The Global Hawk and Predator unmanned aerial vehicles would get $307 million in supplemental funding under plans developed by the Bush Administration and the House Appropriations Committee, a congressional source said Nov. 15. The plans call for spending $115 million to sustain and enhance Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk and $192 million to buy and enhance General Atomics' Predator, according to a spokeswoman for Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), whose congressional district is home to much of the work done on the two UAVs.
The European Space Agency's four Cluster spacecraft have been buffeted by recent solar activity, according to ESA. One spacecraft was temporarily disabled by high-energy protons during a Nov. 4 solar storm, when the sun emitted a huge cloud of gas called a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). The particles caused a computer glitch on the spacecraft Samba, forcing ESA to switch off its instruments and then reset them using emergency backup procedures.
In a report on the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, an independent NASA panel concluded that there are "no known aeromechanics phenomena" that would prevent the safe development and deployment of the aircraft, and recommended flight testing be resumed without delay.
Second- and third-tier aerospace equipment and services suppliers increasingly realize they will have to adopt e-business solutions to manage key parts of their business, especially procurement and contracting, according to industry officials. However, many still wonder what sort of system they need, according to supplier executives who attended the Aerospace Expo conference in Los Angeles in October.
UNITED INDUSTRIAL CORP.'s AAI corp. subsidiary will provide Advanced Boresight Equipment (ABE) to the Eurofighter industry consortium under a $4.6 million contract, the company announced Nov. 15. The contract calls for the production of eight ABE systems to support Eurofighter EFA 2000 Typhoon aircraft flown by the air forces of Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. Delivery of the systems is scheduled to begin next year.
LOCKHEED MARTIN SPACE SYSTEMS has shipped a U.S. Air Force Milstar II communications satellite to the launch site at Cape Canaveral, Fla., where it will be prepared for a January 2002 launch aboard a Titan IV/Centaur launch vehicle. The satellite, Milstar Flight 5, will carry the 32-channel Medium Data Rate payload, which can process data at 1.5 megabits per second.
The nomination of Bush Administration budget official Sean O'Keefe to lead NASA drew a mix of praise and concern Nov. 15 from congressional advocates of the agency. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-Mo.), ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations VA-HUD-NASA subcommittee, called O'Keefe a "good man." O'Keefe, who is deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, will "bring some budget discipline to an agency that has great promise and terrible problems," Bond said.
UNITED AIRLINES will install Taser electronic stun guns in the cockpits of all its aircraft to defend against hijackings, the airline announced Nov. 15. The decision is subject to FAA approval. United said the Taser weapons will be kept in electronically coded lock boxes.
With the integrity of Russia's nuclear security system continuing to erode, Russian nuclear specialists are increasingly concerned about the possibility of terrorists obtaining nuclear material, or possibly even commandeering nuclear weapons, according to Bruce Blair, president of the Center for Defense Information.
In an ongoing effort to redefine its role post-Sept. 11, the Army is advocating that UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters equipped with the Army Airborne Command and Control System (A2C2S) be used for homeland security missions. The A2C2S system is an airborne command and control system that uses multiple on-board workstations to provide commanders with tactical, theater and global battlefield awareness. Developed by the Raytheon Co., the program is currently in the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase.
The Boeing Co. said Nov. 14 the Justice Department has dropped all criminal charges against its McDonnell Douglas subsidiary concerning the 1994 export of surplus machine tools and other equipment to China. Boeing said McDonnell Douglas has entered into a settlement with the Commerce Department resulting in the dismissal of the charges and that the settlement will end the export denial policy issued by the State Department pending resolution of the case.
India and France are collaborating on a new engine for the indigenously produced Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). The engine, named Shakti, will be jointly produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) and France's Turbomeca, according to HAL managing director Behari Lal. Lal said another new engine, Lakshya, has been successfully tested on an unmanned aircraft. "This was a big success. We hope to start ... full-scale production soon," Lal said.
