CR/W CONSORTIUM?: As Canard Rotor/Wing (CRW) technology matures, the Boeing Co. might form a consortium to further its commercial advancement, according to Steve Bass, program manager for Boeing's Dragonfly CR/W unmanned aerial vehicle (DAILY, April 13). "I would say that that [a consortium] would certainly not be out of the question for the future," Bass says.
In a make-or-break deal for the F-15 Eagle production line, the Republic of Korea announced April 19 it has selected the Boeing-made fighter over the French-made Rafale. Four companies responded to South Korea's original request for proposals: the Boeing Co. with the F-15K, a variant of its F-15 Eagle; Sukhoi of Russia with the Su-35; Dassault of France with the Rafale; and the Eurofighter consortium with the Typhoon (DAILY, Oct. 3). The $4 billion competition for 40 fighters, dubbed F-X, was delayed several times.
EXPONENTIAL GROWTH: Having won several important missile defense contracts in Europe over the last five years, MBDA's sales revenues will nearly double by 2005, according to CEO Fabrice BrEgier. In an interview with The DAILY last week, Bregier said his company, created through a consolidation of several British, Italian and French missile manufacturers, will grow from a 2 billion euro company ($1.78 billion) at the end of 2001 to a 4 billion euro company ($3.56 billion) by the end of 2005. "We are, in all of our programs, still in the development phase," Bregier says.
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP. is shipping the last of its Titan IV launch vehicles from its Denver facilities to launch sites at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Five Titan IV launches are left before the last Titan IV mission, scheduled to launch a classified U.S. Air Force payload in 2003. The Titan launch system began as the Titan ICBM, which first launched in 1959. The Titan system evolved into the Titan II, III and IV, and has had more than 350 launches since the first flight.
INTELSAT has signed a 10-year contract with Katelco, the authorized provider of direct-to-home services in Kazakhstan, to deliver television and high-speed Internet services to businesses and households in the country. Intelsat will provide the capacity to provide access to between 10 and 20 pay-TV channels, Internet, distance education, pay-per-view, corporate TV and satellite cable stations, as well as the six channels of local video programming already available. The services are being provided using the Intelsat 904 satellite, which became operational March 27.
HONEYWELL will provide two Range Safety Tracking Systems at the Kodiak Launch spaceport complex in Alaska under a $13.5 million contract from the Alaska Aerospace Development Corp. The systems, which will enable flight control officers to monitor space-bound vehicles and destroy ones that go off course, will become operational in 2003. The Honeywell system is mobile and can be transported in a C-17 or shipped by land or sea. Each system consists of a mobile control center van and two trailer-mounted tracking antennas.
PANAMSAT CORP. has signed a 15-year transponder lease agreement with the Eternal Word Television Network, the world's largest religious media network. The agreement consists of one 36 MHz C-band transponder on the G1-RR satellite, for U.S. domestic distribution of the network's programming. PanAmSat operates a network of 21 satellites with 870 transponders.
BITMICRO NETWORKS INC. of Fremont, Calif., will provide its E-Disk solid-state storage for a French instrument that will observe the interactions between radiation, clouds and aerosols, and their impact on Earth's greenhouse effect. The instrument was first developed by Laboratoire d'Optique Atmospherique as an airborne experiment, and was modified for use on the International Space Station by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the French space agency. E-Disk drives provide reliable high-speed, high-capacity data storage, according to the company.
In a report released last week, Standard&Poor's raised the long-term credit and senior unsecured debt ratings of Lockheed Martin Corp. Citing the company's improved financial condition, aerospace and defense analyst Martin Knoblowitz raised the company's rating from "BBB-" to "BBB" and its commercial paper rating from "A-3" to "A-2." The rating outlook for the company is stable.
Despite the collapse of the government's ruling coalition, the Dutch parliament has scheduled a vote for April 23 on whether to participate in the Joint Strike Fighter program, according to the Reuters news agency and Dutch media.
'POURING' PLANES: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is working on laser-deposition techniques that would allow parts on future aircraft to be laid down, molecule by molecule, as one continuous piece, according to Neil Kacena, deputy for advanced development programs at the company. "Our boss, Dain Hancock, would say, 'Someday, I want to pour an aircraft,'" Kacena says.
