GLONASS BOOST: The recent launch of three Uragan satellites is the latest step in Russia's effort to revitalize its ailing Glonass navigation system, which currently can provide data for as little as two hours a day. The satellites will join the existing seven operational satellites, plus another Glonass spacecraft undergoing on-orbit testing. Russia hopes to launch as many as 30 Glonass satellites through 2011, including older model Uragans, newer Uragan-Ms and Glonass-K satellites, which are expected to have an on-orbit life of up to 12 years.
The FAA has granted a supplemental type certificate to Airship Management Services' (AMS) Skyship 600 airship equipped with a new Textron Lycoming outboard propulsion system capable of providing greater thrust and maneuverability.
DECOY: The BAE Systems AN/ALE-55 Fiber Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) could gain a new customer within a few weeks. Already in testing with the B-1B, the F/A-18E/F and the F-15E, the towed device is expected to be added this month by Boeing to the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program, as part of upgrades for the AC-130 gunship, a corporate source says. A redesigned FOTD has passed a series of flight tests on the B-1B after a hardware problem was discovered last spring. The device is part of the U.S.
DELAY: A $700 million fighter competition in Brazil may be in jeopardy as a newly elected government reportedly has suspended it for a year to pay for famine relief. Brazil's F-X program calls for 12 to 24 fighter planes but could reach a total of 120 fighters and a worth of $6 billion. Bidders include the Lockheed Martin F-16, the Saab/BAE Systems JAS-39 Gripen, the Embraer/Dassault variant of the Mirage and the Sukhoi Su-35.
NEW POST: Darleen Druyun, the principal architect of the U.S. Air Force's acquisition programs and policies, has joined the leadership team of Boeing Missile Defense Systems, Washington, D.C., according to the company. Druyun recently retired as principal deputy assistant secretary for Air Force acquisition and management. In her new role, she will report to James Evatt, the Boeing unit's senior vice president and general manager.
LONDON - BAE Systems' anticipated losses on its Nimrod MRA.4 maritime patrol aircraft and Astute attack submarine programs, expected to total some 800 million pounds ($1.28 billion), could make it harder for the ailing United Kingdom group to secure future defense equipment contracts.
NASA is investigating a crack found on a component in the shuttle Discovery's liquid oxygen lines and this week will assess whether the shuttle Columbia can safely launch for the STS-107 science mission later this month.
Although the State Department could fine the Boeing Co. and Hughes Electronics Corp. up to $61.5 million for allegedly committing 123 trade violations with China, it's unlikely the amount will be that high, according to industry analysts. Instead, the companies probably will work out a deal with the State Department that will include a lesser financial penalty, they said.
The Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems three contracts totaling more $443 million for the production of Aegis weapons systems, missiles and related equipment. The contracts, awarded Dec. 30, include one for $238 million for the production of six Aegis Weapons Systems and supporting equipment. Two of the systems will be produced for the U.S. Navy, while two others will be made for South Korea and a third for Japan. Work is to be completed by December 2005.
An industrial group representing the military's dwindling pool of sophisticated weapons fuze suppliers is attacking a Defense Department effort aimed at drawing more suppliers into the struggling market. In response to a request by The DAILY, Eric Guerrazzi, chairman of the Industrial Committee of Ammunition Producers [ICAP], published an issue white paper last week outlining the industry's concerns.
Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) have announced the formation of a congressional caucus to promote military relations and other ties between the U.S. and Qatar. Qatar hosts a growing amount of U.S. military equipment, including a newly constructed combined air operations center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base.
NEW DELHI - India plans to test a series of missile systems in 2003, according to the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The missiles include the shorter-range Agni-1, medium-range, surface-to-air Prithvi-2, medium-range air defense Akash, anti-tank Nag and the ship-launched, cruise missile BrahMos.
The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) plans to host a conference this spring to bring together government and industry officials to discuss how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can support transportation security. The event will be "a fairly significant conference to bring in industry, bring in the military, and bring in the civilian government agencies to discuss this [issue]," according to RSPA Administrator Ellen Engleman.
Israeli government officials have been talking to officials of the U.S. government about using an Israeli system on U.S. airlines to deflect heat-seeking missiles, sources said. The discussions, spurred by a failed attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner with such missiles as it departed Mombasa, Kenya, on Nov. 28, are said to have centered on the Flight Guard system, which already is installed on 150 airplanes, some of them commercial aircraft.
SUPPLY: EMS Technologies will supply switch technology for signal routing to Alcatel Space for the SAR-Lupe imaging satellite mission, the company said Jan. 2. The work will be done under a $2.5 million contract. SAR-Lupe is a planned constellation of five satellites for space-based reconnaissance, set for launch in 2005-2007.
Launch of the comet rendezvous spacecraft Rosetta will be delayed by several days as an inquiry board continues to investigate the failure of Arianespace's heavier-lift Ariane 5, the company said Dec. 30. A board, named by Arianespace, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French space agency CNES, is to submit its report to Arianespace on Jan. 6.
LONDON - The first of 180 Eurofighter Typhoons planned for German air force procurement is scheduled to be delivered this month to the Luftwaffe technical academy at Kaufbeuren. As the first production aircraft from the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.'s (EADS) Manching assembly line, the initial two-seat Eurofighter (GT001) was formally accepted there Dec. 9 by officials from the German defense ministry's procurement branch and the Luftwaffe.
The General Accounting Office has endorsed NASA's decision to move space shuttle orbiter major modification (OMM) work from California to Florida, saying NASA's expectations of cost savings were based on "sound" reasoning.
Poland's decision to buy 48 F-16 Fighting Falcons likely will have the greatest effect on Gripen Inter-national, the maker of the JAS-39 Gripen fighter, according to a U.S. aerospace and defense analyst. Poland opted on Dec. 27 to buy 48 Lockheed Martin Block 52 F-16C/Ds instead of the Gripen, made by the BAE Systems/Saab Gripen International consortium, or Dassault Aviation's Mirage 2000-5 MK 2. The total value of the contract is estimated at $3.5 billion. Poland is expected to receive $9.8 billion in offset arrangements as part of the deal.
Discussions with the State Department over possible fines for passing sensitive spacecraft technology to China during the mid- and late 1990s still are ongoing, officials with the Boeing Co. said Jan 2. The primary responsibility for paying any fines lies with Hughes Electronics Corp., Boeing officials said. Boeing bought the company's subsidiary, Hughes Space and Communications, in October 2000 and renamed it Boeing Satellite Systems.
Formed as a pioneering transatlantic partnership two years ago, ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS) enters 2003 more than one year behind schedule and with at least one corporate parent dissatisfied. "Are we as pleased with where we are today versus what our plan said?"Raytheon International CEO Thomas Culligan said in an interview. "The answer is no."
