SNIPER ORDER: The U.S. Air Force has ordered 21 more Sniper XR (extended range) advanced targeting pods from Lockheed Martin, the company announced July 10. The $28.3 million order, which includes spares and training, brings the number of pods bought to date to 44, the company said.
The House Armed Services Committee voted July 10 to transfer a satellite-based program for detecting forest fires to the proposed new Department of Homeland Security. Committee members said the Hazard Support System (HSS), whose primary contractor has been the Raytheon Co., could detect forest fires that are less than a quarter of an acre in size, helping firefighters extinguish them before they spread out of control. But the system, now overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has not been fielded due to a lack of funding.
The Department of Defense should set up an early warning center so the information it collects about asteroids, comets and other near-Earth objects (NEOs) can quickly be shared with other countries, according to Air Force Brig. Gen. Simon "Pete" Worden, deputy director for operations at U.S. Space Command.
NASA should stop describing the International Space Station as a "science-driven" program if the station isn't expanded beyond a "core complete" stage, a review panel told the NASA Advisory Council July 10.
The Boeing Co. announced July 10 it is merging units from its former Military Aircraft and Missile Systems and Space and Communications divisions into one entity. The new division, to be called Integrated Defense Systems, will design, produce, modify and support a range of fighters, transports, aerial tankers, bombers, rotorcraft, surveillance and sensor platforms, missiles and munitions, company officials said.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Integrated Systems sector will perform assembly operations for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program at its Palmdale, Calif., facility, and expand its El Segundo operations for JSF development and component manufacturing work, the company said July 9. The company is a member of the Lockheed Martin JSF team, which was awarded the system development and demonstration (SDD) contract last October (DAILY, Oct. 29, 2001).
Following the an announcement last week that the United States would end arms sanctions against Afghanistan, the State Department acknowledged it is reviewing the first commercial export request since sanctions were first imposed in 1996. The State Department on July 2 amended the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which govern the export of commercial arms sales, to reflect the new policy.
While agreeing that the United States should develop its ballistic missile defense capabilities, the head of Army Space and Missile Defense Command said cruise missile defenses are not getting enough attention from the Defense Department.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Early hardware demonstrations and flight tests have been conducted on an acoustic sensor system capable of flying on a powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
LONDON - Poland issued final requests for proposals (RFPs) for up to 48 new multirole combat aircraft, including 12 two-seat trainer versions, on July 8. Poland's planned $3.5 billion next-generation fighter procurement is being conducted on a government-to-government basis, and the RFPs have been circulated at this level in France, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The selection of Poland's new fighter is expected by December 28.
PRAGUE - The Czech ministry of defense has emphasized its commitment to Aero Vodochody's L-159 project as the two-seat "B" version prepares to make its debut later this month at the Farnborough Air Show. In a joint statement July 3 with Aero Vodochody minority shareholder Boeing, defense minister Jaroslav Tvrdik said he was satisfied with the safety and reliability of the one-seat L-159A.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A joint study on integrating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the national airspace plans to fly a Predator B on a 10-day journey around the continental U.S. next year, according to Alton Scott of the FAA's Air Traffic Plans and Procedures/Special Operations division. The 5,300-nautical mile flight path would take the UAV on a circuit of points around the country, flying a total of 90 hours at an average speed of 60 knots and an altitude of 20,000 feet.
The Bush Administration has asked Congress to devote up to $1.88 billion of a $10 billion fiscal 2003 war reserve fund to developing and buying weapon systems. The July 3 request to Capitol Hill proposes allocating the rest of the $10 billion to such areas as operation and maintenance, personnel and construction. The submission does not say which specific programs would be funded. "This request is vital to protecting U.S. national security options," President Bush wrote in a letter accompanying the submission.
The dramatic increase in satellite insurance rates over the last five years can't be attributed solely to an increase in on-orbit technical malfunctions, according to a report released by Futron Corp. The report, released July 9, cites several factors contributing to the rise in satellite insurance rates over the past five years. They include: an increase in the number of satellites launched; an increase in the technical complexity of satellites; a shortened manufacturing schedule; and changes in the satellite insurance industry itself.
The Missile Defense Agency wants to revamp the way it buys targets for missile tests, according to a posting in Federal Business Opportunities. Under its new approach, a single prime contractor would plan and execute "all aspects" of the target program. MDA's Targets and Countermeasures program office has slated a July 24 "industry day" to outline its objectives in more detail. The office has three objectives: * Provide management of targets at the system level through an integrating prime contractor.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is debating how to determine whether modifications to the Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) and Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) Block IV could be used for sea-based terminal missile defense, according to Pentagon officials and documents.
NEW OFFICE: BAE Systems will open a new office in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 10, to allow closer interaction with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, which is headquartered there. The company supplies equipment to Lockheed Martin and is the electronic warfare system integrator for the Joint Strike Fighter. The new office will have a staff of about 75 people.
Norway's air force has named Lockheed Martin's Precision Attack Navigation and Targeting (PANTERA) pod the winner of its laser target designator pod competition, the company announced July 8. The $27 million contract marks the first international sale of PANTERA, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control said. PANTERA is the export version of the company's Sniper extended-range pod, which is used as the advanced targeting pod for U.S. Air Force F-16s, F-15s and other aircraft.
An audit report released last week by the Defense Department's inspector general on the Navy's Evolved SeaSparrow Missile found that while the program on the whole is well run, there is a lack of sufficient documentation on key elements of the acquisition plan.
A NASA-commissioned study has tentatively concluded that privatizing the agency's space shuttle is not feasible, a NASA official said July 9. The RAND Corp., which is conducting the study, has indicated in a preliminary briefing for NASA officials that a private firm would not want to take over the shuttle because the future market for human space flight is too limited, William Readdy, NASA's deputy associate administrator for spaceflight, told The DAILY after speaking at a Capitol Hill breakfast sponsored by the Space Transportation Association (STA).
A Lockheed Martin spokesman said the company hopes to begin test flying its new supersonic advanced training fighter, the T-50 Golden Eagle, during the week of July 22. The first test flight of the T-50, jointly developed by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics of Fort Worth, Texas, and Korea Aerospace Industries, was scheduled for June, but technical glitches caused the flight to be postponed until July. "Our best projection is for that week," Lockheed Martin spokesman Mike Nipper said.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - At an unmanned systems symposium here July 9, Rear Adm. Jack Chenevey challenged the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry and the Department of Defense to develop a system that is certified to fly in unrestricted airspace by February 2004. "That's a full system that can go out with no waivers, have free access to airspace, can file a flight plan ... and launch," Chenevey said during remarks at the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International's Unmanned Systems 2002 conference.
The Laotian government's plans to launch a telecommunications satellite within two years could prove to be financially rewarding, according to several U.S. satellite industry analysts. However, it could be easier for the country simply to lease transponder capacity from a regional satellite operator, they said. Plans by the Laotian government to launch a satellite resurfaced earlier this week after a senior official in the prime minister's office said the government is close to signing a financing agreement with two foreign partners.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., broke ground July 8 on a new laboratory designed to centralize research on advanced space propulsion technologies. Unlike other propulsion facilities that support one or a few technologies, Marshall's Propulsion Research Laboratory will support research in many areas such as solar energy, advanced chemical propulsion, and processes based on fission, fusion and antimatter.