While expressing support for President Bush's intention to reduce America's strategic nuclear arsenal to roughly 2,000 weapons, the cuts should go even deeper and should be codified in treaty form, according to a panel of speakers from the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin are currently meeting to discuss the future of the U.S.-Russia strategic relationship.
Aerospace and defense analysts with Standard&Poor's lowered the credit ratings for the Goodrich Corp. due to concerns about a recent financial transaction and the effects the slow economic recovery may be having on the company. Analysts lowered the company's corporate credit rating on Nov. 13 from A- to BBB+ and its senior unsecured debt rating from A- to BBB+, but removed the company from CreditWatch, where it had been placed Sept. 21. The ratings outlook for the company remains stable.
With testing of the newest software configuration for the C-130J already underway, program officials say that "substantial progress" has been made toward fixing many of the deficiencies that had led the testing community to conclude that the aircraft was "operationally unsuitable."
NASA watchers say Sean O'Keefe, the deputy Office of Management and Budget director who sources say will be tapped to head NASA, has a clear mission: fix the problems with the over-budget International Space Station. "He knows what he's in for, because he's been the point man for the Bush Administration in its review of the space station budget and cost problems," said John Logsdon, director of George Washington University's Space Policy Institute. "I view this as an appointment to go fix that part of NASA, and he's a good person to do that."
Reacting to criticism of the Space-based Infrared Radar-High (SBIRS-High) program, Carl Fischer, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's Space Systems Division, said the system could trade performance to address cost and scheduling problems. "I think it's important for all of us to recognize that there are great successes on the SBIRS-High program," said Fischer at a press briefing in Washington Nov. 13.
TOM RIDGE, assistant to the president and director of the new Office of Homeland Security, will speak at Aviation Week's Homeland Security&Defense Conference in Washington, DC, on Nov. 27. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, Northwest CEO Richard Andersen, and Paul Kurtz, President Bush's senior director for cyberspace security, also will speak. For more information and registration, check www.aviationnow.com/conferences.
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) has briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin on his proposal to increase U.S.-Russian cooperation in defense, space and other areas, the congressman's office announced Nov. 14. The meeting occurred late Nov. 13 after Putin gave a speech at the Russian Embassy in Washington. Putin is visiting the U.S. this week for talks with President Bush on missile defense and other issues.
Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. will launch its coast-to-coast digital satellite radio service Feb. 14 in the Houston, Phoenix and Denver areas, the company announced Nov. 14. John Scelfo, Sirius co-CEO and chief financial officer, said the company chose the markets - among the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. - based on commuter traffic data, retail spending patterns and potential marketing opportunities.
The Boeing Co. announced Nov. 14 the formation of a new Unmanned Systems business unit to coordinate the company's efforts to design and develop unmanned aerial and unmanned combat aerial vehicles. Leading the group will be Mike Heinz, former vice president and deputy program manager of Boeing's Joint Strike Fighter program, Boeing officials said.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a bill Nov. 14 that would authorize Israel to spend $200 million in American military aid over the next two years to set up a U.S. production line for the Arrow missile. Israel, which gets about $2 billion a year in U.S. military aid, would be able to spend $100 million in fiscal 2002 and another $100 million in fiscal 2003 to set up the production line, according to the proposed Security Assistance Act of 2001.
The House Appropriations Committee agreed Nov. 14 to provide the Defense Department with more than $500 million in fiscal 2002 supplemental funding to pay for precision-guided munitions needed to fight terrorism, including Boeing's Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bomb upgrade kit and Lockheed Martin's Joint-Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM).
THE BOEING CO. will work on NASA's Intelligent Vehicle Research Initiative under a $50 million contract awarded by Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., the company announced Nov. 14. The first task under the contract will be to establish a Research Flight Control System (REFLCS) to allow research into technologies like Intelligent Flight Controls, which can keep damaged aircraft controllable, according to Boeing.
