The Senate Nov. 18 approved a bill that would boost funding for several research and development activities at the FAA, including efforts to increase aviation safety, make the air traffic control system more efficient and reduce aviation's impact on the environment. However, the House did not take up the bill before the 107th Congress ended Nov. 22, so supporters of the legislation will have to reintroduce it next year.
Efforts to rectify communications difficulties experienced by President Bush aboard Air Force One on Sept. 11, 2001, have required the obligation of about $58 million so far, and work is continuing, the Air Force said. The work is going into the Presidential Data System (PDS), "an 'office in the sky' environment for the president, staff, and other passengers aboard" Air Force One, a highly modified Boeing 747, the Air Force said Nov. 25 in response to a question from The DAILY.
The second X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator successfully completed its first flight Nov. 21 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. After taking off from a dry lakebed, the demonstrator flew for 29 minutes, reaching an airspeed of 195 knots and an altitude of 7,500 feet. The purpose of the flight was to verify flight control software and ensure that vehicle performance was identical to the first demonstrator aircraft.
Taiwan has requested four Kidd-class guided missile destroyers, 248 SM-2 Block IIIA Standard missiles, 32 RGM-84L Block II Harpoon missiles and related equipment and services, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress Nov. 21. The estimated cost of the sale is $875 million, DSCA said, and the equipment will "continue [Taiwan's] naval modernization program and enhance its anti-submarine warfare capability.
SALE: The Boeing Co. has reached an agreement to sell its Spokane, Wash., plant to Triumph Group Inc., the company said Nov. 25. Boeing said in March it planned to sell the plant, which produces composite and thermoplastic aircraft parts. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and transfer of ownership is expected to occur by Dec. 31, the company said.
Space Shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station Nov. 25, bringing the station's Expedition Six crew to their temporary home for a four-month stay. The shuttle will return the station's Expedition Five crew to Earth, including Peggy Whitson, who served as the station's first science officer (DAILY, Sept. 17).
A new international agreement aimed at curbing ballistic missile proliferation will not impede American efforts to develop missile defense systems with other countries, a U.S. State Department official said Nov. 25.
Starting in 2005, NASA plans to begin testing technologies for safely ejecting crewmembers from its upcoming Orbital Space Plane (OSP) in the event of a failure on the launch pad. On Nov. 20, NASA the awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. a contract worth up to $53 million, including options through 2006, to develop a reusable launch pad abort demonstrator to test abort technologies for the OSP and beyond (DAILY, Nov. 22).
Financial analysts have adjusted their earnings estimates for Northrop Grumman Corp. in 2003 and 2004 after a Nov. 21 conference call with senior company officials about the proposed acquisition of TRW Inc. Paul Nisbet, senior aerospace and defense analyst for JSA Research Inc., said he now expects Northrop Grumman's 2003 earnings per share to total $7.10, down from JSA's initial estimate of $7.60. For 2004, JSA predicts earnings per share to reach $8.45, the same as originally predicted, Nisbet says in a new report.
NEW DELHI - India plans to conduct a crucial ship-based test of its anti-ship cruise missile BrahMos, also known as the PJ-10, by the end of the year, a senior Indian navy official told The DAILY. The test will be the BrahMos' first firing from a ship. The missile, which uses a propulsion system from Russia and a guidance system from India, is the product of a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organization and the Russian company NPO Mashinostroeniya.
FCS SYSTEM: Raytheon Co. successfully demonstrated the first low- and high-band directional, networked communication system for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems program, the company said Nov. 25. The company will move to Phase III of the program and is scheduled to hold two field demonstrations of the system, in March and April 2003.
BETTER FLIGHT: Research grants awarded by NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research could have a "significant impact" on the ability of humans to safely conduct long-duration space flight, NASA says. NASA selected 17 scientists for the one- to three-year grants, which are worth up to $8.8 million each. They cover areas such as advanced environmental monitoring of space habitats, advanced food technologies, waste processing and air revitalization. The aerospace agency made the selection from 113 proposals in response to a research solicitation released in March.
