FUZE FUNDING: Alliant Techsystems (ATK) will continue production of the Multi-Option Fuze for Artillery (MOFA) under two funding increments worth $34 million, the company said Feb. 17. MOFA is the U.S. Army's next-generation, all-purpose artillery fuze, ATK said, and is operable with all 105mm and 155mm systems.
Lockheed Martin's Titan IV rocket had its next-to-last Cape Canaveral launch at 1:50 p.m. EST on Feb. 14, when it successfully orbited a Defense Support Program (DSP) satellite for the Air Force. Built by Northrop Grumman, DSP satellites provide early warning of missile launches worldwide (DAILY, Nov. 18, 2003). The first DSP spacecraft was launched in 1970. They are to be replaced by Space Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High) spacecraft starting in 2006 (DAILY, Nov. 3, 2003).
Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems sector, Thales and Australian shipbuilder ADI have signed a memorandum of understanding to offer an integrated combat-management system solution (ICMS) to include naval combat management, command and control, command support and integration for amphibious ships, Northrop Grumman announced Feb. 16.
A tethered aerostat fitted with surveillance sensors is set for use by the U.S. Army in Iraq, according to Lockheed Martin, which has received a contract for the work. A $1.6 million contract awarded on Jan. 22 calls for the company to deliver the system in 120 days or less, said Steve Kostek of the Army's Robotic Unmanned Sensors (RUS) office at Fort Monmouth, N.J.
February 10, 2004 ARMY Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., was awarded on Feb. 6, 2004, a $47,887,050 firm-fixed-price contract for 976 tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided 2B Aero Generation II missiles. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2006. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole-source contract initiated on Sept. 15, 2003. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q04-C-0061).
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s new Eagle Eyes dual-mode infrared/millimeter-wave (IR/MMW) seeker for the U.S. Army successfully detected, acquired, tracked and struck a moving multiple rocket launcher during a Jan. 11 engineering flight test, the company said Feb. 17.
Goodrich Corp. will equip the latest version of BAE System's Hawk advanced jet trainer with its SmartProbe integrated air data system, the company said Feb. 17. The Hawk MK 128 is the latest variant in BAE System's family of jet trainers. It has a fully digital cockpit and will train pilots to fly aircraft including the Eurofighter Typhoon and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
BRIDGING THE GAP: DARPA is gearing up for its 23rd Systems and Technology Symposium, "DARPATech 2004, Bridging the GAP" to be held March 9-11 at the Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, Calif. The Tactical Technology Office will hold presentations on the battlefield of the future and a briefing on hypersonic systems including propulsion, high temperature materials, optimizing flight trajectories, flight control algorithms and dynamics.
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Boeing will negotiate its departure from struggling Czech aerospace company Aero Vodochody, citing a "significant difference of opinion" with state shareholders over Aero's future direction.
HUMVEE FIRES: The U.S. Army's Tank, Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) is investigating three Humvee fires aboard transport ships headed to Iraq. The U.S. Army Safety Center issued a Feb. 11 safety notification alerting users that an electrical system defect was suspected. One fire was categorized as Class A, an incident resulting in more than $1 million in losses. That incident occurred in a ship hold where a suspected "protective control box" allowed a starter to overheat and catch fire destroying four communication Humvees and damaging four others.
Feb. 16 - 17 -- DTH World Summit for Satellite TV Platforms & Channels, Hotel Inter-Continental, Paris. Contact Karine Gallula at +33 1 4923 7524, email [email protected], or go to www.euroconsult-ec.com. Feb. 17 - 19 -- 2004 Munitions Executive Summit, "The Ammunition Enterprise - Ready Today? Ready Tomorrow?", Hyatt Regency Tampa, Tampa, Fla. To register go to http://register.ndia.org/interview/register.ndia?~Brochure~4650.
ORLANDO, Fla. - The U.S. Air Force is "negotiating" with lawmakers over how many B-1B Lancers should be brought out of retirement, a general said Feb. 13.
NO NASA BRAC: Although NASA has recruited a former DOD official who has participated in Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) efforts to perform an inventory of its facilities, the agency has no "specific intention" of closing any field centers, according to Administrator Sean O'Keefe. The official was "brought in a month ago, following a comprehensive effort we conducted last year to look at real property assessments, inventorying what we have," O'Keefe says. "The approach that we asked for ... is how do we use those facilities in the most cost-effective way.
WON'T SHARE: Israel has told India it still has reservations about sharing data from its Ofeq-5 reconnaissance satellite, although the Israeli government may approve a new Indian plan to jointly build a military satellite for India. A diplomat in Tel Aviv's embassy in India says Israel would have to reverse a longstanding policy before sharing data or images from the satellite, which India has sought to lease (DAILY, March 21, 2003).
INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS: Defense industry leaders are working to overcome barriers that "stovepiped" capabilities within their companies can cause, industry leaders say. "We mirror our customers [DOD] when it comes to this issue," says Jim Albaugh, Boeing's executive vice president and president and CEO of the company's Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) segment. "Stovepiped capabilities within our organization compete within the company for resources and don't work together. Now we have an integrated solution, which is a significant change for us." Lockheed Martin Corp.
Naval Sea Systems Command plans to release a request for proposals late this month for development of a single-track management function for the Navy's Open Architecture (OA) program, according to a Feb. 11 FedBizOpps notice. The RFP would lead to a five-year contract. NAVSEA wants a "system integrator/design agent" to implement the function "with a model driven architecture framework on Navy platforms and address evolving Open Architecture initiatives related to track management and sensor netting," the notice says.
C2 MODELING: The biggest need for improvement in modeling and simulation is in the area of command and control (C2), says Gen. John Jumper, the Air Force chief of staff. "We need to learn how to model command and control, to take the mystery out of it, so that we can see what happens when we change certain elements of it, so we can see what the greatest leveraging capabilities are," Jumper says. "We need to be able to model so that we can put it out in a test environment for people to see."
Sikorsky's S-92 helicopter will begin two weeks of evaluation at Naval Air Patuxent River early this week, as the Navy gathers more information before its downselect decision in the VXX presidential helicopter competition. The other helicopter in the running for the program, Lockheed Martin/AgustaWestland's US101, already had its NPE (Naval Preliminary Evaluation) at Patuxent River last month, according to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) spokesman John Milliman.
SHUTTLE DRILL: NASA will conduct a drill at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Feb. 18 to test the readiness of emergency personnel, equipment and facilities during a scenario in which astronauts must be rescued from a downed space shuttle, according to NASA. In the simulated scenario, an orbiter crash-lands in a wooded area south of the shuttle runway. Emergency personnel will care for injured astronauts inside a shuttle crew compartment mock-up, provide emergency on-site treatment, and transport them by ambulance or helicopter to one of three hospitals.
LOW-POWER COM: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is kicking off the first phase of its Connectionless Networks program, an effort to develop high-efficiency, low-power radio communications. The U.S. military is expanding the role of low duty cycle radio frequency transmissions systems for the battlefield. The goal of the program is to develop technology that will require less energy for data transmission.
Lockheed Martin Corp.'s planned acquisition of Titan Corp. could be delayed by investigations the companies have initiated with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The agencies will investigate "certain agreements between Titan and international consultants and related payments in foreign countries," Lockheed Martin said in a Feb. 13 statement. The investigations will delve into Titan's sale of radio products, a Titan representative told The DAILY.
