Örnsköldsvik, Sweden — The CV90 tracked infantry fighting vehicle, which is in service with six nations and produced here by BAE Systems Hägglunds, is about to be delivered in a range of new variants that include medical evacuation, mortar carrier and cargo transport.
The defense authorization bill could be debated on the Senate floor just after Thanksgiving, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee told reporters Nov. 13. “I would like to lay it down this Friday,” says Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.). “But the leaders assured me it would be the first thing after Thanksgiving.”
LOS ANGELES — A two-seat production derivative of Northrop Grumman’s secretly developed Firebird medium-altitude optionally piloted vehicle (OPV) demonstrator has begun test flights for an unidentified customer. Flown by two Northrop test pilots, the OPV made its first flight from Mojave, Calif., on Nov. 12. Powered by a single Lycoming TEO-540E piston engine, the twin-boom configured aircraft climbed to 3,880 ft. and reached a maximum speed of 100 kt. during a short, 6-min. circuit.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) appears to have found the best defense against the looming specter of sequestration feared by other major prime defense contractors — multiyear shipbuilding programs favored and nurtured by the U.S. Navy. Those programs are also helping shield the shipbuilder, too, from some of the Pentagon budget-busting, although HII is a bit concerned about the current financial climate on its suppliers.
As it lays out plans to demonstrate technology for the Future Vertical Lift Medium (FVL-M) rotorcraft to replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk after 2030, the U.S. Army has decided not to fly advanced mission systems in the planned demonstrator aircraft. The Army’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) plans to award contracts to begin design of demonstrator rotorcraft in September 2013 under the Joint Multi Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR TD) program.
KLEINE-BROGEL, Belgium — The European Defense Agency (EDA) has been organizing a series of multinational helicopter exercises and instructional courses to increase the number of interoperable crews available for operations. The latest training event, Exercise Green Blade 2012, was held in eastern Belgium from Sept. 18 to Oct. 5. The exercise was hosted by the Belgian defense ministry at Kleine-Brogel air base, together with the Special Operations Forces Exercise Pegasus 2012, organized by the Belgian Special Forces Group.
Örnsköldsvik, Sweden — Now entering its 20th year of service, the CV90 tracked infantry fighting vehicle is at the heart of BAE Systems’ ambitious program to develop a multiuse adaptive camouflage system. The CV90, which is in service with six nations and produced here by BAE Systems Hägglunds, is about to be delivered in a range of new variants that include medical evacuation, mortar carrier and cargo transport.
DOD ON AMOS: The U.S. Defense Department will use leased communications capacity on two Israeli Amos satellites under a pair of contracts awarded to Amos operator Spacecom by DRS Technical Services Inc. The U.S. military will use Ku-band capacity from Spacecom’s Amos-3, located at 4 deg. W., and C-band capacity on Amos-5, positioned at 17 deg. E. The capacity enables reliable two-way communications with U.S. armed forces stationed in Europe who are training for missions in the Middle East, according to the companies.
Click here to view the pdf 2013 U.S. Defense Spending: Current Funding Outlook: Defense-wide RDT&ELines where 2013 request differs from the 2012 enacted amount by more than 20% ($ in thousands) 2013 U.S.
AIR FORCE General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Poway, Calif., (FA8650-13-C-1543) is being awarded a $7,034,404.00 cost-plus-fixed fee, research and development contract for the continuous look/attack management for the Predator software updates. The location of the performance is Poway. The work is expected to be completed by Nov. 7, 2016. The contracting activity is AFRL/RQKSR, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, (FA8611-08-C-2897, P00161) is being awarded an $11,902,915 contract modification for additional work for the automatic backup oxygen supply in the F-22 life support system. The location of the performance is Marietta, Ga. The work is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2014. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WWUK, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
Defeating corrosion is one of the top priorities for the U.S. Navy waterfront community, according to a recent report obtained by the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) that was prepared by a Navy Operational Advisory Group (OAG). Corrosion control is listed as one of the leading 20 priorities identified in the Oct. 23 report prepared by the OAG, a group managed by the Navy’s Surface Warfare Enterprise to provide fleet input on surface combatant needs.
The U.S. and other nations studying changes in the Arctic should investigate using UAVs and other unmanned systems to gather data on nearly inaccessible areas of the region, says a recent report from the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies. The NRC report also highlights the need for more data on the region and a more coordinated international and technological effort to gather information about climatic changes, which the study says are significant.
The U.S. Navy took a major step toward getting one of its aircraft carriers back into the fleet earlier this month when the CVN-71 USS Theodore Roosevelt completed an overnight habitability fast cruise. The Nimitz-class carrier is now in the final stages of finishing its refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding unit, and the fast cruise is a significant step toward finishing the refueling, repairs and renovations.
ZHUHAI, China — Avic is promoting export sales of a fighter, unofficially known as the J-31, that has been shown in three apparently staged events over the past few months, including what may have been its first flight last month.
ASHDOD, Israel — A recent bombing attack on an arms factory in Sudan may point to an Israeli electronic warfare capability that allows non-stealthy aircraft to avoid being targeted by radar.
NaVAL RADIO: The U.S. Navy has ordered an additional 53 AN/USC-61(C) four-channel Digital Modular Radios (DMR) from General Dynamics for use aboard new U.S. Navy ships, submarines and inshore sites. In addition to the new radios, existing DMR hardware will be modified to accommodate networking waveforms owned by the government, according to a company statement. The order, which has a total potential value of $35 million, exercises an option on a contract awarded in 2010. General Dynamics has delivered more than 500 DMR radios to the Navy, according to the company.
AIR FORCE Harris Corp. Government Communications Systems, Palm Bay, Fla., (FA8819-08-C-0001, P00119) is being awarded a $36,329,490.00 cost plus award fee, cost plus fixed fee and firm fixed price contract to provide upgrades for the five Counter Communication Systems (CCS) Block 10 systems to the CCS B10.1 baseline and critical and depot system spares to meet operational reliability requirements. The location of the performance is Palm Bay, Fla. The work is expected to be completed by Feb. 7, 2014. The contracting activity is SMC/SY, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
AIR FORCE General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Poway, Calif., (FA8620-10-G-3038, DO 0052) is being awarded a $125,487,106 contract for 10 MQ-9 modified Block 1 aircraft. The location of the performance is Poway. The work is expected to be completed by Nov. 28, 2014. The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WIIK, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
News of a Nov. 1 Iranian attack on a U.S. UAV is adding fuel to congressional efforts to undo potential federal budget cuts due to take place in January.
