TRW Inc. delivered the first of two spacecraft comprising the Korean Multipurpose Satellite (KOMPSAT) program to the Republic of Korea's space agency, the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). TRW said yesterday that it assembled, integrated and tested the flight-worthy protoflight model at its Redondo Beach, Calif., facilities to verify the structural and functional design of the satellite. It also trained engineers from KARI in spacecraft development and worked with Korean industrial partners to build and test hardware.
The U.S. Air Force is in a doctrinal fight over a proposal that it says could give control of air forces in an operational area to the ground commander. A proposed new operational directive slated to be discussed among the Pentagon's top military leaders calls for the ground forces commander to be in charge of all direct fire in his area of operation. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan said the AF has "non-concurred" with the idea.
BOEING DELTA II 7420-10 rocket is scheduled to make the second launch of the GlobalStar network on Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. The 15-minute window opens at 6:54:30 p.m. EDT.
Northrop Grumman's Logicon unit has won a $14.6 million U.S. Air Force contract to support the YAL-1A Airborne Laser program. The Air Force said the five-year contract calls for Logicon to conduct a variety of support activities for the ABL program, to include providing expertise on atmospheric effects on the laser propagation, laser control, and integration of subsystems on the Boeing 747 that will carry the multi-megawatt laser weapon.
Lockheed Martin Corp.'s earnings and sales each fell 7% in the first quarter of 1998, but were "right in line with our expectations," according to Chief Executive Officer Vance Coffman.
First flight of the Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye 2000 aircraft was made April 11 at the company's St. Augustine, Fla., facility. The company said the flight lasted 1 hour and 42 minutes, and was intended to check systems before delivery to the U.S. Navy.
The Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization reported the successful launch of its Red Crow Flight Experiment to evaluate ballistic missile countermeasures. The launch took place from Kauai Test Facility, Barking Sands, Hawaii, on April 17 at 1:05 p.m. (EST). The purpose of the experiment was to assess operational performance of a suite of ballistic missile countermeasures during real atmospheric flight conditions, BMDO reported.
BOEING CO. said it will "accept" the U.S. Air Force's choice of Lockheed Martin as the winner of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program. Boeing, which made the decision after a debriefing last week, said it would focus on finding other business. The move will increase the chances of the AF to begin the engineering and manufacturing development stage of JASSM early.
The Pentagon is looking to retain some of its wartime industrial base surge capacity for munitions and other expendables, while continuing to do away with other excess capacity that would have been used to build larger weapon systems such as fighters and tanks.
The terrorist threat of shoulder-fired heat-seeking missiles in the Middle East is prompting the U.S. Air Force to equip some of its airlifters with electronic countermeasures. The AF declined to discuss details of the program, but one official told The DAILY that some C-5s already have been equipped with flare dispensers. Upgrades so far have focused on C-5s stationed at Dover AFB, Del., which fly mostly to the Middle East.
BFGoodrich sales grew 23% in the first quarter of 1998, as the company's Aerospace unit posted higher numbers due to increased commercial aircraft production and sales of replacement parts. It earned $52.6 million on sales of $937.7 million in the first three months of the year, compared to earnings of $93.9 million on sales of $764.2 million in the same period in 1997. Earnings in the first quarter of 1997 included after-tax earnings of $64.1 million from discontinued operations.
SHARP DIFFERENCES between Republicans and most Democrats on deploying a national missile defense is likely to show up in a closed session of the Senate Armed Services Committee today when it meets to mark up S. 1873. The measure would make it the policy of the U.S. to deploy a missile defense system capable of defending the nation against a limited ballistic missile attack. Sen.
ITT Industries, ITT Night Vision Division, Roanoke, Va., is being awarded a $6,149,828 modification to a firm-fixed-price, multi-year contract for part of program-year five, for MX-10160 Image Intensifier Tubes AN/AVS-6 Aviator's Night Vision Goggles, quantity of 1,477. Work will be performed in Roanoke, Va., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 1999. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 28 bids solicited on May 1, 1992, and three bids were received. The contracting activity is the U.S.
Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Fort Worth, Tex., received a second contract from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) of Japan for components for eight F-2 support fighters. Lockheed Martin, the principal U.S. subcontractor, said yesterday that it will provide eight of 10 left-hand wing boxes, aft fuselages, all the wing leading-edge flaps, all the stores management sets, certain avionics support equipment and other ground and on-board equipment.
Northrop Grumman Corp., Bethpage, N.Y., is being awarded a $10,900,000 ceiling-priced delivery order against a firm-fixed-price basic ordering agreement for data associated with the non-recurring engineering effort for the upgrade of the E-2C aircraft to the Hawkeye 2000 configuration. Work will be performed in Bethpage, N.Y. (66%) and St. Augustine, Fla. (34%), and is expected to be completed by June 2001. This contract was not competitively procured. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
Raytheon E-Systems, Greenville, Texas, is being awarded a $9,998,998 cost- plus-award-fee contract to provide for long lead procurement of lower surface wing panels, lower surface stringers and related hardware in support of the Wing Structural Enhancement Program (WSEP) for the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft fleet. The WSEP will reduce the cost of operation, mitigate risk of fatigue failure, and improve aircraft availability. The work is expected to be completed August 2001.
Litton Data Systems, Data Systems Division, Agoura Hills, Calif., is being awarded a $6,926,526 modification to previously awarded N00019-96-C-0181 contract to procure five AN/UPX-24(V) interrogator sets, 12 remote control indicators, associated technical data, burn-in reports, and an installation and checkout kit. Work will be performed in Moorpark, Calif., and is expected to be completed by September 2000. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured.
Boeing Defense and Space Group, Wichita, Kansas, is being awarded a $14,500,489 face value increase to a firm-fixed-price contract to provide for two reengining kits applicable to the RC-135 aircraft, four for the KC- 135E, one for the KC-135A, associated engineering test, and data. Approximately 14% of this effort (one kit) supports foreign military sales to Singapore. The work is expected to be completed October 1999. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
Pratt and Whitney, San Antonio, Texas, is being awarded a $458,882,277 firm-fixed-price contract to provide for repair and overhaul of various modules applicable to the F100-PW-229 engine on the F-16 aircraft. There were three firms solicited and one proposal received. Solicitation began January 1998; negotiations were completed April 1998. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. San Antonio Air Logistics Center, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, is the contracting activity (F41608- 98/D-0242).
The U.S. Air Force this year will test a variant of its Advanced Unitary Penetrator (AUP) warhead on a Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile in an effort to enhance the missile's ability to defeat hardened targets.
General Electric Aircraft Engines, General Electric Co., Lynn, Mass., is being awarded a $189,646,240 modification to previously awarded contract N00019-97-C-0114 to provide additional funding for the FY 98 Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) II of 46 F414-GE-400 engines for the F/A-18E/F aircraft, including related modules, devices, and engineering services. Work will be performed in Lynn, Mass. (58%), Evendale, Ohio (25%), Rutland, Vt. (4%), Albuquerque, N.M. (4%), Madisonville, Ky. (4%), Hooksett, N.H. (3%), and Wilmington, N.C.
The contractor losing the Pentagon's competition for the Joint Strike Fighter program may still have an important role in the program, according to the Congressional Research Service. The report, dated March 2 and written by Bert H. Cooper, tactical air specialist in CRS' national defense division, said that sharing of production "would preserve some degree of competitiveness in development and production of fighter aircraft" although at additional cost.
Tracor Inc., Austin, Texas, is being awarded an $8,300,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide for twelve Full Scale Aerial Targets, associated warranty, data, support, and spares. The work will be performed at Tracor facilities in Austin, Texas (50%), and Mojave, Calif. (50%). The work is expected to be completed June 1999. There was one proposal received. Solicitation began April 1997; negotiations were completed April 1998. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
