RAMOS DELAY: The scheduled fiscal 2005 launch of the two satellites in the Russian-American Observation Satellite (RAMOS) program will be delayed by a year, to FY '06, due to congressional funding cuts and slower-than-anticipated progress in negotiating a government-to-government agreement with Russia, according to a spokeswoman for the Defense Department. Without explanation, the FY '02 defense appropriations act cut $20 million from the Bush Administration's request for RAMOS.
OUT WITH THE OLD: Unlike the Boeing Co. of yesteryear, the new Boeing will be an integrated aerospace company focusing on shareholder value, according to Boeing Chief Financial Officer Mike Sears, who spoke at the Ninth Annual Bear Stearns Commercial Aerospace and Defense Conference in New York. "We're not going to be a holding company that's going to hold major businesses," he says. "But in fact, we're going to be one company.
The U.S. Air Force plans to provide sizable funding increases in fiscal 2003 for the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV), Space Based Radar, Space Based Infrared System-High (SBIRS-High) and Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) programs, according to Air Force and Defense Department budget documents.
KNIGHTHAWK ALIGHTS: The Navy plans to introduce the Sikorsky MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter in a Feb. 8 ceremony at NAS North Island, Calif. The aircraft, with a cockpit designed by Lockheed Martin, will replace the aging CH-46 Sea Knight. Its primary missions will be carrier battle group logistical support such as movements of bombs, supplies and personnel, and amphibious ready group search and rescue operations, the Navy said.
A Washington nonprofit group and the Congressional Budget Office are at odds over whether a new CBO report shows that a layered missile defense program would cost $238 billion or more. The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation placed portions of a CBO report on the estimated costs of selected missile defense systems on its website, wwww.shieldofdreams.org, before the report's Jan. 31 release. The center said the report shows that missile defense could cost $238 billion or more over the next 15 years.
GLOBECAST, the broadcast services division of France Telecom, has leased additional Ku-band capability on Loral Skynet's Telstar 5 satellite to expand delivery of its direct-to-home World Television service and other services. "GlobeCast has been one of the leading forces in the industry to develop a strong marketplace for foreign broadcast networks across North America, helping to position Telstar 5 as the key satellite for world television programming in America," said Terry Hart, president of Loral Skynet.
The absence of two major programs from the Missile Defense Agency's slate allows for increases in other programs, including the sea-, air-, and space-based boost-phase intercept programs, according to a senior defense official. The Bush Administration's fiscal year 2003 defense budget request includes $7.763 billion for missile defense programs, down slightly from the enacted FY '02 level of $7.775 billion.
DIVERSIFY: One of the principal reasons Boeing will not be as hard hit by the recent economic downturn as it was during the downturn of the early 1990s is diversification, says Philip Finnegan, aerospace companies analyst with the Teal Group. "The advantage for Boeing this time around is that it is more diversified," Finnegan says, pointing to the December 1996 acquisition of Rockwell International Corp.'s Aerospace and Defense business, the August 1997 acquisition of McDonnell Douglas Corp. and the October 2000 acquisition of Hughes Space and Communication Co.
NO REVIEWS: The Leasing Review Panel proposed by two senior Department of Defense officials was established in November, but has yet to review any lease proposals, according to a Department of Defense spokesperson. In a memo dated Nov. 1, 2001, acquisition czar E.C. "Pete" Aldridge, Jr. and Pentagon Comptroller Dov Zakheim proposed the new leasing panel to mirror the Defense Acquisition Board, which reviews major defense programs (DAILY, Jan. 30). "The Leasing Review Board was stood up with the 1 November joint letter," the spokesperson tells The DAILY.
NASA's Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) re-entered the Earth's atmosphere at about 11:15 p.m. EST on Jan. 30 over central Egypt, the aerospace agency said Jan. 31. The calculations for the re-entry were made by the United States Space Command Space Control Center.
START-UP: Raytheon Co. has launched a start-up, TelASIC Communications Inc., which will design high-performance, application-specific integrated circuits for use in wireless products. The move is part of the company's strategy to commercialize defense electronics, according to Raytheon. TelASIC will be spun out of Raytheon's Electronic Systems business. Raytheon will own 20 percent of TelASIC, which has also secured $22.5 million in first-round financing from venture capital partners.
Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), is urging Navy officials to seek a significant funding increase for shipbuilding in the fiscal 2003 budget.
United Defense, maker of missile launchers, artillery guns and precision munitions, reported fourth quarter 2001 net earnings of $6 million, compared with $3.7 million for the same period in 2000. However, earnings for the year fell from $18.8 million in 2000 to $8.8 million for 2001.
MISSILE TEST: MBDA successfully completed the first firing of its Aster 15 naval missile from an Italian naval defense system, the surface-to-air anti-missile/Italy (SAAM/IT), the company announced Jan. 31. The launch was conducted from an Italian Carabiniere ship off the coast of southwest France. The missile scored a direct hit on a target from a distance of seven kilometers (4.4 miles) and at an altitude of 1,000 meters (3,281 feet), according to MBDA.
The growth of Rockwell Collins Inc. in 2002 will not be tied to the performance of the commercial air transport market, according to company President and CEO Clay Jones, but will come through acquisitions and the military, business and regional jet markets.
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence announced a 20 million pound ($28 million) contract with AgustaWestland's Westland Helicopters division on Jan. 30. This gives the company a chance to show its Future Lynx project has the best potential to meet the U.K. Army Air Corps' Battlefield Light Utility Helicopter (BLUH) requirement. As part of the BLUH program assessment phase, the MOD also will commission appraisal work on other aircraft options while Westland continues Future Lynx development.
House members have formed a group to advocate for the Navy and Marine Corps on aviation, shipbuilding and other issues. The 55-member House Navy/Marine Corps Caucus, co-chaired by Reps. Ed Schrock (R-Va.) and Susan Davis (D-Calif.), held its first meeting Jan. 30, receiving a classified briefing from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Jones. The caucus joins dozens of similar House groups, including caucuses for the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and National Guard and Reserves.
RADAR DEAL: Eurocopter will make Telephonics Corp.'s Maritime Surveillance and Search Radar the standard on its aircraft, the Farmingdale, N.Y.-based manufacturer announced Jan. 31. The deal is part of a four-year agreement that could result in up to $35 million in revenue, according to the company. Work under the contract will be performed at Telephonics facilities in Farmingdale and Huntington, N.Y. Delivery of the equipment is scheduled for 2001 through 2004. Eurocopter is a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS).
A Jan. 25 missile test involving the ship launch of a Standard Missile-3 and kinetic warhead, both built by Raytheon Co., scored a "right dead-center" hit, which "speaks volumes for the design and engineering and ground test rigor and analysis that went into this system to ensure that we had a good opportunity for a first-time success," a company official said Jan. 30.
NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft entered its final orbit around the Red Planet Jan. 30 after firing its thrusters to fine-tune its nearly circular orbit so it can begin to make science observations. On Jan. 28, the Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft fired its thrusters for 15 seconds, increasing its speed by just over one meter per second (2.5 miles per hour). On Jan. 30, Odyssey fired its thrusters for 25 seconds and decreased its velocity by less than two meters per second (four miles per hour).
MAGAW APPROVED: The Senate has confirmed John Magaw to be undersecretary of transportation for security for a term of five years. President Bush signed a recess appointment for Magaw in January (DAILY, Jan. 9). Magaw is the former director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Secret Service.
President Bush will nominate Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden to be NASA's deputy administrator, the White House announced Jan. 31. Bolden, who has flown four missions in space as an astronaut, logging more than 680 hours in orbit, is the commanding general of the 3d Marine Aircraft Wing in San Diego. He must be confirmed by the Senate.
A document on crew selection criteria for the International Space Station (ISS) released by NASA Jan. 31 officially opens the door for non-professional astronauts to make visits in the future. The criteria are the work of the ISS Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP), a body comprising members from the ISS partner nations, which will review all flight candidates.
ITT Industries has won a $519 million Air Force Electronic Systems Center contract to updgrade ground-based sensor systems. The company was chosen over a team of Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.
With the release of the president's fiscal year 2003 budget request only days away, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told an audience at the National Defense University in Washington that the Department of Defense must shift its investment priorities toward new capabilities to defend against enemies attempting to exploit the United States' weaknesses.
