ManTech International Corp. of Fairfax, Va., will acquire Integrated Data Systems (IDS), a Chantilly, Va.-based software development and systems integration company that supports intelligence and Department of Defense customers. ManTech will acquire IDS for $57.5 million in cash, the company said Feb. 25. The buy is the company's third acquisition since its initial public offering in February 2002. Last year, the company acquired Aegis Research Corp. and CTX Corp.
U.S. Central Command and Air Force officials plan to launch a massive humanitarian aid effort in tandem with a possible conflict in Iraq, according to a top Air Force official. "... There are task forces and organizations laid in specifically to deal with this problem should it emerge," Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hal Hornburg told reporters Feb. 14 at the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla.
Launching the next phase of an export control review process, the U.S. Department of Defense is seeking weapon programs as candidates for international participation. A group of 20-25 U.S. weapon contracts will be chosen, said Lisa Bronson, deputy undersecretary of defense for technology, security policy and counterproliferation.
Improving quality control at Boeing Satellite Systems will have to be a top priority if the unit's new director is to overcome a perception that its satellites are unreliable, according to a leading U.S. space analyst. Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) also will have to find a way to build cheaper satellites to attract new customers, according to Marco Caceres, space analyst with the Teal Group.
TEAMING UP: General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems will work with TDA Armaments SAS, a joint venture of Thales and EADS Deutschland, to pursue business opportunities for 120mm rifled mortar systems with the U.S. military, the company said Feb. 24. Under the agreement, General Dynamics will become the sole U.S. licensee for the loading, manufacture and production of seven types of 120mm rifled mortar ammunition rounds for use in TDA's 120mm rifled mortar guns.
Boeing's 777-300 ER (extended range) completed its first flight on Feb. 24, the Boeing Co. said. The three-hour flight begins a 1,600-hour flight-test program that's expected to bring U.S. government certification by early next year, the company said. The 777-300ER took off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., and landed at Seattle's Boeing Field a little over three hours later. During the flight, it reached an altitude of 15,000 feet and an air speed of 0.50 Mach, or about 370 miles per hour, Boeing said.
COLLIER WINNER: Sikorsky's S-92 helicopter has been named the winner of the 2002 Robert J. Collier Trophy, the National Aeronautic Association said Feb. 24. The helicopter was selected because it incorporates multiple improvements in safety, operating cost and traveling comfort, the NAA said. The S-92 is the fifth rotorcraft to win the trophy, according to the NAA.
The U.S. Coast Guard is assessing the way ahead for its Deepwater program after congressional appropriators made key changes to the service's plans for two types of aircraft, a Coast Guard spokesman said Feb. 24. The recently enacted fiscal 2003 transportation appropriations act provides $147 million for two maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). The Coast Guard originally planned to buy the aircraft in FY '03 but later proposed holding off due to future funding constraints (DAILY, Feb. 18).
PRAGUE - An investigation is underway after a Czech Air Force L-159 light combat aircraft crashed Feb. 24 in central Bohemia. The incident, in which the pilot was killed, took place at the military training zone near Jince. A defense official told The DAILY that the pilot was one of the most experienced in the air force. Shortly after the crash, defense minister Jaroslav Tvrdik flew to the scene accompanied by chief of staff Pavel Stefka and air force commander Jan Vachek.
Two members of the House Armed Services Committee are forming a bipartisan Defense Study Group to allow lawmakers to converse with leading defense thinkers. In a Jan. 29 letter urging House members to join the caucus, Reps. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) wrote that they are creating the group because national security issues are receiving increasing attention.
Following the lead of Standard & Poor's, credit analysts with Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Services lowered the ratings for BAE Systems PLC due to concerns about the company's debt and cash flow. Moody's downgraded BAE Systems' long-term debt rating from "A2" to "Baa1" and the company's short-term debt rating from "prime 1" to "prime 2." The rating outlook is negative.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will cooperate with unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to autonomously detect mines in a demonstration scheduled to take place in May at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. According to David Knichel, robotics technology systems analyst at the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center at Fort Leonard Wood, countermine operations in the Objective Force will have to be automated because of the relatively small number of personnel in the basic brigade, or Unit of Action. A Unit of Action is expected to include between 1,800 and 2,400 personnel.
