The Pentagon’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (Jieddo) is looking for industry solutions to the problem of homemade explosives (HME) — specifically those made with ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which has become the deadliest weapon used against NATO troops in Afghanistan. According to a Broad Area Announcement issued Jan. 17, Jieddo is looking for studies that will “define the signatures and available observables” for these explosives, as well as “aid in the development of capabilities to counter these threats.”
President Barack Obama’s budget release will be delayed a week until Feb. 13, an administration official confirms. “The date was determined based on the need to finalize decisions and technical details of the document,” the official said in an email, adding that in keeping with efforts to rein in the federal deficit, the administration will not distribute paper copies of the budget. The administration is supposed to submit its budget to Congress on the first Monday of February. The Obama administration has met that deadline just once — in 2010.
LONDON — In another indication that the maritime surveillance market is remaining robust even as defense spending comes under pressure, a group of companies — Indra, Selex Galileo, FLIR Systems, Airborne Technologies and Tecnam — has unveiled a new maritime surveillance venture. The program is built on Tecnam’s light twin-engine P2006T and should be ready for entry into service by year’s end, Indra says in a statement announcing the effort.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) has sent an unsolicited proposal to United Launch Alliance (ULA) that would cut the price of RL10 rocket engines by 25%, and by almost half from the levels reached in summer 2010.
Michael McCord, the U.S. Defense Department’s comptroller, warns of dire consequences if more than $1 trillion in approved cuts to military spending over 10 years are allowed to take effect. The result would be the lowest number of ships since World War I, the smallest ground force since 1940 and the smallest Air Force ever, he recently told investors.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is due to release a report Jan. 24 that analyzes the U.S. Navy’s decision to restart the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer production line. GAO is seeking to determine the underlying basis for the Navy’s decision to select the DDG-51 as the “best hullform” for future surface combatants. Requested by the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, GAO’s report and congressional reaction to it could force the Navy to revise its strategy for destroyers and combat systems.
BEIJING — The Royal Australian Navy, moving ahead with the general installation of an anti-ship missile defense (ASMD) upgrade, plans to hand over an Anzac-class frigate for enhancement by BAE Systems in September. Seven ships will be heavily modified in the program, whose key feature is a CEA Technologies radar suite with active, electronically scanned arrays. The eighth member of the class, HMAS Perth, already has the system and proved its effectiveness in trials last year.
REPLACING MILAN: The French government has awarded MBDA an initial risk-reduction contract for the MMP missile, the replacement for the Milan missile. The development program is due to be launched late this year, French defense armament agency DGA says. The scale of the initial contract awarded on Dec. 30 has not been disclosed. MMP is due to have a range of around 2,500 meters (8,200 ft.), the French government says, although longer ranges have also been cited for the weapon. It is being designed to engage fixed and moving targets during the day or night.
Boeing reports the fourth Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) military communications satellite is “healthy and ready to begin orbital maneuvers and operational testing” following its Jan. 19 launch from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. The 7,600-lb. spacecraft, based on a Boeing 702 platform, was lifted into orbit on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV in a Medium-plus configuration. It was ULA’s first launch of the year and the Delta IV’s 18th. Contact with it was made 58 min. after liftoff.
NAS PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ushered the F-35B out of the penalty box, after the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) version of the stealthy fighter was sidelined for poor performance for more than a year by prior Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Standing in a hangar in front of BF-4, one of two F-35Bs to conduct testing on the USS Wasp amphibious ship last fall, Panetta spoke to a small audience of government and industry workers on the Joint Strike Fighter test team.
The Pentagon should tighten the way it uses security exceptions in contracting for certain goods and services, says a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). “DOD (Department of Defense) intelligence agencies and special access programs frequently use the exception, but are generally excluded from reporting procurement data,” GAO says in its January report.
LONDON — In a sign that European defense companies may be stepping up activities to rationalize their product portfolio, Rheinmetall and EADS’s Cassidian unit have agreed to a joint venture (JV) covering tactical and medium-altitude unmanned aircraft and cargo loading systems. Cassidian will control 51% of the JV, although Rheinmetall appears to be providing the bulk of the technology content. In return, Rheinmetall is due to receive an undisclosed cash consideration once the deal closes, which is expected mid-year pending anti-trust authorization.
