COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Satellites are providing continuous surveillance of Iraq but commanders there sometimes still must be reminded of the limitations of space assets, according to Lt. Gen. Joseph M. Cosumano Jr., chief of Army Space and Missile Defense Command. Space surveillance continues to play a role in Iraq and images and electronic intelligence gathered by satellites are "provided to collectors on the ground, and then they make decisions about where people are, and so forth," Cosumano told reporters last week at Peterson Air Force Base here.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The U.S. National Security Space Architect (NSSA) is gearing up for its first full-fledged annual assessment of national security space programs, according to the head of NSSA. The study is designed to identify shortfalls in the nation's space-based capabilities, said Army Brig. Gen. Rick Geraci, NSSA's director, who spoke here at the recent Sixth Annual Space and Missile Defense Conference.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The revamped Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) program is making steady progress as it gears up for its first flight test about a year from now, according to a program official. Speaking here at the recent Sixth Annual Space and Missile Defense Conference, Reba Seals, THAAD's deputy program manager, said all of the system's "critical path activities" are on schedule and the overall program is slightly ahead of schedule and under cost.
Starting Sept. 4 and going through mid-October, the House Science Committee expects to hold a hearing every week on the findings of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), according to a committee spokeswoman. The first hearing will feature CAIB Chairman Adm. Hal Gehman as the sole witness. Subsequent hearings on Sept. 10 and afterwards will feature testimony from other board members and investigators, according to CAIB spokeswoman Laura Brown.
MTHEL SELECTION: Col. Richard De Fatta, the U.S. Army's project manager for Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD), says he hopes to pick a prime contractor for the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) program by the end of 2003. "We're going through the regular acquisition process of ... selecting a contractor," De Fatta says. "We haven't decided whether it will be sole-sourced or fully competitive." Northrop Grumman, which developed THEL, the fixed-site precursor to MTHEL, announced Aug.
The federal government should spend more on research and development to help suppliers counter threats from international competitors, officials with the Supplier Management Council (SMC) of the Aerospace Industries Association told U.S. Commerce Department officials last week. The suppliers expressed concern about growing competition from suppliers in developing countries and suppliers that get financial assistance from their governments.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The Missile Defense Agency is trying to determine whether intense heat in the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor's kinetic warhead contributed to the failure of the most recent flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (Aegis BMD) system, a program official said Aug. 21.
BAE Systems said Aug. 22 it had reached an agreement with GKN to buy that company's 29 percent stake in Alvis, one of Europe's leading combat vehicle manufacturers. The price for the shares totaled $73 million pounds ($115 million). GKN obtained the 29 percent stake in Alvis in 1998 as part of a deal in which Alvis agreed to buy GKN's armored vehicle business. BAE Systems spokesman Phil Soucy told The DAILY that the share purchase reinforces the relationship the company has developed with Alvis.
MODIFIED AGREEMENT: Raytheon and DRS Technologies plan to modify a teaming agreement to produce infrared sights for U.S. Army and Marine Corps combat vehicles due to U.S. Justice Department concerns about the arrangement. The companies had decided to jointly produce a type of infrared sight for future vehicles programs that already was being used on several Marine Corps and Army vehicles. Those future programs include the Battalion Combat Team Mobile Gun System (BCT MGS) and the Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV).
STEAMING AHEAD: The ship that ran into rough weather on its way to track the launch of NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) should reach its observation point in the Indian Ocean on time to support the rescheduled launch time of 1:35 a.m. EDT Aug. 25, according to NASA (DAILY, Aug. 20). The ship is to track the second stage of SIRTF's Delta II heavy launch vehicle following liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH: Defense contractors are unlikely to sustain the growth rates they generated during the second quarter, says senior aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan of Merrill Lynch. "We do not see most of these growth rates as sustainable long-term rates," he says. One reason is that some of the growth may be attributable to cost increases on aircraft development programs, like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and F/A-22 Raptor programs, according to Callan. For other companies, the growth may have been related to military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
NEW DELHI - India is pushing to buy 12 Mirage 2000-5s from Qatar to keep them from going to Pakistan, according to a defense ministry official. Pakistan's air force does not have a "credible" nuclear weapon delivery system but "things will change dramatically if Pakistan acquires the Mirage 2000-5 from Qatar," the official said.
