USAF roles and missions chief Maj. Gen. Charles Link hopes the Pentagon's roles and missions commission will "say some things" about maintaining an "appropriate" balance between service influence and joint influence. "We now have people who are postulating that the synergy of jointness is a competing idea to the specialization of services," Link says. He predicts that the panel will offer "sage advice," but not permanent solutions. "To expect a report that provides ultimate solutions to these problems is to expect way too much," he notes.
DEVELOPMENT of armor technologies for protection of vehicle systems from overhead threats is the subject of a request for proposal to be released on about March 24 by Army Tank Automotive and Armaments Command, according to a Feb. 8 Commerce Business Daily notice.
Hughes Aircraft Co. said it will begin low rate initial production of its AN/MPQ-64 air defense sensor under a $36 million contract awarded by the U.S. Army Missile Command in 1992. The contract calls for delivery of 10 radar systems, including integrated logistics support, software support and field operational support, the company said. The contract contains options worth more than $400 million for the delivery of 138 systems over the next five years.
The Pentagon is still in the "very early stages" of discussion with NATO allies about creating a framework for their participation in the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) program, says DOD acquisition chief Paul Kaminski.
The U.S. Air Force award of $94.7 million to maintain the B-2 industrial base has achieved something unusual in the contentious world of stealth bomber politics-it has satisfied a leading B-2 supporter and a leading opponent. Rep. Norman Dicks (D-Wash.), a member of the House Appropriations national security subcommittee and a B-2 supporter, said the award in the context of the upcoming bomber decision pleases him because "we're going to get a fair, objective look at whether there is a requirement or not" for more of the planes. Rep.
NASA will rely on emerging high speed data networking technology to take up some of the slack as it cuts redundancy in employees and capabilities across its field centers to save money (DAILY, Feb. 7, page 187).
AAI Corp., Hunt Valley, Md., has received a $4.5 million contract from U.S. Army Missile Command to produce and deliver by mid-1996 an Improved Moving Target Simulator (IMTS) to the Army National Guard's Grand Forks, N.D. facility. Exercises with the system-the latest version of a trainer produced by the company-will take place inside a 40-foot diameter dome controlled through a computerized console.
Lockheed is looking at what SR-71 spare parts are on the shelf, Schwartz says. It's also considering what's exceeded shelf life, whether it matters and-if it does-how the Pentagon "can go backfill that," he says, adding that in some cases, it's not going to be easy to replace components. To keep operation and maintenance costs down, Lockheed will be responsible for maintaining the airframe. Schwartz says he feels "certain" that sensor suite producers Loral, Itek and McDonnell Douglas will also get contracts to maintain their equipment.
U.S. Air Force has decided against adding sensor capabilities such as a data downlink system to the reactivated SR-71A Blackbird, says AF Col. Norty Schwartz, deputy director of forces. "We don't intend to improve the aircraft beyond what it was in 1989," he says. The service, given $100 million in FY '95 to refurbish, operate and maintain the two recce planes, has been "consciously austere" about how it brings the plane out of retirement, Schwartz adds.
Boeing chose Pratt&Whitney PW4056 turbofans to power the 747-400F freighters on offer to meet the Air Force's Non-Developmental Airlift Aircraft (NDAA) requirement, Boeing reported yesterday. The Air Force remains unsure about how many NDAAs, if any, it will buy and whether they will have to fill in for a C-17 airlifter program truncated at 40 aircraft or merely supplement a larger C-17 buy (DAILY, Feb. 6, page 183A), so it's not clear how much the deal might be worth to P&W if the AF goes ahead with a buy of Boeing-supplied NDAAs.
NASA must transform itself from a marketplace for overpriced space technology into a market-driven technology provider if it is to survive into the 21st century, Rep. Robert S. Walker (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Science Committee, said yesterday in what he billed as his first major space policy speech since his party took over Capitol Hill.
Britain and the U.S., often competing for overseas contracts, should find more ways to collaborate at a government level on winning new business in other countries, U.K. Trade Minister Richard Needham told U.S. and British business executives in Washington this week. "I don't think we've got these bilateral arrangements at the top quite right," Needham said, contending that while in many ways, Britain and the U.S. will remain in "healthy" competition, "we've got to find a way to put U.S. and U.K. businesses together" in chasing international deals.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. John Shalikashvili said yesterday that he wants to speed up "demarcation" talks with Russia on clarifying the difference between theater and national missile defense. Under questioning during hearings on the fiscal 1996 $257 billion defense budget request, Gen. Shalikashvili said he has been concerned about the slow pace of the talks, and it has come out in stories that "I have urged [Deputy Defense Secretary John] Deutch to find a new venue to move this negotiation forward."