NEW DELHI - The Indian air force has asked the Indian Ministry of Defence (MOD) to create a permanent fund to meet its modernization requirements. If implemented, the annual budget granted to the Indian air force would roll over unused funds from one fiscal year to the next. Current budget allocations for the defense forces lapse if not used in one fiscal year.
UNDERSEA THREATS: The biggest asymmetric threats to the U.S. submarine fleet will come from advanced mine technology and diesel-electric submarines, according to Vice Adm. John Grossenbacher, commander of Naval Submarine Forces. "In the undersea environment, it's crystal clear what the challenges are. First, it's mines. There're a lot of them. Mine technologies are getting more and more sophisticated. They're cheap and they're relatively easy to deploy," Grossenbacher says.
LONDON - Britain's Tanker & Transport Service Company Ltd (TTSC), which is competing for the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence's 13 billion pound ($20.66 billion) Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) program, confirmed it has selected the new Smiths Aerospace air refueling system for its Boeing 767-based submission. Boeing chose Smiths in March to supply the same integrated system for its B767 tanker/transport. The system also has been selected by Italy and Japan, and is the U.S. Air Force's preferred air-to-air refueling (AAR) platform.
PRAGUE - Sweden was displeased by the Czech government's decision to cancel the purchase of 24 British-Swedish produced Gripen Jas-39 supersonic fighters and would like to see the tender process reopened, according to Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda. Svoboda made his comments after meeting with Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh during the NATO summit here on Nov. 22.
DELIVERY: AgustaWestland has delivered the last of 22 EH-101 Merlin HC Mk3 helicopters to the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, the company said. It also announced it has completed the last of 44 EH-101 HM Mk1s for the Royal Navy. The EH-101 was designed as a successor to the H-3 Sea King and entered service in 1998 with the Royal Navy.
Nov. 25 - 26 -- SMI presents the 4th Annual Global MilSatCom 2002, Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Heathrow Airport, London. For more information contact Jayesh Patel at +44 (0) 870 9090 711 or email [email protected]. Nov. 27 - 28 -- L'academie Nationale De L'air Et De L'espace presents International Colloquium: Europe and Space Debris. For more information email [email protected] or go to http://assoc.wanadoo.fr/anae.
HUNTER: The Army probably will proceed with the fielding of a weaponized version of its Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), according to John Sundberg, the Army's deputy program manager for UAVs. The Army conducted its first test drops of live Brilliant Anti-Armor (BAT) submunitions from a Hunter at White Sands, N.M., in October (DAILY, Oct. 16). After a wing modification, the Hunter can carry 200 pounds of payload, according to Sundberg. "We could carry up to the weight of Hellfire [missiles] on there, although we have not done that at this time," he says.
SMART BOMBS: Programs to develop small, smart bombs might be good candidates for international participation because there will be a lot of demand for such weapons among U.S. allies, says former Air Force Secretary F. Whitten Peters. A replacement for the widely owned E-3 airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft also is a possibility for foreign partnering, says Peters, a member of the U.S. aerospace commission. The commission says in a report released Nov. 18 that the U.S.
LONDON - Flight-testing of three two-seat Eurofighter instrumented production aircraft (IPAs) has been suspended pending investigation of the crash of a two-seat DA.6 developmental Eurofighter in Spain on Nov. 21. The crash was the first aircraft loss suffered in more than 2,000 hours of flying time by seven development and three IPAs. The remaining six developmental aircraft apparently have not been grounded, however.
With both Lockheed Martin and Boeing's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs) off to successful starts, analysts are generally positive about the long-term prospects for both, although they feel government support will be crucial to sustaining them through the current flat market period. The Air Force partially funded the development of Lockheed Martin's Atlas V and Boeing's Delta IV rocket families to reduce the cost of launch and provide the U.S. with assured access to space.
