Although aerospace and defense companies are studying whether any of their products have homeland defense applications, many are still uncertain about where those applications will fit, according to industry officials. For many companies, it remains unclear who the customer for homeland defense products will be, what the requirements will be and what resources will be available for purchasing such products.
INDIA WANTS ENGINES: Although U.S.-imposed sanctions prevented cooperation with India on the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) for several years, both sides are now hopeful U.S. assistance with the program may be resumed. The LCA, India's premier single-engine tactical fighter, was supposed to be a hallmark of U.S.-Indian cooperation. After India's 1998 nuclear tests, U.S. sanctions ended cooperation and deprived the Indian program of critical software support, aircraft components, and General Electric 404 engines that were to be installed on the aircraft.
If the Air Force decides to go through with its plan to lease Boeing 767 aircraft to replace its aging fleet of KC-135E tankers, the Defense Department will have to ask Congress to modify some of the provisions in the fiscal 2002 defense appropriations act, according to Air Force Secretary James Roche.
HURRY UP, UAVs: Although few doubt the ultimate potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), "UAVs have been the next big market for a very long time," says Richard Aboulafia, analyst for The Teal Group. "When I started reading about this field as a hobbyist in the 1970s, UAVs were the next huge thing. And it was inconceivable to me [back then] that we would be where we are today.
The mayor of Hawaii county, Harry Kim, is impressed by the solar-powered Helios aircraft, which set an altitude record of 96,863 feet in a flight last August from Kauai. Kim, who has a background in the field of disaster management, thinks the unmanned aerial vehicle would be ideal for such work. He tells NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe in a Jan. 7 letter that a Helios operations center should be set up on the Big Island.
A NATIONAL BORDER AGENCY?: Officials from the Department of Defense and the Office of Homeland Security have been discussing a number of options for reorganizing agencies that protect U.S. borders. One of those options, says a DOD source familiar with the discussions, is a National Border Agency that would combine functions from the INS, the Border Patrol, the Coast Guard and Customs. "It wouldn't be an entire merger of these organizations, but just functions pertaining to the border," the source says.
The U.S. Air Force is considering "numerous options," including an extended-range version of the Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), for a potential successor to the long-range, standoff, air-to-surface Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM), according to Air Force Secretary James Roche.
The U.S. Air Force has begun an Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) to help guide development of the Space Based Radar (SBR), according to Air Force Space Command. The study "will examine different SBR concepts and provide the necessary data to support a future SBR acquisition decision," Air Force Space Command said in a statement. Work on the AOA began in Oct. 2001. Completion of the study is expected in September 2003.
HELIOS AND HAWAII: The mayor of Hawaii county, Harry Kim, is impressed by the solar-powered Helios aircraft, which set an altitude record of 96,863 feet in a flight last August from Kauai. Kim, who has a background in the field of disaster management, thinks the unmanned aerial vehicle would be ideal for such work. He tells NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe in a Jan. 7 letter that a Helios operations center should be set up on the Big Island.
Although aerospace and defense companies are studying whether any of their products have homeland defense applications, many are still uncertain about where those applications will fit, according to industry officials. For many companies, it remains unclear who the customer for homeland defense products will be, what the requirements will be and what resources will be available for purchasing such products.
U.S. aerospace industry sources say Chinese military officials are alleging that they found at least three electronic bugs on China's "Air Force One" -- a new Boeing 767-300ER airliner that was outfitted by U.S. firms and delivered to the president of China last summer. An aerospace official said two monitoring devices allegedly were found in the aircraft's presidential suite and a third in a Rockwell Collins Sat 906 satellite communications device.
A move by the U.S. Navy away from the tactical Firescout unmanned aerial vehicle and toward the more strategic Global Hawk may be good news for Northrop Grumman, which makes both UAVs, because there's more money in Global Hawk. But, observers say, it also takes a U.S. player out of the tactical, shipborne, vertical takeoff and landing UAV market and makes that market more open to foreign competitors. Most of the potential Firescout market is overseas, and foreign makers will now have what one source sees as "a gigantic opportunity."
