INTEL BILL: The House passed its version of the fiscal 2002 intelligence authorization bill by voice vote Oct. 5. The bill calls for replacing two aging signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft - the Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint and the Navy EP-3 Aries - with a single fleet of Boeing 767-sized aircraft, instead of two separate fleets as currently envisioned (DAILY, Oct. 1). The Senate version of the bill awaits consideration by the full chamber.
TRANSATLANTIC TIES: Rising U.S. defense budgets and declining worldwide commercial aircraft sales may push European aerospace companies to give renewed attention to joint ventures with U.S. companies as well as acquisitions of smaller U.S. firms. While expanding their U.S. footprint has long been a goal of European defense companies such as BAE Systems, EADS and Thales, the events of Sept. 11 have added a new urgency to this strategy, according to company officials and press reports.
European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin and Yuri Koptev, the director general of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency Rosaviakosmos, signed an agreement Oct. 3 aimed at strengthening European-Russian cooperation in space. The partnership calls for new joint space activities, including the possibility of launching Soyuz rockets from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
The first flight of the Skeeter sub-scale, subsonic aerial target is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 12 on the Tyndall Air Force Base range, Fla., subject to range availability. A positive flight readiness review on Oct. 2 cleared the way for the flight, said Lt. Col. Jeff Robertson, director of the Air Force Aerial Targets System Program Office at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
Senate Armed Services Committee member John McCain (R-Ariz.) has charged that the Senate version of the fiscal 2002 defense authorization bill contains about $1 billion in "pork" or unneeded add-ons, including $99 million for a Lockheed Martin C-130J transport aircraft at Little Rock Air Force Base.
GOODRICH CORP.'s Avionics Systems Division has submitted its new SkyWatch HP Traffic Collision Avoidance System to the FAA for Technical Standard Order approval, the company announced Oct. 4. If the system wins TSO approval, the initial Supplemental Type Certification for installation will be performed on the company's King Air C90, with deliveries beginning immediately, according to Goodrich.
NASA has selected Lockheed Martin Astronautics of Denver to build the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, scheduled for launch in August 2005, the aerospace agency announced Oct. 3. The orbiter is intended to return the highest-resolution images yet of Mars, according to NASA.
The Air Force will consider expanding the B-2 bomber fleet when it develops plans for implementing the recommendations of the Quadrennial Defense Review, an Air Force general said at a Senate hearing Oct. 4.
A recently released report by Deutsche Bank's investment arm says major defense companies should benefit significantly from the changed defense posture contained in the recently released Quadrennial Defense Review. Chris Mecray, senior aerospace and defense analyst with Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown Inc., said the shift from a "threat-based" approach to a "capabilities-based" approach would benefit programs involving advanced remote sensing, long-range precision strike, maneuverability and the operations of expeditionary forces.
Several weapons programs stand to benefit from the military's shift to a "capabilities-based" approach as expressed in the recently released Quadrennial Defense Review, a group of aerospace and defense industry officials said Oct. 4. Those programs include unmanned aerial vehicles that can relay real-time information to battlefield commanders and faster, stealthier surface systems that can be used to deploy troops in areas where no forward bases exist.
In a sign of continuing efforts to speed arms sales to Operation Enduring Freedom partners, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced Oct. 4 that the U.S. intends to sell 12 F-16 C/D Block 50 aircraft to replace Oman's aging British aircraft. DSCA, the Defense Department agency responsible for Foreign Military Sales (FMS), notified Congress of the sale, stating the proposed deal will "strengthen military ties between the U.S. and the Sultanate of Oman."
Signal Technology Corp. of Danvers, Mass., announced its Keltec Division has received follow-on production contracts to build five 4 kilowatt transmitter systems for unmanned aerial vehicles being developed for defense intelligence work. The orders, totaling $250,000 came from multiple customers that the company didn't name. Signal's transmitter is part of the synthetic aperture radar that gathers intelligence imagery and can be used on vehicles like Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk, according to Signal.
