Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the incoming chairman of the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee, plans to explore whether countermeasures used on military aircraft should be installed on commercial aircraft to protect them from surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). "That is one of the issues we will study next year as the subcommittee holds hearings on aviation safety," Shelby said through a spokeswoman late Dec. 3.
L-3 Communications Corp. announced Dec. 4 it has completed its offer for all outstanding shares of Wescam Inc., a maker of visual wireless systems. As of Dec. 4, nearly 97 percent of all Wescam shares had been tendered to a Canadian subsidiary of L-3, company officials said in a statement. The transaction, valued at nearly $118 million, is expected to add $100 million to L-3's sales in 2003.
PRAGUE - Czech aircraft producer Aero Vodochody is likely to see a downturn next year but the company's future is not in jeopardy, Industry and Trade Minister Jiri Rusnok told journalists. Aero Vodochody's sales are expected to drop from last year's $385 million to less than $230 million for 2002, as it nears completion of a Czech military order for 72 L-159 subsonic fighters. In the first half of 2003, it will deliver the last batch of 14 aircraft and has yet to secure its first international order for the aircraft.
NEW DELHI - Pakistan's first geostationary satellite, Paksat 1, began to move Dec. 3 from its current location at 50 degrees East to 38 degrees East, a relocation expected to be completed by Dec. 23. The Hughes Global Services satellite launched in 1996 as Palapa C1 for Indonesia, but Hughes took title to the satellite after a problem with its power pack prevented it from providing energy to its payload when it is eclipsed by Earth's shadow (DAILY, July 12). The satellite also has been leased to Turkey as the Anatolia 1.
The newly developed air-to-air refueling capability for Hawk 127 advanced jet trainers is under scrutiny this month during a two-week series of flight trials performed by BAE Systems and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The trials are the last step in the RAAF's plan - Project Air 5367 - to field a fleet of upgraded lead-in jet trainers for fighter pilots picked to fly F/A-18 Hornets. The RAAF's 33 Hawk aircraft are customized with Hornet-type cockpit layouts.
Navy interest in a program managed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Air Force is prompting a look at ways to increase the Navy's level of participation, a DARPA official said. Stephen P. Welby, deputy director of the agency's Information Exploitation Office, said significant strides have been made in the Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement (AMSTE) program, and that the Navy would like to be more involved in it.
The U.S. Air Force miscounted deferred maintenance costs by $190.7 million last year and is not preparing to fix its accounting practices, according to a report posted Dec. 3 by the Defense Department's Office of Inspector General. The Air Force reported in early fiscal 2002 that it had $167.5 million of deferred maintenance on the books, which is a major factor in service readiness levels. Equipment repairs ranged from those to aircraft and engines to software and buildings.
Having completed its first flight test last week, the Have Lite missile is ready to begin final flight testing once the first order is received, according to the missile's co-producer, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control. Have Lite, a lighter, smaller version of the AGM-142 Have Nap air-to-surface missile, is designed for countries flying single-seat F-16 Fighting Falcons and other smaller manned fighters, Bill Rivera, manager of international business development said Dec. 3.
General Dynamics Corp. and the Boeing Co. said they will seek court orders to halt Defense Department plans to deduct nearly $2.3 billion from payments to the companies as part of the long-running dispute over the failed A-12 Avenger program. The DOD told the companies Dec. 2 it would begin deducting about $66 million per month from each company for the next 18 months, to collect money it says the government is owed for the program.
The Defense Department's Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program, set up eight years ago to speed the fielding of better weapon systems and other new technology, has had some success but could be improved significantly, the General Accounting Office says.
LONDON - Longstanding plans to unify multinational European military air training took a step forward Dec. 2 with the signing of a new one-year Eurotraining Feasibility Study agreement. Acting on behalf of a consortium of five leading European aerospace companies, Italy's Aermacchi signed the contract with the Italian General Directorate for Aeronautical Armaments (DGAA). The directorate was representing the air forces of 12 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The Pentagon added 29 missiles to the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) program and accelerated the fiscal 2003 production rate by 26 percent, a Defense Department spokeswoman said Dec. 3. E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, has signed an Acquisition Defense Memorandum (ADM) on the PAC-3. The new production schedule calls for a total of 208 PAC-3 missiles in the next two years, including 100 in FY '03, up from a previous estimate of 79.
German Aerospace Center (DLR) has licensed its robotic capture technology for use on Orbital Recovery Corporation's planned satellite "tug," Orbital Recovery announced Dec. 2. The capture tool will allow the company's Geosynch Spacecraft Life Extension System (SLES) spacecraft to dock with a telecommunication satellite in orbit by attaching to the satellite's apogee kick motor (AKM). Once docked, the 'tug' will extend the satellite's life by providing propulsion, navigation, and guidance (DAILY, Sept. 4).
The U.S. Defense Dept.'s Acquisition Technology and Logistics (AT&L) division is implementing a new electronic business plan that should yield its first Internet portal and an overall information technology blueprint. AT&L, the military's top authority for weapons acquisition policies, also is creating two new offices to manage the division's internal systems and its electronic links to the Pentagon's weapons suppliers.
The U.S. Navy has given a General Dynamics unit a contract to begin low-rate production of the Area Air Defense Commander (AADC), a system designed to improve air defense planning. The contract, awarded to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, calls for Naval Sea Systems Command to make an initial purchase of four systems. If options to buy four more systems are exercised, the contract's total value will exceed $45 million. The contract also includes engineering support services.
CONTRACT: The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon Co. a $118.7 million contract for the second year of low-rate initial production of the Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM), the company said Dec. 3. The award includes funding for 163 all-up-round missiles, Raytheon said. The missile, used for advanced ship defense, is being produced for the Navy and member nations of the NATO Seasparrow Consortium.
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet's APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar is on schedule for first flight and a low-rate initial production (LRIP) decision in June of next year, according to manufacturer Raytheon. The APG-79 program is a joint effort of Raytheon, F/A-18E/F prime contractor Boeing, and the Navy. The team expects to produce a total of 413 AESA radars for the Super Hornet fleet, including 277 forward-fit units and 136 retrofit units.
MOSCOW - A Cosmos-3M launcher placed two small satellites into sun-synchronous orbit from Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Nov. 29, as part of a program to test the condition of older Cosmos-3M launchers that have been in storage. One satellite placed in orbit was the AlSat-1, built by Surrey Satellite Technology Laboratory for Algeria, under the international Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) program (DAILY, July 30).
Reports that Germany is considering further cuts in defense spending are raising further questions about its commitment to buying 73 Airbus A400M military transports and its role as an international power. German Defense Minister Peter Struck reportedly will announce Dec. 5 that the government intends to reduce defense spending by nearly 6 billion euros ($6 billion) by 2006, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, the Sunday edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
One year after the establishment of the Information Exploitation Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the new unit is at the center of number of battlefield information trends, according to its acting director, Stephen P. Welby.
NEW DELHI - India may buy satellite imagery from Belarus, an Indian defense official said. Belarus Prime Minister Gennady Novitski offered the imagery in a meeting last week with George Fernandes, India's defense minister, according to a senior official with the Indian Ministry of Defence. Novitski showed Indian officials images of cross-border terrorism in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir, the official added. Belarus also has offered to sell spare parts for India's MiGs.
DRS Technologies announced Dec. 2 it has completed its $92 million acquisition of Paravant Inc., a move that Standard & Poor's said will significantly strengthen the company's market position in digital battlefield systems. Paravant, based in Morristown, N.J., builds rugged computer systems and communications interfaces for military command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems.
