The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
ASP Still Holding. Despite plans to have resumed field testing of the Advanced Spectroscopic Portal earlier this summer, the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) and Customs and Border Protection are still working to do so. Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Jane Holl Lute tells the Senate Homeland Security Committee that once field testing on the next-generation Radiation Portal Monitor is complete, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will finalize a cost-benefit analysis and undertake an Acquisition Review Board meeting. The ARB will then make recommendations to DHS Chief Janet Napolitano on certifying ASP, Lute says, adding that if the technology is certified it will be a “major improvement in border security against nuclear threats without impeding the flow of commerce.” DHS originally hoped to deploy ASPs for primary screening but earlier this year decided to only use the systems for secondary screening at ports of entry.
…New DHS Nuke Terrorism Group. To help it meet the challenge of preventing a nuclear terrorism incident, DHS recently established a Nuclear Terrorism Working Group that is staffed by the “heads of key components” within the department and chaired by Lute, she tells the panel. The working group “meets weekly and examines the department’s roles and activities and the component’s roles and activities and coordinates those activities with DNDO and also with our Science and Technology Directorate,” she says. “We want to understand and develop our plan for meeting the operational challenges on the ground.”
EFV Endgame. The SAC’s version of the FY ’11 defense appropriations bill sets aside funding for ending the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle effort if upcoming testing of EFV prototypes–which are redone versions of vehicles that fared poorly in 2006 tests–does not go well. The Marine Corps wants $242.8 million for developing the EFV. The SAC calls for granting just $38.8 million in funding to carry the program through testing, while appropriating $183.5 million for terminating the General Dynamics effort if needed. “After the investment of nearly $2,900,000,000 in research and development funds over more than two decades, the Committee believes that further investment in the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle is not warranted if improved performance of the new prototypes cannot be demonstrated,” the SAC says in its report on the bill it marked up Sept. 16. “The Committee further notes that if the program is successful in demonstrating improved performance, the program would likely continue to face challenges in the areas of cost, schedule, weight, and other factors.”
F-18 Hill Maneuver. Legislation approved by the House and Senate, on Sept. 14 and Sept. 16, enables Boeing to secure a multi-year contract to sell the Pentagon 124 F/A- 18E/F/G Super Hornet and Growler fighter jets over four years. The bill makes technical changes to the FY ’10 defense authorization bill so that the Pentagon could enter into the contract by a Sept. 30 deadline. The measure adds statutory language saying the multi-year deal has all authorizations required under law and removes a provision saying the Pentagon had to agree to the multi-year deal by March 1, 2010, because Congress did not receive a multi-year certification from the Pentagon until May 14. The multi-year deal for 124 F/A-18s will save the government $590 million when compared to single-year procurements of the same number of aircraft, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus says.
Webb’s Force. SASC member Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) has crafted legislation to “require the Secretary of Defense to provide full justification to Congress before any action is taken to close the Joint Forces Command.” The senator and former Navy secretary adds in a Sept. 15 statement: “This is fully consistent with Congress’s constitutional oversight responsibility as we work to improve our military’s joint warfare capabilities and operations.” Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants the Norfolk, Va., command to be closed as part of his cost-saving reforms announced Aug. 9. The Virginia congressional delegation argues to Gates in an Aug. 13 letter that a more thorough review of JFCOM’s activities and mission should be conducted and that Gates is not following proper procedure in moving to shutter the command. The SASC, at Webb’s request, plans to hold a hearing on Gates’ efficiency proposals.
Senate START. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is before the Senate, now that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved it on Sept. 16 by a 14-4 vote. The Senate is expected to vote on the pact, which President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed April 8, after the November elections. It needs the approval of 67 senators to be ratified. Four committee Republicans voted against the treaty: Sens. Jim Risch (Idaho), James Inhofe (Okla.). John Barrasso (Wyo.), and Roger Wicker (Miss.). Other Republicans, including Bob Corker (Tenn.), voted for the pact in committee despite their previously voiced concerns. New START would set aggregate limits of 1,550 deployed strategic warheads for the United States and Russia, down from 2,200 now. It also calls for lowering the number of allowed launchers to 800 and total nuclear missiles and heavy bombers to 700.
PMA Plead. Paul Magliocchetti, the former HAC-D staffer and head of the defunct PMA Group lobbying shop, reportedly plans to plead guilty this week to corruption charges tied to allegedly illegal campaign contributions. According to the Associated Press, he will change his previous not-guilty plea because his family has been brought in to testify against him. Magliocchetti pleaded not guilty to an 11-count felony indictment on Aug. 20, and was set to go to trial Oct. 5. He will cooperate in a Justice Department probe of campaign donations to lawmakers who steered funds to defense contractors, the AP reports. A House ethics panel officially concluded in March that seven defense appropriators, including deceased Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), did not improperly earmark funds for defense firms linked to campaign contributions and Magliocchetti’s company.
Titanium Breakthrough. A groundbreaking cryogenic titanium machining process, planned for use in the production of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, made its public debut at the International Manufacturing Technology Show, the company says. The new process brings improvements over existing titanium-machining methods, including increases in cutting-tool life and material-removal rates, which directly reduce costs, according to Lockheed Martin. Creare Inc., H.M. Dunn Co. and MAG IAS have worked for the past several years on the development of the low-flow cryogenic machining of titanium, funded through Small Business Innovation Research program awards. The high performance titanium machining process was designed, developed and tested at Creare, Inc., headquartered in Hanover, N.H. “This is a prime example of the successful transition of an SBIR-sponsored and funded technology from its developmental stages to a production environment that can enhance affordability for near-term military systems, like the F-35,” says Mike Packer, Lockheed Martin vice president of production operations. Other development team members include the Navy SBIR Program Office and the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office.
