While tactics may be the best way for helicopters to defeat rocket propelled grenades, at least two small companies are mulling airborne applications of technologies they have developed to protect Humvees and other ground vehicles from attacks by such weapons.
The Marine Corps' MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft is about to begin another round of sea trials onboard the USS Bataan, in part to verify that a problem from a previous round of trials has been solved. Sea trials on the USS Iwo Jima last January unearthed a phenomenon known as "roll-on-deck," in which the aircraft "tended to be disturbed while it was on deck with its rotors turning" by the presence of helicopters landing in its vicinity, according to Chief Test Pilot Tom MacDonald. "We've made some software changes and improvements to minimize that."
Lockheed Martin is touting the power, cabin size and mission systems of its US101 helicopter and a quick ramp-up of its development program in the competition to supply the VXX Presidential Helicopter. "We believe this needs to be a 21st-century helicopter system. This is not just an airframe competition," said Stephen D. Ramsey, vice president and general manager of the US101 project. "This will be the ultimate node on a C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) network."
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - The accuracy of newer air-to-air missiles is depleting the U.S. Air Force's stock of QF-4 drone airframes more rapidly than anticipated, and the cost of replacing them with mothballed F-16s may be too prohibitive, according to David Hamilton, the service's deputy director of test and evaluation.
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Technological advances in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), weaponry and unmanned aircraft are creating a data glut and other problems for the U.S. Air Force, according to Maj. Gen. Donald J. Hoffman, director of requirements at Air Combat Command. Growing fleets of UAVs and remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) and the data their sensors generate are one of the problems, he said.
AAR CORP., Wood Dale, Ill. Michael "Mickey" Cohen has been named vice president of operations and engineering. ALION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, McLean, Va. Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., the former undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, has been appointed to the board of directors. BALLISTIC RECOVERY SYSTEMS, South St. Paul, Minn.
The U.S. Army may not be able to deploy in Iraq sufficient numbers of High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) with reinforced armor until the summer of 2005, senior Army officials told members of Congress Nov. 19. Several U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq have been killed or injured when their lighter-armored HMMWVs, also known as Humvees, failed to stop small-arms fire. But battle commanders in Iraq prefer Humvees and other light vehicles because their weight and speed is ideally suited for patrolling and similar missions.
NEW DELHI - The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Brazil's space agency have completed a multimillion-dollar agreement for ISRO to launch Brazilian microsatellites, Indian officials said Nov. 19. Officials from the two agencies began meeting last month to complete the agreement (DAILY, Oct. 23), which will include launching the satellites on India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
IN OPERATION: The Flight F16 Defense Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft has been declared operational and turned over to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, satellite builder Lockheed Martin said Nov. 19. The satellite was launched Oct. 18.
A story in the Nov. 13 issue of The DAILY incorrectly identified the teams competing for the Compact Kinetic Energy Missile (CKEM). Teams led by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Miltec Corp. are competing for the work.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engine (VAATE) initiative is striving to stay ahead of future aircraft turbine engine requirements while keeping costs low.
The U.S. Navy plans to retire a third of its P-3 Orions early because the wear-and-tear on the aging patrol aircraft is turning out to be worse than expected, a service official said Nov. 18. In the past few months, the Navy has discovered "significant fatigue problems" in its P-3 fleet, prompting the service to decide to reduce the number of aircraft from 227 to 150 with the next year or two, said Capt. Steve Eastburg, manager of maritime patrol aircraft at Naval Air Systems Command.
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) is performing a feasibility study for the U.S. Army on the possibility of developing a combined unmanned aerial vehicle-unmanned ground vehicle (UAV-UGV) system to deliver small but critical payloads to soldiers on the battlefield.
Lockheed Martin has delivered its first Precision Attack Navigation and Targeting (PANTERA) pod to the Royal Norwegian air force and expects to sell it to other allied nations, the company announced Nov. 18. Norway is the first country outside the U.S. to get the PANTERA, the export version of LM's Sniper Extended Range (XR) pod, and it has ordered eight more for its F-16s. The pod is the world's highest-performance and longest-range targeting system, and its two-level maintenance has significantly lower life-cycle costs, the company said.
The Senate Nov. 18 approved the fiscal 2004 NASA appropriations bill, sending the legislation to a conference with the House. Among the issues the conference will have to resolve is funding for the International Space Station (ISS). The Senate bill cuts $200 million from the Bush Administration's $1.7 billion request for ISS (DAILY, Sept. 5), while the House bill, which the House approved in July 25, fully funds the request (DAILY, July 16).
The U.S. Air Force is moving ahead with plans for a Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV) that would replace the HH-60G Pave Hawk for combat search and rescue (CSAR) missions and possibly become the Air Force's common helicopter platform, according to Brig. Gen. John Folkerts, vice commander of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC).
Existing sensor systems are inadequate for tracking dismounted individuals and must be improved if the U.S. military is going to find people like Saddam Hussein, according to William Schneider Jr., chairman of the Defense Science Board. "A lot of our sensor systems that support military operations are designed to find military forces and look for signatures that are associated with the movement of forces and their equipment," Schneider said Nov. 18 at the Defense Research & Engineering Conference & Exposition in Washington.
UFO ARRIVES: The U.S. Navy's UHF Follow-On (UFO) F11 satellite has arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., where it will undergo final launch preparations for its December launch, satellite building Boeing Satellite Systems said Nov. 18.
Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. formally have entered the competition to develop and build the Joint Common Missile (JCM). The three firms, which have been conducting system definition and risk reduction for the program, submitted proposals by the deadline of late Nov. 17 (DAILY, Oct. 7), company spokespersons said Nov. 18. The selection of a prime contractor is expected in March 2004 and will launch a system development and demonstration (SDD) phase that is to last about four years.
