The U.S. Navy's Tactical Control System (TCS) for unmanned aerial vehicles has survived a congressional attempt to kill it, as a House-Senate conference committee has decided to restructure the program rather than accept a House proposal for termination. The TCS was saved by the fiscal 2004 defense appropriations conference report, which the full House approved Sept. 24 and the Senate endorsed Sept. 25. TCS is designed to provide command and control for several types of UAVs from a single ground station.
Engineered Support Systems Inc. (ESSI) has completed the acquisition of Engineered Environments of Cincinnati for $15.5 million, the military electronics company said Sept. 25. Engineered Environments designs and builds environmental control units and heat-transfer systems for defense and industrial markets.
BAE Systems North America will sell its Ocean Systems business to Ultra Electronics Holdings of the United Kingdom as part of its effort to focus on systems integration rather than providing components, the company said Sept. 25. Ocean Systems, located in Braintree, Mass., produces acoustic and radio frequency devices and systems for submarines, surface ships and acoustic test ranges. The $10 million sale is expected to close within 45 days, subject to regulatory approval, according to BAE Systems North America.
NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) has awarded a contract to Ensco, Inc. of Cocoa Beach, Fla., to continue work on micron-scale airborne probes that would take atmospheric measurements while floating in the air like dandelion seeds. The $500,000 Phase II contract is a follow-on to a $75,000 Phase I contract for proof-of-concept work awarded to Ensco last May. Nineteen groups have been working on various advanced systems and architectures for the NIAC under Phase I grants.
QUIETER PLANES: Pratt & Whitney and Japanese aerospace companies have completed a series of tests aimed at developing noise reduction technology for supersonic aircraft, P&W said Sept. 25. The Environmentally Compatible Propulsion System for Next Generation Supersonic Transport (ESPR) program is aiming to reduce noise by 3 dB below international standards and 18 dB below the level of the Concorde.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is almost finished with a plan to modernize the aging air and marine assets of its Air and Marine Interdiction (AMI) program, according to a congressional document. A statement explaining the recently completed fiscal 2004 homeland security appropriations conference report calls on DHS to give Congress a report by Nov. 14 on the modernization plan, including projected funding levels.
Armed with the new data provided by the loss of the shuttle Columbia, the FAA plans to collaborate with NASA and the U.S. Air Force on an effort to improve the analytical tools used to predict injuries and damage on the ground resulting from spacecraft re-entry debris.
Testing of the Army's Line-of-Sight Anti-tank (LOSAT) weapon is moving along as planned, with two successful test shots completed over the past month, according to officials with Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control. LOSAT consists of four kinetic-energy missiles and a second-generation forward-looking infrared (FLIR) video sensor mounted on a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV). The missiles, equipped with tungsten-alloy penetrators, can travel one mile per second.
Naval shipbuilders DCN of France and Izar of Spain may be able to bid on more international shipbuilding programs if plans for additional joint ventures are successful, according to senior naval analyst Stuart Slade of Forecast International/DMS. French and Spanish defense officials in Geneva on Sept. 24 said a strategy committee had been formed to explore potential areas of cooperation in shipboard systems, surface ship programs and submarines.
(Editor's note: The following is excerpted from the written responses by Gordon England, who has been renominated to be secretary of the Navy, to written questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee. England testified Sept. 23.) Q: What do you view as the major readiness challenges that remain to be addressed and, if confirmed, how will you approach these issues?
EADS NORTH AMERICA, Washington Rear Adm. Gerald F. Woolever (U.S. Coast Guard, ret.), the senior vice president of field operations for Innovative Logistics Techniques Inc., has been elected to the board of directors. LOCKHEED MARTIN MISSION SYSTEMS, Gaithersburg, Md. Peter M. Cuviello has been named vice president, information infrastructure. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, Washington
Sikorsky Aircraft's UH-60M Black Hawk No. 1 had a successful first flight last week in Florida, the company said Sept. 23. The UH-60M is slated to replace the UH-60L as the standard configuration for U.S. Army Black Hawks in 2007.
NEW DELHI - To meet the threat from rival Pakistan's ballistic missiles, the Indian government has sanctioned the creation of two missile groups within the Indian army and the conversion of the short-range Prithvi missile from liquid fuel to solid fuel. "The 334 missile group in the army would manage the 700-kilometer [435-mile range] Agni-1 while the 335 group would manage the 1,500-kilometer [932-mile range] Agni-2 missile," said an army official.
F-15 RADARS: Ducommun Inc. will produce electromechanical enclosures and subsystems for the U.S. Air Force's 63V1 radar upgrade program under a $7 million follow-on contract, the company said Sept. 24. The 63V1 is to replace APG-63 radars on F-15 fighters. The work will be completed in 2005, the company said.
PRAGUE - Eurocopter will supply eight EC-135 helicopters to the Czech police air service in a deal worth $41 million. The Franco-German Eurocopter consortium said Sept. 24 that the first of the helicopters should be delivered before the end of this year and the order should be completed by 2008. Eurocopter won the tender in December 2002 but details were not released until now. According to the Czech press, Eurocopter bested competition from Italy's Agusta and the Netherland's McDonnell Helicopters to secure the order.
A new congressional push to jump start development of a next-generation long-range bomber could have implications for existing aircraft as well. The recently completed fiscal 2004 defense appropriations conference report, which reflects the thinking of a House-Senate conference committee, says many technologies needed for the new bomber "can also be demonstrated and incorporated in the existing bomber fleet."
The U.S. Defense Department's shift to a two-year budgeting cycle is receiving new scrutiny as it begins to confront its first off-year budget planning process, Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Gen. Peter Pace said Sept. 24. The Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) process was amended last year to replace an annual system with a two-year cycle. A two-year baseline is created during the first year, and only "exceptions" can be inserted into the second year of the plan.
