MCDONNELL DOUGLAS is marketing an aircraft paint removal system called Flashjet. It's described as a process that uses a combination of pulsed light energy and frozen carbon dioxide pellets, and is said to be safe and less costly than methods that use chemicals and generate contaminated waste. The company said that it developed and delivered a proof-of-concept prototype system to the U.S. Air Force at Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center in 1992, and that the Air Force contracted for a second system for eventual use on F-15 fighter aircraft.
Rep. Ron Dellums (D-Calif.), after initial resistance, has accepted a House Democratic rules change that would have the practical effect of reducing his role on the acquisition subcommittee of the National Security Committee. He told The DAILY that after speaking out against the change in the Democratic Caucus, "I decided on my own that even if I had the opportunity to serve as ranking [Democrat on the subcommittee], I would not." The issue will be reconsidered by the Caucus next week.
McDonnell Douglas yesterday completed structural assembly of the forward fuselage of the F/A-18E/F strike fighter, development of which it said is on schedule and within budget. In May, before joining the forward fuselage and the aircraft's center/aft fuselage, built by Northrop Grumman, the forward section will be painted, and wiring and hydraulic tubing will be installed. First flight of the E/F is slated for December 1995.
Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee chairman Ted Stevens (R- Alaska) said the Clinton Administration will not be sending its $2.6 billion defense supplemental request to Congress "for a couple of weeks," which could cut into the services' readiness training. Stevens told The DAILY Wednesday in an interview following an organizational meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee that he spoke to Pentagon Comptroller John Hamre earlier this week and was informed that "there's going to be a little delay" in sending the supplemental to Congress.
U.S. Special Operations Command is looking for Open Systems Architecture concepts for avionics and sensor packages onboard special operations forces (SOF) aircraft under several projects, including Quiet Knight. In a Jan. 11 Commerce Business Daily notice, SOCOM said that its Acquisition Center's Advanced Technology and Engineering Div. wants information from researchers, developers and manufacturers on designs and concepts that might be suitable for a common open systems architecture.
The Senate Appropriations Committee announced the makeup of its subcommittees with three Republican Senators added to the defense subcommittee-Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Connie Mack (Fla.) and Richard Shelby (Ala.)-for a 9-8 majority. Leaving the subcommittee and the full committee were Sens. Alfonse D'Amato (R-N.Y.) and Don Nickles (Okla.). The lineup of the defense subcommittee is as follows:
Hexcel Corp. said it expects its plan to emerge from bankruptcy to become effective on or about the end of the month. The California-based developer and manufacturer of honeycomb and advanced composites said the U.S. Bankruptcy Court has confirmed its reorganization plan, and that it has a commitment from Citicorp USA Inc. for exit financing of up to $45 million. The company has been selling off assets, including its Chandler, Ariz., honeycomb facility (DAILY, Jan. 10, page 38).
Senate Armed Services Chairman Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) said the committee will begin defense hearings on Jan. 19 with a look at readiness from the point of view of users in the field. The hearing is one of five planned by the committee before the Clinton Administration sends its fiscal 1996 defense budget to Congress the first week in February. The other planned SASC hearings are as follows: -- Jan. 24, security implications of the nuclear agreement with North Korea.
The Federal Trade Commission blessed the merger plans of Lockheed and Martin Marietta yesterday, so long as the merged company lets infrared sensor partners Hughes and Northrop Grumman out of exclusivity clauses in their teaming agreements. In a settlement reached with FTC, Lockheed and Martin agreed to let Hughes and Northrop Grumman bid on providing space-based early warning systems to the Pentagon either independently or in teaming arrangements with other companies, as well as in teams with Lockheed Martin.
A hastily arranged two-day aviation safety "summit" mustered by Transportation Secretary Federico Pena wrapped up Tuesday in Washington with several hardware initiatives-including increased use of simulators and new safety technologies both in and out of the cockpit-among the 540 recommendations produced by six working committees.
The new chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is calling for a closer look at whether U.S. intelligence should increase its assistance to American companies to level the playing field with foreign competitors that benefit from economic espionage. "A number of intelligence agencies for foreign countries...are much more direct in their assistance of their overseas economic interests," Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said at a hearing Tuesday featuring Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey during his last day on the job.
