space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. O'Keefe made the statements to the press March 11, shortly after appearing before Mikulski at a Senate hearing during which both parties agreed to have the National Academy of Sciences study the matter further (DAILY, March 12). "This decision must not be made arbitrarily by one person at NASA or one person in Congress," Mikulski says in a letter to O'Keefe.
DEEPWATER SPENDING: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is expected to mark up the U.S. Coast Guard budget authorization during a Mar. 24 hearing. The panel's Coast Guard and maritime transportation subcommittee has approved $7.9 billion for the service, including $1.1 billion for the Deepwater modernization program, which would be a significant boost from the White House request of $678 million. "The acceleration of the Deepwater project is vitally needed because the Coast Guard's fleet is rapidly deteriorating," Coast Guard subcommittee Chairman Rep.
GMD TESTING: The Defense Department is trying to determine when the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system should advance to operational testing, which generally is considered more rigorous than the development testing it is now undergoing. Major weapon systems typically go through operational testing before entering full-rate production, but it is unclear when, if ever, GMD will reach full-rate production.
A new battery design should improve the performance of the U.S. Navy's Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) vehicle, John Young, the Navy's assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition, said at a congressional hearing last week. "We've had growing pains and a steep learning curve," on the program, Young told the House Armed Services Committee's projection forces subcommittee. "The battery life issue is the challenge, we're pushing the limits of technology."
The Space Based Radar (SBR) contractor teams will spend the early months of the next phase of the program performing trade studies to determine the extent to which the system can rely on aircraft to fill gaps in its radar coverage, according to Lockheed Martin SBR Vice President Don DeGryse.
A General Accounting Office (GAO) report scheduled to come out March 31 states that none of the 12 technologies on the Navy's future DD(X) surface combatant is mature, and only 10 of the 22 critical technologies of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) are fully mature, said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Projection Forces subcommittee at a March 11 hearing.
Prague, Czech Republic -- Slovakia's defense ministry is awaiting responses from eight companies invited to submit proposals for the modernization of 10 Russian-made Mi-24 helicopters. The ministry said March 11 that it was expecting responses to an RFP, which was issued in early February, by "the middle of March". It did not name the companies involved.
NEW DELHI - The $1.7 billion Hawk 100 advanced jet trainer deal between BAE Systems, U.K. and India has run into rough weather nearly six months after the Indian Cabinet approved the proposal to buy 66 Hawk 100 AJTs for the Indian Air Force.
Special operations leaders are working to replace the AC-130 gunship with a new generation weapon with the same firepower but with greater ability to operate in increasingly hostile environments. The Lockheed Martin AC-130 has a 105mm howitzer and 40mm automatic cannon. It flies primarily at night, providing surveillance and illumination.
Prague, Czech Republic -- The Czech cabinet has agreed to continue negotiations with Sweden on the lease of 14 JAS-39 Gripen fighters, increasing the prospects of a deal being concluded by the end of May. The decision, which followed a long debate in the cabinet March 10 over the proposed text for a Memorandum of Understanding with Sweden, means final contract negotiations can now proceed. Government press officer Jindrich Marek said most government ministries asked Kostelka questions about the proposed deal during the cabinet session.
MOSCOW -- The Commander-in-Chief of Russia's Space Forces, Gen. Anatoly Perminov, will replace Yuri Koptev as the head of the Russian federal authority in charge of the space program, several sources said. Koptev, 64, is expected to retire. No official confirmation was issued during business hours Thursday.
US101 SUPPLIERS: The industry team behind the US101 helicopter has chosen more than 200 companies in 41 U.S. states to supply components for the aircraft if it is chosen as the next presidential helicopter, the team announced March 10. The US101 is based on the EH101, which is manufactured overseas. The US101 will be built, integrated, and maintained in the U.S., according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin. US101 supplier companies assembled at a conference in Washington this week to learn more about the program.
The Missile Defense Agency's Airborne Laser (ABL) is experiencing huge cost overruns that suggest Congress should consider slowing down the program, according to a Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii). A preliminary report by the General Accounting Office has found that the ABL has had about $1 billion in overruns since 1996 and that another $1 billion or so in extra costs could arise before the system is ready for testing, said Akaka. He is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which held a March 11 hearing on missile defense.
NEW DELHI - The maiden test firing of Pakistan's nuclear-capable Shaheen-2 missile March 8 has torpedoed the nuclear risk management efforts between New Delhi and Islamabad. Officials in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs told The Daily March 11 that the process on nuclear risk management that India and Pakistan agreed to in February has gone for a toss after the test firing of the missile.
ANALYTICAL GRAPHICS, Malvern, Pa. David Finkleman has joined the company's Center for Space Standards and Innovation in Colorado Springs, Colo. BAE SYSTEMS NORTH AMERICA, Rockville, Md. John Osterholz has been appointed vice president, C4ISR. BOEING INTEGRATED DEFENSE SYSTEMS, St. Louis Mark McGraw has been appointed director of naval weapons programs. CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE, Washington Alexei Arbatov will head the Carnegie Moscow Center's nuclear nonproliferation project.
The Missile Defense Agency is delaying several tests of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system because of a wiring problem in one of the interceptors. Integrated Flight Test-13C (IFT-13C), which had been scheduled for March, probably will take place in June instead, an MDA spokesman told The DAILY March 11. The test has been delayed because wiring has to be added to a circuit board in the interceptor to ensure enough electrical power is supplied, the spokesman said.
In response to a request from Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Kit Bond (R-Mo.), NASA plans to ask the National Academy of Sciences to review various options for extending the life of the Hubble Space Telescope, according to NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. In January, O'Keefe announced that NASA was canceling plans to launch a fifth space shuttle servicing mission to Hubble, citing concerns over the agency's ability to keep such a mission compliant with the safety recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB).