Although U.S.-imposed sanctions prevented cooperation with India on the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) for several years, both sides are now hopeful U.S. assistance with the program may be resumed. The LCA, India's premier single-engine tactical fighter, was supposed to be a hallmark of U.S.-Indian cooperation. After India's 1998 nuclear tests, U.S. sanctions ended cooperation and deprived the Indian program of critical software support, aircraft components, and General Electric 404 engines that were to be installed on the aircraft.
MONTANA MICROBIOLOGICAL SERVICES of Bozeman, Mont., will begin early stage development on an automated water quality monitoring system that can detect microscopic contaminants in closed water systems, such as those on spacecraft. The contract was awarded by NASA's Johnson Space Center under the Small Business Innovative Research program. The company's monitoring system automatically analyzes the microbial status of water and could alert a spacecraft crew of problems before they reach a critical stage.
THE BOEING CO. will team with Creative Artists Agency, a talent and literary agency in California, to launch a direct-to-cinema movie delivery system using satellites. The Boeing Digital Cinema technology will involve some of the same techniques Boeing has used for years to deliver encrypted national security information to the Air Force, according to the company.
TENDER OFFER: Lt. Gen. Tome Walters, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, is leading a delegation to Austria next week to present the U.S. government's proposal of the F-16 to replace Austria's aging JAS-35 Drakken fighters. Austria released its fighter request in October and a decision will be made early this year.
HONG KONG SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY GROUP (HKSTG) signed a contract for two commercial satellites from Israel Aircraft Industries at a ceremony in Beijing's Great Hall on Jan. 17. HKSTG will provide communications services, including direct-to-home television service, to the Asian market. It will also use the satellites to cover the 2008 Olympic games, which will be held in Beijing. The satellites include 20 Ku-band transponders and have a 12-year service life and will be supplied by IAI's MBT Division.
AZ TECHNOLOGY will develop a next-generation mission support collaboration system for the International Space Station using technology supplied by First Virtual Communications. The work will be done under NASA's Small Business Innovative Research program. The company's work could enhance communications among ISS experiment operations personnel, according to Virtual Communications.
INTELSAT GLOBAL SALES&MARKETING LTD. has upgraded its digital multimedia service in French Polynesia. The company's satellite service now provides customers in French Polynesia with 23 direct-to-home channels and four radio channels, compared with 12 video channels and three radio channels that were previously available.
PROJECTILE MILESTONE: A team lead by Alliant Techsystems (ATK) achieved a "significant milestone" in the development of long-range, precision-guided projectiles for support of maneuver capability, according to the company. In recent tests, two Autonomous Naval Support Rounds were fired over the Atlantic Ocean from the Wallops Island flight facility in Virginia. One, fired with standard propellant from the current 54-caliber naval gun, flew 51 nautical miles. The second, fired with high-performance propellant from the Navy's new 62-caliber gun, flew 38 nautical miles.
THE BOEING CO. will team with Creative Artists Agency, a talent and literary agency in California, to launch a direct-to-cinema movie delivery system using satellites. The Boeing Digital Cinema technology will involve some of the same techniques Boeing has used for years to deliver encrypted national security information to the Air Force, according to the company.
SAN DIEGO - Former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman said he believes decisive action must be taken against long-time terrorism sponsor Iraq - and against U.S. ally Saudi Arabia - as the next steps in the United States' war on terrorism. "The opportunity provided by our success in Afghanistan must not be dissipated," Lehman said at Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association & U.S. Naval Institute West 2002 conference here.
MOSCOW - Brazilian President Fernando Enrique Cardoso signed several agreements outlining plans for joint aerospace cooperation with Russia and Ukraine during his visit to those countries this week.
Brazilian President Fernando Enrique Cardoso signed several agreements outlining plans for joint aerospace cooperation with Russia and Ukraine during his visit to those countries this week.
The Republic of Ireland plans to buy three Sikorsky S-92 helicopters for Irish air corps search and rescue missions, Sikorsky announced Jan. 17. The contract includes an option for two more aircraft for general-purpose military transport. Pending final negotiations, the contract is valued at about $62 million.
