The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Summer Supplemental. HAC-D Chairman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) predicts Congress will send the final FY ’10 war-funding supplemental bill to the White House by early July. The Pentagon wanted the funding approved last month. The Senate passed a bill with $33.5 billion in war funding on May 27, but the full HAC canceled its markup of the supplemental, which also was scheduled for May 27. The HAC-D version has $32.5 billion in war funding, the amount President Barack Obama requested. House lawmakers have squabbled over non-war funding added to the bill. “At the moment, the supplemental is awaiting a decision about what else will go into it–what else we have the votes for–but I expect we will see the bill go to the president by the Fourth of July, with the defense portion of that bill intact,” Dicks says in prepared remarks delivered last Friday to the Showcase for Commerce defense-industry convention in Johnstown, Pa.
Drone U. L-3 Link Simulation & Training announced last week that it has signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly create an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Training Center with the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D. The UAS Training Center, which will be located on UND’s campus and Grand Forks AFB, will be the first non-military educational institution in the U.S. to provide initial qualification and continuation training for operators of the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper aircraft. The training center will begin operations in March 2011, according to an L-3 statement. The training center will provide advanced unmanned aircraft systems training opportunities to UND students pursuing a bachelor of science in aeronautics with a major in unmanned aircraft systems operations. In addition, the training center will support other organizations’ training requirements to develop highly capable Predator and Reaper operators. L-3 Link will provide and maintain a high-fidelity UAS simulator in addition to training center instructor support. The UAS training device is configured to simulate the Predator or Reaper, combining ground control station hardware, simulation software and high-fidelity, correlated databases to create a fully immersive environment.
Cyber Gaming. The sixth in a series of Air Force Space Command wargames recently concluded at Nellis AFB, Nev. Set in the year 2022, the event explored critical space and cyberspace issues and investigated the military utility of emerging space systems and cyberspace capabilities, according to the Air Force. Although the details of the scenario remain classified, the game “stressed space and cyberspace planning and deterrence in the context of a future global conflict,” says an Air Force release. This year’s game highlighted the importance of integrating cyber operations with space in support of national defense, as well as the role of U.S. allies and the commercial sector in space and cyberspace capabilities. The wargame also highlighted the increasing reliance on space and cyberspace as core enablers for all defense and homeland security operations. Approximately 550 military and civilian experts from more than 30 agencies around the country as well as Australian, Canadian, and Great Britain officials participated in the event.
On OA. When it comes to open architecture, the government’s stake in the game is all about data rights, Rear Adm. James Shannon, commander, Naval Surface Warfare Center, tells Defense Daily. “We can’t afford to buy solutions that we already own. And our contract negotiators need to understand that, too,” he says. Shannon adds he doesn’t think the people who negotiate Navy contracts truly understand this part of it. “When they are negotiating prices, the price ought to come down if we are arguing over things that are not truly proprietary and that’s where negotiations come into play,” he says. When a business wants to sell the Navy something they either have to compete on the lowest price based on the most efficient development of a system and the quality of that system, or the company says it has the end-all be-all solution that’s proprietary and nobody else has [it] and it’s a niche product, Shannon adds. “With the amount of money the DoD puts out into industry, that is not commercialized to other places, I have to question how much is a niche product and how much is DoD data that we should get a more affordable price than we are getting.” Shannon notes companies will respond that they are also bringing in their people who bring a certain quality of performance. “I don’t deny that. I agree with industry,” he adds. “The people in their corporations are doing terrific work, as are the people in the warfare centers. And you need to bring those pieces together to help get the obvious solution.”
CRDA. Insitu Inc., signs a Cooperative Research Development Agreement (CRDA) with the FAA this week for Unmanned Aircraft Systems National Airspace Integration Research, the company reports. Additionally, Insitu’s ScanEagle UAS logs more than 17,000 combat flight hours and 1,700 sorties with the Canadian Forces. Insitu’s Canadian partner ING Engineering deploys field service representatives with extensive military backgrounds to provide cutting-edge ISR in support of Canadian defence efforts in Afghanistan and Canada. ScanEagle has been deployed with the Canadian Forces in theater since 2008 and it recently completed a successful maritime flight demonstration aboard Canadian naval vessel HMCS Glace Bay.
Hot Time. General Atomics’ Advanced Power Systems Division says it completes testing of an advanced thermal energy storage device capable of cooling directed energy weapons (DEW). The 3 megajoule device is the first large scale module capable of storing heat at a high rate as required for DEW. “We are very pleased with its performance, which shows that it can store heat at an average rate of 230 kilowatts. To put it into perspective, it’s the equivalent of melting about 20 pounds of ice in 13 seconds,” says Paul Clark, manager, advanced power systems.
