The Army is re-evaluating its plans for the AH-64 Apache helicopter in light of the recently approved restructuring of the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter program, a service official said Oct. 21.
Lockheed Martin and a Boeing-Sikorsky team recently completed the first test flight of the Night Vision Pilotage System (NVPS), a major subsystem of the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter's Electo-Optical Sensor System (EOSS). The EOSS, developed by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, is composed of a solid-state television, a two-color laser designator/rangefinder, and two forward-looking infrared sensors to give the Comanche "state of the art" targeting and navigation capabilities, the company said.
The V-22 program is starting flight tests on the first V-22 aircraft to roll off the low-rate initial production [LRIP] line, a program spokeswoman told The DAILY Oct. 18. Aircraft No. 21, the first non-developmental MV-22 Osprey to enter the flight testing regimen, arrived at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. on Oct. 12, V-22 spokeswoman Gidge Dady said. The aircraft departed from Amarillo, Texas.
The U.S. Army has reached an agreement with United Defense and General Dynamics to transfer the technology from the defunct Crusader self-propelled howitzer program to the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, a senior Army official said Oct. 21.
ENGINE WORK: Pratt & Whitney will develop advanced turbine ceramic components for possible use in a new engine for U.S. Army unmanned aerial vehicles, the company said Oct. 21. The work is being done under a 39-month contract awarded by the Army's Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD), Pratt & Whitney said. The Army is developing the engine to support future UAV and Objective Force systems, and expects a demonstration in 2004, Pratt & Whitney said.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is moving forward with an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) to develop a prototype of a high-altitude airship to serve as a long-term surveillance and communications platform, a Lockheed Martin official said Oct. 21.
A quarter-scale, unmanned model of Japan's proposed H-II Orbiting Plane-Experimental (HOPE-X) space shuttle had a successful first flight demonstration Oct. 18, according to the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan. NASDA and the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL), which are collaborating on HOPE-X, held the demonstration on Christmas Island in the Republic of Kiribati. The vehicle, powered by a jet engine, made a preprogrammed flight and an automated approach and landing.
The credit ratings for EchoStar Communications Corp., Hughes Electronics Corp. and PanAmSat Corp. will remain on CreditWatch until the companies clarify the details of future financial transactions between the companies, Standard & Poor's said Oct. 18. The announcement follows an Oct. 10 decision by the Federal Communications Commission to block the proposed acquisition of Hughes Electronics by EchoStar Communications (DAILY, Oct. 11). The case was sent to a federal judge for administrative review.
The Army's first Objective Force unit will start being fielded in 2008 as planned, but the concept could fail without a sweeping reform of the personnel system, Army Secretary Thomas White said Oct. 21. In remarks at the Association of the United States Army's 2002 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., White stuck to the Army's original rollout plans for the first Objective Force unit, but did not directly respond to reports that a top Pentagon official wants to delay the program for two years.
The Army has chosen AAI Corporation of Hunt Valley, Md., as the systems integrator in its effort to develop a new long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to replace the Hunter UAV, according to the company. The Extended Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) UAV will be capable of carrying multiple payloads for 10-14 hours, out to a range of 200-300 kilometers. The UAV is scheduled to be fielded in fiscal year 2006 and formally replace the Hunter the following year.
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a 13-inch wingspan that is being developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) flew continuously for nearly two hours during a flight test this summer, DARPA announced Oct. 18. During the Aug. 19 test flight in Simi Valley, Calif., the radio-controlled UAV, nicknamed "Wasp," flew for one hour and 47 minutes. AeroVironment Inc. designed, built, and flew the aircraft.
NEW DELHI - The U.S. Air Force and the Indian air force are conducting weeklong air exercises at Agra, 200 miles north of here. While Indian and U.S. naval and ground forces have conducted joint exercises, this is the first time there is an interaction between their air forces. The exercises began Oct. 20.
