TOKYO - Japan's National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) has sent two rocket-powered subsonic experimental vehicles to Woomera, Australia for flight tests. The 38-foot, 11 percent scale models of a possible future 300-passenger supersonic transport were built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and delivered to NAL in November.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) plan to host a conference in March aimed at bringing innovative new technological ideas to the table to help fight America's 21st century conflicts.
The war against terrorism has forced the U.S. Air Force to delay indefinitely a demonstration that would test the ability of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle to track other aircraft, according to the Defense Department.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, which uses space-based assets to aid in disaster relief. ISRO Chairman K. Kasturirangan signed the charter, which could result in India providing remote sensing data from its satellites, earlier this month at the agency's headquarters. The charter has been active since Nov. 1, 2000 and members include the European Space Agency (ESA), the French Space Agency (CNES) and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Japan's National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) has sent two rocket-powered subsonic experimental vehicles to Woomera, Australia for flight tests. The 38-foot, 11 percent scale models of a possible future 300-passenger supersonic transport were built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and delivered to NAL in November.
The Boeing Co. has formed a technical team to determine which suppliers could assist the company in developing the necessary technology for its planned Sonic Cruiser. Unveiled late last March, the Sonic Cruiser would feature a "gloved" delta wing, rear-mounted engines and two vertical fins at the back of the airplane instead of the standard horizontal and vertical tail sections found on most commercial aircraft (DAILY, March 30, 2001).
About $58 billion has been provided for homeland security and the war on terrorism since Sept. 11, but the money's allocation is sometimes difficult to track, says a report issued by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington, D.C. think tank. The Jan. 24 says the $58 billion consists of about $18 billion provided in the fiscal year 2002 appropriations bill and another $40 billion from emergency supplemental appropriations.
The nuclear-capable Agni ballistic missile that India tested Jan. 25 is a new weapon in the country's inventory, according to sources. The missile, which has a payload capacity of 800-1,000 kilograms (1,764-2,205 pounds), has a range of 700 kilometers (435 miles). It will bridge the gap between the Prithvi, which has a range of 350 kilometers (217 miles) and the Agni-2, which has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles). Agni-2 missiles are now in production.
Despite the substantial charges Lockheed Martin Corp. and the Boeing Co. took in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001, both companies did well overall and are poised for a good year, according to an industry analyst.
A San Diego company and the Army's Space and Missile Defense Battle Lab have entered into an agreement calling for development of products for space-based two-way, broadband data networking communications. Tachyon Inc., which provides such services, is working with the Space Directorate of the battle lab, based in Colorado Springs, Colo. The directorate and company, which is working with the military for the first time, will independently fund their own efforts.
Rolls-Royce is offering its Trent 500 engine for Japan's C-X next-generation tactical transport program. The C-X is being developed for the Air Self-Defense Force by the Technical Research and Development Institute of Japan's Defense Agency and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The twin-engined C-X is intended to replace Kawasaki C-1s currently in service. The institute also is developing an indigenously designed medium-thrust turbofan engine for the MPX, a four-engined replacement for the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Lockheed/Kawasaki P-3Cs.
January 24, 2002 Textron Systems Corp., Wilmington, Mass., is being awarded a $5,501,378 fixed-price-incentive-firm contract to provide for sensor fuzed weapons, full rate production seven and CBU-105B/B long lead materials. At this time, the total amount of funds has been obligated. This work will be complete March 2004. The Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (F08635-02-C-0007).
Another Predator unmanned aerial vehicle has been lost while flying a routine mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, according to the Department of Defense. An RQ-1 Predator crashed Jan. 25 while returning to its base in the Central Command theater of operations, making it the third lost during Operation Enduring Freedom. The first was lost in November and a second was lost Jan. 21.
TOKYO - Rolls-Royce is offering its Trent 500 engine for Japan's C-X next-generation tactical transport program. The C-X is being developed for the Air Self-Defense Force by the Technical Research and Development Institute of Japan's Defense Agency and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The twin-engined C-X is intended to replace Kawasaki C-1s currently in service. The institute also is developing an indigenously designed medium-thrust turbofan engine for the MPX, a four-engined replacement for the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Lockheed/Kawasaki P-3Cs.
In the second round of Space Launch Initiative (SLI) awards, NASA is looking for research proposals on propulsion, flight demonstrations, and NASA-unique projects such as life support, crew safety, integrated ground testing, and simulations, according to the aerospace agency. After careful review of the first round of proposals, this second round is intended to fill "gaps in proposals, or ... where needs were assessed, and we really needed more input in those areas," NASA Spokeswoman June Malone told The DAILY.
LRIP: Lockheed Martin Corp.'s short-range, shoulder-fired Predator anti-armor missile has entered low-rate initial production, the company announced Jan. 28. The U.S. Marine Corps signed a $39 million contract for the Predator.
NEW DELHI - The nuclear-capable Agni ballistic missile that India tested Jan. 25 is a new weapon in the country's inventory, according to sources. The missile, which has a payload capacity of 800-1,000 kilograms (1,764-2,205 pounds), has a range of 700 kilometers (435 miles). It will bridge the gap between the Prithvi, which has a range of 350 kilometers (217 miles) and the Agni-2, which has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles). Agni-2 missiles are now in production.
Although a direct hit was not the primary objective of the Jan. 25 test of the Sea-based Midcourse Missile Defense System, the "fly-by" missile test resulted in a hit-to-kill intercept, according to the Department of Defense. At 9 p.m. EST on Jan. 25, an Aries target missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. About eight minutes later, a developmental version of Raytheon's Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), which uses a kinetic warhead, was launched from the Aegis Cruiser USS Lake Erie.
A San Diego company and the Army's Space and Missile Defense Battle Lab have entered into an agreement calling for development of products for space-based two-way, broadband data networking communications. Tachyon Inc., which provides such services, is working with the Space Directorate of the battle lab, based in Colorado Springs, Colo. The directorate and company, which is working with the military for the first time, will independently fund their own efforts.
