GROUND EFFECT: Control problems continue to delay the first flight of the X-50A Dragonfly unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), according to Tony Tether, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). A joint effort by DARPA and Boeing, the Dragonfly is a unique hybrid helicopter that can transition to a fixed-wing jet by stopping its rotor in flight (DAILY, Aug. 21). "When you only have one vehicle, you're very cautious," Tether says.
Lawmakers were awaiting a proposal from the Bush Administration late Oct. 24 aimed at reaching a compromise on controversial Buy American provisions in the House fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill, congressional and industry sources said.
The Pentagon's Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) approved low-rate initial production (LRIP) for the Marine Corps' H-1 helicopter upgrade on Oct. 23, only a year and a half after the program was nearly canceled for a breach of the Nunn-McCurdy Act. Following the formal award of the $202 million LRIP contract to Bell Helicopter next month, the company immediately will begin remanufacturing six UH-1N Huey and three AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters to the UH-1Y and AH-1Z configuration. Production will take place at company facilities in Amarillo, Texas.
The Iraq war showed that the U.S. military needs to improve its missile warning capabilities and its management of electronic signals in the battlespace, according to a new assessment by the Army's 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AAMDC).
SUPPLEMENTAL CONFERENCE: House and Senate negotiators tentatively are scheduled to meet Oct. 28 to finish the $87 billion fiscal 2004 supplemental appropriations conference report, which would fund military operations and reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq. Completion of the FY '04 energy and water appropriations conference report, which could include funding for nuclear weapons development, may occur later in the week.
SPACE HEARINGS: Several congressional hearings the week of Oct. 27-31 will scrutinize space programs. On Oct. 29, the Senate Commerce Committee's space panel will examine the International Space Station, including safety concerns that have surfaced recently (DAILY, Oct. 24). Also on Oct. 29, the House Science Committee will look at organizational and management challenges at NASA in the wake of the Columbia space shuttle disaster. The House Science Committee's technology panel will meet Oct.
A LARGER PROBLEM: The $187 million third-quarter charge taken by Raytheon Co. for 10 programs handled by its Network Centric Systems (NCS) may point to a larger problem, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan of Merrill Lynch. "Clearly, there are going to be occasions in defense contracting when changes to the scope of work, or programs canceled, or technical hurdles, simply prove too high to clear," Callan says. "But the sorts of problems uncovered at NCS suggest to us that a larger problem regarding internal control and planning existed.
RAPTOR ESSENTIAL: Defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute says Defense Department critics of the F/A-22 Raptor are again questioning the need for the aircraft, but he says he has 10 reminders why the Raptor is essential to national security, which he kept "simple for all the liberal-arts majors." His number three reminder: "Without air dominance, U.S. bombers, transports, tankers and electronic aircraft would be unable to operate in hostile airspace." At number two: "The reason no U.S.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. - The U.S. Navy's investment in readiness paid big dividends for the United States in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and will continue to do so, according to Adm. Vernon E. Clark, chief of naval operations. Coupled with sea basing, readiness is the key to allowing U. S. forces to operate without dependence on other countries for basing and other support, he said last week at the National Defense Industrial Association's Expeditionary Warfare Conference.
BOEHLERT ON ISS: House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) is "very concerned" that NASA did not tell Congress about the degradation of environmental monitors and exercise equipment onboard the International Space Station (ISS). "The Science Committee has asked repeatedly whether the grounding of the space shuttle presented any threats to the ISS crew, and we were told that it did not," Boehlert says. "Clearly, that was not the case.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) announced Oct. 24 it is seeking U.S. suppliers to help build its A400M military transport. The announcement followed an A400M supplier conference held in Washington last week. More than 30 U.S. companies attended the event, as did representatives from the departments of State, Commerce and Defense.
ATK Thiokol Propulsion engineers have started detailed analyses of the first test of a space shuttle solid rocket motor with five segments instead of the usual four, according to a company spokesman. The goal of the Oct. 23 static test, which apparently met or exceeded all objectives, was to push various components of the motor beyond normal limits to help engineers verify safety predictions for the four-segment motor, the company said in an Oct. 24 announcement.
FCS WORK: Northrop Grumman's Mission Systems has been awarded two prime and two subcontractor contracts totaling $260 million for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems. The company will serve as prime for the Logistics Decision Support System, providing logistical command and control software, and the Network Management System, providing network management software.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Joint cooperation, innovation, and new technology were the keys to the success of I Marine Expeditionary Force in Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the force's commander. Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, commander of I MEF, said Oct. 21 at the National Defense Industrial Association's Expeditionary Warfare Conference here that old and new problems and areas of concern also emerged from the operation.
Raytheon Co. posted a $35 million loss for the third quarter on Oct. 23 due to cost growth on key defense electronics programs and changes on technical service contracts. The $35 million net loss for the quarter compares with a $147 million net profit a year ago. Net sales for the quarter totaled $4.4 billion, compared with $4.1 billion a year ago. Overall government and defense sales for the quarter increased 3 percent, from $3.6 billion a year ago to $3.7 billion.
The next test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system has been delayed, according to the Missile Defense Agency. The test, the first launch of the Lockheed Martin interceptor booster, already had been postponed from September to October and will now likely take place during the last two weeks of November, MDA spokesman Rick Lehner said Oct. 23.
Despite concerns over their ability to monitor possible health hazards in the International Space Station (ISS), NASA officials and station astronauts say they remain confident there is no immediate danger.
ITT INDUSTRIES NIGHT VISION has been selected by Public Works and Government Services Canada for the Canadian army's Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Night Observation (STANO) program, the company said. The value of the contract, including options, training and spares, is about $16 million, and is the largest Canadian army contract awarded for night vision devices. ITT will produce and deliver more than 5,000 units of its AN/PVS-14 Monocular Night Vision Device.
A key Senate panel is considering a proposal to have the U.S. Air Force lease 20 KC-767A tankers and buy 80 of the Boeing-made planes, instead of leasing all 100 aircraft as the Air Force wants to do, congressional sources said Oct. 23. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has begun pitching the 20/80 proposal to other committee members in one-on-one meetings, a Senate source told The DAILY.
The "dream" of developing a hypersonic vehicle that can take off from a runway and fly into space is still alive at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), according to Director Tony Tether. This vision was embodied in the joint DARPA/NASA/Air Force effort known as the National Aerospace Plane (NASP). The X-30 NASP program was aimed at demonstrating a single-stage-to-orbit space vehicle that would take off from a runway.