Tracking. A Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) Demonstration program satellite showed an increased set of capabilities when it detected and tracked a resident space object–another satellite–on July 19, according to prime contractor Northrop Grumman. The missile defense satellite is one of two STSS spacecraft built by Northrop Grumman and Raytheon. The demonstration program accomplished another first by tracking a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather satellite for several minutes using multiple track sensor bands, according to Gabe Watson, vice president of missile defense and missile warning programs for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector. Payload sensors on the Missile Defense Agency’s STSS satellite look both below the horizon, with Earth in the background behind the tracked target, and above the horizon, with space in the background behind the target. This allows precision tracking of ballistic missiles through all phases of flight, commonly referred to as “birth-to-death tracking.” MDA is pursuing the STSS Demonstration program as a space-based sensor component of the Ballistic Missile Defense System.
Tanking. The Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA), designed and built for the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF), completes a successful first flight after being configured for its tanker transport mission, prime contractor Airbus says. The aircraft took off from Airbus Military’s facility in Getafe, Spain, and landed there after a flight of approximately two hours. The FSTA is the U.K.’s configuration of the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), the tanker that EADS North America is offering to the United States Air Force in the KC-45 configuration. That tanker has been selected by four U.S. allies and has completed hundreds of flight hours and more than a thousand refueling contacts for the Royal Australian Air Force, which expects to receive its first two airplanes in the fall. The FSTA configuration includes two digital hose-and-drogue refueling pods under the wings, plus a hose-and-drogue fuselage refueling unit on the centerline. Both of these systems will be on the KC-45, as will be the company’s advanced Aerial Refueling Boom System, which recently demonstrated in flight its ability to meet the U.S. Air Force requirement for high fuel offload at 1,200 gallons a minute.
Routing Info. Lockheed Martin’s Savi Technology says the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) launched a network exchange hub. The Routing Hub will foster greater multinational collaboration by making it easier to exchange information using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-tracked consignments moving through military supply chains. The Routing Hub transmits data from Savi’s interoperable RFID-based logistics network, which automatically locates, tracks and manages in-transit NATO material. Nations connected to the Routing Hub at NAMSA can directly transmit logistics data to other users, providing improved levels of real-time asset visibility. The Danish Armed Forces realized that the sharing of RFID data would require users to establish new nation-to-nation connections through which the data could be routed. Denmark requested NAMSA to establish a routing capability.
Take Off. L-3 Mission Integration says it has delivered the final Project Liberty MC-12W to the Air Force. This delivery marks the completion of the Liberty Project Aircraft contract effort initiated by the Secretary of Defense in response to an urgent warfighter requirement. At Key Field Air National Guard Base in Meridian, Miss., the aircraft will support MC-12 training of aircrew and operators deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. “The Air Force and L-3 completed an amazing feat,” says Mark Von Schwarz, president of L-3 Mission Integration. “These very capable platforms went from initial contract to combat in less than eight months.”
Modernization Time. To celebrate 10 years of success since its creation, EADS is strengthening its branding and has modernized the group logo. “This brand renovation embodies exactly the spirit of Vision 2020, our strategy for EADS’ next 10 years: reinforce each of the four divisions, give them the visibility they need to market their business and at the same time materialize the strength and unity of the Group,” says Louis Gallois, CEO of EADS. As the umbrella brand, EADS reinforces the four Divisions: Airbus, Eurocopter and Astrium, whose existing logo and image have been modernized; “Cassidian,” the newly named division which previously operated as Defence & Security, introduces a new identity within this scheme.
Tank Tech. General Dynamics Land Systems says it received a $68 million award for Abrams Tank Systems Technical Support from Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command of Warren, Mich. The award will fund engineering studies on Abrams main battle tanks to identify improvements and replace obsolete parts to maintain the tanks at high operational readiness rates. The work will be performed by existing General Dynamics Land Systems personnel in Sterling Heights, Mich. It is to be completed by Dec. 19, 2011.
Where Are You? Army Communications Electronics Command, Ft. Monmouth, N.J., is doing a market survey to find out what companies can provide an Afghan Forces National Tracking (ANT) capability to the Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF), which consists of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP). The ANT capability shall provide position/location data and a 9/11 capability. The ANA has six infantry Corps, an Afghan Air Force (corps level), Capital Division, Special Forces division, and MP Guard Brigade that is sub-organized into 22 combat brigades. Maneuver units are organized with 81 infantry battalions, nine commando battalions, four SF battalions, 22 combat support battalions, 22 combat service support battalions, and 21 route clearance companies. The eight ANA Corp/Divisions are located in six cities. ANP is organized at border, region, district and local levels. The work includes delivering, configuring and commissioning 3,000 vehicle-based ANT units and 120 manpack configured systems. The ANT system must give the Battalion Level / District Police Level regionally the ability to view all deployed Afghan assets on a common operating picture. Responses are due Sept. 22. For more information contact: [email protected]