The director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said he is "uncomfortable" with the pace of progress being made in the linking of sensors and weapons in the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. FCS is a network-centric array of manned and unmanned ground and air systems that will form the basic brigade unit in the future Army. DARPA manages the program, which is set to begin operational testing in fiscal 2008 and achieve initial operational capability (IOC) in FY 2010.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. will expand its presence in the United States by offering its Defense Department customer the "best value" against its European and American competitors, Ralph Crosby Jr., the new Chairman and CEO of EADS North America, said Sept. 4. Speaking to reporters in Washington, Crosby said EADS' unique products and capabilities could offer the department alternative sources of equipment and services.
Embraer plans to build a new aircraft construction plant in China by the end of 2003, according to company CEO Mauricio Botelho. Botelho said the company is continuing negotiations begun last year with the Chinese government. "If everything works out, our forecast is that [by] the end of 2003 the plant will be ready," he told reporters at a ceremony marking the certification of the company's ERJ-145 XR aircraft.
Although the military's newest satellite communications would run afoul of congressional legislation should the Air Force choose to end the program early, the Defense Department's leading space acquisition official says it might only be a "technicality." By December 2004, the Air Force plans to make a decision on whether to proceed with the final two satellites of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite communications system or move to a new laser satellite constellation.
MISSILE DEFENSE WORK: TRW Systems of Colorado Springs was awarded the Joint National Integration Center Research and Development Contract (JNICRDC), which could be worth up to $600 million, the Defense Department said Sept. 4. The company will provide research and development services to "conduct rapid prototyping of the overarching joint and coalition Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) system for the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS)," DOD said.
AVIATION LEARNING, Rochester, N.Y. Paul Santori has joined the company as director of strategic business development. LABARGE, St. Louis Randy Buschling has been named chief operating officer. OEWAVES, Pasadena, Calif. Mark Darrow has joined the company as vice president of sales. Mark Henderson has joined the company as chief operating officer. GOODRICH CORP., Charlotte, N.C. Mike Heidorn has been appointed president, Universal Propulsion Co.
RATINGS: The Boeing Co. and General Dynamics Corp. may not be hard hit by the U.S. Navy's demand that they repay $2.3 billion as part of a long contract dispute over the 1991 cancellation of the A-12 aircraft, the ratings service Standard & Poor's said Sept. 4. Boeing could take a $1.45 billion pretax charge, and General Dynamics a $1.1 billion charge, if they lose their appeal against the repayment and if settlement negotiations aren't successful.
Top Indian officials assured a visiting trade delegation from the Czech Republic that no decision has been made on the purchase of subsonic aircraft for the Indian air force, Aero Vodochody said Sept. 3. The company is pitching its L-159 to meet India's need for advanced jet trainers (DAILY, Feb. 14). The Aero statement contrasts with recent comments attributed to India's defense minister that the BAE Systems-produced Hawk 100 is the only aircraft under consideration for an initial tender for 66 combat trainers.
Orbital Recovery Corp. has announced the development of a "space tug" that would attach itself to telecommunications satellites and use ion propulsion to boost them and extend their lives. The operational life of a satellite usually is determined by the amount of on-board propellant it carries at launch. By periodically boosting aging satellites, the Geosynch Spacecraft Life Extension System (SLES) could extend their lives by 10 years or more, according to the company.
AEHF CONTRACT: BAE Systems will develop and build radiation-hardened onboard computers for the Air Force's Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military satellite communications system. The work will be done under a $9.5 million contract from Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, BAE Systems said Sept. 3. BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems will provide computers for the command and control subsystem of the AEHF satellite bus.
LONDON - The global equity investment company the Carlyle Group was named as a strategic partner for creating a public/private partnership (PPP) for QinetiQ, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence's scientific research organization.
The Navy wants to cut its purchases of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) by more than half in fiscal 2004, according to budget documents obtained by The DAILY.
The Navy has sent a letter to General Dynamics Corp. and the Boeing Co. demanding payment of nearly $2.3 billion for what it said is their default on the contract for eight A-12 Avenger II carrier-borne stealth attack aircraft. The letter, sent by Dionel Aviles, the assistant secretary of the Navy for financial management, demands that McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and General Dynamics make a contractual payment of nearly $1.33 billion, and an interest payment of more than $1 billion, to the Navy by Sept. 30.
Under a recent contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Boeing Co. is developing a fuel cell-based propulsion system for future unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that could fly as early as 2004. The $300,000 contract, awarded late last year, covers Phase 1 of a three-phase program aimed at enabling surveillance and communications UAVs capable of multiple-week endurance. During Phase 1, Boeing's Unmanned Systems division will lead a team designing the UAV's propulsion system and complete risk-reduction studies.
MOSCOW - Russia has several space launches planned for October, beginning with the launch of a Soyuz FG from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Oct. 9. The Soyuz booster will carry the Foton-14 microgravity research spacecraft, a 13,600-pound satellite based on a modified Zenit bus. The spacecraft is expected to return to Earth about two weeks after its launch. On Oct. 17, a Proton is scheduled to deliver the European Space Agency's Integral Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory to orbit.
HSKT: The U.S. Army's Aviation Applied Technology Directorate has selected L-3 Communications Corp.'s Communication Systems-West division to provide Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL) technology for the Hunter Standoff Killer Team (HSKT) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration, the company said Sept. 3. TCDL technology will be integrated into the Army's AH-64D Apache, A2C2S Black Hawk, and Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle systems, L-3 said.
The Air Force is forming a new office to develop and manage the military's communications architecture, according to Peter Teets, the dual-hatted undersecretary of the Air Force and Director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Speaking Sept. 3 at the Pentagon, Teets told reporters that the new office, called the Transformational Communications Office, will "coordinate, synchronize and direct the implementation of the transformational communications architecture."
Facing more difficulties with a "first of its kind" engine, the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab is set to delay the first flight of the Dragon Warrior unmanned aerial vehicle and reverse its schedule for engine testing, according to a spokesperson for the lab.
The Defense Department does not appear to have a strategic plan or performance standards in place to manage its joint forces activities, according to a report released last week by the General Accounting Office.
LONGBOW DEAL: Kuwait's ministry of defense has signed a letter of offer and acceptance with the U.S. Department of Defense to buy 16 AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters, Boeing said Sept. 3. The total sale could be worth nearly $900 million, Boeing said. Kuwait had requested the sale earlier this year (DAILY, April 19). Kuwait is the seventh international defense force to select the AH-64D, according to Boeing.
MOSCOW - Ukraine's national space agency said it and Brazil still are committed to jointly building a launch complex for the new Tsyklon-4 vehicle at Alcantara, Brazil. Recent Brazilian press reports questioned the project's future, but Valery Komarov, the acting director of the Ukrainian space agency, and Mucio Roberto Dias, the president of the Brazilian space agency, confirmed their cooperation in a telephone conversation in late August.
FAA HEAD: The Senate Commerce Committee plans to hold a hearing Sept. 3 on President Bush's nomination of Marion Blakey to be FAA administrator. Sen. John "Jay" Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who chairs the panel's aviation subcommittee, will conduct the hearing.