NASA estimates it will cost from $5.5 billion to more than $10 billion to keep the U.S. Space Shuttle fleet flying if plans to shift space launch capability to a commercially operated reusable launch vehicle (RLV) early in the next century come to nothing.
The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization will begin its 14-missile test flight series of the Theater High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system late next month, a senior defense official said yesterday. After a lengthy review, DOD determined that THAAD, which will be able to kill incoming missiles about 120 miles away and 90 miles in altitude, is "fully compliant" with the ABM Treaty and that testing should proceed as planned, the official said.
Lucas Aerospace, which agreed last week to pay $18.5 million in fines for supplying deficient gearboxes for Navy F/A-18 fighters, is denying the parts exposed U.S. military personnel to safety risks. In a statement issued Tuesday night, Lucas repeated its position that independent analysis conducted by retired Navy personnel with extensive aviation experience "confirms previous data that the AMAD [Airframe Mounted Accessory Drive] gearbox exceeds the operational performance requirements."
The U.S. Army's RAH-66 Comanche program office is negotiating with the Office of the Secretary of Defense to postpone the full Defense Acquisition Board meeting scheduled for March, program officials said yesterday. OSD isn't likely to go along with the Army's proposal, but may compromise by agreeing to hold a Conventional Systems Committee review in lieu of a formal DAB meeting.
Invitations to bid for a replacement for the Royal Air Force's 24 Nimrod patrol planes are being issued to British Aerospace, Dassault, Lockheed and Loral ASIC, U.K. Defense Procurement Minister Roger Freeman told Parliament Tuesday. The long-awaited action should lead to a contract with the winner of the international competition in late summer of 1996. Initial service date is expected to be about 2002.
Protecting U.S. radars from attack by inexpensive electronic systems is the subject of a planned 60-month Air Force-sponsored analysis. The AF's Wright Laboratory, soliciting industry for the work, in a Jan. 10 Commerce Business Daily notice, said the effort would continue the Electronic Counter-Countermeasures (ECCM) Analysis Assessment program.
UNISYS CORP., McLean, Va., yesterday said it has appointed retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas G. McInerney as vice president of command and control for the company's Electronic Systems business segment. He will coordinate strategic efforts in the command and control aspects of Unisys' business thrust into Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) programs. He retired from military service last year as assistant vice chief of staff for the U.S. Air Force and Director of Defense Performance Review (DPR), reporting to the Secretary of Defense.
ELECTROSOURCE INC., Austin, Tex., said the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was told Tuesday in a report that its new lead-acid Horizon battery is capable of delivering the range, power and economy to meet 1998 zero emission mandates set by California, Massachusetts and New York. The report by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) was presented in Atlanta ARPA.
PARSONS ENGINEERING SCIENCE INC., Pasadena, Calif., has received an environmental planning contract worth up to $39 million from the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence at Brooks AFB, Tex. R.C. Wooten, the company's Austin, Tex., based program manager, said, "...we will mobilize our staff to supply environmental services to any Defense Department installation in the world."
The FAA yesterday lifted its prohibition against flying ATR aircraft in icing conditions, provided that new training and flight procedures are followed. Although the planes are still restricted from flying in freezing rain or drizzle, the move essentially returns them to their previous status, since no aircraft are dispatched into such conditions.
ROLLS-ROYCE said that China Yunnan Airlines of Kunming has selected RB211-524H engines to power its new Boeing 767 airliners. China Yunnan has ordered three of the twin engine planes and has options for an additional three. Rolls said the potential value of the engine business is about $105 million.
A leaky Orbital Maneuvering System thruster has forced NASA managers to move the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center to launch pad 39B a day early, but while the thruster may be replaced no impact to the Feb. 2 launch date was seen.
SIEMENS CORPORATE RESEARCH INC., Princeton, N.J., is developing a system to help airport control towers to more effectively monitor planes on the ground, and enable planes to automatically dock at airport gates.
Cosmonauts on Russia's Mir space station successfully tested the automatic docking system on their orbiting facility yesterday, ensuring the device that failed twice last year is working when Russia begins stocking Mir this spring for the upcoming series of joint missions with the Space Shuttle.
