South Korea's defense ministry has set up a development team to come up with an indigenous military training aircraft to replace about 100 existing aircraft by early next century, and the final schedule and build rate should be set by the end of this year. With capabilities somewhere between the Northrop F-5 and the Lockheed F-16-which South Korea is building under license thanks to the Korean Fighter Program (KFP)-the aircraft will be made entirely by "domestic manufacturers," the government says. But Lockheed will provide technical advice.
JOHN W. SANDFORD has rejoined Rolls-Royce Inc. as president and chief executive officer after a two-tear stint as managing director of the Rolls- Royce Aerospace Group. Sandford replaces George L. Davis, who is retiring.
Democratic staffs in House committees are being gutted, but things could be worse for the new minority party. In some cases Republicans have taken staff cuts out of the majority share. One example is the House Science Committee, where Democrats have been told they can keep 20 staffers, roughly the same number the Republicans had when they were the minority, despite a cut of more than 20% in the overall committee staff. The bad news: That still means more than 40 Democratic staffers are losing their jobs.
The Army's RAH-66 program office is likely to propose a "radically different" scout helicopter development program when it meets with Army acquisition chief Gilbert Decker this month, sources say. Decker has indicated that he's interested in creative ways around the program's OSD-mandated slowdown and the program office may have some ideas, including one to get more prototypes in the air earlier than now planned.
NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin re-affirmed his agency's commitment to build a new reusable launcher Friday, but his White House boss, who appeared with him before a congressional panel, wouldn't go so far. "We will have a new rocket," Goldin told the House Science Committee in its first hearing of the new Congress. "This rocket will be advanced technology. There are a bunch of people that are afraid of single-stage-to- orbit (SSTO). We are not afraid at NASA."
The draft roles and missions report, now scheduled to be finished by the end of February, may slip, Costello says. He acknowledges that the panel may have bitten off more than it can chew, but says he's "confident" the members will "do a meaningful report." The Army isn't likely to think much of the final recommendations, however, if they call for Army sacrifices. Costello says, "The Army hasn't found anything to give up. The Army thinks we've given our fair share...We are offering to help other people do stuff."
Rep. Lee Hamilton (Ind.), ranking Democrat on the House International Relations (Foreign Affairs) Committee, has called criticism of U.S. military readiness "overstated." "While I believe the combat readiness of our armed forces needs improvement," Hamilton said in remarks inserted in the Congressional Record on Wednesday, "I think comments about a 'hollow military' are overstated."
House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. John R. Kasich (R- Ohio) tells the committee that he plans to have a fiscal 1995 budget rescission resolution ready for its consideration early next month. It's the first step in what he sees as a seven-year "glide path" to the Republican "Contract With America" goal of a balanced federal budget by 2002.
The Station's old nemesis, Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.), was trounced when he introduced an amendment last year to kill Station. But Roemer says he's going to continue to push for termination of the project. "I will continue to put that before this Congress as an honest option," he says.
AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF Gen. Ronald Fogleman met Thursday with Lockheed F- 22 officials to assure them that the fighter aircraft program is his number one priority, according to sources. Ken Cannestra, president of Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Group, and Micky Blackwell, president of Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Co., also visited with AF Under Secretary Rudy de Leon and Lt. Gen. Joseph Ralston, AF Deputy Chief of Staff for plans and operations.
Commerce Secretary Ron Brown makes it clear where he stands on the Clinton Administration's plans to cut the defense share of the $70 billion the government spends on research and development from 60% to 50%. "I'd like to take it further than that," Brown tells the House Science Committee. Private investment in R&D now stands at about $84 billion annually, he say.
A senior defense official says U.S. foreign military sales (FMS), back down after a post-Gulf War spike, are likely to remain flat in the near future. The reason: financially strapped customers, such as Saudi Arabia, and reduced demand due to the huge $33.2 billion in sales in fiscal 1993. FMS sales were back down to $12.8 billion in fiscal '94 and are projected by the Pentagon to settle at about $9-$10.5 billion annually in FY '95, '96, and '97. The U.S.
The Army has developed a list of "enablers," or laws that "force the services to do business in a certain manner," says Brig. Gen. John Costello, the Army's top roles and missions official. "It will allow all the services to do business more efficiently." He says he can't elaborate on the details because the list is being reviewed by the service's lawyers. The Army plans to give the list to the Pentagon's roles and missions commission next week.
Democrats also appear to be getting a fair shake on the House Intelligence Committee. Despite a cut in the overall panel's membership from 19 to 16, Democrats will get seven seats, the same number Republicans had when they were the minority party.
The new congressman representing NASA's Johnson Space Center says he's concerned about Russian participation in the Station project. "I hope we look to Americans first before we do the Russians," Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Tex.) tells Goldin. He also wants to know if Goldin believes Russia will be a democracy in five years. Replies Goldin: "If I knew I'd be a very wealthy man."
Republicans will hold a roughly two-to-one edge in the newly slimmed- down staff of the House Science Committee, sources said yesterday. Tentative plans are calling for the committee staff to be somewhere around 60, down from more than 80 in the past Congress. Sources said Republicans are expecting to fill around 40 of those slots and have allocated 20 to the Democrats. Republicans had 19 staffers on the panel at the time of the election, compared to more than 60 Democrats.
Mauritania has selected Harris Corp. for a $16 million domestic satellite communications network for the nation of 2 million in northwestern Africa. Harris Telecommunication Systems of Melbourne, Fla., won the contract for the first phase of a 20-year communications modernization program. Mauritania's Domestic Satellite Network will link the capital city, Nouakchott, with 11 regional centers, Harris said yesterday.
Tokyo Electron Limited, a Japanese trading company, has awarded Lockheed Sanders Information Systems Div. a $9.9 million contract to supply the Japan Air Self Defense force with a Patriot missile system Operator Tactics Trainer (OTT), the Lockheed unit reported. Under the contract Lockheed Sanders will also upgrade an earlier model Patriot OTT. Delivery of the new trainer, which allows an instructor to train eight student Patriot operators at a time, is set for January 1996.
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) was appointed chairman yesterday of the Senate Commerce science, technology and space subcommittee, a spokesman said. Burns is expected to make space issues a higher profile on the panel, which oversees NASA authorization along with the House Science Committee's space and aeronautics subcommittee. Burns also sees a tie-in between the space agency and high technology development efforts in Montana. A source said he has a "great relationship" with NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin (DAILY, Jan. 4, page 9).
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), Pleasanton, Calif., has won a $33.8 million contract to provide occupational safety, industrial hygiene and environmental services to NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif. The five-year contract calls for Ames to provide day-to-day compliance support at Ames, including health and safety support, environment compliance support, hazardous waste disposal, emergency response and training.
Defense Secretary William Perry will avoid controversial topics and set a new agenda for defense relationships when he visits South Asia and the Middle East next week, a senior defense official told reporters during a Pentagon briefing yesterday.
First General Dynamics started divesting its "non-core" units, then LTV sold its aerospace and defense businesses, and then Northrop and Grumman merged. Now Lockheed and Martin Marietta-the Defense Dept.'s number two and three contractors-want to get married. So why, with so much consolidation activity in the aerospace industry, are there still four domestic helicopter makers? Is the rotorcraft industry blind to what's going on around it, or just more resistant to change?
The membership rolls of the House Intelligence Committee were completed yesterday when Democrats re-appointed seven members to the panel. Returning will be Rep. Norman Dicks (D-Wash.), who will serve as ranking minority member, and Reps. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), Julian Dixon (D-Calif.), Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.), Ronald Coleman (D-Tex.), Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Greg Laughlin (D-Tex.).
With the blessing of Deputy Defense Secretary John Deutch, the Navy will transfer its Tri-Service Standoff Attack Missile (TSSAM) monies to the Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) program, sources said yesterday. Sources said that according to a Dec. 16 program decision memorandum designated PDM No. 4, which reflects the results of the Pentagon's recent modernization review, Deutch approved shifting about $46 million to SLAM to build about 30 more of the McDonnell Douglas missiles.
Hughes Aircraft Co. has received a contract potentially worth more than $9 million to supply a newly redesigned radar processor system for use at U.S. Coast Guard shore-based vessel traffic service facilities. The contract from the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Div. calls for Hughes to deliver HRP-2100 Naval Processor Systems, self- contained units which significantly improve the performance of standard commercial radars by providing automatic target extraction and tracking.