Northrop Grumman Corp. Chairman and CEO Kent Kresa said TRW Inc.'s request to postpone a special shareholder meeting until May 3 was "an obvious delaying tactic," but pledged not to contest the action.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is widening his scrutiny of a possible Air Force lease deal for 100 Boeing 767 aerial refuelers. McCain, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), sent letters April 17 to congressional budget director Dan Crippen, Defense Department Inspector General Joseph Schmitz and White House budget director Mitch Daniels asking for their views on the potential lease, including how it would compare cost-wise to a purchase and other options.
THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY and the French government signed an agreement for the agency's continued use of the Guiana Space Centre, Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. Covering 2002-2006, the agreement extends the French government's guarantee of ESA's access to facilities and resources owned by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). This includes resources used for Ariane launcher operations. The new agreement replaces the previous agreement, which expired at the end of 2001.
COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS: Even though the military has not activated the Civilian Reserve Aircraft Fleet (CRAF) for years, the Air Force has issued contracts to participating commercial carriers to supplement military airlift capabilities, according to Air Force Gen. John Handy, the commander-in-chief of Transportation Command and the commander of Air Mobility Command. Commercial carriers participating in the CRAF program are required to support Department of Defense airlift requirements during times of war or in the case of emergencies.
PRAGUE - Czech weapons procurement officials are scheduled to hold talks next month with Bush Administration officials about a Czech proposal to buy $210 million worth of combat equipment for its air force's L-159 fleet and planned new Gripen fighters.
NASA has selected four experiments to receive $450,000 each to conduct four-month feasibility studies, leading to possible launch as NASA Explorer Program missions. NASA will select two of the missions early next year for full development as medium-class Explorer, or MIDEX, flights. The selected missions will be launched in 2007 and 2008. The candidates are:
Despite a 10 percent growth in its defense businesses, Raytheon Co. reported a net loss of $434 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2002, compared with a loss of $124 million a year ago at this time. In an April 18 conference call with analysts and investors, company officials said the loss was due to a $360 million write-off for goodwill related to the sale of its Aircraft Integration Systems unit to L-3 Communications Corp. in March. The company also recorded a $211 million after-tax loss on the transaction.
With a new air mobility study already underway, Air Force Gen. John Handy, the commander-in-chief (CINC) of Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) and commander of Air Mobility Command, predicts that there will be a clear need for more airlift.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Brig. Gen. Douglas M. Fraser assumed command of Air Force Space Command's Space Warfare Center, located at Schriever Air Force Base, on April 18. Fraser, who was commander, 3rd Wing, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, succeeds Maj. Gen. Thomas B. Goslin, who was promoted to lieutenant general and becomes deputy commander-in-chief of U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. Goslin succeeds Lt. Gen. Robert Hinson, who becomes vice commander of Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.
Despite a strong performance from its Information Systems and Technology- and Combat Systems groups, General Dynamics posted a 5 percent drop in net earnings for the first quarter. Company Chairman and CEO Nicholas Chabraja said in an April 17 conference call that the company's first quarter results provide a solid foundation for the rest of the year.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Orbital Express program is gearing up for a critical design review (CDR) this winter, in anticipation of a six- to 12-month on-orbit demonstration to begin in fiscal year 2006. The $100 million program is an Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) aimed at developing architectures and technologies for refueling, upgrading, and reconfiguring spacecraft while they are in orbit.
NASA officials said April 18 that the agency is shutting down the X-38 experimental vehicle program, which could have led to the development of a crew return vehicle (CRV) for emergency escape from the International Space Station. "The X-38 program has been given direction to shut down," Fred Gregory, NASA's associate administrator for human space flight, told reporters after testifying before the House Science space subcommittee.
Czech weapons procurement officials are scheduled to hold talks next month with Bush Administration officials about a Czech proposal to buy $210 million worth of combat equipment for its air force's L-159 fleet and planned new Gripen fighters.
NASA has selected four experiments to receive $450,000 each to conduct four-month feasibility studies, leading to possible launch as NASA Explorer Program missions. NASA will select two of the missions early next year for full development as medium-class Explorer, or MIDEX, flights. The selected missions will be launched in 2007 and 2008. The candidates are:
