ENGINEERED SUPPORT SYSTEMS will repair and upgrade 14 AN/APQ-159(V)-5 radar systems for the F-5 fighter program of an unidentified country in the Americas, the company said. The multi-million contract for the work was awarded by Derco Aerospace. It includes major radar components, test equipment and logistics support, which is intended to extend the radar system's life through 2015.
RAPTOR DAB: The Defense Acquisition Board met March 27 to consider Lot 3 production of the F/A-22 Raptor. The meeting follows recent General Accounting Office reports that say the program's cost is rising and DOD should scale back its acquisition plans (DAILY, March 13, 18). Results of the DAB meeting have not been released.
PRAGUE - Pilot error was solely to blame for the crash of a Czech-made L-159 light combat fighter aircraft in February, Czech army officials said at a press conference March 26. The pilot, who died in the crash in central Bohemia, was flying too low when he attempted a loop shortly before he was due to test fire the prototype Czech-made Plamen 20mm air cannon. Officials said he undertook the maneuver at less than 7,000 feet, when he was supposed to carry it out at 8,500 feet.
The U.S. Army needs to continue making electronic upgrades to its inventory of A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, according to a senior service official. "We have to continue to transform the Bradley," Maj. Gen. William Bond said at a March 27 defense conference in Northern Virginia. "The ongoing operations that we have in Iraq have proven to us the power of digitization, taking what we have and putting digitization not only on our other assets we have over there, but also what the Brits have."
Having fixed problems that triggered a five-month hiatus, the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) has completed its developmental phase, scoring a hit on a fixed target at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., Air Force and Lockheed Martin officials said March 27. Based on the results of the test, JASSM is expected to be cleared to finish a series of eight operational test shots that may lead to a full-rate production decision in November.
The U.S. State Department has approved the first implementation agreement submitted under a fledgling export control reform called the Global Project Authorization (GPA), a key victory for the international component of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. State Department and program officials touted the fact that the approval came March 24, a day before a required five-day review period closed, but the move caps a reform process that began three years ago.
The U.S. military is using more than 10 types of unmanned aerial vehicles to support operations in Iraq, more than three times the number used in Afghanistan, a defense official said March 26.
Demonstrations show that an autonomous unmanned aircraft flown from the ground could be integrated into controlled airspace with manned aircraft, Boeing said March 26. The demonstrations, carried out under the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) program, used a T-33 trainer modified as a UCAV surrogate aircraft, according to the company.
Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio will conduct foam impact testing on space shuttle components, including heat-resistant tiles and the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) wing edge, as part of the investigation into the loss of the shuttle Columbia.
The services and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) must deliver a plan for the proposed joint Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) program office to the Office of the Secretary of Defense by mid-April that would establish the office by the end of the year.
In a sharply critical report, U.S. Defense Department inspectors found record-keeping errors that amounted to nearly one-third of the total value of supplies and spare parts at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC), Ga. The Pentagon's Inspector General (IG) estimates in a new report that $30.2 million worth of materiel at the maintenance center either is lost or hasn't been counted. The center keeps about $93.1 million of supplies on hand to repair Air Force aircraft, including F-15s and C-5s.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper said March 26 that he wants to re-evaluate the military's airlift needs in light of its high operational tempo over the past year and a half. The Mobility Requirements Study-2005 (MRS-05), released in early 2001, raised the minimum airlift requirement from 49.7 million ton miles per day (MTM/D) to 54.5 MTM/D (DAILY, Jan. 26, 2001). But the study was completed before the U.S. became engaged in a global war on terrorism that has greatly increased demands for moving troops and cargo.
The U.S. Air Force plans to hold an industry day at Langley Air Force Base, Va., on April 10 to distribute the latest draft concept of operations (CONOPS) for its proposed Command and Control Constellation (C2C) and solicit input from industry.
More analysis will have to be done before the International Space Station can be configured to support more than three crewmembers, according to a senior NASA engineer. Expanding the station's crew is a goal of many in Congress and in the science community. One problem, said Jeffrey Arend, program manager for ISS integration and analysis at the Johnson Space Center, is that additional crewmembers will require additional systems on the spacecraft.
NASA, Washington, D.C. Patricia L. Dunnington has been named chief information officer. NOAA, Washington, D.C. Mary M. Glackin has been named assistant administrator of NOAA program planning and integration. NORTHROP GRUMMAN, Los Angeles Albert F. Myers has been elected corporate vice president for strategy and technology. James L. Sanford will succeed Myers as corporate vice president and treasurer. NCI INFORMATION, McLean, Va.
The war with Iraq is not likely to be a windfall for defense contractors, according to several credit and financial analysts covering the aerospace and defense industry. "Defense contractors will likely see very limited benefit from either a short or longer war scenario," senior aerospace and defense analyst Christopher Mecray of Deutsche Bank said in a March 26 report. One reason, Mecray said, is that the U.S. military already has stockpiled substantial amounts of expendable weapons, including bombs, missiles and other munitions.
UAV WORK: DRS Technologies will produce Neptune maritime UAV systems for the U.S. Navy under new orders worth $5 million, the company said March 26. The five-foot-long Neptunes can be launched from small surface vessels or from land and are intended to assist tactical military operations and civil applications where runways aren't available, the company said.
An autonomous attack technology program has emerged this month as the top armament development priority for the U.S. Air Force, yet its future may hinge on the insertion of a "man-in-the-loop" capability. Although Air Force support is growing for a new cruise missile capable of autonomous attack, the operations command may demand a dual-mode system that can switch between autonomous and "man-in-the-loop" targeting, said Randy Bigum, vice president for strike weapons at Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control.
NEW DELHI - A report from parliament has criticized aircraft builder Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) for its failure to put the Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA) into regular production. The March 25 report from parliament's Public Accounts Committee said the problem "causes serious misgivings about the expertise of HAL in fructifying vital defense projects within a reasonable timeframe."
The Senate Banking Committee hopes to hold a hearing sometime after the April 14-25 congressional recess to examine the Bush Administration's request to reauthorize the Defense Production Act (DPA), a committee spokesman said late March 24. The DPA authorizes financial incentives and other tools to ensure the private sector produces adequate supplies of vital equipment and materials for the Pentagon, but key parts of the law will expire Sept. 30 unless they are renewed. The DPA was first enacted in 1950 and has been regularly reauthorized by Congress.
GOODRICH CORP. will supply spoiler assemblies for the Boeing Co.'s next-generation family of 737 aircraft. Spoilers are hinged plates located on the upper surface of an airplane wing, which can be raised to reduce lift and increase drag to slow and stabilize an aircraft for landing.
