Despite widespread praise for the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), a senior Navy official said laser-guided bombs (LGBs) often have been more useful than JDAMs during Operation Enduring Freedom. JDAMs use the Global Positioning System to guide delivery. Rear Adm. Matthew Moffit, the U.S. Marine Corps' assistant deputy commandant for aviation, said that while JDAMs were very useful, in many cases LGBs were "a lot easier to manipulate and get on target."
Despite modest gains from sales of military avionics and communications equipment, avionics maker Rockwell Collins posted a six percent drop in income for the second quarter of fiscal year 2002, company officials said April 16. Second-quarter income for the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based company fell from $62 million in the second quarter of last year to $58 million, while overall sales fell from $690 million a year ago to $608 million this quarter.
Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co. (GAMECO) of China signed a general term agreement with Aviation Partners Boeing (APB) to cooperate in retrofitting winglet systems on Boeing aircraft. According to the agreement, APB will provide the retrofit kits and GAMECO will perform the modification and installation of blended winglets on Boeing aircraft for their customer airlines. GAMECO is the first MRO designated by Boeing in China to perform the task.
COBB CONFIRMED: The Senate recently confirmed Robert Cobb as NASA's inspector general. Cobb has been associate counsel to President Bush, who nominated Cobb for the NASA post in February. Cobb will replace Roberta Gross, who was IG from 1995 until March 2002.
INVESTMENT: China plans to invest 3 billion yuan ($361 million) a year over the next five years to further implement the country's high technology plan, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced April 11. China is welcoming foreign scientists, including those from the European Union, to participate in joint research in information technology, biology, the environment and other fields. The plan, called the "863 Program," was initiated in March 1986 to reinforce China's economic and defense competitiveness. It now has been opened to foreign scientists.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - While the commercial market for Boeing Co.'s airborne broadband communications system was stalled by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the government market is picking up and the company is putting the system on VIP transport aircraft used by the executive branch, a Boeing executive said.
Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems Sector is poised for solid growth due to the diversity of its product line and a projected worldwide spending increase on advanced electronic systems, according to analysts. "The group can control its future if it can continue to produce superior products and systems with a focus on providing complete customer support and satisfaction," says a Deutsche Bank Securities report on the sector, written by senior aerospace and defense analyst Christopher Mecray.
Three transatlantic defense companies have submitted a white paper to senior NATO officials outlining the basic requirements for a NATO-owned and operated airborne ground surveillance system. Called the Transatlantic Industrial Proposed Solution (TIPS) by its creators - Northrop Grumman ISS International, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and Galileo Avionica - the proposal utilizes a "system-of-systems" approach to coordinate the surveillance assets of NATO members.
INVESTMENT: China plans to invest 3 billion yuan ($361 million) a year over the next five years to further implement the country's high technology plan, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced April 11. China is welcoming foreign scientists, including those from the European Union, to participate in joint research in information technology, biology, the environment and other fields. The plan, called the "863 Program," was initiated in March 1986 to reinforce China's economic and defense competitiveness. It now has been opened to foreign scientists.
DOD releases summary table for Selected Acquisition Reports The Department of Defense recently released its quarterly Selected Acquisition Reports, which showed that major DOD programs showed a net increase of about $133 billion, or 18 percent (DAILY, April 15). The following table is abstracted from a table released by the Department of Defense which summarizes SAR changes. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SELECTED ACQUISITION REPORTS (SARS) DECEMBER 31, 2001 REPORTING PERIOD
COBB CONFIRMED: The Senate recently confirmed Robert Cobb as NASA's inspector general. Cobb has been associate counsel to President Bush, who nominated Cobb for the NASA post in February. Cobb will replace Roberta Gross, who was IG from 1995 until March 2002.
Shuttle Atlantis astronauts installed a 14-foot beam and five handrails, to help future spacewalkers move about outside the station, during the last spacewalk of the STS-110 mission on April 16. Astronauts Jerry Ross and Lee Morin also were to install halogen work lights on the Unity module and the U.S. laboratory Destiny. Astronauts earlier had trouble with the station's new Mobile Transporter (MT), which NASA describes as "the first railroad in space." It eventually will help move the station's robotic arm along its new truss.
Russian funding won't guarantee "the full-scale development of the ISS [International Space Station] Russian segment," Russian Aviation and Space Agency head Yuri Koptev said April 12 during the Cosmonautics Day celebration here. The 2002 state budget provides $2.9 billion in funding for Russian participation in the ISS program, which is 1.6 times the amount provided in 2001. However, Koptev said, "the workload for station operations grew significantly, as well."
MOSCOW - Russian funding won't guarantee "the full-scale development of the ISS [International Space Station] Russian segment," Russian Aviation and Space Agency head Yuri Koptev said April 12 during the Cosmonautics Day celebration here. The 2002 state budget provides $2.9 billion in funding for Russian participation in the ISS program, which is 1.6 times the amount provided in 2001. However, Koptev said, "the workload for station operations grew significantly, as well."
As speculation increases about whether the U.S would be able to use its high-tech air operations facility at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia to coordinate a major offensive against Iraq, Lockheed Martin officials say the software system at the heart of the center's operations could easily be re-established at another location.
U-2S DELIVERED: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics delivered the first U-2S reconnaissance aircraft equipped with upgraded cockpit displays and controls on April 15, according to the company. The aircraft went to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. The entire fleet of 31 U-2S aircraft and four trainers is scheduled to receive the upgrades by 2007.
March 10, 2002 Honeywell, Inc., Albuquerque, N.M., is being awarded an $18,255,600 firm-fixed-price contract modification to provide for 495 common color multi-functional display units for the retrofit of all F-16 aircraft. At this time, the total amount of funds has been obligated. This work will be completed in April 2002. This effort supports foreign military sales to Singapore and Taiwan. The Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (F42620-02-C-0036).
AIRSHOW: China will hold the fourth China International Aviation and Aerospace Exposition in Zhuhai, one of the country's special economic zones, from November 4 to 10 this year. Over 40 companies from the United States, Canada and France, including industry giants Boeing and Airbus, have confirmed they will attend the exposition. Two websites dedicated to the airshow will be launched, at www.airshow.com.cn and www.airshowchina.com.
As speculation increases about whether the U.S would be able to use its high-tech air operations facility at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia to coordinate a major offensive against Iraq, Lockheed Martin officials say the software system at the heart of the center's operations could easily be re-established at another location.
LAST WALK: NASA astronauts will conduct the last spacewalk for the STS-110 shuttle mission to the station on April 16. Astronauts will install floodlights to the station's exterior, attach handrails to the newly installed station truss and perform other tasks. The shuttle is slated to return to Earth April 19.
March 8, 2002 AIR FORCE McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Boeing Co., Long Beach Calif., is being awarded a $19,331,976 (not-to-exceed) cost-plus-award-fee contract modification. This undefinitized contractual action (UCA) authorizes procurement of spares associated with the fiscal year 2002 Readiness Space Package (RSP) requirements. RSP are kits composed of parts to support deployment of Air Force weapons systems for
Northrop Grumman's offer to sweeten its bid for all outstanding shares of TRW Inc. won't create a financial burden for the $18 billion defense giant, according to an industry analyst. Company officials said April 14 they would trade $53 worth of Northrop Grumman stock for each share of TRW common stock, up from the previous offer that was worth $47 per share. The company also announced it is extending its pending exchange offer to midnight May 3.
