Two transportable shelters designed to house the B-2 Spirit fleet in a climate- controlled environment have been erected at a U.S. base in the Indian Ocean, giving the $2 billion bomber its first home beyond the gates of Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., the Air Force announced Jan. 13. The shelters, each the size of two football fields, were erected by 20 airmen working 12-hour shifts for 70 days. The mobile structures are the first of five hangar systems delivered to the Air Force by contractor American Spaceframes Fabricators Inc., of Crystal River, Fla.
FACTORY WORK: Spectrum Astro has completed the financing for its new, 115,200-square-foot "Factory of the Future," the company said Jan. 13, and work on the facility will accelerate. The Gilbert, Ariz., facility, dedicated to building space and missile defense systems, is due to be finished by February 2004.
Lawmakers have kicked off the new 108th Congress by introducing legislation that would help guide the development of technology in aerospace and other sectors. Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) has proposed reviving the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), which Congress eliminated in 1995 to save money. Holt's bill, introduced Jan. 7, would provide members of Congress information and analysis on a range of science and technology (S&T) topics, including aerospace.
NEW DELHI - India's Agni-1 ballistic missile could be used by the Indian army even though it has had only two test flights, V.K. Aatre, head of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), told The DAILY. India tested the Agni-1 for the second time on Jan. 9, just a day after Pakistan inducted its Hatf-5 missile into its army. The short-range version of the missile, which has a range of about 700 kilometers (435 miles), had its first test in May
'POLITICAL PROBLEM': Poland's decision to buy 48 F-16 Block 52 Fighting Falcons is of "no consequence" to Dassault Aviation, Dassault spokesman Gerard David says. Poland on Dec. 27 chose the F-16 over Dassault's Mirage 2000-5 MK 2 and Gripen International's JAS-39. The Polish decision represents a problem for Europe, David says. "For Dassault at this time, 75 percent of our turnover is for the Falcon business jet. We have lot of deliveries expected for the Rafale and the Mirage 2000-5, including the [United Arab] Emirates and Greece," he says.
SEE AND AVOID: Autonomous "see and avoid" capability will be essential for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as they become more prevalent on future battlefields, according to Joseph Thomas, vice president of UAV programs for AAI Corporation. "One of the tenets of aviation that I've [lived] with all my life is 'see and be seen,'" Thomas says. "That's your first responsibility - to keep your head on the swivel, make sure you see what's out there, and avoid it. Now a UAV can't do that ...
AGING AIRCRAFT: Even if the Defense Department carries out all of its current modernization plans for weapon systems, the age of Air Force airlifters, bombers and fighters will remain a concern, the Congressional Budget Office says in a new report. By 2020, each type of aircraft is expected to have an average age exceeding half its service life. For instance, mainly due to the aging C-130 fleet, the average age of airlifters is projected to rise to 29 years by 2020, nearly 40 percent above the top of the half-life range.
The House member whose congressional district includes the Lockheed Martin F/A-22 and C-130 production lines in Marietta, Ga., has picked up a seat on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), which will help him look out for the interests of those aircraft facilities. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), who won a new House seat in the November elections, also has Naval Air Station Atlanta and Dobbins Air Reserve Base in his district.
MAJOR FIX: Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall may be overly optimistic when he says another Ariane 5 ECA heavier-lift could be ready for launch again in six months, space analyst Marco Caceres of the Teal Group says. An Ariane 5 ECA had to be destroyed shortly after liftoff Dec. 11 following an engine nozzle malfunction. "That's pretty significant," Caceres says. "Anytime you have to modify something structural, it's major.
GUN WORK: General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products will provide 40 M61A1 20mm Gatling Guns and ammunition feed systems to Boeing for the F-15, under an $18.9 million contract.
CONTRACT ADDITION: The Boeing Co. awarded Orbital Sciences Corp. $50 million in additions to its contract to develop and build interceptor boosters for the missile defense program, Orbital said Jan. 10. The addition supports nine demonstration and test flights of Orbital's Ground-based Midcourse Defense booster, beginning early this year, the company said. The total value of Orbital's work on the program now stands at around $1 billion, including production options, the company said.
NASA FUNDING: The Senate Appropriations Committee has postponed action on its remaining fiscal 2003 appropriations bills until at least the week of Jan. 13-17, because the Senate has been unable to reach agreement on how to organize itself for the new 108th Congress. The committee had hoped to meet Jan. 10 to approve revisions to its remaining fiscal 2003 appropriations bills, including NASA's (DAILY, Jan. 7). The Senate has even begun to consider skipping the Appropriations Committee and sending the revised bills directly to the full Senate in an effort to save time.
SALE COMPLETE: Boeing completed the sale of its plant in Spokane, Wash., to Triumph Group, the company said. The facility will continue to supply floor panels, air ducts and flight deck components to Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
NO DATE: A Pentagon review of the Air Force's progress in resolving troublesome glitches impairing the F/A-22 Raptor program is supposed to come this month, but so far no date has been set, an Air Force spokeswoman says. In December, the Defense Acquisition Board ordered the Air Force to report back on efforts to fix a fin buffet problem, a software glitch and its budget plans for its Lot 3 purchase. At the same time, the DAB approved the Air Force's plan to cut F/A-22 orders to pay for an estimated $700 million cost overrun.
Jan. 14 - 16 -- Naval Institute and AFCEA West 2002-From Change to Transformation, San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, Calif. For more information contact Kim Couranz at (410) 295-1067 or visit [email protected]. Jan. 23 -- Precision Strike Association presents Winter Roundtable 2003 - Global Strategy for Joint Precision Strike. Crystal Gateway Marriott, Salon A, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Va. For more information call Leslie Mueller at (301) 475-6513 or email [email protected].
An acquisition decision memorandum (ADM) signed Dec. 24 approves the Global Hawk's next two annual production spirals and endorses the Air Force's seven-year acquisition plan, a senior acquisition official said Jan. 10. The plan maintains a steady production rate for the Northrop Grumman aircraft through fiscal 2011, but saves roughly $700 million over the next six years mainly by splitting the Global Hawk fleet into two separate capabilities.
CLASSIFIED SESSION: The Senate Commerce Committee may meet in closed session on the potential problem of U.S. airliners coming under attack by shoulder-fired missiles. Sen. Bill Nelson (R-Fla.) said in a Jan. 9 committee hearing on the future of the airline industry that he favors "such a discussion in an appropriate classified fashion because that's something we've got to face." Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who will assume chairmanship of the committee, apparently agreed.
The Boeing Co. said Jan. 10 it has made an acquisition that will help it serve the intelligence community. Boeing acquired Conquest Inc., an Annapolis Junction, Md.-based company that supplies enterprise architecture, systems engineering and software technology to the intelligence community. The company, founded in 1989, has 20 contracts worth more than $250 million over the next three years, company officials said.
EASING THE STING: The Navy plans to spend more than $400 million on training systems to ease the sting of closing its controversial live-fire training base on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. Military training at the Caribbean range will cease by May 1, Navy Secretary Gordon England says. Navy officials have found training alternatives that will cushion the loss of Vieques, and which include "new technologies and range announcements," according to a Navy statement.
NEW DELHI - After conducting about 30 trials in the last six years, the Indian air force has threatened to abandon the indigenously developed Trishul air defense system, saying it is a poor performer. Trishul, intended as a quick-reaction air defense missile, is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for all the military services.
With funding support from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is proposing a fiscal year 2004 Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) that would develop a football field-length hybrid airship capable of carrying 30 tons of military cargo. The Joint Chiefs and various logistics organizations within the Defense Department are interested in the hybrid airship as a means of carrying large loads directly into the theater of operations, according to Steve Huett of NAVAIR.
An article in the Jan. 6 issue of The DAILY incorrectly described which Raytheon units received $443 million in Navy contracts in December. Two contracts totaling $205 million went to Raytheon Missile Systems and $238 million went to Integrated Defense Systems.
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski's visit to the White House this week will set the stage for a new round of talks to complete a $3.8 billion fighter contract awarded last month to the Lockheed Martin F-16, according to a source close to the Polish delegation. Poland's fighter competition, which was decided Dec. 27, likely will come up in talks between Kwasniewski and President Bush, the source said. "I would assume they would touch upon that particular issue," the source said, "but I doubt that they would go into details."
