The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Treaty Testiness. Arms-control experts aren’t happy with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Sept. 21 approval of Defense Trade Cooperation Treaties with Australia and the United Kingdom. The panel approved a resolution for advice and consent for ratification of the treaties, as well as legislation to implement them. Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) calls approving the treaties “a critical step toward enhancing our cooperative efforts to combat the mutual threats we face.” Yet Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, doesn’t wants the full Senate to consider the treaties now. “The Senate should indefinitely defer consideration of these treaties because they would create country specific exemptions from export licensing of military items, which invites opportunities for diversion and misuse,” he says Sept. 24. The association is concerned about “the lack of implementing legislation, lack of legal clarity for enforcing violations, and circumvention of congressional oversight.” The committee has crafted legislation addressing many of those issues.
JFCOM Impact. Boeing plans to shut a modeling and simulation center in Suffolk, Va., but the closure is not related to the Pentagon’s proposal to shutter the nearby U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), according to news reports. Boeing opened the center in October 2008 and plans to close it this November. The company says it is making this move to reduce overhead costs, and not because of JFCOM’s potential demise, noting it has three other modeling and simulation centers. Some lawmakers are resisting Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ call to close the command, which is part of his broader Pentagon efficiency push. The SASC will examine Gates’ efficiency proposals tomorrow, an the HASC will hold a hearing on them Thursday. Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Ashton Carter, and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. James Cartwright will testify before both panels.
British F-35. British Secretary of State for Defense Liam Fox wants Congress to continue funding the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s second engine, developed by General Electric and Rolls-Royce, according to his Sept. 3 letter to fellow alternate-engine backer SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.). The United Kingdom, the first international partner to join in supporting the F-35’s development, is “worried that a decision now to cancel the second engine may save money in the short term but end up costing the U.S. and her partners much more in the long term,” Fox says. He says he is concerned about the “technical risk” of developing only one F-35 engine Fox claims his position is not “an industrial base issue” because British company Rolls-Royce has a deal to work not only on the second engine but also on the primary F-35 engine developed by Pratt & Whitney. Plus, he says, most of the work will be done in the United States. Congress has not decided whether to heed the Pentagon’s call to end development of the second engine.
GOP’s War. House Republicans’ new agenda, dubbed A Pledge to America, criticizes President Barack Obama’s new plan for a phased missile defense architecture starting with ships around Europe. The GOP’s 45-page document released Sept. 23 states: “There is real concern that while the threat from Iranian intercontinental ballistic missiles could materialize as early as 2015, the government’s missile defense policy is not projected to cover the U.S. homeland until 2020. We will work to ensure critical funding is restored to protect the U.S. homeland and our allies from missile threats from rogue states such as Iran and North Korea.” The pledge’s “Plan for National and Border Security,” also demands Congress pass “clean” war-funding bills without delay. “That means no more troop funding bills held up by unrelated policy changes, or extraneous domestic spending and pork-barrel projects,” it says.
Sending The Marine. The Senate is aiming to confirm Marine Deputy Commandant Gen. James Amos as the service’s top officer before it recesses for the mid-term elections. The SASC could vote on his confirmation as soon as tomorrow, and Senate leaders would like to conduct a vote formally securing him in his new post before recess starts, either the end of this week or next week. Amos’ written responses to questions from the SASC speak favorably about the developmental Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, the need for which Gates has questioned. Amos tells the SASC during his Sept. 21 confirmation hearing that his service is “holding pretty firm” on wanting its first F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in 2012. If that date is delayed, he says, the Marine Corps could move around and extend the lives of F-18s.
Navy’s Turn. Fabrication of the future USNS Vigilant (JHSV 2), the first Joint High Speed Vessel to be operated by the Navy, began this month at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., the service says. Austal is already building the U.S. Army Vessel Spearhead, the lead ship of this new class of ships. Spearhead is scheduled for delivery to the Army in 2012. The JHSV will be used for fast intra-theater transportation of troops, military vehicles and equipment. The Navy’s Strategic and Theater Sealift program (PMS-385) in PEO Ships is procuring the vessels for both the Army and the Navy. The JHSV program merges the previous Army Theater Support Vessel and the Navy High Speed Connector to decrease costs by taking advantage of the inherent commonality between the existing programs. Significant production and financial risk has been avoided by implementing proven technology, ensuring stable requirements, minimizing change and through the ruthless pursuit of cost reduction and efficiency, the Navy adds.
Happy Birthday Indian Head. Naval Support Facility, Indian Head celebrates 120 years of naval operations this weekend in Indian Head, Md., the Navy reports. The Indian Head facility began as the Naval Proving Ground in September 1890, when Ens. Robert B. Dashiell was sent to Southern Maryland to find a suitable location, close enough to Washington Navy Yard, yet remote enough to safely test guns built at the Navy Yard. The Indian Head peninsula met the requirements and, by 1891, the proving ground was operational. In 1921, gun testing moved to Indian Head Lower Station (known now as Dahlgren, Va.), but the Indian Head facility remained a vital part of Department of the Navy’s arsenal. The facility shifted its focus to the production of smokeless power and by World War II was a major supplier of munitions to the Navy.
