The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Approps End Game. SAC Chairman Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) says he expects Congress will deliver the defense appropriations bill for FY ’10, which started Oct. 1, to President Barack Obama “by the end of the year.” House and Senate appropriations have not held a formal conference committee to reconcile their bills, and aren’t planning to meet this holiday week. Inouye tells reporters Nov. 17 he expects Congress to consider a supplemental funding bill for the Afghanistan war early next year, and does not foresee added funding for the conflict to be tacked on to the base FY ’10 defense appropriations measure. For that additional supplemental, he says, “It’s got to be fully considered and debated by the authorizers,” adding: “This is a very important matter.” He wants the debate on the funding, he says, because he “wasn’t elected” to, along with other lawmakers, serve as “rubber stamps.” It remains to be seen how big the supplemental would be because Obama has not decided whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Icy Ships. The Coast Guard now has enough money to reactivate the drydocked Polar Star icebreaker, thanks to the FY ’10 Homeland Security appropriations act. The ship, one of two operational polar ice breakers, has been in non-operational caretaker status since 2006, The FY ’10 appropriations act provides $32.5 million to reactive and extend the service life of Polar Star by seven to 10 years, thus providing the final needed funding for the $62.8 million, 30-month project, a Coast Guard spokeswoman tells Defense Daily. A similar project was completed in 2006 on the Polar Sea icebreaker, which extended its service life to approximately 2014. The service is scheduled to complete in June 2010 a High Latitude Study, which is assessing polar icebreaking mission requirements.
…Lake Ice. As some lawmakers continue to push for building another icebreaker for the Great Lakes, the Coast Guard has arranged a Great Lakes Icebreaking Mission Analysis Report, service spokeswoman Lt. Nadine Santiago says. Commissioned in August from AIM Consulting, the analysis due by next May will inform the Coast Guard “as to whether additional capabilities are needed to perform the icebreaking missions, and how the (service) might proceed in acquiring those capabilities,” she says. “At this point, we cannot answer whether we are planning any further Great Lakes icebreaking capabilities, but will have a clearer picture on our needs once the (report) is complete.”
Cyber Pass. The House Science and Technology Committee has passed legislation requiring federal agencies to develop, update, and implement a strategic plan for cybersecurity research and development. The Cybersecurity Research and Development Amendments Act of 2009, approved by the committee Nov. 18, would require a roadmap detailing each agency’s role and the level of funding required to fulfill research objectives. Multiple cybersecurity bills are in the works in Congress. A forthcoming measure from Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman (I/D-Conn.) and Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-Maine) will give the Department of Homeland Security the backing and personnel needed to monitor federal civilian networks and defend against attacks, Lieberman has said.
Panel Approves Southers. The Senate Homeland Security Committee has moved Erroll Southers one step closer to becoming the next head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Southers’ nomination, which must still be passed by the full Senate, was approved unanimously by voice vote. The panel also approved the nomination of Daniel Gordon to be administrator for Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget.
TSA Boosting Competition. The Transportation Security Administration has increased the amount of competition for its acquisition dollars the past several years and plans to go higher, an agency official says. In FY ’07, TSA awarded 65 percent of its obligated contract spending via competitions, a percentage that bumped up to 71 percent in FY ’08 and 72 percent last year, Domenico Cippichio, the agency’s chief procurement executive, says at an Industry Day. He adds that in FY ’10 the Office of Management and Budget has a goal for sole source contracts to be reduced by 10 percent.
Speeding Entry. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a proposed rule that would make permanent the Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry program, which expedites the entry of trusted travelers into the United States. Global Entry is currently a pilot program at 20 United States international airports. Global Entry members– mainly U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have received background checks–walk up to a kiosk upon arrival at an airport and insert their passport or lawful permanent resident card into a document reader, provide digital fingerprints for comparison, and answer customs declaration questions on a touch-screen. This process has reduced average wait times at customs stations by more than 70 percent for Global Entry members. There are 27,000 members in Global Entry. The United States has a reciprocal arrangement with The Netherlands that links Global Entry with the Privium program in Amsterdam.
Germans In Afghanistan. A top German official says that the country could send more troops to Afghanistan after completion of a key review early next year. German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg says Germany would reassess troop levels in Afghanistan following a European-sponsored conference on the war at the end of January. “Germany will reassess its mandate and make decisions then after the conference,” he tells an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. Guttenberg says increasing Germany’s 4,500-troop commitment would depend on the Obama administration’s new war strategy, as well as “action” by Afghanistan’s government to fight corruption and take control of the country’s security.
