Northrop Grumman Corp. has completed the Critical Design Review for the Navy's BQM-74F, an upgraded version of the BQM-74E aerial target. The review will lead to rollout early next year and first flight later in 2004, the company said July 15. The three-day CDR was conducted during the last week in June at Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems' Unmanned Systems facility in San Diego, said Cynthia Curiel of Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems.
NEW DELHI - India has decided to step up production of its Prithvi and Agni missiles to counter Pakistan's Hatf, Shaheen and Ghauri missiles. Pakistan has deployed hundreds of short-range Hatf missiles and may deploy longer-range, nuclear-capable Ghauri, Hatf and Shaheen missiles. India's defense ministry has approved $500 million over the next three years to produce six types of missiles at state-owned Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (BDL), a senior defense official said.
Assembly starts Aug. 11 on the first of 18 RAH-66 Comanche helicopters to be produced in the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase, despite lingering doubts about the program's schedule and final design. Unveiling details of the manufacturing plan for the U.S. Army's future scout and attack helicopter, Boeing Sikorsky officials said in a briefing July 16 that a newly remodeled assembly line opening next month will dramatically reduce the manufacturing schedule and footprint for production.
The Defense Department has told Congress it plans to study its options for simulated joint training in light of its recent decision to stop developing the Joint Simulation System (JSIMS).
The multi-national Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) has taken a big step forward with the development of a key program plan. MEADS International Inc., an Orlando, Fla.-based joint venture that includes Lockheed Martin, MBDA Italia, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) and Germany's LFK, announced July 16 that it has completed its proposal for handling the upcoming design and development phase, an 83 1/2-month period scheduled to begin in April 2004.
The U.S. Army's Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) likely will remain in service for at least another 15 years, Army officials said July 16. AFATDS, the Army's primary command-and-control system to direct the fire of artillery guns, performed "very well" in Operation Iraqi Freedom, program officials said at a briefing in Arlington, Va.
BALTIMORE, Md. - AAI Corporation, manufacturer of the Army's Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV), is teaming with Bell Helicopter to compete for the Class IV UAV in the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. Boeing and SAIC, the FCS lead systems integrator (LSI) team, envision four classes of UAVs operating within FCS, ranging from man-portable ducted fan UAVs to brigade-level tactical aircraft and even larger aircraft.
The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) plans to move forward on a proposal to integrate Litening Extended Range (ER) targeting pods on a small number of F/A-18Ds, according to new acquisition documents. Marine Corps' officials began evaluating the Litening ER capability in the aftermath of Operation Iraqi Freedom, launching a demonstration program with the Northrop Grumman/Rafael targeting pod, which combines a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor, a camera and a laser designator. (DAILY, April 4)
Any future Czech Republic tender for supersonic fighter aircraft will be a transparent process, Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla assured U.S. Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld at a meeting in Washington July 15. Spidla, who is on a six-day visit to the United States, said Rumsfeld has not shown "the slightest tinge of doubt" that the process would be open. U.S. officials criticized a previous Czech tender - won by BAE Systems but canceled last year after the Czech senate blocked the buy - as being non-transparent.
BAE SYSTEMS, Nashua, N.H. Jack L. Dearborn has been named vice president of mission success and product assurance for the Information & Electronic Warfare Systems unit. GE SUPPLY, Shelton, Conn. Jeff Schaper has been named president. ITT INDUSTRIES, CANNON, Santa Ana, Calif. David Bland has been appointed vice president and controller. NASA
NEW DELHI - A delegation from Lockheed Martin, builder of the P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft, arrived here July 15 to discuss India's request to buy eight P-3s for the navy. A defense ministry official said India is seeking the C version of the aircraft for surveillance of the Indian Ocean. U.S. military export controls prohibit the sale of those aircraft, however, so India may have to buy B versions and upgrade them with advanced avionics. Officials said they expect to buy the aircraft for about $10 million each.
The House Appropriations Committee is expected to tell NASA to explain by mid-September how it plans to implement the recommendations of the board investigating the Columbia space shuttle disaster, a committee source told The DAILY July 15.
BALTIMORE, Md. - The RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) provided more than half of the time-critical target data used to defeat Iraqi anti-aircraft systems during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), according to Maj. Gen. Joseph Stein, director of aerospace operations at Air Combat Command (ACC) headquarters.
Loral Space & Communications Ltd. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 15, company officials said in a statement. The move comes amid mounting debt and continued weak demand for commercial satellites. As part of the filing, six North American telecommunications satellites will be sold to Intelsat for up to $1.1 billion in cash. The satellites to be sold include Telstar 4,5,6 and 7, which are in orbit, Telstar 13, scheduled to be launched later this year, and Telstar 8, which is to be launched in the first half of next year.
LRIP CONTRACT: Lockheed Martin will begin production of six MH-60R helicopters for the U.S. Navy under a second low-rate initial production contract (LRIP), the company said July 15. The LRIP contract includes the initial release of $17 million to buy long-lead components. Full funding for the LRIP 2 contract, which calls for six aircraft, is expected to be part of the fiscal 2004 defense budget later this year, Lockheed Martin said. Four engineering and manufacturing development and five LRIP 1 aircraft have been built.
The Boeing Co. said July 15 it plans to refocus its launch vehicle business to attract more government and military contracts rather than commercial customers. The company also said it would take a $1.1 billion charge against second-quarter earnings due to weak demand in the commercial space market and manufacturing-related problems at the company's Boeing Satellite Systems unit.
Proposed systems designed to intercept missiles in the boost phase of flight likely would provide only a limited defense of the United States, according to a report released July 15 by the American Physical Society (APS).
The U.S. Air Force plans to redesign and relocate the second flight-weight supersonic combustion ramjet engine, or scramjet, a move that will delay the project by several months. A team of Pratt & Whitney Space Propulsion and U.S. Air Force researchers successfully completed the first round of tests on Ground Demonstration Engine number one (GDE-1) in late June as part of the Hypersonic Technology (HyTECH) program.
A six-year lapse in proper contractor administration allowed a poorly designed minor part to threaten the operating status of the U.S. Air Force's C-130H fleet and caused at least 16 aircraft to be grounded, a new federal report says.
Cubic Corp. said July 15 it would consolidate most of its government businesses into one support group within its Cubic Defense Applications segment. The group, to be called the Mission Support Business Unit (MSBU), will provide training and readiness support to U.S. and allied forces, live simulation support, mission rehearsal exercises and other support.
NEW DELHI - India's coast guard has ordered 65 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), to be delivered in the next three years, from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) for $155 million. Once the coast guard receives the aircraft, its fleet of single-engine Chetak helicopters will be phased out, a senior service official said.
(Editor's note: The following is excerpted from the written responses by Paul Morgan Longsworth, who has been nominated to be deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation, National Nuclear Security Administration [NNSA]. Longsworth testified July 10.) Q: In your view, what are the major challenges that will confront the deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation?
BALTIMORE, Md. - A group of stakeholders in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry voted to begin the process of developing consensus standards for UAV systems during a meeting here July 15. ASTM International ran the meeting and also will lead the effort. In existence for more than a century, ASTM specializes in helping industries develop and write consensus technical standards. Supporters hope that the development of UAV standards will lead to regulation and certification of UAVs for flights within the national airspace (DAILY, July 8).
