The U.S. Defense Department's efforts to rapidly develop "truly transformational" capabilities in such areas as hypersonics, space access and cruise missile defense will experience major setbacks if Congress approves the Senate's proposed budget cuts for the National Aerospace Initiative (NAI), DOD warns lawmakers in a new document submitted to Capitol Hill.
Nanoelectronics will be a crucial enabler in the continuing move toward taking human beings out of military vehicles, according to James Murday, chief scientist at the Office of Naval Research. By 2020, it is estimated that computers will have the same processing capacity as the human brain, according to Murday. "How well and effectively we use [that] to accomplish our goals remain to be seen, but there's some dramatic changes [coming]," he said in a presentation at The World Nano-Economic Congress in Washington Sept. 9.
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite was severely damaged Sept. 6 when it toppled over at a Lockheed Martin facility in Sunnyvale, Calif. As the NOAA-N Prime spacecraft was being repositioned from vertical to horizontal on the "turn over cart" at approximately 7:15 PDT, it slipped off the fixture. The 18-foot spacecraft was roughly three feet off the ground when it fell.
The Pentagon is nearly finished conducting a review of lessons learned at the operational level in the U.S.-led Iraq war, a top military official said Sept. 9. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the study has been focusing on "what happened in theater" at the level of Army Gen. Tommy Franks, who led the war, and at the levels below him.
A National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) signals intelligence satellite launched on a Lockheed Martin Titan IVB-Centaur rocket at 12:29 a.m. Sept. 9. The $1.5 billion mission had been delayed by more than 18 months. The event marked the final launch for a Titan rocket using older versions of the Pratt & Whitney RL10 upper stage engine. The Titan IVB includes twin 10,000-pound thrust RL10s, which have been in service since 1974. Previous customers have included two Viking lander missions to Mars, Voyagers 1 and 2 and the Cassini mission.
NASA plans to contract with a non-government organization to establish an International Space Station Research Institute. The aerospace agency released a draft statement of work for public comment on Sept. 9 on the institute, which would be a liaison for U.S. science, technology and commercial communities seeking to do research on the station.
The Defense Department is urging Congress to reject proposed funding cuts for several major missile defense and military space programs, saying the reductions would cause significant delays for important new capabilities.
The Navy plans to continue making it a priority for contractors to consider human performance when designing their equipment, according to a senior official with the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Those requirements may raise the cost of the equipment initially, but the Navy will save money over the long run through reduced operating and maintenance costs, said Gregory Maxwell, director of NAVSEA's Human Systems Integration directorate.
The U.S. Marine Corps' top leader in Iraq on Sept. 9 rebutted reports that the Raytheon-made Javelin anti-tank weapon caused problems for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Marine Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, who briefed reporters at the Pentagon, said he was aware of the published reports but could find no evidence the Javelin caused problems during the campaign. "We didn't have any problems with the weapon," Conway said.
PRAGUE - The Czech Republic plans to launch a tender for the modernization of up to 18 of its aging Russian-built Mi-24 combat helicopters before the end of the year, The DAILY has learned. Czech defense officials have spent several years talking with their counterparts in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia about a joint Mi-24 modernization project involving dozens of helicopters, in a bid to extend their operational life by up to 35 years.
IDECM WORK: The U.S. Navy has awarded BAE Systems a third low-rate initial production contract for the Integrated Defensive Countermeasure System (IDECM) Radio Frequency Countermeasures system (RFCM), the company said Sept. 9. The $46 million contract marks the last LRIP phase for the AN/ALQ-214(V), BAE Systems said.
Northrop Grumman will continue to support the U.S. Air Force Space Command's Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep-Space Surveillance System (GEODSS) under a $5.7 million contract, the company said Sept. 9. The company's Information Technology (IT) sector will provide operations, maintenance and support services to the Air Force Space Command, 21st Space Wing, for GEODSS sites at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and Maui, Hawaii.
The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) on Sept. 8 awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a contract modification worth nearly $39.5 million. The contract, which was not competitively procured, calls for Electric Boat to conduct design and development studies and integrate new technologies for testing and deployment aboard existing and future submarines and submarine platforms. Work is to be completed by September 2005.
Lockheed Martin may double the price of the $400,000-or-less AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) if Congress approves a proposal to cut the program's budget next year by as much as two-thirds, a top U.S. Air Force official said.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) plans to install the Connexion by Boeing mobile Internet service on its long-haul commercial aircraft, Boeing said Sept. 9. Representatives from the companies are defining the levels of service that will be offered and a schedule for the installation. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "We look forward to bringing the benefits of real-time connectivity to our passengers in the very near future," Shinichiro Ito, ANA's senior vice president for marketing, said in a statement.
The Advanced Discriminating Ladar Technology (ADLT) system, which the U.S. Army and Missile Defense Agency are developing to improve the ability of interceptor missiles to hit their targets, has successfully completed its first major demonstration, prime contractor Raytheon Co. announced Sept. 8.
A U.S. Air Force official said Sept. 8 that he plans to respond by early next week to a suggestion by two key senators that the service consider revamping its proposal to lease 100 Boeing KC-767A tankers. But while the Air Force is still formulating its response, it appears to have already concluded that the congressional idea has serious shortcomings.
COMANCHE TRAINING: EDO Corp. of New York will continue developing multimedia training courseware for the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter under a $7 million purchase agreement from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., EDO said Sept. 4. The former Advanced Engineering and Research Associates, which EDO acquired in February and incorporated into its Professional Services Division, has been providing training and related services for the Comanche program since 2001.
MESA RADARS: Northrop Grumman Corp. will deliver four Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar systems to Boeing for Turkey's "Peace Eagle" airborne early warning and control system, the company said Sept. 8. The work will be done under a $160 million contract and deliveries are scheduled to be completed by June 2007.
