GROUND TESTS: The Bell/Agusta-609, a civilian tiltrotor aircraft, on Dec. 6 began 40 to 50 hours of ground testing at Bell's Flight Research Center in Arlington, Texas. The aircraft, owned by Bell Helicopter and AgustaWestland, is expected to make its first flight in January.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) proposed rapid response force represents NATO's "best and last chance" to remain relevant in the 21st century, according to Richard Kugler, distinguished research professor at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy.
GERMAN SPENDING: Over the long term, Germany is likely to increase its defense spending, according to Jacqueline Grapin, president of the European Institute. "In the short term, you have the conjunction between the current economic difficulties and certain campaign promises made during the elections," she says. As the economy improves, Germany will have more reason to sustain and perhaps increase defense spending, Grapin says. "Certainly they don't want to be criticized for doing too much. Nor do they want to be criticized for doing too little.
A recently released U.S. Commerce Department report says several market opportunities exist for suborbital reusable launch vehicles (RLVs), and others may be emerging. Emerging markets include military surveillance, commercial earth imagery, fast package delivery, high-speed passenger transportation, advertising/promotion and space tourism, according to the report. Although the space shuttle is the only RLV in existence, several private companies are working to develop much smaller suborbital RLVs, according to the report.
MINIMAL RISK: The financial risks to Boeing and United Technologies are minimal if United Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a report from Merrill Lynch. Senior aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan says Boeing Capital Corp., Boeing's financing division, may have financed between 10 and 12 of United Airlines' 777 twin-aisle jets delivered in 2001-02. "There is a risk if UAL defaults on finance obligations for these aircraft and Boeing has to find new customers for the aircraft," Callan says.
ITT Industries' defense segment is having a record year and its revenues for 2003 are expected to grow 5 to 7 percent, the company said Dec. 5. Company Chairman, President and CEO Lou Giuliano said in a conference call with investors and analysts that revenues for the Defense Electronics & Services segment are expected to total nearly $1.5 billion, which will account for nearly 31 percent of the company's overall 2002 revenues.
HIMARS ACCELERATION: A potential move to speed up production of the U.S. Army's C-130-deployable High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) would be decided within the fiscal 2004 budget, a Lockheed Martin spokesman says. The wheeled artillery launch system was on a list of acceleration targets this fall, and the company briefed the possibility to the Pentagon's deputy acquisition chief Michael Wynne.
SHARE THE UCAV: Boeing probably should not be the sole supplier of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) to the Department of Defense, according to Merluzeau. Already the prime contractor for the Air Force's UCAV program, the company also is competing with Northrop Grumman to build the carrier-based Navy UCAV. "We believe that the acquisition of [only] Boeing platforms ... might be a problem, due to the acquisition cycle of UCAVs," Merluzeau says.
Boeing Rocketdyne's RS-83 hydrogen-fueled reusable engine program is closing up shop in anticipation of NASA not renewing its contract in May 2003, while the team prepares to shift its focus entirely to the kerosene-fueled RS-84. Under its restructured Space Launch Initiative (SLI), NASA is de-emphasizing hydrogen engines and placing greater emphasis on more technically challenging kerosene engines to power future reusable launch vehicles (RLVs), in part to align itself better with Defense Department needs (DAILY, Nov. 20).
The Greek government is expected to award a $200 million-plus contract in coming days to integrate security command centers for the summer 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, sources said Dec. 6. An industry source said the Greek defense ministry, the procurement agency for the command center project, likely will announce the winning company the week of Dec. 9-13. Pierre Kosmidis, a spokesman for the Olympic organizing committee, said an announcement is expected to occur "within the next few days."
SATELLITE STUDY: Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, want the General Accounting Office to review whether the Defense Department's practices for buying commercial satellite services promote competition in the industry. Intelsat was required to convert from an intergovernmental organization to a private firm under a two-year-old federal law designed to promote competition for satellite communications services. But some Intelsat competitors contend that DOD's procurement practices still favor Intelsat.
COSTLY UCAV: "Serious debate" will take place within the military over the real value of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) if they begin to approach the price tag of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) or other manned platforms, according to Frost & Sullivan Senior Consulting Analyst Michel Merluzeau. "UAVs traditionally have a significant cost advantage over manned systems," Merluzeau says. However, "the cost of the UCAV platform has been increasing for the past few years.
NEW DELHI - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee discussed defense cooperation during a summit here this week, including joint production of the anti-ship supersonic cruise missile BrahMos and air-to-air tactical missiles for the Indian air force, Indian defense ministry sources said.
The Defense Department's proposal to transfer $104 million from various programs to the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) account is running into resistance from the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, a source said Dec. 6.
GETTING CROWDED: The International Space Station (ISS) may get more crowded in the next few years, according to NASA and its international partners. Station partners meeting in Japan Dec. 6 approved a program plan that calls for "an expanded scientific program" on ISS beginning in 2006/2007, which would include "significantly increased quantity of permanent crew," up from the current three.
The U.S. Air Force is slashing the number of F/A-22s it plans to buy to pay for a 20-month extension of the current development phase, an estimated $700 million delay triggered by unresolved software and fin buffet problems, an Air Force official said Dec. 6. Marvin Sambur, Air Force assistant secretary for acquisition, didn't specify how many of the planes could be cut, but once cited a reporter's suggestion of fewer than six as a fair estimate.
VORTICES: The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded a $1.1 million contract to continue development of a program to provide warnings of air disturbances at airports, such as wake vortices, Lockheed Martin said Dec. 5. The program, Project Socrates (Sensors for Characterizing Ring-eddy Atmospheric Turbulence Emanating Sound), is a collaboration between Lockheed Martin and Flight Safety Technologies. The program aims to develop a laser listening device to "hear" the sound generated by hazardous atmospheric conditions.
A critical hub of the future battlefield's command and control architecture - the standing joint force headquarters (SJFHQ) - is rapidly taking its final shape, a U.S. Joint Forces (JFCOM) official said Dec. 5. Three months after the futuristic command post passed its sharpest test to date, joint planners are compiling a list of needed changes to the concept, said Chris Shepherd, JFCOM's deputy director for implementing the new design. The command post reduces a deployed, theater-level headquarters staff from about 600 to less than 60.
Orbital Recovery Corp. said its new "space tug," the Geosynch Spacecraft Life Extension System (SLES) could be used to boost the stranded Astra 1K satellite. Astra 1K, the largest commercial satellite built in Europe, was left in a too-low orbit after its launch vehicle had an upper-stage malfunction (DAILY, Nov. 27).
Resolutions coming from the recent NATO Summit in Prague have laid the groundwork for the European countries to begin addressing new security threats, according to a senior NATO official. "Prague recalibrated NATO's agenda in line with the security environment post-9/11 and therefore, also in line with the two dominant U.S. concerns: terrorism and weapons of mass destruction," Michael Ruhle, head of NATO policy planning said.
A new Frost & Sullivan report predicts that the world unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market will swell from $1.1 billion to $1.8 billion between now and 2007, with the U.S. accounting for roughly half of the total throughout the forecast period.
UPGRADES: Derco Aerospace has completed C-130 upgrade programs for the Brazilian air force and the Botswana defense force, the company said Dec. 5. The company delivered the last of five upgraded C-130s to Brazil and the third and final upgraded C-130 to Botswana in October. Among other improvements, the aircraft feature upgraded avionics, the company said.