Aerospace Ethics. The member companies of the Executive Committee of AIA’s Board of Governors have signed on to the Global Principles of Business Ethics for the Aerospace and Defense Industry, setting the stage for other companies across the industry to join, AIA says. The Global Principals of Business Ethics were developed over the course of this year, and endorsed by AIA and the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe in October during the ASD annual convention. The principles extend to an international arena many of the tenets included in the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Conduct, which was established in the United States in 1986, and expands upon the Common Industry Standards for European Aerospace and Defense. The Global Principles address business conduct as it relates to zero tolerance of corruption, use of advisers, management of conflicts of interest and respect for proprietary information. “Long-term success in today’s global marketplace depends on ethical business behavior and a common set of standards,” says AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey. “We’re looking forward to the time when companies across the world sign up to the principles.”
First Flight. The first conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter made its first flight on Nov. 14, prime contractor Lockheed Martin says. The F-35A, called AF-1, left Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth plant and flew to 20,000 feet at Mach 0.6. The company test pilot raised and lowered the landing gear, performed 360-degree rolls and lifted the nose to 20 degrees angle of attack during an 89-minute flight, according to a company statement. AF-1 was built on the same production line as the 31 Low Rate Initial Production aircraft now in assembly. The aircraft incorporates many evolutionary improvements and updates derived from the test program of AA-1, the first F- 35. AF-1 joins two F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variants currently in flight test.
The Human Side. As the Navy looks to unmanned systems to provide more ISR capability, the service has also made significant improvements in its HUMINT capability, Vice Adm. Jack Dorsett, DCNO for information dominance (N2/N6) and director of naval intelligence (DNI), tells Defense Daily. “We’ve done so because we recognized the need…our senior leaders and I, for both tactical purposes and strategic purposes, ” he says. The Navy has created tactical HUMINT teams that have been deployed into Iraq and Afghanistan and are also being used afloat for other activities and operations, he adds. Dorsett says he doesn’t see a need for HUMINT diminishing. “I think there is a clear need for HUMINT and the Navy is committed to a modest HUMINT capability. We won’t be as large as the Army’s capability, but we have invested a couple of hundred people in the last few years.”
…All In The Numbers.. The Navy has 108 intelligence professionals in Afghanistan and 176 in Iraq , Dorsett notes. “A large number of individuals in Iraq, or Afghan, or Djibouti, are at joint command centers and operating out in the field. It’s a sizable number. We are operating in environments we have not previously operated in, but they are almost in all joint operating environments now,” he says. The other intelligence services and agencies are doing the same. All are contributing individuals in the forward fight, Dorsett adds. “That is changing the culture, in part of the intelligence community, where collaboration and coordination is much more the norm. Even in issues not associated with Iraq or Afghanistan, I find the Navy’s partnership with a couple of the national agencies in some key areas to be profoundly improved over what I’ve experienced through my career. And it has to be,” he adds. “We are operating in a different world and it is more collaborative. That doesn’t mean we are not separate, that we don’t have our own unique cultures and focus, but many of the barriers are being brought down based on current operating opportunities.”
Open. The USS Bunker Hill (CG0-2) is certified for fleet deployment after undergoing the first Aegis Modernization under ACB 08–the Navy’s effort to begin introducing open architecture systems. Under ACB 08, the Navy and industry partners have successfully separated the combat system hardware from the software. The Bunker Hill wrapped up her combat system qualification tests in July. ACB 12, the follow-on OA effort, went through critical design review last week.
On The Move. NSWC Indian Head Division begins construction on a new $19.1 million dollar Weapons and Armaments Packaging, Handling, Storage and Transportation (PHS&T) facility at the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, the Navy says. The service is transferring PHS&T functions from Earle Naval Weapons Station, N.J., to Picatinny Arsenal as part of an integrated weapons and armament specialty site for guns and ammunition. The 46,100-square-foot PHS&T facility is expected to be completed in 2011 and will provide facilities for approximately 65 engineers, scientists and technicians, the Navy adds. Other Navy gun and ammunition research and development functions moving to Picatinny Arsenal as a result of BRAC 2005 recommendation include functions at NSWC Port Hueneme Detachment Louisville, Ky.; Naval Air Warfare Center China Lake; and NSWC Crane including the detachment in Fallbrook, Calif.
New NSWC Dahlgren Division Technical Director. Carl Siel will provide senior civilian perspective and continuity of leadership to the workforce, steward technical excellence, and enable competency alignment between the division and headquarters elements, the Navy says. Siel has served as chief systems engineer for ASN RDA, where he was the principal civilian for Systems Engineering and provided senior leadership for matters concerning software development, technology protection, net-centric integration and interoperability of combat, weapon, and command, control, communications and intelligence systems across Navy and Marine Corps programs, the service adds.
