The U.S. Navy may be in for a boost in force structure as well as force protection, one analyst said Sept. 24. Scott Truver, group vice president for national security studies at Anteon Corp., of Arlington, Va., said the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 seem likely to lead to increased protection for ships in ports, and possibly even additional aircraft carrier battlegroups.
BAE SYSTEMS will open a new civil aircraft modification, maintenance and repair facility at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, Calif., the company announced Sept. 24. The facility will provide commercial aviation maintenance, refurbishment, modification and conversion services, the company said.
Although the Senate last week reversed a $1.3 billion cut in the Bush Administration's fiscal 2002 request for missile defense, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) said Sept. 24 that he is considering offering an amendment to the defense authorization bill to limit the use of the money to homeland defense and anti-terrorism activities.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.'s Hellas obstacle warning system will be installed on German federal border guard EC-135 and EC-155 aircraft, EADS subsidiary Dornier GmbH announced. The border guard squadron will receive the first 25 systems and install them in the helicopters, work expected to be completed by next spring, according to Dornier. The eye-safe Hellas laser warning system has been tested on various helicopter models and in a variety of flight and visibility conditions, according to the company.
Patria Industries of Finland will supply wing spoilers to Airbus' A380 super jumbo under a contract worth 425 million euros ($387 million) over the next 25 years. Patria will be responsible for the design, testing and manufacture of the spoilers, a streamlined control surface on the upper part of the wing. Each A380 will have 16 spoilers, which are raised during the landing phase to reduce the wing's lifting force, and are also used during flight for lateral control of the aircraft.
After nearly a decade of military and economic sanctions imposed against Pakistan and India, the Bush administration changed course Sept. 22, proposing to waive a number of key restrictions. In a memorandum to the secretary of state, President Bush waived sanctions imposed under sections 101 and 102 of the Arms Export Control Act, which had barred the export of military items to Pakistan and India. Bush also waived sanctions on military cooperation and assistance imposed under the Foreign Military Assistant Act and the Export Import Bank Act.
In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks, Undersecretary of Defense (Comptroller) Dov Zakheim said he expects the Administration's 2002 defense budget request will have to go up even more as a result of national security programs being created or accelerated by fiscal 2001 emergency spending.
Northrop Grumman Corp. and General Dynamics Corp. have again extended their offers to acquire all outstanding shares of Newport News Shipbuilding common stock. On Sept. 20, Northrop Grumman announced it is extending its cash and stock exchange offer from Sept. 20 to midnight Sept. 27. As of 5 p.m. Sept. 20, nearly 2.5 million shares of Newport News common stock had been tendered to Northrop Grumman.
Aerospace and defense analysts with Standard&Poor's have concluded that the downturn in the U.S. airline industry in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will likely affect European aerospace companies as well. S&P analysts examined the issue in two reports, released Sept. 21 and 24, and changed the ratings outlook for several European aerospace companies.
Amphitech International Inc. and Canadian Helicopters Ltd. announced the first sale of Amphitech's obstacle avoidance radar system for helicopters. The Obstacle Avoidance Radar (OASYS) system will be installed on a Bell 212 helicopter in service supporting a CHL customer in Labrador, according to the Quebec-based companies.
Larry Bossidy, chairman and CEO of Honeywell International Inc., announced Sept. 24 that the company will be forced to lay off 16,000 employees by the end of the year and close 51 facilities. The company will take a charge of up to $1 billion against third quarter earnings as a result of the weakening economy, Bossidy announced.
AAI Corp. will provide Advanced Boresight Equipment(ABE) for the Republic of Singapore's AH-64D Apache helicopters, company owner United Industrial Corp. announced Sept. 24. The $920,000 U.S. Army contract, developed through the Defense Department's Foreign Military Sales program, includes an ABE Model 300 common system, a set of ABE Apache adapters, and operation and maintenance training.
ARMY MEETING: The Association of the United States Army is proceeding with its plans to hold its 47th annual meeting in Washington Oct. 15-17, the Army announced Sept. 24. AUSA said the decision is "fully supported by the Army uniform and civilian leadership."
September 21, 2001 Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., is being awarded a $7,707,532 firm-fixed price contract modification to provide for two readiness spares packages and one lot of aircrew training data updates in support of National Guard Bureau C-130J aircraft. At this time, the total amount of funds has been obligated. This work will be completed by December 2003.
NASA's Deep Space 1 probe survived its risky weekend encounter with the comet Borrelly and is sending back pictures, measurements and other data from its flyby. The spacecraft, launched in 1999, is well beyond its planned lifetime, but NASA decided to give it one last comet flyby mission (DAILY, Sept. 19).
GOV. RIDGE'S TASK: A restructuring of the relationship between the FAA and NORAD is just one of the many jobs facing Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge in his role as head of the new Office of Homeland Security. Ridge, named to the post Thursday by President Bush in the wake of the airborne terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, will be in charge of the vital task of making sure that the two agencies work more closely together to tighten control of U.S. airspace. As important as it is, this effort may be in danger just because so many others will be competing for attention.
PEOPLE POWER: In addition to procurement plus-ups, military personnel increases are a critical issue as the nation prepares for its war against terrorism, according to Bob Livingston, former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Since 1985, active duty force structure has been reduced by 700,000, he says, including the loss of 38 percent of Army personnel, 40 percent of Air Force personnel, and 35 percent of Navy personnel.
In the campaign against terrorism, U.S. air power should be limited to strategic missions against specific terrorist targets and not used in prolonged campaigns to coerce countries into handing over suspected terrorists, according to a defense scholar at the Brookings Institution. Speaking at a Sept. 21 forum at Brookings, senior fellow Michael O'Hanlon said air operations against countries suspected of harboring terrorists, including Afghanistan, are not likely to be successful.
CASE FOR UAVs: The Aug. 27 loss of a U.S. Air Force RQ-1 Predator (DAILY, Aug. 31) is an exemplary case of how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can offer tactical advantages while minimizing political risk, according to Daryl Davidson, executive director of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). "That is an absolute case in point of why to use UAVs in these situations," says Davidson. "How long has [Saddam] Hussein wanted to shoot down an aircraft?
PARALLELS: The terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are prompting history to repeat itself, says one analyst. "I look at what's going on here as almost a direct parallel" with the beginning of the Reagan presidency, says Paul Nisbet of JSA Research, Providence, R.I.