BLACK HAWKS DOWN: The Australian Army temporarily suspended Black Hawk helicopter flight operations Jan. 19 after finding “a number of fractured bolts during a routine maintenance check,” the Australian defense ministry says. “The precautionary suspension will remain in place to allow an investigation into the cause of the fracture to be completed,” says Col. Stephen Evans, acting director of general aviation. Navy Seahawk helicopters, which have a different design in the affected area, were not grounded.
LONDON — The European Neuron unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator was rolled out on Jan. 19 in what is shaping up to be a critical year for UCAVs in Europe. Prime contractor Dassault says the software integration for Neuron is in its final stages, and ground and engine tests will start soon. First flight of Neuron is planned for mid-2012 at the Istres flight test center in France, where the air vehicle has been assembled and was rolled out.
Douglas Royce/Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com
The fighter market is forecast to see increased growth during the next decade, primarily because of the impact of the Lockheed Martin F-35/Joint Strike Fighter program. The U.S. military is by far the world's largest potential market for fighters, and the Pentagon has centered its future fighter requirements entirely on the F-35 JSF program.
Researchers are all too familiar with the huge costs, high risks and frustratingly slow pace of high-speed flight testing, not to mention the scarcity of opportunities. Now a Colorado-based team is developing a small supersonic UAV (below) for low-risk testing at a fraction of the cost of existing systems. Dubbed the Gojett (graduate organization jet engine technology team), the ambitious project is aimed at breaking the supersonic test paradigm and filling part of the void left by retirement of reusable flying testbeds like the legendary X-15.
India's concept program for a stealth unmanned combat air vehicle (Ucav), the Aura, has received crucial support from the Indian air force (IAF) in the form of a recommendation that it be accorded “major project” status, a move that will ensure generous and regular infusions of funds.
Andrew Dardine/Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com, Theresa Hartley/Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com
The worldwide demand for special-mission aircraft for everything from drug interdiction to medevac is leading to a corresponding need for visual enhancement systems. The increase in drug-trafficking activity in many parts of the world has stimulated growth in the market for smaller special-purpose aircraft engaged in surveillance and targeting of illegal activity. To help meet this demand, nearly all manufacturers of regional/commuter business jets and corporate turboprops now offer variants that can serve in multiple roles.
“We're going to shrink to win.” Scott Donnelly, the chairman, president and CEO of Textron, is referring to his strategy of cutting the company's cost structure while simultaneously investing in new products and chasing new business. The question is whether he will ultimately be forced to execute that strategy on a larger scale. Textron, a 32,000-employee conglomerate and parent company of Cessna, Bell Helicopter, Textron Systems and Lycoming, has come under varying degrees of shareholder pressure for more than three years to sell off underperforming operations.
Combat Aircraft: Growing demand for stealth technology gives Lockheed Martin's F-35 a dominant position in the global fighter market, even if the U.S. cuts the number it buys. And where the F-35 leads, new trainers will follow. See pp. 49 and 54. Commercial Transports: They face new challengers this time around, but Airbus and Boeing rake in orders in a high-stakes struggle for the narrowbody market. Their airline customers warn of higher costs and lower profits in 2012. See pp. 76, 80, 86 and 88.
Andrew Krepinevich, Jr., is president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, one of Washington's most influential think tanks, and serves on the Defense Policy Board. He discussed the changes and challenges of U.S. strategy with Senior North American Editor Paul McLeary. AW&ST: The U.S. is about to make a major strategic shift away from fighting in the Middle East and Southwest Asia to a naval and air-based posture in the Western Pacific. How difficult do you envision the transition?
Is the U.S. dominance of the large military airlifter market nearing its end? The coming decade should show whether new entrants can force a major change in the balance of power governing the export of military transports. A combination of factors could lead to the shift in market dynamics: the anticipated arrival of new competitors—principally the Airbus Military A400M and Embraer KC-390—growth in overall production numbers and a decline in U.S. spending.