New On The Block. BAE Systems names John Gannon, a 20-year CIA veteran, president of its Information Solutions business, which provides information technology, intelligence analysis and other homeland security solutions to U.S. government agencies. Information Solutions supports the critical mission information technology and solutions needs of civilian, military and intelligence agencies. Its capabilities include a new cyber facility that eliminates threats, anticipates vulnerabilities and tracks potential intrusions into BAE’s computer networks. Gannon joined BAE in 2005 as vice president and senior general manager of the company’s Global Analysis business, a unit of Information Solutions.
Structure. Applied NanoStructured Solutions LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin and Owens Corning, signs a joint development agreement to support the commercialization of carbon-enhanced reinforcements. Under the agreement, the companies plan to combine the carbon infusion technology of ANS with Owens Corning’s reinforcements expertise to create a family of next-generation composite materials. The companies expect the carbon-enhanced reinforcements to be scalable to meet the demands of large-volume applications and provide mechanical properties with customizable electrical and thermal conductivity, Lockheed Martin says.
CALI. SPAWAR selects General Dynamics to compete for future orders under the Common Afloat Local Area Network Infrastructure (CALI) IDIQ multiple award contracts, the company reports. Under the CALI IDIQ contracts, contractors will provide ships and submarines with common computing environment components, integrated logistics support, configuration management, test and evaluation, quality assurance and installation support. Specific requirements will be defined in individual orders. As one of three awardees under the CALI initiative, General Dynamics will lead an experienced team in delivering secure, COTS hardware, software and networking equipment, the company says. GD, Lockheed Martin and SAIC will all compete for contracts with a ceiling of $502 million.
New Office. General Dynamics C4 Systems plans to open an office inside Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland to support critical military technology programs based there that connect Army soldiers to one another and to the information they need to execute their missions. The company is relocating a core team from Fort Monmouth, N.J., to a new office building within The Government and Technology Enterprise (The GATE) project at Aberdeen Proving Ground. GD supports several key communications programs, including Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T), Joint Tactical Radio System program, the Command Post of the Future, a collaborative online command and control system, and the Common Hardware/Software-3 (CHS-3) program, which enables military users to access the latest commercial computer and networking advancements. GD is leasing 10,000-square feet of space in the new single-story office building and expects to move in this summer.
Teaming Up. BAE Systems and DEW Engineering & Development of Ottawa sign a teaming agreement to collaborate for the Close Combat Vehicle (CCV) program, which is one of Canada’s highest priority programs. DEW would carry out final assembly of the turret, as well as integration and test for the CV90 if the vehicle is chosen for the CCV program. This arrangement will be similar to the proven approach already demonstrated with all five existing CV90 export customers–Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Holland and Denmark. BAE also teamed with DEW for the LEMUR remotely controlled weapon system, which is being offered for the Tactical Armored Patrol Vehicle, CCV, LAV III programs and M113 upgrades. BAE has operated in Canada since 2000.
Capability This Year. Nato June 1 formally opened an expanded theater missile defense test facility that keeps the program on track to deliver a capability this year to protect deployed alliance forces from BMD attacks. The test facility, hosted in the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) houses new prototypes, and will play a key role in major tests scheduled for July. This will begin the last round of major tests and experiments, before the first operational capability being handed over to NATO’s commanders. The state-of-the-art facility, first opened in 2008, tests the designs for a NATO system that will allow European and U.S. missile defense technologies to work together as part of a NATO TMD system.
Rear View. Oshkosh Defense receives three awards valued at more than $46 million to deliver more than 3,100 rear-view camera systems for the MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV). Oshkosh will supply 2,800 camera systems to the military for field installation and add more than 300 systems into current M-ATV production lines. Production installation will take place from August to September. A small number of camera systems also will be shipped to testing sites. Oshkosh has now received awards to supply more than 7,500 rear-view camera systems for the M-ATV. The camera systems integrate with existing vehicle video displays and provide improved rearward visibility under all operating conditions, including dust, obscurants and bad weather in both day and night operations, the company says. The systems use an infrared camera core in an LED-equipped tailgate assembly.
Leading The Way. Global financial concerns have little impact on world military spending, says the 2010 SIPRI Yearbook released June 2. The United States, with a real-terms increase of $47 billion, accounted for 54 percent of the world increase in military expenditure. For countries where data was available, SIPRI says 65 percent increased their military spending in real terms in 2009. In an analysis by region, Asia and Oceania showed the fastest real-terms increase with 8.9 percent. “Many countries were increasing public spending generally in 2009, as a way of boosting demand to combat the recession. Although military spending wasn’t usually a major part of the economic stimulus packages, it wasn’t cut either,” says Sam Perlo-Freeman, head of the Military Expenditure Project at SIPRI. “The figures also demonstrate that for major or intermediate powers such as the USA, China, Russia, India and Brazil military spending represents a long-term strategic choice…”