The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
French Shield. French President Nicolas Sarkozy supports developing a European missile defense shield with the United States, provided the setup is a backup to France’s nuclear deterrent. The Associated Press reports that despite the French government’s past questioning of the need for missile defense, Sarkozy’s office says “France is fully for missile defense” and the country is ready to make a “financial and technical contribution” to the effort. Still, a French official says it would “complement the deterrent” that exists, which the country considers “essential,” according to the AP. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen similarly says that missile defense “would not be a substitute for the nuclear deterrent.”
…From Russia. Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet today for a summit that is expected to focus on the missile shield and European security. Russia, as of last Friday, has not responded to an invitation to participate in the President Barack Obama’s planned European missile-defense setup, which includes land-and-sea-based interceptors. Still, NATO member nations appear poised to back the U.S. plans and create a common shield for the nations in the alliance. NATO foreign and defense ministers met last week in Brussels, and the alliance is set to vote on a unified missile shield at a summit next month in Lisbon, Portugal.
NASA Nudge. Though President Barack Obama has signed the NASA authorization bill for FY ’11 through FY ’13 into law, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says the agency still has sticky negotiations with lawmakers over the budget-setting FY ’11 appropriations bill for the space agency. “As the 2011 appropriations process moves forward, there is still a lot of hard work ahead of us in collaboration with the Congress,” Bolden says Oct. 11, after the authorization bill signing. “We are committed to work together with the continued wide public support for NASA, and the bipartisan backing of Congress. Today’s vote of confidence from the president ensures America’s space program will remain at the forefront of a bright future for our nation.”
Getting it Right. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz says the air service is working hard to ensure that the selection of a new refueling tanker fleet is done “right” rather than “fast.” Pentagon officials have been saying that the $35 billion contest would be concluded by the end of the year. However, during an Oct. 12 public appearance in Washington, Schwartz refused to confirm that a winner would be announced by December. Boeing and EADS North America are competing for the work with modified versions of their commercial aircraft, the 767 and the 330, respectively. Schwartz says the selection process is “coming to a conclusion in the next few months. In my view, it is more important to get it right than to get it fast.”
Cullin To DoD. Veteran defense industry and Navy public affairs officer Brian Cullin is returning to the Pentagon press office. Cullin, whose last stint in industry was as the top comms person at ATK, starts work today as director of communication, planning and integration, working for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Doug Wilson. At one point in his career in the Navy, Cullin was the special assistant to Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon. He also served as the director of the National Security Council press office. Cullin, a political appointee, is the “perfect guy for the job,” Wilson says.
New View. David Valcourt, a retired Army lieutenant general, is the new vice president of WILL Interactive Inc., the major computer-based simulation developer in the United States. Valcourt will lead WILL’s development and implementation of new business strategies and market and sell WILL’s Virtual Experience Immersive Learning Simulations (VEILSr) in areas where assistance is needed to improve performance and change behavior. Prior to his July retirement, Valcourt was TRADOC deputy commander and chief of staff. As the inventor and sole producer of (VEILSr), WILL has created over 60 learning simulations on a variety of topics. VEILSr are the only computer simulations known that have been shown to improve individual’s attitudes and behaviors in multiple independent studies, the company says.
Heavies On The Way. Oshkosh Defense says it is increasing the Army’s Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle (FHTV) fleet with the addition of 1,200 trucks following more than $459 million in orders from the TACOM Life Cycle Management Command. The bulk of the orders are for the Oshkosh Palletized Load System (PLS) A1, a next-generation truck that gives soldiers improved mobility and protection capabilities. Oshkosh will deliver more than 1,050 PLS A1 trucks under the orders, as well as nearly 150 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck A4s. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed by August 2012.
Self-Seal Tanks. The Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command recently awarded General Dynamics Land Systems an $8 million contract to provide Marine Corps Light Armored Vehicles (LAV) with new fuel tanks to enhance Marine safety and survivability. The contract will outfit 403 LAVs with self-sealing fuel tanks. These tanks are designed to protect crew members and the vehicle from ballistic and shrapnel effects. The tanks will bolster the ability to complete assigned missions and return marines to base safely. Kits will be delivered to Marine Corps depots for integration through January 2012.
Virtually There. A team including Boeing demonstrates fully immersive and integrated environment for ground forces training in late September at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. The environment replicated an urban setting in Afghanistan, including costumed actors fluent in local languages, realistic audio effects and typical architecture. “Our customers want to provide their soldiers and Marines with a training environment as comprehensive as aircrews receive in aircraft simulators,” says Mark McGraw, Boeing vice president for Training Systems & Services. Boeing’s partners for the event included Advantage Mold Inc., Creative Technologies Inc., the Leonard Wood Institute, Iowa State University, Laser Shot Inc., MiLanguages, Military Wraps, Ubisense and Zebra Imaging.
Out of the Shadow. In the limelight, the 2010 Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) System level Gerald R. Beck Award is presented to Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (Shadow TUAS), Army and AAI Corp. Shadow has flown over 500,000 operational hours of which more than 90 percent were in combat. The government contract team responsible for managing and performing the Shadow PBL contract achieves exceptionally high readiness–highest operational availability of any aviation asset in OIF/OEF. AAI Corp. is financially accountable for all aspects of Shadow TUAS operations to include, but not limited to: field maintenance, modifications, depot-level repairs and training. System costs have dropped since the first PBL contract in 2003, when annual sustainment per Shadow was about 10 percent of total system costs. says Col. Gregory Gonzalez, project manager for Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems. “This year, the annual Shadow sustainment costs decreased to roughly 5 percent of total system costs,” he says.