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 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.
Senior officials with the Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. still have not reached an agreement on whether Boeing will participate in the development of the Joint Strike Fighter, Tom Burbage, executive vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter program, said Jan. 17. Speaking at a National Aviation Club luncheon, Burbage said no additional discussions have taken place since representatives of both companies met Nov. 9 (DAILY, Nov. 12).
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.
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.
NASA and its industry partners hope that the third-generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV), scheduled to fly in 2025, could actually end up being two spacecraft in one. Boeing and Lockheed Martin's third-generation RLV designs are two-stage vehicles that rely on a turbine-based combination cycle (TBCC) engine for their first stage.
Northrop Grumman's advanced electronic warfare package for the EA-6B Prowler aircraft is more of a new system than an upgrade and will provide enhanced jamming capabilities and better weapon systems integration, a company official said. The package, now beginning initial testing, is called the Improved Capabilities (ICAP) III.
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.
China has failed to convince the Bush Administration that the U.S. should ease restrictions on satellite exports to the Asian country, according to a State Department official. Beijing needs to take greater steps to prevent missile proliferation, including instituting comprehensive controls on missile-related exports, before the U.S. will consider waiving sanctions on satellite shipments to China, Vann H. Van Diepen, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for nonproliferation controls, said Jan. 17.
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.
Although the international customer base for defense electronics and weapon systems is growing, most countries outside the U.S. still don't have the "appetite" to take the lead on development programs, according to Robert Iorizzo, president of Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector. "Traditionally, you'll find that very few countries have the appetite or the budget to do major developments, and so they prefer to buy what's already developed, or some version of it," Iorizzo said at a press briefing in Washington Jan. 17.
The U.S. Army is on track to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) in April 2003 even though Congress denied the Bush Administration's fiscal 2002 $8.5 million procurement request for the program, according to an Army official. The cut could affect GMLRS production sometime after LRIP begins, but the impact would likely be slight, the official said Jan. 17. The funding could have been used for infrastructure-related work.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 U.S. Army is on track to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) in April 2003 even though Congress denied the Bush Administration's fiscal 2002 $8.5 million procurement request for the program, according to an Army official. The cut could affect GMLRS production sometime after LRIP begins, but the impact would likely be slight, the official said Jan. 17. The funding could have been used for infrastructure-related work.
Northrop Grumman's advanced electronic warfare package for the EA-6B Prowler aircraft is more of a new system than an upgrade and will provide enhanced jamming capabilities and better weapon systems integration, a company official said. The package, now beginning initial testing, is called the Improved Capabilities (ICAP) III.
INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH SERVICES will launch an Intelsat X satellite on a Proton rocket in 2003. The terms of the deal, announced Jan. 15, were not disclosed. "With the Intelsat X series, we will have launched four generations of Intelsat satellites while demonstrating the capabilities and reliability of our two families of rockets," ILS President Mark Albrecht said. The Intelsat X series of satellites are Eurostar 3000 spacecraft that are designed and built by Astrium.
SWALES AEROSPACE, which builds satellites and associated flight hardware, has leased office space in Houston to support its engineering services work with NASA's Johnson Space Center and to provide for expansion of that work. "With our new Houston presence, we plan on becoming an integral part of Houston's space business community," Swales Aerospace CEO Tom Wilson said.
INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH SERVICES will launch an Intelsat X satellite on a Proton rocket in 2003. The terms of the deal, announced Jan. 15, were not disclosed. "With the Intelsat X series, we will have launched four generations of Intelsat satellites while demonstrating the capabilities and reliability of our two families of rockets," ILS President Mark Albrecht said. The Intelsat X series of satellites are Eurostar 3000 spacecraft that are designed and built by Astrium.
LORAL SKYNET, a subsidiary of Loral Space&Communications, has signed a long-term renewal agreement with American Broadcasting Co. Inc. to deliver its digital satellite news gathering (SNG) on Skynet's Telstar 4 satellite. Skynet's digital SNG uses an open network standard that enables broadcasters, affiliates and independent news providers to transmit up to 12 times more simultaneous feeds on a single transponder than is possible using analog transmissions, according to the company.
LORAL SKYNET, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications, has signed a long-term renewal agreement with American Broadcasting Co. Inc. to deliver its digital satellite news gathering (SNG) on Skynet's Telstar 4 satellite. Skynet's digital SNG uses an open network standard that enables broadcasters, affiliates and independent news providers to transmit up to 12 times more simultaneous feeds on a single transponder than is possible using analog transmissions, according to the company.
