Antares Failure (One View). An Orbital ATK executive says “excessive bearing wear” in the turbopump of an Aerojet Rocketdyne engine, “main engine number one,” (ME-1) is “most probably” the cause of the October Antares launch failure. Orbital ATK Flight Systems Group President Ron Grabe makes the remarks April 14 at the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo. The preliminary finding is from Orbital ATK’s own anomaly investigation, one of many being made into the launch failure. Aerojet Rocketdyne spokesman Glenn Mahone says April 14 in a statement that the company believes that Orbital ATK’s statements are inconsistent and potentially misleading.
…Antares Failure (Another View). Mahone says Aerojet Rocketdyne formed an independent investigation team of its own to determine the direct and root causes of the failure. Aerojet Rocketdyne, Mahone says, concludes that the most likely root cause for the “main engine one” failure was foreign object debris originating from the ORB-3 launch vehicle liquid oxygen propellant tank, and possibly the propellant feed system, which Mahone says entered ME-1 and caused high speed turbine bearing degradation. Grabe says April 14 that Orbital ATK’s board would likely submit its report to the FAA by April 17.
NDAA Markup: The House Armed Services Committee’s markup of the National Defense Authorization Act begins next week. The subcommittee on emerging threats and capabilities and subcommittee on readiness meet to mark up the bill on Wednesday. Thursday will be a busy day on Capitol Hill, with the subcommittees on Tactical Air and Land Forces, Military Personnel, Seapower and Projection Forces, and Strategic Forces all meeting for markups. Meanwhile, the Senate Armed Services Committee will be holding a hearing on acquisition reform on Wednesday, with the Army, Navy and Air Force’s top acquisition officials scheduled to testify.
Navy Drones: SASC chairman John McCain, (R-Ariz), doesn’t expect to hear from the Defense Department regarding his letter on the Navy’s unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike program for a couple months, but that’s not going to stop SASC from moving forward in this year’s defense authorization bill, he says after a SASC hearing on April 16. There will be added language encouraging the Navy to “look into the greater capability of UCLASS rather than the restricted capability,” he says after an April 16 hearing, likely meaning a stealthy, highly weaponized UCLASS rather than as a long-range surveillance asset. He clarified that the language wouldn’t create another study that would push out the aircraft’s fielding even further.
Cluster Munitions: As a signatory of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the United States will end its use of cluster bombs by 2019. However, the weapons are a critical technology for protecting the Korean peninsula, and a replacement needs to be found by that deadline, says Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of U.S. Forces Korea. There is work underway to develop a munition with similar effects as cluster bombs but that would meet the requirements specified in the treaty, he says during a SASC hearing April 16. “We can use other munitions, but the munitions we have available to us, they don’t provide the [same] effect,” he notes.
$2 Billion to Raytheon for Patriot. Saudi Arabia awards Raytheon a contract worth over $2 billion to deliver the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System, company spokesman Michael Nachshen says April 23. The contract was awarded April 2 and booked in the second quarter as a direct commercial sale. It includes fully digitalized new-production Patriot fire units with the latest technology for threat detection, identification, and engagement, it says. The contract also includes a full training package and support equipment. Including this contract, Raytheon books over $5 billion in Patriot orders since December 2014, Daniel Crowley, president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, says in a statement.
USNS Trenton Delivered. Austal USA delivered the USNS Trention Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV-5) to the U.S. Navy on April 13. The 103-meter JHSV provides a multi-use platform to the Defense Department, capable of supporting rapid transportation of personnel, equipment, and supplies. It also supports military logistics, sustainment, and humanitarian relief operations at an average speed of 35 knots. The JHSV has a CH-53-capable flight deck to support helicopter operations. Austal plans to launch the Brunswick (JHSV-6) this spring and deliver it later in 2015.
E-6B Replacement? While the Boeing 707, which was developed in the 1950s, is a distant memory for today’s airline passengers, the U.S. military continues to fly several derivatives of the jet. But the leadership of the Navy, whose E-6B Mercury strategic command aircraft is a modified 707, is talking with U.S. Strategic Command about a possible replacement someday, says Rear Adm. C.J. Jaynes, the Navy’s program executive officer for air anti-submarine warfare, assault and special mission programs. The discussions are informal, and no deadline for a decision has been set, according to Jaynes, who spoke April 14 at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition. “They’re just looking at the number of aircraft and what the possibilities are,” she says.
INTERPOL and Cyber. INTERPOL recently opened its Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore to demonstrate its commitment to tackling ever changing crime trends, including cyber threats. “The state-of-the art facilities at the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation will significantly empower law enforcement agencies to take action at an international level,” Mireille Ballestrazzi, INTERPOL president, tells the Global Conference on Cyberspace at The Hague last week. “It will provide them with the right operational information and tools and the necessary expertise and skills to effectively combat cyber crime.” The new facility brings together law enforcement representatives, private sector experts and academics, who will conduct strategic trend monitoring and real-time analysis of emerging threats to digital security.
DHS, Financial Cyber Relations. Relations between the Department of Homeland Security and the nation’s financial sector “are directionally positive” when it comes to cyber security, Greg Garcia, executive director of the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council, tells a Senate panel. He says the relationship between DHS and the financial services sector is “productive” and that there are “tangible successes that we believe are improving the protection and resilience of our critical financial infrastructure.” He adds that “where there are programmatic gaps or implementation inefficiencies in the partnership, they are mutually acknowledged and addressed.”
