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.
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.
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.
EO MARKET: Defense agencies worldwide are expected to spend nearly $12.8 billion over the next 10 years to develop and buy electro-optical (EO) technology, according to a new report from Forecast International/DMS. The report estimates that the annual production of electro-optical systems will peak at 63,589 in 2005, with an estimated total of 545,026 individual systems being produced through 2012.
In a prelude to the release of its national strategy document later this year, the Defense Department's Joint Council on Aging Aircraft (JCAA) has identified its top 12 concerns, ranging from technical issues such as corrosion to management issues such as changing the way maintainers are trained to deal with older aircraft.
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.
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.
Through its acquisition of Steyr Spezialfahrzeug, General Dynamics has obtained the production rights to a combat vehicle with a strong export potential, according to weapons analyst Dean Lockwood of Forecast International/DMS. Steyr Spezialfahrzeug manufactures the Pandur family of 6x6 combat vehicles (DAILY, Oct. 1), which are used by Austria, Belgium, Kuwait, and Slovenia. In May 1999 the U.S. Army awarded a $51 million contract for Pandur vehicles as part of its Armored Ground Mobility System program.
Number one on the priority list for the U.S. Marine Corps' AV-8 Harrier fleet is the acceleration of a crucial avionics upgrade that will allow the jet to drop GPS-guided weapons such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), according to Program Manager Col. David Heinz. Dubbed the Open Systems Core Architecture Requirement (OSCAR), the upgrade will replace the mission and stores management computers on the aircraft. The ability to drop JDAMs would allow Harriers to attack in all weather.
Senate consideration of a $655 million proposal to equip commercial airliners with anti-missile devices could be delayed until at least mid-October because of a protracted debate over funding for Iraq's reconstruction. For the second straight day, the Senate Oct. 2 discussed an $87 billion supplemental appropriations bill to pay for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. But progress was slow, as lawmakers split over whether U.S. taxpayers should foot the bill for rebuilding Iraq.
Two companies are working on a "robust scramjet" under Air Force contracts. GASL Inc. of Ronkonkoma, N.Y., and Pratt & Whitney's West Palm Beach, Fla., unit are involved in the five-year effort, aimed at making scramjet technology more applicable to weapons like missiles. Both companies have received task-order contracts of $49.4 million, with initial funding to each of several hundred thousand dollars.
RAPTOR EQUIPMENT: REMEC Inc. of Del Mar, Calif., will supply 49 types of filters and modular integrated microwave assemblies for the F/A-22 Raptor's AN/APG-77 Fire Control Radar System, the company said Oct. 2. The work, for the F/A-22 radar low-rate initial production program, is being done under a $4.7 million contract from Northrop Grumman Corp. The company is scheduled to begin shipments in 2004 and complete deliveries in 2005. The work will be performed by REMEC's Defense & Space Group, based in San Diego.
The provisions of the Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Act of 2003 pertaining to the aerospace and defense industry survived an Oct. 1 markup by the Senate Finance Committee. The JOBS bill was introduced Sept. 18 by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), in response to threats by the European Union (EU) to levy more than $4 billion of trade sanctions against some U.S. exports (DAILY, Nov. 20, 2000).
The U.S. Navy is working with allied navies in the Pacific to create a security arrangement for monitoring shipping traffic in Southeast Asia, according to a senior Navy official. "We what we're trying to do is ... get a framework of willing nations and organizations in the Western Pacific, particularly in Southeast Asia, to work on our situational awareness: what do we know about what's going on at sea?" said Adm. Walter Doran, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
NASA and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) signed a memorandum of agreement to exchange information and collaborate on "crucial matters affecting safety and mission success," NASA announced Oct. 2. The agencies will exchange information about safety and quality methodology and hold work groups, studies, analyses and supplier audit and assessment activities, NASA said. They also will share data on topics including mission assurance practices and risk in parts and materiel supply chains.
Although Northern Command (NORTHCOM) is preparing itself rigorously for another Sept. 11-style hijacking scenario, NORTHCOM commander Air Force Gen. Ralph "Ed" Eberhart said he is concerned about the possibility of "trigger hesitancy" on the part of pilots or air defense controllers who might have to shoot down a commercial jet.
The U.S. military needs to find ways to speed up its battle damage assessments (BDAs) to ensure the information reaches rapidly moving forces on a more timely basis, according to the head of U.S. Joint Forces Command, who oversaw a study on "joint lessons learned" in the Iraq war.
NEW DELHI - India has decided to relinquish transponders on Thaicom-3 and Intelsat IS 702 satellites after the successful launch of its INSAT-3E satellite on Sept. 27. The INSAT-3E, developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was launched by an Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guiana (DAILY, Sept. 30) and is expected to become operational around Oct. 10. An ISRO official said about 16 leased C-band transponders on Intelsat IS 702 and seven on Thaicom-3 will be returned next month after the INSAT-3E becomes fully operational.
The U.S. Air Force has exercised its first order for a Minotaur space launch vehicle from Orbital Sciences Corp. under the Orbital/Suborbital Program-2 (OSP-2) contract the company was awarded earlier this year. The OSP-2 contract is worth up to $475 million over 10 years (DAILY, Feb. 3). The order is for the launch of a classified payload scheduled to launch in 2005, Orbital Sciences said Oct. 2.