NEW AFGHANISTAN NEEDS: The U.S. Air Force wants to rapidly provide a primitive beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) communications and command and control (C2) capability for military aircraft operating in Afghanistan, an acquisition notice posted Aug. 22 says. Contractors are invited to submit informative proposals by Sept. 15, but the Air Force is pushing to launch the system by January 2004, the notice says. The Air Force's requirements are relatively light: non-secure, single-channel VHF and UHF connectivity between aircraft and C2 functions located in Afghanistan or Qatar.
BOEING RESPONSE: On Aug. 25, the Boeing Co. will begin a process to lift an indefinite contracting suspension on three space units the U.S. Air Force accuses of wrongdoing in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) competition. Boeing's planned response covers Boeing Launch Systems, Boeing Launch Services and Delta programs, each suspended by the Air Force on July 24 for possessing about 25,000 pages of Lockheed Martin documents. Boeing's response is intended to "demonstrate to the Air Force that we are presently a responsible contractor," spokesman Dan Beck says.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Raytheon Co. and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) recently mounted the ground-based Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) on a Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) for the first time. The modified vehicle, called LAVRAAM, is designed to help the Army further define its plans for the Future Combat Systems (FCS), said Holt Busbee, a Booz Allen Hamilton contractor for the Army. The vehicle also could guide the Marine Corps as it considers upgrading its LAV fleet.
August 25 - 27 -- Defense Supply Center Columbus Conference and Exhibition, "Transforming the DSCC Supplier Relationship," Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio. For more information email Phyllis Edmonson at [email protected] or go to www.ndia.org. Sept. 4 - 5 -- DoD Training Transformation Technologies: Developing, Distributing & Assessing Joint Knowledge, Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, Va. Call (703) 247-9471, fax (703) 243-1659, email [email protected] or go to www.trainingsystems.org/events
KEI ASSEMBLY: Lockheed Martin Corp. says it will conduct final assembly of the terrestrial Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) in Courtland, Ala., if it becomes prime contractor for the program. The Missile Defense Agency plans to decide in December whether the prime contractor will be Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman Corp. Each company is doing concept design work on the system, which is intended to intercept ballistic missiles in their boost phase of flight. The system initially will be ground-based and later transitioned to a sea-based configuration.
ANNIVERSARY: The German Space Agency and European Space Agency plan to celebrate 25 years of European space activity on Aug. 30 in Markneukirchen, near the hometown of Germany's first cosmonaut, Sigmund Jahn. Czechoslovakian cosmonaut Vladimir Remek was the first European in space, lifting off on March 2, 1978, followed later that year by Polish cosmonaut Miroslaw Hermaszewski and Jahn. At the invitation-only event, European space officials also will look to future missions, including participation in the International Space Station and other manned space activities.
MOSCOW - The head of Russia's Aviation and Space Agency said he will meet with Iranian officials to try to restart a joint satellite program that Iran wants to convert to a multinational effort. Rosaviakosmos, as the agency is known, had planned to build the Zohre communications satellite, but Iran said it was canceled.
TESTING: The T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer completed 20 months of static structural testing on Aug. 20, Lockheed Martin said Aug. 22. The tests were conducted by Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI), which is developing the aircraft with Lockheed Martin's help, and Korea Aerospace Research Institute. The tests indicated the aircraft will meet or exceed its structural design parameters, the company said.
Aiming to counter a constant headache experienced during operations in Iraq, U.S. Army leaders favor a plan to buy beyond-line-of-sight communications and satellite-aided navigation devices for thousands of Army logisticians, a top Army official said Aug. 22. The plan would implement a proposal to equip Army logistics teams with the means to communicate with field units beyond 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) and navigate using the Global Positioning System.
The U.S. Air Force is kicking off production Block 30 for its MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a $41.3 million order for 19 new UAVs that could launch Hellfire missiles. Manufacturer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems of San Diego, Calif., will begin delivering the aircraft to the Air Force in August 2004 and deliver the last one in August 2005, according to company spokeswoman Cyndi Wegerbauer. The order does not include ground control equipment, she said.
After months of delays, a bidding competition is set to begin in early September to design an air-to-ground missile need to replace the U.S. Army and Marine Corps' aging Hellfire inventory. The Army's Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., plans to issue next month a solicitation for industry to bid on the Joint Common Missile (JCM) contract, although ongoing budget drills continue to reshape the project's original scope and cost, said Col. Jody Maxwell, JCM project manager.
