BAE SYSTEMS will deliver 54 additional units of its second-generation Advanced Aviation Forward Area Refueling System (AAFARS) to the U.S. Army, the company said. The work will be done under a $54 million contract from the Army's Tank-automotive and Armament Command and is the fifth production order under an eight-year contract. AAFARS is a modular, lightweight, portable combat refueling system designed for rapid refueling of forward-area military helicopters to support deep strikes.
A Lockheed Martin-Raytheon joint venture and the U.S. Army will work out a design review and testing schedule for the Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS) over the next few months, according to representatives of the industry team. The two companies announced March 22 that their NetFires Limited Liability Co. has been awarded a $1.1 billion contract to develop NLOS-LS, formerly known as NetFires (DAILY, March 23).
RAYTHEON CO. has delivered the first Improved Thermal Sight Systems for installation on U.S. Marine Corps Light Armored Vehicles. The Marines will test and evaluate the systems' performance between now and July, the company said. If the evaluations are successful, the Marines could buy as many as 416 units.
A radar scatterometer that studies wind movements over oceans is again sending data, three years after the ERS-2 satellite carrying it began experiencing problems with its stabilizing gyros, the European Space Agency said.
The headquarters of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) has contracted with Savi Technology for a pilot project using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, which will be linked with Savi's "SmartChain" platform to manage and track consignments between Europe and Afghanistan. The project, to be evaluated for possible expansion, will help determine whether NATO can leverage Savi's real-time platform and RFID technology to enhance NATO logistics collaboration, Savi said March 23. NATO offer
EADS DEFENCE AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS will supply additional regimental information system (SIR) command and communication systems worth 200 million pounds ($240 million) under an order from the French armaments procurement agency. The order mainly involves the production of an additional 131 command post vehicles, 230 light SIR kits used by army captains and 35 mobile kits designed for use in a vehicle or under a field shelter, the company said.
NASA is cooperating with the Department of Energy's Naval Reactors program to investigate space nuclear power and propulsion technologies, the aerospace agency said. The partnership is developing a NASA spacecraft, the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, that is intended to use nuclear energy to visit Jupiter's moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.
It is important for the U.S. Department of Defense to continue to invest in non-nuclear strategic defense capabilities, said witnesses at a March 24 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee's strategic forces subcommittee. DOD needs to enhance its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to find hidden targets, which could be camouflaged or protected by robust air defenses, said Navy Adm. James Ellis, commander, U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM).
WCMD: Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control-Orlando will produce 1,677 Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD) tail kits under an $11 million contract from the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense said March 24. WCMDs are kits designed for the precision release of cluster weapons.
DENVER - The upcoming appointment of the director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to head a new global network operations task force for U.S. Strategic Command should help simplify the way the government acquires capabilities for network-centric operations, according to Lt. Gen. Robert Shea, USMC. "We need to change" the way such systems are bought, said Shea, director of C4 Systems for the Joint Staff.
The start of a key testing phase for the F/A-22 Raptor was delayed about a month to allow more time for software testing, maintenance planning and training, an Air Force official told a Senate panel March 24. Separately, the Air Force announced it has reached a tentative deal with Lockheed Martin for the purchase of another batch of F/A-22s.
NEW DELHI - A test flight of India's new 14-seat transport aircraft Saras is scheduled to occur within a month, said a scientist with the Bangalore-based National Aerospace Laboratory, which is developing the aircraft. Last-minute ground tests are underway at the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment at Bangalore, the scientist added. The aircraft is intended to boost the civilian aircraft industry in India, according to the government, but also will be used by the military.
DOD's electronic mall (EMALL) and Standard Procurement System (SPS), intended to help streamline the Department of Defense's procurement process, are gaining speed, DOD officials said March 23 at FOSE 2004 in Washington. DOD EMALL, which started in 1998 and "hit its stride" in mid-2001, currently has 18 million line items to choose from, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jack Stem, deputy program manager for business development for the DOD EMALL. In 2002, the services spent $14.7 million on DOD EMALL, which has increased to $233 million, he said.
U.S. Coast Guard equipment is failing at a higher rate than when the Integrated Deepwater System recapitalization project was conceived, forcing the service to keep repairing older, legacy ships, helicopters and cutters while buying new platforms, Commandant Adm. Thomas H. Collins told senators March 23.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found evidence that the rocks at its landing site formed in a "shallow, salty sea," according to Associate Administrator for Space Science Ed Weiler. "This is a profound discovery," Weiler said in a press conference at NASA headquarters in Washington March 23. "It has profound implications for astrobiology, and I'd like to say if you have an interest in searching for fossils on Mars, this is the first place you want to go."
JSF ANTENNAS: EDO Corp. will design and develop landing-aid antennas for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter under a $2 million, multi-year contract from Northrop Grumman, the company said. The contract covers the JSF's system development and demonstration and low-rate initial production phases. The contract includes the design and manufacture of antennas for aircraft-carrier and runway landings and the development of a network to transfer information from external sensors to on-board communications systems.
The U.S. Department of Defense needs a full-time top-level manager to oversee the agency's massive financial system to meet a 2007 deadline for streamlining and restructuring its accounting practices, according to the administration's top auditor. U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker and DOD Comptroller Dov S. Zakheim told the Senate Armed Services Committee's readiness subcommittee that aggressive changes would have to be made to meet Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's 2007 goal of transforming the agency's financial management systems.
ACQUIRED: Intelsat Ltd. has completed its acquisition of the North American satellites and related customer contracts of Loral Space & Communications Corporation. The acquisition included five Telstar satellites, four already in orbit and one scheduled for launch later this year. The spacecraft have been renamed Intelsat Americas (IA) 5, 6, 7, 13, and 8. The $961.1 million purchase adds full coverage of North America to the Intelsat fleet and expands its customer base in the broadcasting, cable television and corporate networking segments, according to Intelsat.
The Air Force's F/A-22 Raptor tentatively has received the go-ahead from top Pentagon acquisition officials to enter a key testing phase, though the start of that effort likely will be delayed a month or so, the Defense Department announced March 23.
RECOVERY: United Defense Industries will build three additional M88A2 Hercules tank-recovery vehicles for the U.S. Marine Corps under a $7.1 million contract from the Army's Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. Deliveries are scheduled through January 2005 for the vehicles.