…Today. The base’s largest activity, NSWC, Indian Head Division, is the Energetics Center of Excellence for the DoD, responsible for research into explosives, propellants, pyrotechnics, reactive materials, related chemicals and fuels as well as their application in propulsion systems and ordnance. Since 1985, 75 percent of all explosives deployed in U.S. weaponry have been developed by Indian Head Division.
Turning Eyes Toward Texas. Engineers and mechanics from Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) are traveling to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS) to observe the first Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) for USS Virginia (SSN-774), scheduled to commence Oct. 1, the Navy says. The visit is to help prepare PHNSY & IMF personnel for the USS Texas‘ (SSN-775) EDSRA at Pearl Harbor in summer 2012. PHNSY & IMF workers are expected to gain valuable skills and experience necessary to reduce future submarine maintenance periods and increase operational availabilities in preparation for Texas . In addition to learning Virginia-class unique pre-EDSRA procedures, the traveling shipyard team will perform as much hands-on work as practicable on distinct systems and components, gathering lessons learned and best practices to be applied to their upcoming EDSRA, the Navy adds.
Army Takes Highest Ground. Army Astronaut Col. Doug Wheelock is the new commander of the International Space Station (ISS). The first active-duty Army astronaut to command the ISS, Wheelock is assigned to the Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command on Redstone Arsenal with duty in Houston. “This is a pivotal moment for NASA and, of course, the absolute apogee of my professional life,” Wheelock says. Wheelock will serve six months as the commander of the ISS and its six-person international crew during ISS Expedition 25. Of the 15 Army astronauts who have served thus far, the majority graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and most have been test pilots. There are currently four active-duty Army astronauts and one Army astronaut candidate.
Electronic Bird. Boeing says it has completed production of the first Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18F Super Hornet, which can be converted into an electronic attack aircraft. Boeing is pre-wiring the RAAF’s second lot of 12 Super Hornets for potential electronic attack capability conversion during production at the company’s St. Louis facilities. “Incorporating the ability to introduce an electronic attack capability on 12 RAAF Super Hornets as they are produced in St. Louis provides maximum flexibility for our Air Force in the future,” says RAAF Group Capt. Steve Roberton, Officer Commanding 82 Wing, which includes Super Hornet and F-111 aircraft. Australia is buying 24 advanced Block II Super Hornets, all having the Raytheon APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.
Continuous Monitoring. Lockheed Martin’s Savi Technology reveals the first-of-its-kind technology device that can switch from satellite or terrestrial wireless systems to continuously monitor the location and condition of shipments anywhere and at anytime. Called the Portable In-Transit Tracking Unit (PITU), the new-generation device about the size of a digital video recorder connects communications among Radio Frequency Identification devices, GPS location and SatCom systems, global cellular networks and sensors that detect environmental and security changes. Developed over the past year, the first PITU systems have been purchased and shipped to several NATO defense forces supporting the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
Ready For Launch. Boeing and its teammate Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. say the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite and ground system have completed final testing. The satellite was scheduled for launch Saturday from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Once on orbit, SBSS is to dramatically improve the accuracy and timeliness of space situational awareness for the United States, the companies say. The satellite will be the Air Force’s only space-based sensor able to detect and monitor debris, satellites and other space objects without limitations from weather, atmosphere or time of day.
Upgrades Complete. Raytheon says it completed its 1,000th Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T) upgrade for the Army. Earlier this year, Raytheon reached the same milestone with its worldwide customer base. Part of the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System, the upgraded GEM-T missile provides a substantial capability against a wide variety of threats, including tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, at a fraction of the cost of a new missile. Patriot GEM-T missiles are modernized and refurbished Patriot Advanced Capability-2 missiles. The upgrade includes the replacement of select components that increase reliability and extend the service life of the missile. Application of Raytheon Six Sigma(tm) and Lean manufacturing principles reduced manufacturing cycle time by more than 50 percent, the company says, which means 77 consecutive months of on or ahead-of-schedule deliveries.
Outreach And Research. The Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) and the University of Maryland will officially join forces to expand education outreach and research, development and engineering efforts by signing a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) Tuesday. The agreement builds upon already existing working relationships with the university while increasing the understanding of the transforming missions and functions of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., where RDECOM is headquartered.The RDECOM vision is to be the Army’s primary source for integrated research, development and engineering capabilities. Army officials say Aberdeen Proving Ground has the potential to become one of the leading science and technology centers in the nation; however, educational institutions are needed as partners working toward a mutually beneficial future. The University of Maryland now joins the University of Delaware and Morgan State University, which signed CRADAs with RDECOM earlier this year.