The Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization tested a candidate exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) sensor for possible use in a national missile defense (NMD) system last week. The goal of the Jan. 15 test was to determine if the Raytheon-built EKV could identify and track a target. It did not involve an intercept. While the EKV appeared to pass by its target at the correct location, it will take a few days to analyze the data to see if it successfully discriminated against fake targets and locked on to the correct target.
AIT SHIFTS: Despite recent controversy, the U.S. Army is on track with the Advanced Interceptor Technology (AIT) program and is making no plans to do away it or change it to design a specific advanced kill vehicle, Anderson says. But, he says, it has been restructured to design a "common component" for futureinterceptor systems. And instead of focusing on the exoatmo- sphere to high endoatmosphere range, it now will focus on the high-endo to low-endo area, he says.
Concerns about the current Pentagon emphasis on tactical aircraft were voiced from two different perspectives at a conference here. Phil Odeen, chairman of the National Defense Panel, was worried about budget aspects while Gen. Michael P.C. Carns (USAF-ret.) said bombers were getting short shrift.
Dassault Electronique and Sextant Avionique, both based near Paris, are teaming up to jointly sell a range of avionics equipment to airlines. The two companies said they will create a 50-50 joint venture to market co-developed products. Dassault specializes in satellite communications systems, Mode S transponders, surveillance equipment and recorders. Sextant focuses on multimode receivers, flight management systems, radio-altimeters, VHF radios, instruments and onboard printers.
SENIOR BRIEFINGS: Senior U.S. Army and Air Force officials over the next few weeks will be briefed on results of an initial analysis of last October's test of the MIRCL laser against the MSTI satellite, says Lt. Gen. Edward Anderson III, head of Army Space and Missile Defense Command. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis J. Reimer is slated to be briefed, followed by U.S. Space Command's Gen. Howell M. Estes. Meanwhile, the Army has established a special "Space Integrated Idea Team" to look at concepts, policy and technology related to the future use of space, Anderson says.
U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis J. Reimer last week approved the use of one of the Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle systems currently in storage by both the "blue force" and "opposing force" at the Army's National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, Calif. The Hunter featured in last year's Army "Division XXI" exercise at the NTC and got high marks. Officials from the OPFOR, which wasn't given a UAV capability, stressed they wanted to have UAV access in future wargames.
The U.S. Navy, planning to begin a hypersonic missile development program in about 2004 (DAILY, Jan. 15), would build on research and development now underway.
Northrop Grumman has selected the Gulfstream V as the host platform for its bid in the U.K. Airborne Standoff Radar (ASTOR) competition. Northrop Grumman is bidding an advanced variant of its Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) system in the ASTOR competition. It will compete against systems from Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Bids are due by the end of February, and a source selection decision is slated for later this year.
FUND FEUD: Although strictly speaking it's not a defense issue, U.S. aerospace contractors will be watching closely to see what happens to congressional legislation providing up to $3.5 billion for a line of credit to the International Monetary Fund to help stabilize the financial crisis in Asia. The turmoil there has forced delays or cancellation of arms sales. The House is expected to take up the legislation early in the new session.
Aerospace/Defense Stock Box As of closing January 16, 1998 Closing Change Closing as of Jan. 16 UNITED STATES DowJones 7753.55 +61.78 NASDAQ 1562.88 +15.82 S&P500 961.51 +10.78 AARCorp 42.688 +.438 AlldSig 36.312 -.312
Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) will give life science researchers another point on the data curve when he blasts into space next October for a nine- day mission, but he will not be the only crew member on the Space Shuttle Discovery acting as a medical test subject.
Components-maker Coltec posted 74% stronger operating profits of $94.9 million for 1997 on 13% higher sales of $1.31 billion, with "particularly strong profit improvements at Walbar and Delavan Gas Turbine Products," Coltec reports. In the fourth quarter, the Aerospace Segment saw 16% stronger profits on sales 35% ahead of last year's pace.
Retiring Sen. John Glenn will fly on the U.S. Space Shuttle this fall, NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin will announce today. The 76-year-old Ohio Democrat was the first American to orbit the earth, in February 1962, but has not returned to space since. Glenn has argued he could contribute to research on aging by offering himself as a test subject in microgravity.
Organic materials from the meteorite where NASA-backed scientists believe they have found evidence of ancient life on Mars came from the Antarctic ice cap where the meteorite and not from the Red Planet, two new scientific papers report.
Lockheed Martin will roll out the first aluminum lithium "super lightweight" Space Shuttle external tank today, bringing the International Space Station another step closer to launch. Developed to give the Shuttle the performance margin needed to carry heavy U.S. Station elements to the 51.6-degree orbital inclination required by NASA's Russian partners, the tank is about 7,500 pounds lighter than the original aluminum external tank used on all Shuttle launches to date.
During the fourth quarter of 1997 a total of 30 space launches with 56 spacecraft were performed worldwide, including one launch failure. The U.S. performed 12 launches with 29 satellites, while Russia had 10 with 12 satellites, including one each for Germany, Luxembourg, China and the U.S. Arianespace made four launches, orbiting eight satellites - three for ESA and one each for Germany, Indonesia, Intelsat, Japan and Sweden.
A U.S. military delegation led by the Pentagon's Joint Staff is headed for Russia next week for a U.S./Russian theater missile defense (TMD) wargame in which officers from both countries will fight side by side to defeat a threat, the commander of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command said yesterday.
Aerospace/Defense Stock Box As of closing January 15, 1998 Closing Change UNITED STATES Closing as of Jan. 15 DowJones 7691.77 -92.92 NASDAQ 1547.06 -1.70 S&P500 950.74 -7.20 AARCorp 42.250 +.188 AlldSig 36.625 -1.250
The U.S. Dept. of Defense must increase funding for unmanned aerial vehicle programs if they are to reach the goals laid out for them, Terry Ryan, deputy director of the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office, said yesterday.
U.S. Astronaut David Wolf and veteran cosmonaut Anatoliy Solovyov spent almost four hours outside the Mir orbital station Wednesday, using a U.S. instrument to study wear and tear on the aging station while Wolf gained additional experience for NASA in the capabilities of the Russian spacesuit.
LOCKHEED MARTIN/NORTHROP GRUMMAN joint venture won a U.S. Army contract worth up to $213 million for 1,100 radar-guided Longbow Hellfire missiles. The service initially obligated $106.5 million with the final value of the contract to be negotiation next year, the Longbow Limited Liability Co. joint venture said yesterday. The contract value is not to exceed $213 million. The order comes on top of orders for 1,396 Longbow Hellfires the company received previously. The missiles being bought under the new contract are to be delivered beginning in September 1999.
Honeywell Inc. reported profits of $471 million on record sales of $8 billion in 1997. In 1996, it earned $402.7 million on sales of $7.3 billion. Michael Bonsignore, chairman and chief executive officer of the Minneapolis company, said "exceptional performance" by the Space and Aviation Control unit contributed to the improvement. The business reported sales of $2 billion, up 19% from sales of $1.6 billion in 1996. Operating earnings jumped from $163.3 million a year ago to $255.7 million. Also reporting were:
Based on firm engine orders, the Big Three enginemakers are more or less neck-and-neck in the Boeing 777 market, but half a decade into the program small order volumes mean a key win or option exercises could quickly tip the balance.
Montreal-based Pratt&Whitney Canada is slowly returning to normal operations in the aftermath of last week's widespread ice storms, which left millions in Canada and upstate New York without heat or power in one of the worst winters to hit the northern reaches of North America in decades.