Northrop Grumman's X-47A Pegasus unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) had its long-awaited first flight Feb. 24 at the Naval Air Warfare Center - Weapons Division at China Lake, Calif., remaining aloft for 12 minutes and reaching a maximum altitude of 3,000 feet. A largely company-funded effort, the Pegasus is intended to demonstrate technologies associated with the Navy's Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV-N) program, which is developing an aircraft carrier-based UAV capable of strike and reconnaissance missions.
DELIVERY: Rolls-Royce has delivered its 500th AE 2100D turboprop engine, the sole powerplant for the Lockheed Martin C-130J and Lockheed/Alenia C-27J tactical airlifters, the company said Feb. 24. The AE 2100 is a turboprop derivative of the AE 1107 turboshaft engine, the company said.
The head of United Kingdom defense procurement on Feb. 24 expressed deep frustration with the pace of transatlantic trade reforms sought by the U.S. government. "We do feel we have a long way to go for this to be characterized as defense cooperation," Lord Willy Bach said at a U.K.-U.S. defense industry seminar organized by defense industry advocacy groups from both countries. Bach hailed heavy British participation in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, but he said more progress is necessary.
The fiscal year 2002 report from the Defense Department's director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E) strongly criticizes the Army's Shadow 200 tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (TUAV), calling it "not operationally suitable" and questioning its affordability. During an initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) in 2002, two Shadow UAVs crashed and one was damaged during landing after its tailhook missed the arresting gear, according to the report. A prior IOT&E attempt in 2001 was cut short by crashes.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - One of the benefits of a space wargame now underway at Schreiver Air Force Base here will be helping U.S. Strategic Command carry out four missions that previously had not been assigned to any major command, according to Lt. Gen. Thomas B. Goslin jr., STRATCOM's deputy commander. The outputs of the game, called Schreiver II, will "absolutely" feed into all four missions, Goslin said in an interview on Feb. 20, the first day of the week-long event.
TRANSATLANTIC M&A: Budget pressure on defense spending caused by high public indebtedness in Europe will slow transatlantic mergers and acquisitions in the short term, says Teal Group analyst Philip Finnegan. Europe's four largest defense firms - BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and Thales - "will find it difficult" to buy or form an alliance with U.S. companies, he says. However, each company likely will pursue small purchases in the U.S.
AWACS DEPLOY: The NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force has been ordered to deploy to Turkey with their AWACS aircraft based in Geilenkirchen, Germany, NATO said Feb. 21. The deployment will provide surveillance and early warning "to maintain the integrity of Turkish airspace," NATO said. The aircraft will operate from the Turkish air force base in Konya.
LASER COMM: Industry's first view of the acquisition strategy for the Pentagon's proposed satellite-based laser communications system is set for March 5-7 in El Segundo, Calif. The Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) Joint Program Office will host the first industry day on the transformational communications system, says an acquisition notice. A market survey of space and airborne laser communications will be conducted during the event. Also, military planners will solicit contractors' input on potential acquisition strategies.
SAVING SCIENCE: NASA scientists are continuing to assess the status of data received during Space Shuttle Columbia's ill-fated STS-107 mission, according to the aerospace agency. Columbia carried more than 80 experiments. For those that received downlinked data during the flight, 50-90 percent of the data was acquired, says David Liskowsky, the STS-107 program scientist for NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research.
SERVICE BUDGETS: The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps soon will provide their first congressional testimony on their fiscal 2004 budget requests. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vernon Clark and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee are scheduled to appear Feb. 25 before the Senate Armed Services Committee. They will be joined by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, who already has testified before the House Armed Services Committee (DAILY, Feb. 13).