The launch of a Lockheed Martin-built Titan 4B carrying a top-secret National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload has been delayed indefinitely as the result of a voltage problem. In a statement, the Air Force said its launch team is evaluating stray voltage detected by a ground computer. Technicians first suspected a faulty relay inside the Titan as the culprit, although that has now been ruled out.
CAE of Toronto will sell a Boeing 777-200 ER Maintenance Training Simulator to Japan Airlines (JAL), the company announced Oct. 4. The contract is worth about $6.4 million at list price. The MTS is designed to train airline maintenance engineers and technicians to perform tests on aircraft systems and avionics. It will be installed in JAL's training facilities in Narita at the end of 2002 and will be built to the Level 5 standard of the FAA and the standards of the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau.
AeroAstro, Inc. has been awarded a Department of Defense contract to develop the DOD Space Test Program Satellite Mission 1 (STPSat-1) for the Air Force Space Command, Space and Missile Systems Center. The satellite will be launched in FY 2005/2006 on a Delta IV Medium Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle using the EELV Secondary Payload Adapter ring. The mission will last one year.
ERICSSON MICROWAVE SYSTEMS delivered two Erieye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) systems to the Greek air force in late September, the first European-built AEW&C systems to enter NATO service. The delivery is part of the $600 million Erieye order Ericsson received at the end of 1999 from the Greek air force (DAILY, July 8, 1999). Sweden, Brazil and Mexico have also bought the Erieye system.
The military services need help in raising the level of effectiveness of operational test and evaluation (OT&E) to ensure new weapons systems are ready when they are brought into the inventory, a defense official said. Marion L. Williams, chief scientist of the Air Force's Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., said OT&E is system-centric when it should have a broader system-of-sytems approach to support integrated, joint service operations.
BRIGHT STAR: Egyptian military forces and U.S. Central Command Army, Air Force and special operations components will participate in Bright Star 01/02, a training exercise in Egypt set for Oct. 8-Nov. 1. Forces from eight other nations will also participate.
U.S. Army Space&Missile Defense Command (SMDC) in Huntsville, Ala., has selected Orbital Sciences Corp. and TRW for Phase II of an effort to create more efficient, environmentally friendly target boosters for missile defense tests. In addition to being cheaper and easier to use, the new liquid-propelled boosters will be more representative of possible threats, according to Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) spokesman Lt. Col. Rick Lehner.
Lockheed Martin's upgraded Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) M270A1 launcher has entered the second phase of its operational testing at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., the company announced Oct. 2. Phase I of the testing, which was completed in Fort Sill, Okla., evaluated system capabilities and unit and personnel interfaces with the system, and included live firings of MLRS Reduced-Range Practice Rockets (RRPRs).
MERGER OFF: GE and Honeywell have officially terminated their merger agreement. The European Commission prohibited it in July. GE will reimburse Honeywell for merger-related expenses, and has agreed to buy an oil and gas sensor business and an advanced composite maker from Honeywell.
Calling public health a "national security issue," Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson sought to reassure Senate lawmakers on Oct. 3 that the federal government could respond to any biological or chemical attack within hours. However, better coordination is needed between federal agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and local health departments, he told members of a Senate Appropriations Committee panel on labor and health.
Czech aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody S.A. will demonstrate its L159 advanced light combat aircraft (ALCA) at the international aerospace exhibition Dubai 2001, which will be held Nov. 4-8. The L-159 is the company's latest product for the global trainer/light attack aircraft market, and the show will mark its debut in the Middle East.
GE Aircraft Engines, saying that aircraft manufacturers anticipate deliveries of new aircraft to decline sharply over the next two years, said yesterday it will lay off up to 4,000 workers, or 13 percent of its 30,000 employees by early next year. GEAE said that prior to Sept. 11 it had expected a production slowdown for large commercial jet engines to begin by mid-2002 but that the recent events "accelerate, and exacerbate, the timetable of the aviation industry slowdown," Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has designated Secretary of the Army Thomas E. White to be the Department of Defense's executive agent for homeland security, the Pentagon announced Oct. 2. "In the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, homeland security has emerged as a paramount national priority," White said in a statement. "As the Department of Defense executive agent for homeland security, I look forward to working closely with Gov. Tom Ridge as he leads this vital effort."
