NASHVILLE, Tenn. - As the Army prepares the sixth restructuring of its RAH-66 Comanche helicopter program, the head of the joint Boeing-Sikorsky team told reporters that if this restructuring fails, the program should be killed. Asked what should be done if the Comanche program fails to meet the schedule, cost and performance goals set out in the restructured plan, Chuck Allen, Boeing's Comanche manager, said, "I'll tell you the same thing I told the Senate Armed Services Committee, 'Kill the program. I'll help you.'"
The Airborne Laser (ABL) and Space Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High) programs will suffer significant setbacks if Congress enacts fiscal 2003 funding cuts proposed by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Air Force officials testified in Congress May 15.
F-22 TESTING: The Lockheed Martin-led industry team building the F-22 Raptor has successfully completed all planned static testing of the aircraft, Lockheed Martin announced May 15. The tests demonstrated that the F-22's structural integrity can withstand forces 50 percent higher than those expected in its service life, according to the company.
SPEEDING UP: As expected, defense officials said May 15 they hope to speed development of precision munitions, including the Excalibur GPS-guided artillery shell, the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, and DARPA's NetFires program, in the wake of the proposed cancellation of the Crusader artillery system.
NEW DELHI - India's army will be equipped with the nuclear-capable, shorter-range variant of the Agni-II missile, Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes said May 15. "The government has approved in principle the raising of [an] Agni missile group for [the] Army," Fernandes said in a written statement to the upper house of parliament. The Army will get the Agni-II with a range of 700 kilometers (435 miles). The Agni-I has a range of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles), and the intermediate-range Agni-II has a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles).
DAYTON, Ohio - The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is developing technologies that could allow future combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to "negotiate" with each other during a mission, according to David Lanman, focus area lead for UAV technology at AFRL. The concept of operations for the Air Force's Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) involves squadrons of four vehicles flying together that would be managed by a single human operator.
AAI CORP., Hunt Valley, Md. David A. Powell has been promoted to vice president and chief officer. BAE SYSTEMS, Rockville, Md. Mark Ronald, president of BAE Systems North America and chief operating officer of BAE Systems plc, London, has been appointed to its board of directors. William H. Campbell has been appointed vice president of communication and information systems (C&IS) integration. ESCO TECHNOLOGIES, INC., St. Louis, Mo.
DAYTON, Ohio - The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's network of systems for time-critical targeting will mandate true joint operations, according to DARPA Director Tony Tether. The agency is developing several interoperable weapons systems to provide global strike at moving targets, including the Advanced Tactical Targeting Technology (AT3) system, the supersonic HyFly munition, and the Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement (AMSTE) system.
PRAGUE - BAE Systems has sent a team of production and engineering specialists to aircraft manufacturer Czech Aircraft Works to help boost the south Moravian company's production of light aircraft. The move is part of the offset program undertaken by the BAE Systems/Saab consortium as it bids to supply 24 Jas-39 Gripen fighters to the Czech Republic. It follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Czech Aircraft Works in September 2001.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Although the Army's special operations aviation forces performed well in complex missions over Afghanistan, there still are some aircraft improvements that need to be made, according to Col. Rick Polczynski, commander of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The unit is called "the Nightstalkers," because it has expertise in operating at night. Improved night vision capability is an urgent priority, he said, speaking May 13 at an Army aviation convention here.
The Defense Department should allow government and industry managers of space programs to set aside reserve funds "that can allow them to immediately solve problems" that arise in a system's development, according to Air Force Undersecretary Peter Teets. Testifying before the congressionally chartered U.S. aerospace commission May 14, Teets said the appropriate reserve for a "risky" project could be as much as 20 percent of the program's cost.
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. will join Pratt & Whitney's PW6000 engine program as a risk-sharing partner, Pratt & Whitney announced May 14. The engine, which is under development, will provide 16,000 to 24,000 pounds of thrust to power 100-passenger aircraft, according to the company.
NEW YORK - A central component to Ducommun Inc.'s growth strategy is developing a better supplier relationship with Airbus Industrie for electro-mechanical components, Joseph Berenato, chairman, president and CEO said May 13. That won't be easy, he said at Aviation Week's Aerospace and Defense Finance Conference here, because Airbus is channeling more of its work to its longtime suppliers.
The Boeing Co. has been selected to receive a $3 million contract as part of the Army-Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) unmanned combat armed rotorcraft (UCAR) program, according to industry sources. A letter has been sent to Boeing, an industry source told The DAILY, and a contract will be issued on May 15. The contract will be for a 12-month concept development study, according to the source.
The multipurpose vehicle NASA wants to develop to replace the Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) for the International Space Station (ISS) could be operational in roughly the same 2006-2008 timeframe that the CRV had been slated to become available, according to NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe.
NEW DELHI - India will buy 17 used Sea Harrier fighters from Britain's Royal Navy for $9 million each, according to a senior Indian ministry of defense official. The agreement was reached earlier this month, the official told The DAILY. The Indian navy currently operates 17 FRS 51 Sea Harriers, but most of these have been grounded for the last two years due to a lack of spare parts.
NEW YORK - Air Force Secretary James Roche blasted the Defense Department's practice of allowing prime contractors to manage defense programs, saying it is stifling innovation and harming the financial health of the supplier base. "Total systems procurement responsibility is dead," Roche said May 14 during a presentation at Aviation Week's Aerospace and Defense Finance Conference here. Total systems procurement responsibility is the practice of allowing prime contractors to manage a weapon systems program in place of the federal government.
The U.S. military should begin planning now for successors to its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and strategic rocket programs to ensure that companies preserve their skills in those areas, industry representatives told the U.S. aerospace commission May 14.
LONDON - Representatives of about two dozen aerospace and defense companies involved in building the JAS 39 light multirole combat aircraft were represented at a Gripen vendor conference earlier this week in Krakow, which was aimed at showing their commitment to the proposed sale of Gripens to Poland.
JDAM TEST: An Air Force F-15E successfully attacked five targets with Boeing Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) on a single sortie, the company said May 14. This was the final test for the F-15E smart weapons integration program, according to Boeing. The JDAMs were released from level flight at 25,000 feet and at a speed of Mach 0.80.
MOSCOW - The bodies of seven workers killed in the collapse of a roof at Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan have been found, but that of the eighth is still missing, officials said. Preliminary results of the accident investigation were due to be presented May 14 to science and industry minister Iliya Klebanov, the head of the commission investigating the disaster. The roof of Building 112 collapsed May 12, casting doubt on the future of some of Russia's space programs (DAILY, May 14).
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment has ambitious plans for growth, including possible forward deployment of helicopters in Qatar to support Central Command, the regiment's commander said. "This is our future," Army Col. Rick Polczynski, commander of the "Nightstalkers," said May 13 at an Army aviation symposium here. "Organized by mission and focus, capitalizing on technology, the forecast for the 160th is to grow significantly."
NEW YORK - Although it has acquired several businesses in recent years, L-3 Communications Corp. does not operate as a collection of companies, L-3 President and CEO Frank Lanza said May 14. "We're not a holding company like Carlyle [Group]," Lanza said during a panel discussion at Aviation Week's Aerospace and Defense Finance Conference here. "We're an operating company, and we believe in a flat organization [structure], not a pyramid organization."
DAYTON, Ohio - The Air Force plans to accelerate the Space-Based Radar, KC-767 tanker, and Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) programs, among others, as part of its effort to shorten the acquisition process, according to Gen. Lester Lyles, commander of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC).