First Flight For Target. NSWC Port Hueneme Division White Sands Detachment, in concert with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Program Office (ABMD) and Missile Defense Agency Targets and Countermeasures Office (MDA-TC), successfully completes first flight of the Aegis Readiness Assessment Vehicle Group C (ARAV-C) target vehicle at the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, Hawaii, the Navy reports. The ARAV-C target vehicle–a low-cost, ballistic missile target–was developed and deployed in an 18-month window by NSWC Port Hueneme, MDA, the Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Lab and the contractor support team to deliver a missile target with the sophistication to fully prove the advanced baseline 4.01 system. Flight of the ARAV-C was the final mission of Fleet Training Exercise-06, Event 4 and provided the first opportunity of the ABMD baseline 4.0.1 software to stress system capabilities against specific threat target characteristics. The initial flight met all test objectives for both the target and the Baseline 4.0.1 software, the Navy adds.
Learning To Fly. Insitu starts training UAS operators and maintenance personnel in its new Integrated Learning Environment (ILE), the company says. Insitu, in collaboration with Corsair Engineering, Inc., developed the ILE to meet customer requirements garnered through five years of in-theater land and maritime ScanEagle operations. Insitu UAS Instructors and Corsair’s training system developers collaborated to develop an ILE that fully prepares operator and maintenance personnel for the challenging missions Insitu’s global customers execute, the company adds. This industry-leading UAS training system was developed in accordance with MIL STD 29612 guidelines to ensure compliance with armed services customer requirements. ILE is a blended training solution, integrating highly interactive Computer Based Training, Instructor Mediated Lessons, simulation events utilizing virtual instruction and full-mission simulation scenarios. The training culminates in a three-day live field exercise in which operators are required to execute all phases of a simulated combat deployment, Insitu says.
Independent Review. Army Secretary John McHugh says the National Research Council (NRC) will perform an independent assessment of the Army’s body armor testing, following last month’s recommendation by GAO for an independent review. The NRC functions under the auspices of the National Academies, a private, nonprofit institution that provides science, technology, and health policy advice to the federal government and the public on critical national issues. “We are committed to providing our warfighters with world-class equipment, and are confident that our body armor continues to defeat the threat to our soldiers,” McHugh says. “The Army welcomes this independent review, and is grateful for the analysis and expertise of the National Research Council.” The NRC assessment is to ensure that the Army maintains the highest standards for testing processes and protocols, thus addressing concerns raised by the GAO about current testing procedures.
Training Modules. Oshkosh Corp. receives a $5.6 million firm fixed-price contract from the Army for the procurement of 26 egress trainer cabin modules for the Oshkosh M-ATV and initial spare parts for a stateside training and certification standard program. The Army is now mandated to train all M-ATV crewmembers with the skills required to safely and effectively egress the vehicle. “A shift in Army strategy has encouraged M-ATV training to take place stateside versus in theater,” says Andy Hove, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, Defense. “Oshkosh Defense is supporting this effort by delivering ahead of schedule to make the stateside training possible. By providing simulated preparation in United States, troops bound for Afghanistan will be trained more efficiently and be ready to operate upon arrival in theater.”
Guard Development. The National Guard Bureau awards Northrop Grumman a five-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract valued at up to $50 million to support the National Guard Bureau Joint Doctrine, Training and Force Development (NGB-J7). Northrop Grumman will support the planning and execution of programs for joint doctrine, education, training, exercises, assessments and corrective actions for the National Guard Bureau headquarters, Joint Force Headquarters for the States and Territories, and subordinate joint entities. “Northrop Grumman’s training experience and proven personnel will greatly benefit the National Guard in strengthening critical joint force development and training programs,” says Ward Critz, Northrop Grumman Technical Services program manager for the contract. “We specialize in developing, planning and executing unmatched military training and we are postured to provide superior training in the homeland security and homeland defense arenas.”
New Award. AEI President Arthur Brooks announces that Army Gen. David Petraeus will be presented with the 2010 Irving Kristol Award. Petraeus, who commands the United States Central Command, will deliver the Kristol lecture on May 6. The yearly award is presented at the Institute’s annual dinner to an individual, selected by the AEI Council of Academic Advisers, who has made exceptional intellectual or practical contributions to improved government policy, social welfare, or political understanding.
The Best of ’09. ATK was honored by Time Magazine not once, but twice in their “Best Inventions of 2009” special edition. Time writers called NASA’s Ares I rocket the “best and coolest and smartest thing built in 2009.” ATK is the prime contractor for the solid rocket motor first stage of the Ares I. Additionally, ATK’s XM25 air-bursting munitions system placed 46 on Time‘s list. The XM25 features a unique turn-count fuze, coupled with a laser range finder to detonate without impact at a pre-determined range. The XM25 is ideal for defeating an enemy hiding in bunkers, behind buildings or other barriers that prevent direct line-of-sight contact, ATK adds. As Time put it, “You fire a bullet, and it explodes where you tell it to,” ATK says. “To be honored not just once, but two times for products in different segments of our business speaks not only to ATK’s culture of innovation but also our ability to deliver that creative solution in support of our expanding customer base,” John Shroyer, ATK CFO and interim CEO, says.