SPECIAL STRESS: With the Obama administration’s newly planned decrease in overall ground forces and increased reliance on Special Operations Forces (SOF), congressional researchers are warning that there could still be limitations to SOF growth no matter how much the White House, Pentagon and Congress are willing to spend. “While DOD maintains that it is willing to increase its investment in SOF, there are limitations on expansion because of stringent qualification and training standards,” a Jan. 11 report to lawmakers says.
HELP WANTED: Australia is starting to outline the workforce it thinks it needs to match up against a plan for more than $200 billion in defense spending over the next decade, starting with the Future Submarine Project, slated to be Australia’s largest-ever single defense project. “A steady supply of steelworkers, welders, electricians and mechanics is needed, among many other trades. And we also need engineers, systems analysts, accountants and specialists in air and marine transport,” says Sen. Kim Carr, minister for defense materiel.
The U.S. Army’s Ground Combat Vehicle office is teaming up with the armed service’s Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) effort at Fort Bliss, Texas, this spring to test several non-developmental vehicle technologies as part of its larger analysis of alternatives/non-developmental testing and evaluation program.
Sikorsky has issued five technology challenges to entrepreneurs, offering winners access to a new innovation incubator in Stamford, Conn., where the helicopter manufacturer will provide technical and business mentoring. Sikorsky Innovations, the company’s technology development organization, is the first corporate sponsor of the Stamford Innovation Center, which opened on Feb. 2. with the goal of incubating new businesses in Connecticut.
Boeing has been awarded a $277 million contract from U.S. Naval Air Systems Command to support flight tests of the Raytheon Advanced Aerial Sensor (AAS) radar on the P-8A Poseidon maritime multimission aircraft.
The modification of the U.S. Navy’s aging Austin-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Ponce into a floating home base for mine hunters provides a road map for how the service and the rest of the military are going to have to do business in decades to come. With budget constraints pinching resources to develop, buy and deploy new vessels for emerging or increasing mission needs, the services will need to take their old equipment — even a four-decade-old warship like the Ponce — and alter it for new and novel uses.
The U.S. Army has stayed with experienced laser missile-jammer suppliers for the technology development phase of its Common Infrared Countermeasures (Circm) program, awarding contracts to BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman. ITT Excelis and Raytheon, both of which had hoped to enter the market through Circm, did not win contracts. Lockheed Martin was eliminated from the competition last year.
The U.S. Navy’s bolstered efforts to better maintain Aegis weapon systems are going well, but the service still has plenty of work to do, says the admiral who put the plan into action. “I have seen improvement across the board,” says Adm. John Harvey, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command. “But are we done? Absolutely not.” At Harvey’s insistence, the Navy started a more robust maintenance and monitoring plan to get the radar and combat system problems under control.`
MANILA — Philippines President Benigno Aquino has reignited the debate about whether the country should get fighters. Following the U.S. agreement to give 24 second-hand F-16s to Indonesia for free, Aquino is now calling for the U.S. to give the Philippines a similar deal, and has tasked the Philippines Air Force (PAF) to look into it. The Philippines has had no fighters since 2005, when it phased out its last Northrop F-5s.
THINK TWICE: Foreign military sales, financing and other U.S. defense exports will help the U.S. industrial base in years to come, but do not expect a rising tide that lifts all boats, regardless of how companies promote their growing international revenue, says a Wall Street analyst. “While we think there will be winners in the quest for international growth, it will not be as robust as some investors may expect,” says Michael Lewis of Lazard Capital Markets.
MANILA — The Philippines Air Force (PAF) plans to buy more military transports, light attack aircraft and helicopters to help in the country’s ongoing fight against Muslim insurgents in the south.
LONDON — The U.K. on Feb. 1 unveiled its long-awaited defense industrial white paper, the first time the Defense Ministry addresses key sectoral issues since severe budget cuts were imposed and program adjustments put in place in the 2010 Strategic Defense and Security Review.
NEW DELHI — With French firm Dassault Aviation on the brink of signing a multibillion-dollar order to supply 126 Rafale fighter jets to the Indian air force (IAF), the Indian government may choose to enlarge the contract by adding 60 more aircraft. The size of the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contract could eventually increase, as there is a provision for boosting the order by 50% without any increase in unit price, a defense ministry official says.
MANILA — The South China Sea dispute has led the Philippines to move to strengthen its military capability as quickly as possible as a hedge against maritime intrusions by China. The government is planning to sign contracts before the end of July for the purchase of military aircraft as part of its air force’s modernization program.
A cockpit upgrade for 20 U.S. Navy Lockheed Martin C-130Ts could be the first program to use a new open-systems avionics standard developed by government and industry to enable software reuse to speed the fielding of new capabilities. The first version of the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) technical standard was released Jan. 30, after just 18 months of work by a consortium formed under the auspices of open-systems standards organization The Open Group.
The top military officers in the U.S. Air Force and Army have signed a memorandum of agreement that outlines how the Air Force will provide direct airlift support to deployed Army units, an issue that had been a concern for some officers in light of a Pentagon decision to terminate the C-27J that was specifically purchased for that mission.
NEW DELHI and LONDON — The Indian government has named Dassault Aviation’s Rafale offering ahead of the Eurofighter Typhoon as the “lowest bidder” in the competition to supply at least 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) to the Indian air force. The development effectively means Rafale has won the $11 billion competition unless contractual talks now due to unfold in the coming months derail and prevent a deal from being signed. Industrial offset and other details still need to be worked out.
HERON DOWN: Weeks after being declared operational, one of the Israeli air force’s strategic UAVs, the medium-altitude long-endurance Eitan (Heron TP), crashed during a test flight Jan. 29. One of five produced so far by prime contractor IAI, the 4,000-kg (9,000-lb.) Heron TP was tested carrying a new payload, apparently on the limit of its carrying capability. “What we know is that one of the wings broke,” said Maj. Gen. Ido Nechushtan, air force commander.
A homeland security mission assigned largely to the Air National Guard in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks still lacks a plan to deal with its aging aircraft, according to the draft of a U.S. Government Accountability Office report obtained by Aviation Week. The report is coming at a delicate time for the Air Force. Supporters of the Air National Guard are sensing that reductions will be announced with the Feb. 13 budget release and are already mobilizing their response.
GENOA — Avio’s continued growth is reflected in its 2011 results, which improved from the previous year despite the difficult economic scenario in Europe. The Italian aerospace propulsion company, which is led by Francesco Caio, reached the €2 billion ($2.6 billion) revenue mark, improving by 14.5%, compared with €1.75 billion the year before. The company’s operating results also improved, to €380 million, versus €360 million in 2010.
