The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $7,394,766 firm-fixed-price contract modification to provide for four weapon system trainers applicable to the T-38 aircraft. At this time, the total amount of funds has been obligated. This work will be completed by February 2004. The contractor will perform this effort at its facility at Williams Gateway Airport, Meza, Ariz. The Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-95-C-0057, P00112).
O'KEEFE OK'D: The Senate Commerce Committee Dec. 19 voted 23-0 to approve White House budget official Sean O'Keefe as NASA administrator. But O'Keefe's appointment faced an uncertain fate in the Senate, where Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) was reportedly blocking dozens of nominations to force the Senate to act on a small business bill.
McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $15,007,208 cooperative agreement to provide for control of multi-mission unmanned air vehicles (UAV) systems program. This program will develop and demonstrate the key integrated vehicle control technologies required to enable combat UAVs to achieve reliability and mission effectiveness approaching that of manned systems, while maintaining a low total cost of ownership relative to manned systems.
F-16 BUY: Officials with Lockheed Martin Corp. announced Dec. 20 that Israel has signed a contract with the company to buy 52 F-16I aircraft. The estimated contract value for Lockheed Martin is $1.3 billion out of a total program value of about $2 billion. The action follows an agreement signed by the parties on Sept. 4 covering the cost of the aircraft, logistics support and training and U.S. government management and support as part of the Foreign Military Sales program (DAILY, Sept. 6).
Hungary's department of defense and the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration signed the final agreement on Dec. 20 in Budapest for Hungary's 10-year lease of 14 Swedish air force JAS 39 Gripens. Delivery of 12 single-seat and two twin-seat Gripens is due in batches between late 2004 and June 2005, after they are adapted to NATO-interoperable standards. Hungary picked the Gripen to modernize its air force in September (DAILY, Sept. 11) and the two countries' defense ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the deal last month (DAILY, Nov. 27).
The Navy Area Theater Ballistic Missile Defense System, the first major program cancellation of the Bush Administration, may be resurrected as a new program after the Navy and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization conduct studies on missile alternatives for a sea-based area defense program, according to sources.
A joint venture of Loral Space&Communications and Hisdesat announced that retired Spanish air force Gen. Miguel Valverde Gomez has been named president for European and Latin American operations.
House Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) insisted Dec. 19 that the fiscal 2002 defense appropriations conference report would provide enough funding to sustain the Space Based Laser despite indications earlier in the day that program would be derailed.
The German government signed a contract Dec. 17 with OHB Systems to build five Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)-Lupe military reconnaissance satellites, which are expected to provide Germany with its first space-based military reconnaissance capability. Germany, which currently has no military satellite assets of its own, is hoping that the SAR-Lupe will help overcome its complete dependence on foreign reconnaissance data, which is mostly from the United States.
Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc. (HTSI) has been named winner of a competition for the Air Force's Satellite Control Network Contract (SCNC). The subsidiary of Honeywell Inc., which is in line to receive $1.22 billion for the work over the next 15 years, received a $522 million contract Dec. 18 from the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center The company was chosen over competitor Lockheed Martin. United Space Alliance, which was also vying for the work, dropped out of the competition in June.
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) will develop the propulsion system and warhead for the Spike shoulder-fired missile under a $4 million contract from the Naval Air Systems Command, China Lake, Calif., the company announced Dec. 19. Under the three-year program, ATK Thiokol Propulsion Co. of Promontory, Utah, will develop and test the Spike propulsion system and deliver systems to the Navy for flight testing.
The Kuwaiti government has made a request to buy AH-64D Apache helicopters and F/A-18 fighter aircraft, according to press reports from the Middle East. The Middle East Newsline reported Dec. 19 that Kuwaiti Minister of Defense Jaber Mubarak al Sabah, has forwarded a request to the Department of Defense to purchase the aircraft. The exact numbers of aircraft had not been determined.
As NASA continues to assess options for converting modules on the International Space Station (ISS) into extra habitation or stowage space, the key issue remains money, according to former NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight Joe Rothenberg.
DOOR MATERIAL: Telair International Inc., which builds commercial aircraft baggage and cargo handling systems, has started production of a ballistics-tested, flammability qualified material for aircraft cockpit door and other cabin security applications. The material passed the National Institute of Justice level IIIA threat test and FAA flammability requirements in October, the company announced Dec. 18. The material is a multilayer composite of Kevlar, Nomex and Phenolic materials.
An article in The DAILY of Dec. 13 incorrectly stated the number of recent B-1B crashes in addition to the Dec. 12 accident. There were two, one in 1998 and one in 1997.
Ivory Tucker has been appointed vice president of its Norden Systems business unit within its Electronic Systems sector. William Mitchell has been appointed vice president, assistant general counsel and sector counsel for Newport News operations. TRW, Cleveland, Ohio Alan Baratz, Phd., chief executive officer of Zaplet, Inc., has been appointed to the company's board of directors. Wesley G. Bush has been appointed executive vice president, TRW, Inc.
Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) says he is "puzzled" by the recent cancellation of the Navy Area theater ballistic missile defense program and plans to press military officials for an explanation.
Recently announced three new members of the board of directors: Leon Krantz, president and CEO of Weber Metals, Inc., Scott Roeper, managing director of the Facilitator Capital Fund and Marget Hampton, a manager at Grace Brothers Ltd.
Avionics hardware being developed for autonomous formation flight (AFF) could play a critical role in making future unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems safer to test and fly, according to Boeing's AFF Program Manager Greg Larson. The AFF program - a joint effort of Boeing, NASA, and UCLA - is investigating the potential benefits of flying aircraft in birdlike formations to reduce drag, thus saving fuel and reducing emissions (DAILY, Nov. 26).
Air Force officials have certified the Boeing Co.'s RS-68 engine to fly on the company's heavy-lift Delta IV launch vehicle, Boeing announced Dec. 19. The Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program approved the engine's certification earlier this month, company spokesman Dan Beck told The DAILY.
Despite recent indications to the contrary, the desire of European nations to develop a military transport aircraft like the A400M for its expeditionary force will likely remain only a vision, according to two U.S. aerospace analysts. "The A400M is Europe's vision of a military transport for tomorrow, and it probably always will be," said Joel Johnson, vice-president of international affairs for the Aerospace Industry Association.
L-3 COMMUNICATIONS has acquired the defense business of Bulova Technologies for about $44 million in cash. Headquartered in Lancaster, Pa., Bulova Technologies' defense business manufactures military fuzes and safe and arm devices for domestic and international customers. L-3 Chairman and CEO Frank Lanza said the company's precision manufacturing capabilities will fit well with L-3's division that handles microelectromechanical technology and and Global Positioning System products.
Pratt&Whitney and Rolls-Royce signed the contract for Rolls-Royce's short takeoff/vertical landing development work on the F135 propulsion system for Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter. The contract is worth about $1 billion to Rolls-Royce over 10 years, the company announced.
