The U.S. Air Force is gauging industry's interest in a program, worth at least $100 million, to significantly upgrade the tools used to train B-2 Spirit bomber pilots and maintenance crews. The Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, on Dec. 10 posted a sources-sought request for a B-2 training systems upgrade project. It's a five-year effort encompassing 46 training devices, including 38 for B-2 maintainers and eight for aircrews.
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. - Mortars probably will be the next target for the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) test bed, according to program officials. Mortars are the leading candidate because their "engagement parameters" are closest to those of the artillery shells and Katyusha rockets MTHEL already has felled, MTHEL program manager Gerald Wilson said Dec. 10 during a news media tour of White Sands. Other candidates include unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles.
U.S. aerospace industry sales are expected to weaken by about $10 billion next year due to a faltering economy and lackluster demand for commercial aircraft and space products, according to the Aerospace Industries Association. Industry sales are expected to fall from a projected $148.2 billion in 2002 to about $138.4 billion in 2003, John Douglass, president and CEO of AIA, said during the organization's annual yearend forecast luncheon in Washington (see charts on Page 5).
Northrop Grumman's Navigation Systems Division will provide updated technology and software to upgrade the warning and caution and mission computer subsystems on Boeing's C-17A, the company said Dec. 11. Under the contract's development phase, Northrop Grumman will create new software, test equipment and qualification units that will be flight-tested by Boeing in the second quarter of 2004. In the production phase, the company will provide 43 shipsets of equipment, with deliveries beginning in the first quarter of 2005.
AEROSONIC, Clearwater, Fla. David Baldini has been promoted to president. CMC ELECTRONICS, Montreal Robert Atac has been appointed vice president in charge of the company's military aviation business unit. DRS TECHNOLOGIES, Parsippany, N.J. Donald G. Hardman has joined the company as corporate treasurer. HUGHES ELECTRONICS, El Segundo, Calif. Larry D. Hunter has been elected senior vice president and general counsel. ITT INDUSTRIES, White Plains, N.Y.
The Department of Defense (DOD) is pushing the Air Force and Navy to collaborate more closely on their respective Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) programs - a push that could lead to the establishment of a joint UCAV program office. This process also could result in the production of a single UCAV for both services, according to Dyke Weatherington, deputy in charge of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Planning Task Force at the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).
Boeing and Italian ministry of defense officials have signed the final contract for four new 767 tanker/transport aircraft and five years of contractor logistics support, Boeing said Dec. 11. Italy became the first customer for the 767 tanker aircraft last year, when it selected them in a competition to replace the Italian air force's aging 707 tankers. The Italian air force will receive its first 767 tanker/transports in 2005, with deliveries continuing until early 2008, Boeing said.
The New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MOD) plans to start two major aircraft programs worth up to $300 million next year, launching a modernization drive for what a government official called a "neglected" fleet. The plan includes up to NZ$220 million ($110 million) to begin an overhaul of the missions and communications systems aboard the MOD's fleet of six Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.
FAILED: Arianespace's new heavier-lift Ariane 5 failed shortly after making its first launch attempt on Dec. 11. The booster was carrying the Hot Bird 7 and Stentor satellites.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Air Force Space Command's plan for fiscal 2004 and beyond calls for the introduction of at least one transformational capability in each of its five basic mission areas. In one mission area, counterspace, transformational capabilities are planned across the board.
NEW DELHI - India plans to focus its space assets to make its deterrent posture against China more viable, according to a senior official with the Indian Ministry of Defence. All major purchases of space hardware and other assets in the future will be aimed at this, the official said.
MDA WORK: Computer Sciences Corp. will provide technical program management, systems integration and scientific services to the Missile Defense Agency under a contract valued at $23 million, including options, the company said Dec. 10. CSC will support the development of technologies to improve sensor discrimination, battle management and other capabilities for the MDA's Advanced Systems Directorate.
The National Imagery and Mapping Agency has delayed awarding contracts for its new production services program from mid-December to early to mid-January, according to an agency spokesman. No reason was given for delaying the contract awards for the Global Geospatial Intelligence (GGI) program, which is expected to replace NIMA's Omnibus Geospatial Information and Imagery Intelligence Solicitation (Omnibus) program and the NIMA Production Prototype (NPP) effort.
SES Astra's Astra 1K satellite was de-orbited over the Pacific Ocean Dec. 10, less than two weeks after a launch failure left it stranded in the wrong orbit. The Block DM upper stage of a Proton K launch vehicle failed during the launch. The satellite, the largest commercial spacecraft built in Europe, separated from the upper stage while still in the parking orbit (DAILY, Nov. 27).
A federal court has granted a request by the Boeing Co. and General Dynamics Corp. to stop the Defense Department from withholding contract payments to the companies to collect money for the failed A-12 Avenger program.
Northrop Grumman Corp. said Dec. 10 it has reached an agreement with the Justice Department on the terms to acquire the remaining business units of TRW Inc. The announcement comes a day before shareholders of the two companies are scheduled to vote on the acquisition. TRW shareholders are expected to vote on the transaction at 8:30 a.m. EST on Dec. 11 at a special shareholders meeting at TRW headquarters in Cleveland. Northrop Grumman shareholders are expected to vote on the transaction at 9 a.m. PST on the same day.
TRANSFORMATION: Anteon International Corp. will provide technology services and program management support for the Air Force Research Laboratory's Transformation Management for Accelerated Technology Transition program, which aims to bring new technologies for weapon systems more rapidly into production. That work is being done under a three-year contract worth up to $8.8 million. Under a separate, 14-month, $1.3 million contract, the company will support AFRL's Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, providing advanced research for laser protection materials.
DELIVERY: Pratt & Whitney delivered its 500th F117 engine, which powers the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, to the U.S. Air Force on Dec. 10, the company said. The F117 is a military version of the company's PW2000 engine, which has been used for more than two decades on the Boeing 757. The Air Force has 180 C-17s on order, each powered by four F117-PW-100 engines.
General Atomics is targeting U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) as a major customer for its proposed homeland security package in which the company's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) would perform surveillance over the borders and coasts of the U.S. The package involves the company's RQ-1 Predator or smaller I-GNAT UAVs beaming surveillance data to command centers that would distribute the information to other agencies (DAILY, Aug. 13).
GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) have signed an agreement to begin integrating GEAE's F414 engine with EADS' Mako family of advanced fighters and trainers. Under the agreement, GEAE and EADS will complete the technical definition of the Mako aircraft and the F414M installation. The F414M is a variant of the F414-GE-400 engine that powers the U.S. Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
Lockheed Martin has been awarded two study contracts worth $1.5 million for work on the U.S. Air Force's SensorCraft unmanned aerial vehicle, the company said Dec. 10. Under one contract, the company will refine SensorCraft requirements, identify and define radar nodes and develop strategies for controlling them. Under the other, the company will provide an electromagnetic interference mitigation study to analyze the radar systems that are to be used on the UAV and make sure their components work together.
NASA has postponed a spacewalk set for Dec. 12 due to a "potential medical concern" of one of the Expedition Six crewmembers, NASA said Dec. 10. Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin were to continue outfitting the Port 1 station truss segment, recently delivered to the station (DAILY, Nov. 26), and perform "get-ahead" tasks for the arrival of the next truss segment, slated for May. NASA spokesman Kyle Herring would not discuss the crewmember involved or the nature of the problem, citing medical privacy.
