METAL STORM BUY: Ballistics company Metal Storm Ltd. of Australia said Oct. 6 it plans to buy ProCam Machine, based near Seattle, for $4.3 million, including the assumption of $3.7 million of the company's debt. ProCam builds precision machined parts for the defense, aerospace and other markets.
PRAGUE - Czech defense officials have denied claims by an international anti-corruption body that a tender for the supply of 14 used supersonic aircraft to the Czech Republic lacks transparency.
KUWAITI APACHES: The Boeing Co. has signed an initial foreign military sales contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to build 16 AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters for Kuwait, the company said Oct. 6. Kuwait signed a letter of offer and acceptance with the DOD for the helicopters last year (DAILY, Sept. 4, 2002). The total sale could be worth up to $2.1 billion, including options, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said when it notified Congress of the sale (DAILY, April 19, 2002).
NEW DELHI - The Indian air force announced it plans to add nine squadrons of military aircraft in the next seven to 10 years. The additional aircraft will include Ilyushin IL-76 mid-air refuelers; fighters, including the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft and international aircraft; and transport aircraft, Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy said here Oct. 6. The air force also has embarked on a budget drive to reduce its operational costs, Krishnaswamy said.
NATO defense ministers and defense chiefs convening in Colorado this week for their annual informal meeting are expected to review progress in forming the NATO Response Force (NRF). At the Joint National Integration Center (JNIC) at Schriever Air Force Base, officials will participate in a classified "exercise-type activity," in which they will look at how the NRF "might be applicable" in a hypothetical situation, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters at a briefing late Oct. 3.
The House Appropriations Committee plans to consider a fiscal 2004 supplemental appropriations bill Oct. 9 that adds $372 million to the Bush Administration's military procurement request of $5.2 billion, the panel announced Oct. 6. The $87 billion bill, which is mainly for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, also cuts $70 million from the $338.9 million request for classified research and development programs. The $40.4 billion request for operation and maintenance is reduced by $490 million.
The focus of experiments conducted during joint exercises next year with the U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) will be to improve the U.S. Army's command-and-control capabilities, Army officials said Oct. 6. "I'm going to devote everything I have to getting command-and control straight," said Gen. Kevin Byrnes, commander of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).
In February the U.S. Army will receive 100 new handheld Force 21 Battle Command Brigade and Below/Blue Force Tracking (FBCB2/BFT) systems to complement the vehicle-mounted units already fielded, according to manufacturer Northrop Grumman.
United Defense Industries (UDI) has developed an advanced gun system that can provide heavy firepower from a 20-ton chassis, company officials said. UDI officials unveiled the Thunderbolt gun system Oct. 6 at the Association of the U.S. Army's 2003 Annual Meeting in Washington. The vehicle's development shows that near-term transformation technologies can be quickly integrated into current platforms to enhance soldier capabilities, company officials said.
NEW DELHI - Pakistan test-fired a short-range surface-to-surface Ghaznavi ballistic missile on Oct. 3. A diplomat with Pakistan's embassy here said the missile was successful in all of the test's goals, an improvement over earlier tests of the system held last May. The nuclear-capable, 290-kilometer (180-mile) range missile could strike targets in India within a minute, the diplomat said, and is powered by solid fuel.
BOEING IT: Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) will provide distributed server support for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems under a six-year, $60 million contract, which company CEO Van B. Honeycutt said solidifies CSC's position as "the leading IT services provider to the global aerospace and defense market.
PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE: Russia's defense minister Sergey Ivanov reiterates that Russia retains the right to conduct pre-emptive strikes if Russia's interest or "allied obligations" require it. He spoke at the same meeting of top military brass as Putin. The defense ministry meeting outlined the direction of Russia's armed forces development, which has been nicknamed "Ivanov's doctrine" by Moscow analysts.
A team led by Raytheon has won a contract worth up to $500 million to upgrade the U.S. Air Force's Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS), the Department of Defense said Oct. 3. Northrop Grumman also was competing for the work, which is to upgrade a series of ground stations that process intelligence from a variety of sources (DAILY, Sept. 24). The contract award says the Navy, Army and Marine Corps also may participate in the program.
SHADOW WEAPONS: Drop-type munitions would have to be used if the U.S. Army decided to equip the Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle with weapons, according to Frederick Strader, president and CEO of AAI Corp., which makes the Shadow. "Anything that would be more of a gun or missile, unless it's dropped first and then takes off, would be a real problem for the aerodynamics of the vehicle," Strader says. AAI is trying to develop a sensor payload package for the Shadow with a laser rangefinder that could be upgraded to a laser target designator, he says.
A recent study chartered by NASA recommends the agency develop and operate a system to scan the skies for near-Earth objects (NEOs) less than one kilometer (.6 miles) across - objects that would not be world-killers, but which could still result in significant regional damage and spawn destructive tidal waves. Many tons of rocky material rain down on the Earth from space each day, mostly in the form of dust- and sand-sized particles. NEOs are potentially dangerous asteroids or comets whose orbits bring them close to the Earth.
The Senate agreed late Oct. 2 to amend the fiscal 2004 supplemental appropriations bill to buy 800 more "up-armored" High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs). The amendment, offered by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), provides $191 million for the additional vehicles, which have extra armor to protect against small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The supplemental already contained $177 million for 747 up-armored HMMWVs. Reed said his recent visit to Iraq convinced him that the vehicles should be procured at a faster pace.
PRAGUE - A government-appointed commission is examining options for the future of debt-laden Czech aircraft producer Aero Vodochody in a move that may lead to a major shakeup of the company. The Czech industry and trade ministry told The DAILY Oct. 3 that the commission began its work at the beginning of September at the behest of Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla. "The commission was formed after Aero submitted a business plan to the government which seemed to be unrealistic," said an industry and trade ministry official.
CRUISE MISSILES: Air Force Gen. Ralph "Ed" Eberhart, commander of Northern Command (NORTHCOM), says he is concerned that there is no clear "way ahead" for the U.S. to develop defenses against cruise missile attacks. Cruise missiles are a particularly difficult problem because unlike intercontinental ballistic missiles, they leave no "return address," are much easier to launch, and are relatively inexpensive. Although he says he thinks the wide-area surveillance provided by platforms such as the Missile Defense Agency's High-Altitude Airship (DAILY, Oct.
IRCM SALE: Four Middle East countries apparently are getting the green light on their requests to buy U.S. infrared countermeasures systems to protect their VIP airliners from attack by shoulder-fired heat-seeking missiles. Congress has 30 days to comment on such requests, and the deadline was Oct. 3. Because there apparently was no comment from Capitol Hill as of noon that day, the deals, totaling more than $400 million, apparently are on track. The Pentagon announced Sept.
Oct. 6 - 8 -- Association of the United States Army 2003 Annual Meeting, "The Army - At War and Transforming," New Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.ausa.org. Oct. 8 -- Aviation Week's NetCentric Conference, National Press Club, Washington D.C. For more information contact Ryan Leeds at (800) 240-7645 x7 or go to http://www.Aviationnow.com/conferences.
STAYING SAFE: The International Space Station (ISS) program still can obtain outside assessments of its safety performance in the absence of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), according to Program Manager William Gerstenmaier. One way will be through NASA's new Engineering and Safety Center (DAILY, July 17). "They're just ramping up now, but we've already developed a list of topics that we'd like them to take a look at and address," Gerstenmaier says.