A team led by Science Applications International (SAIC) has been picked by the National Security Agency to provide the technology demonstration platform for the NSA's Trailblazer program, which is intended to modernize the NSA's signals intelligence capability. The technology demonstration platform (TDP) phase of the Trailblazer program will be performed over 26 months, and is worth an estimated $280 million, SAIC said Oct. 21.
The Air Force said it has begun operational testing of an upgrade to the B-1B bomber that allows it to drop three types of weapons on a single pass instead of only one weapon type. The upgrade, called Block E, is intended to allow the plane to strike different kinds of targets at the same time. Developmental tests completed this summer at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., showed the B-1B can release a Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), a Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD) and an unguided ballistic weapon during one pass.
TOW SALES: Raytheon Co. will provide Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) anti-tank and assault missiles to Israel, Jordan, Luxembourg, Japan and Spain, under a foreign military sales contract from the U.S. Army. The order, for 1,689 TOW 2A, 2B and practice missiles, is worth $52 million, the company said Oct. 21.
NASA has postponed the system requirements review (SRR) of the Space Launch Initiative, which was slated to begin in November, the aerospace agency said Oct. 21. "NASA will reschedule the review when the agency completes its assessment of its Integrated Space Transportation Plan, ascertains the role of the Department of Defense in SLI, determines the future requirements of the International Space Station and firms up the agency's future space transportation needs," the agency said in a short statement issued late Oct. 21.
AEROSPACE BILLS: The House and Senate have left town to campaign for the Nov. 5 elections and are not expected to return until Nov. 12. Aerospace-related bills that lawmakers still have to finish include the fiscal 2003 defense authorization and intelligence authorization bills, and the FY '03 NASA appropriations bill.
LICENSING: Arms exporters will have access to an early version of an electronic licensing system soon, says Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. The long-awaited e-government initiative to convert the licensing process into an electronic environment is set to launch a pilot program. "We are close to offering you fully electronic licensing for defense exports," Armitage says.
Spending for homeland security and defense won't compete with defense spending even if another terrorist incident occurs on U.S. soil, according to security and defense information analyst Tim Quillin. "It's an interesting idea, but I don't see it as an either/or proposition," said Quillin, of the investment-banking firm Stephens Inc., based in Little Rock, Ark.
BILL SIGNING: President Bush says he plans to sign the fiscal 2003 defense appropriations bill that Congress recently passed, even though it does not contain the $10 billion reserve fund he requested to continue the war on terrorism. The bill, which funds the purchase of 46 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, 23 F/A-22 Raptors and 15 C-17s, will provide U.S. troops with "the best equipment," Bush says.
A highly classified Boeing aircraft that led to the design of the X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle and improvements in stealth and lean manufacturing techniques was unveiled to the public Oct. 18. Boeing Phantom Works launched the "Bird of Prey" technology demonstrator in 1992, and it flew 38 times between 1996 and 1999 before it was retired, spokesman Jim Bafaro said. Its existence was revealed after many of its breakthrough technologies became standard in the industry.
RECRUITS: The Indian air force also has launched a marathon recruitment drive to overcome a prolonged shortage of skilled personnel. Air Marshal Narayan Menon, the air force's chief of personnel, says the service will recruit 7,000 new employees a year for the next three years. Menon says the service particularly needs new workers with a flair for technology, as the air force is inducting new systems including airborne and early warning radars, mid-air refueling aircraft and the latest fly-by-wire fighters.
PRAGUE - The Czech government is open to any offers of supersonic fighter aircraft before the end of the year, government spokeswoman Anna Starkova told The DAILY Oct. 18. The government is awaiting a list of options from defense minister Jaroslav Tvrdik after abandoning plans to purchase 24 Gripen fighters from the BAE Systems/Saab consortium. Tvrdik has made it clear he will consider all possibilities, including buying fewer Gripen fighters than originally planned, leasing aircraft or buying secondhand fighters.
