The State Department announced on June 20 it will begin reviewing requests to export or transfer defense articles, defense services and related technical data to India and Pakistan on a case-by-case basis. The announcement represents the official lifting of sanctions that were imposed on India and Pakistan in 1998 after those countries conducted tests of nuclear weapons.
EO/IR SPENDING: Despite U.S. Army plans to incorporate small, tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into its Future Combat Systems program, most of the money spent on UAV sensor systems in the near term will go for larger, high-endurance aircraft, according to David Rockwell, senior defense electronics analyst with the Teal Group. Rockwell predicts sales of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) equipment for UAVs are likely to double to nearly $500 million annually by 2010. Most of that will go for large, high-endurance UAVs like Global Hawk.
EXPEDITING LAUNCH: Burt Rutan's concerns that a regulatory dispute could postpone his attempt to launch a manned suborbital vehicle (DAILY, June 19) came as a surprise to the FAA agency he blamed for the potential delay. The Commercial Space Transportation office (AST), is "looking for ways to expedite the licensing of his efforts," while adhering to legal requirements and safety concerns, Jay Garvin, AST's manager of Licensing and Safety, wrote in response to a request by The DAILY.
SUBORBITAL REGS: A bill that could lead to the development of a new regulatory regime for suborbital reusable launch vehicles (RLVs) is one step closer to becoming law. The Senate Commerce Committee June 19 approved legislation introduced by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) that would direct the Transportation Department to study whether new regulations are needed to govern the emerging market for suborbital RLVs (DAILY, June 20). The bill now goes to the full Senate for its consideration.
STARDUST: After conducting a third deep-space course correction maneuver June 18, the Stardust spacecraft is on track to rendezvous with comet Wild 2 in January 2004, according to NASA. Stardust is to collect samples from the halo of dust that surrounds the nucleus of the comet during its rendezvous, then return to Earth in January 2006 to make a soft landing at the Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range.
LE BOURGET, France - As the 2003 Paris Air Show nears its June 22 closing, overall attendance nearly is overcoming the absence of the U.S. defense contingent, a series of crippling transportation strikes and even a brief but violent thunderstorm on June 17. An official count is not complete, but an early tally of daily attendance suggests crowds of government officials, industry exhibitors and aerospace enthusiasts are only slightly smaller than the event's record in 2001, a pleasant surprise for many European officials.
Experiences in Iraq and recent tests and demonstrations show that targets can be identified and attacked in "single-digit minutes," and the technology is progressing so rapidly it promises to cut the time to just one minute, according to Col. Norm Sweet of the U.S. Air Force's Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., will be the first active duty Air Force base to receive leased Boeing KC-767A tankers, the service said. Deliveries to the base would begin in fiscal 2006, and 32 of the new planes will be based there by 2010, the Air Force said.
Washington Gov. Gary Locke (D) signed a package of tax breaks into law June 18 in hopes of persuading the Boeing Co. to build the 7E7 Dreamliner in his state. The package would give the aerospace industry $3 billion in tax incentives over 20 years if Boeing builds the mid-size airliner in Washington. At least half a dozen states, including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kansas and Texas, are vying to host the 7E7's final assembly and are expected to submit proposals for Boeing's consideration by the June 20 deadline.
The latest test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system ended without success late June 18 as the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) warhead deployed but failed to shoot down the target missile, the Missile Defense Agency announced. MDA spokesman Rick Lehner told The DAILY it is too early to know why an intercept was not achieved. "Government and industry officials will conduct an extensive analysis of the flight test, and the results will be used to improve the Aegis BMD development and testing program," MDA said in a statement.
Concerned that the Navy faces the "imminent loss" of many of its aging EP-3E Aries II aircraft, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is proposing that the service begin replacing the signals intelligence (SIGINT) platforms with the RC-135 Rivet Joint SIGINT aircraft, which already is flown by the Air Force.
LE BOURGET, France - Unless there is an unprecedented coming together of Europe's aerospace technology resources, its political decision-making and requirements processes, "then we are finished," said Eurofighter CEO Filippo Bagnato. Bagnato said that only a superior high-technology base and a united political front could prevent "another Poland," referring to Poland's selection of the U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon in the face of intense European competition.
EXCELLENCE: Aerospace Daily European correspondent John Fricker was presented the Boeing Decade of Excellence Award at the Paris Air Show. The award is the top honor of the 2003 Aerospace Journalist Awards, presented by the World Leadership Forum on behalf of the Royal Aeronautical Society and l'Aero-Club de France.
LE BOURGET, France - Anti-French and anti-German political rhetoric in the U.S. in recent months has done nothing to alter the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.'s plan to expand its North American operation, although it has slowed progress, said Ralph Crosby, the executive overseeing its U.S. activities.
LE BOURGET, France - The Boeing Co. is proposing an industry-wide, international consortium to develop network communications standards for commercial aerospace and defense, according to John Harms, director of business development for Boeing's strategic architecture organization. "We've brought in companies that compete with us and said, 'let's agree to make our systems interoperable,'" he said. The talks have included BAE Systems and Thales as well as U.S. rivals Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
Arianespace of France and ELV of Italy signed an agreement June 19 for the production and operation of the new Vega light launch vehicle at Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. ELV will be responsible for the production of vehicle components and integration in French Guiana. Arianespace will be responsible for Vega launch vehicle facilities and integration of the upper segments with satellites. Both companies will participate in launch preparation and operation.
Three European aerospace companies have formed a joint venture to market a Russian-made amphibious aircraft to customers in Europe, North America and Australia. Officials at the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS), Irkut Corp. of Russia and Rolls-Royce Deutschland of Germany said June 18 that nearly 320 Be-200 aircraft could be sold in 25 countries over the next 25 years as a firefighting and multirole aircraft. Company officials said they reached that conclusion based on the results of a recently conducted joint feasibility study.
Northrop Grumman has received a $220 million contract to enhance the integrated communications, navigation and identification (CNI) system for the Army's RAH-66 Comanche reconnaissance/attack helicopter, the company announced June 18. Under the new contract, the company's San Diego-based Radio Systems division will develop and incorporate three new communications capabilities for the Comanche's CNI avionics suite: * Enhanced Position Locating Reporting System via the Tactical Internet
The Senate Commerce Committee plans to consider a proposal June 19 to direct the Transportation Department to study whether new regulations are needed to govern the emerging market for suborbital reusable launch vehicles (RLVs).
A vision of being able to quickly hit fleeting targets anywhere in the world is prompting the U.S. Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to solicit industry for ways to make the idea a reality. The ultimate goal of the FALCON (Force Application and Launch from CONUS) program, to be met in about 2025, is development of a hypersonic cruise vehicle (HCV) that would take off from a runway and strike targets 9,000 nautical miles away in less than two hours.
The U.S. Navy has awarded a subsidiary of Italian marine engine manufacturer Isotta Fraschini a spare parts contract potentially worth more than $30 million if all options are exercised. Under the initial three-year contract, FDGM Inc. will supply spare parts for the non-magnetic, Isotta Fraschini-built engines that power the Navy's minesweepers. The contract has a minimum guaranteed annual value of $700,000 for the first three years with an annual maximum ceiling of $10 million. The contract has an option for an additional three years.