EOSAT, Lanham, Md., has signed an agreement to establish an international ground station network to collect data from India's remote sensing satellite constellation. The agreement, valued by EOSAT at $750 million-$1 billion, makes EOSAT the exclusive worldwide marketing agent for Earth observation data generated by India's IRS satellites. Two IRS satellites are in orbit and India plans to launch eight more by 2005.
LEOSAT CORP., Washington, D.C., has issued a request for quotations for the purchase of three million low-cost low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite transceivers to be installed on cars and public transport vehicles. LeoSat intends to use the receiver in a global LEO satellite system planned for launch in 1998 or 1999. Interested companies should submit their manufacturing qualifications and a request for a copy of the RFQ to Contract Dept., LeoSat Corp., 1735 Connecticut Ave., Third floor, Washington, D.C. 20009.
Superconductor Technologies Inc., Santa Barbara, Calif., announced a component patent award for its multi-channel filterbank, a device that allows pilots to use their radar warning recievers and radar weapons at the same time.
British Aerospace and Sweden's JAS Industry Group developing the JAS- 39 Gripen multirole fighter agreed to let BAe build portions of export versions of the plane, industry sources confirmed to The DAILY yesterday, a deal that now has to be approved by London and Stockholm. The latest accord, reported in a Stockholm newspaper, comes a little more than a year after BAe and Saab Aircraft-the JAS Group's biggest partner-worked out an agreement on international marketing of the lightweight, single-engine fighter (DAILY, Jan. 14, 1994, page 71).
Space roles and missions should be complementary in the military services and not competitive, the U.S. Army and Air Force agreed in a joint statement presented Wednesday to the Pentagon's roles and missions commission. Lt. Gen. Paul Blackwell, Army deputy chief of staff for operations and plans, and Lt. Gen. Joseph Ralston, Air Force deputy chief of staff for plans and operations, briefed the agreed-upon space position to the commission, which met in closed session.
GE AMERICOM, Princeton, N.J., has signed a long-term agreement to lease five C-band and two Ku-band transponders on Russia's Intersputnik Express 6 hybird satellite, which is scheduled for launch in April. GE Americom plans to use the capacity for a new video programming satellite service it is planning to offer to English and Hindi-language news and entertainment programming channels on the Indian subcontinent.
Uncooled infrared sensors typify "promising" technologies being pursued under the Technology Reinvestment Program (TRP), said Gary Denman, director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). In a Feb. 2 speech in Santa Barbara, Calif., he said "the use of infrared devices could revolutionize our ability to fight" He told the Technology-Based Partnership Conference that "today's uncooled infrared sensors are still too expensive for widespread use." The TRP, he said, is working towards reducing costs "at least tenfold."
Litton Industries will purchase most of the assets of IMO Industries' electro-optical systems, following the issuance of a Litton statement of intent and pending anti-trust clearance. Under the agreement Litton would acquire the Texas-based IMO division Varo electro-optical systems, which manufactures night vision and laser business. Litton President and CEO John Leonis said the acquisition would provide a "significant" addition to his company's product line.
The Dept. of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency and the U.S. Navy have signed a memorandum of agreement to insert ARPA-developed Global Positioning System technology into manned and unmanned military aircraft for testing and production, the Pentagon said yesterday.
PAMAMSAT, Greenwich, Conn., has signed an agreement for China Central Television (CCTV) to expand use of its satellites. CCTV, which has broadcast to Asia and North America on PanAmSat's PAS-2 Asia/Pacific region satellite since December, will also use the company's PAS-3 Atlantic region satellite, enabling it to extend broadcasts to Europe and Africa and establish the world's first global Mandarin Chinese television service.
The Defense Dept. should retain B-1B Lancers-the future "workhorse" of the military's power projection strategy-over older B-52H bombers, Air Force Air Combat Command chief Gen. Michael Loh said Wednesday. The B-1B proved in last year's operational readiness assessment (ORA) that it can achieve a 75% mission capable rate as long as it's properly equipped, Loh told The DAILY during a brief interview in his office here.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN yesterday received an anticipated $94.7 million Air Force contract as part of the congressionally mandated B-2 Industrial Base Preservation Effort (DAILY, Feb. 8, page 197). The monies will be split as follows: Northrop Grumman, $24.6 million; Boeing, $42.7 million; Vought, $5.3 million. The balance will go to other suppliers.
