Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) released a request for proposals (RFP) for the system design and definition (SDD) phase of the Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft program on Oct. 28. The U.S. Navy is evaluating two concepts for the MMA - the Boeing 737 military derivative and the Lockheed Martin Orion21. Responses to the RFP are due from both companies in January, and a contract award is expected in the third quarter of next year, according to NAVAIR.
The Bush Administration has submitted a new proposal to Congress aimed at reaching a compromise on controversial Buy American provisions in the House fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill. While the Administration's offering appears to address many of the Senate's concerns, it is unclear if it will be acceptable to the House. The document, which has not been publicly released, would water down the House provisions even more than a compromise suggested earlier by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, sources said Oct. 29.
DAGR WORK: Rockwell Collins has been tapped by the GPS Joint Program Office to begin full-rate production of Defense Advanced GPS Receivers (DAGRs) over the next eight years, beginning in November 2004, the company said Oct. 29. The work is expected to be worth $238-338 million, the company said.
MOSCOW - Russian and Ukrainian space industry firms are offering to build satellites for neighboring countries and other international partners. RSC Energia has offered to create a joint venture with Kazakhstan to build satellites for that country based on Energia's universal satellite bus. The project would be aimed at building mid-sized telecommunications satellites similar to the Yamal-200 spacecraft being prepared for launch later this month, as well as creating a corresponding ground space communications infrastructure.
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe defended the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) program at a Senate hearing Oct. 29, saying NASA has made "absolutely no commitments" to build the vehicle but is engaged in "preparations" to build it if the nation's leaders decide such a program is needed.
The Boeing Co. reported a drop in third-quarter revenues and profits due to weak sales of its commercial aircraft and a $184 million charge taken to close the 757 production line, but the company said it is expecting cash later this year from a controversial plan to lease tanker aircraft to the U.S. Air Force. Third quarter revenues fell from $12.7 billion a year ago to $12.2 billion this year. Net profit fell from $372 million a year ago to $256 million.
Pratt & Whitney has successfully completed a key milestone in the development of the F135 engine for the Defense Department's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), according to the company. The first production-configuration F135, which is mounted on a test stand at Pratt & Whitney facilities in West Palm Beach, Fla., achieved "military power" on Oct. 20, running at full power without the use of an afterburner, the company said. Pratt & Whitney declined to specify how much power was generated, saying such information is classified.
AJT & ASSOCIATES, Cape Canaveral, Fla. Bobby Jones has joined the company as director of business development. Jason Pochily has joined the company to provide contract support. Alexander Zvondaryov has joined the company to provide installation and design services for electrical and computer services. AURA SYSTEMS, El Segundo, Calif. Lt. Gen. Harry E. Soyster (U.S. Army, ret.) has been named to the board of directors. FIRST AVIATION SERVICES, Westport, Conn.
All three major U.S. military aircraft manufacturers - Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman - face declining Pentagon funding for design and development in coming years and if there is no change, contracts for such work will dry up by about 2013, according to a new report by the RAND Corp. Boeing's funding stream would end first, in 2008 or 2009, Northrop Grumman's would end next, in about 2012, and Lockheed Martin's would halt about a year later, says the report, "Competition and Innovation in the U.S. Fixed-Wing Military Aircraft Industry."
The lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) version of the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer successfully completed ground gunfire testing recently, Lockheed Martin said Oct. 29. The aircraft's General Dynamics-built 20mm Gatling-type gun "performed flawlessly and is ready for in-flight operation," Jeong Kyoo Cheon, director of the T-50's avionics and flight control system, said in a statement. "The gun will be an important part of the T-50 LIFT version and is expected to be a requirement of any combat derivative of the T-50."
PAYLOAD SYSTEMS INC. of Cambridge, Mass., has been awarded a two-year, $600,000 contract to develop a Mars Orbiting Sample Retrieval Testbed based for NASA's Mars sample retrieval mission, the company said. The testbed will be based on the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) testbed, a series of self-contained satellites that can navigate autonomously within a designated area. The SPHERES project is scheduled to be delivered to the International Space Station this year.
PROPELLANT: Teledyne Brown Engineering will provide propellants, pressurants and calibration services to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Ala., under a contract that could be worth up to $38.8 million, NASA said Oct. 28. The contract, which begins Nov. 1, has a one-year base period and four one-year options, NASA said.
U.S. plans to sell more than $1.1 billion worth of military services and equipment to Saudi Arabia have met resistance from American lawmakers who have questioned the Middle Eastern country's commitment to fighting terrorism. One potential deal, worth $900 million, is largely to train the Saudi national guard but would provide some equipment, including "interoperability radios" and various spare parts, a congressional source told The DAILY Oct. 28. Vinnell Corp., a Northrop Grumman subsidiary, would be the prime contractor.
Spending on the electronic portion of advanced weapons systems is expected to remain stable after 2009, even as spending on the systems themselves begins to decline, according to a budget study commissioned by the Government Electronics & Information Technology Association (GEIA). The study, released Oct. 28 at GEIA's 2003 Vision Conference in Washington, projects a rise in the defense budget of 2.5 percent in 2004 dollars from 2004-2009, and 1 percent over the 10-year forecast period, from 2004-2014.
Lockheed Martin Corp. on Oct. 28 reported a 23 percent increase in third-quarter sales, but net earnings fell due to a charge totaling nearly $83 million. For the quarter, net sales rose from $6.5 billion a year ago to about $8.1 billion this year. Net earnings fell from $290 million a year ago to $217 million. In a conference call with investors and analysts, company officials said the decline was due to a nearly $83 million after-tax charge for the early retirement of debt.
NEW DELHI - India should spend more on its space program to keep from falling too far behind China, according to a report to the defense ministry from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). China became only the third country to launch a human into space earlier this month when Shenzhou 5 carrying Lt. Col. Yang Liwei orbited the Earth.
A new forecast predicts that Department of Defense (DOD) science and technology (S&T) spending will remain "significantly lower" than DOD's stated goal of 3 percent of the total budget for at least the next decade. The gap between S&T spending and the 3 percent goal is predicted to increase over the period from fiscal year 2004 through FY '14, according to the new forecast by the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association (GEIA).
GOODRICH JOBS: Goodrich Corp. plans to add 125-150 new jobs in Monroe, N.C., near its Charlotte headquarters, in late 2004. The facility will be a major repair and remanufacturing site for Goodrich aerospace systems and will serve as a stocking point for critical spare parts inventories and as a management center for commercial and military aerospace service programs.
Coming off its experience deploying imagery analysts to Iraq, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) now plans to develop a regular "cadre" of personnel that would stand ready to go into theater with U.S. military forces. The deployment of approximately 90 NIMA employees to Iraq at the height of the war was an "unprecedented" move for the agency, but one that proved very rewarding to the troops and the employees themselves, according to NIMA Director Lt. Gen. James Clapper (USAF, ret.)
