The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Tanker Tussle. The SASC plans to hold a hearing this Thursday on the results of a Pentagon and Air Force investigation into the air service’s accidental disclosure of sensitive data to the companies competing for the aerial-refueling tanker contract, Boeing and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS). The Air Force last November sent each company a compact disc with technical non-proprietary information regarding the other company’s Integrated Fleet Aerial Refueling Assessments.
…Cantwell’s Cause. Boeing backer Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in a letter to SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) lists several questions she wants answered, including: “What steps were taken to ensure EADS did not gain an unfair competitive advantage by having Boeing data for more than a month before the investigation was completed by the Air Force?” Cantwell, who is not a SASC member, also wants to know if each company’s actions were consistent with ethics rules described by the Air Force. She also wants the committee to ask if the data released compromises the part of the tanker bidding process that includes three adjustments to price. Cantwell requested the hearing, which she discussed with Boeing workers in Everett, Wash., last week.
EFV Entreaty. Ohio’s new senator, Rob Portman (R), is calling on Defense Secretary Robert Gates to make the “fiscally responsible” choice and reverse his decision to kill the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV). “With taxpayers already investing over $3 billion into the EFV program, I am concerned that starting from scratch on a new vehicle–the course of action that you indicated in your public remarks of 6 January, 2011–would squander the investments already made by the American people, while inviting the same risks that have posed challenging to new vehicle programs in the past,” Portman says Jan. 18 in a letter to Gates. Ohio lawmakers Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) and Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D) Jim Jordan (R) earlier this month asked President Barack Obama to prevent the cancellation of the EFV before vehicle testing finished. Those tests were nearly complete as of last Friday, according to a Marine Corps spokesman.
Reserved. The Reserve Officers Association’s legislative priorities for 2011 stress recapitalizing “the total force to include fully funding equipment and training for the National Guard and Reserves.” The congressional agenda lays out several ways to funding, equip, and train the reserve component, which it says should have “field-compatible equipment.” The association wants to “improve and implement adequate tracking processes to return or replace borrowed Reserve Component equipment.” The professional association, which serves all U.S. uniformed services, uses the annual legislative agenda items as a basis for lobbying Congress.
Super Galaxy #5. The fifth Lockheed Martin C-5 aircraft has been inducted into the Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP) to be transformed into the world’s most capable strategic airlifter, the C-5M Super Galaxy, the company says. This Super Galaxy will be delivered later this year and will be stationed at Dover AFB, Del.
STSS Crosslink Up. The effectiveness of the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) Demonstration satellites has been expanded after a communications crosslink was activated and successfully tested by prime contractor Northrop Grumman. The radio frequency relay between the missile defense satellites establishes communications between one spacecraft that is out of view of a ground station through the other satellite, which is in range, according to Doug Young, vice president of Missile Defense and Warning programs for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector. “The crosslink expands the regions of the world where both satellites are in communication, enabling closure of the fire control loop with missile defense interceptors,” Young says. “The ability to acquire and hand-off timely tracked data from the infrared sensors on board STSS to the Ballistic Missile Defense System’s intercept chain is a critical capability for destroying targets as early as possible during their flight.” The missile tracking capability being demonstrated by the STSS Demonstration program will mature the design and concepts of operation for a future operational constellation.
Joint STARS In Tech Demo. Northrop Grumman’s E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) test bed aircraft recently completed the second of two deployments to Naval Air Station Pt. Mugu, Calif., in support of a Navy demonstration. The aircraft executed three operational utility assessment flights and demonstrated its ability to guide anti-ship weapons against surface combatants at a variety of standoff distances. The Joint STARS aircraft served as the network command-and-control node, as well as a node for transmitting in-flight target message updates to an AGM-154 C-1 Joint Standoff Weapon carried by Navy F/A-18s using its advanced long range tracking and targeting capability. The 17-aircraft Joint STARS fleet is the only all-weather, long-range, real-time, wide area surveillance and battle management and command and control weapons system in the world. It is flown by the 116th Air Control Wing based on Warner Robins, Ga., and since 2001, the crews have flown over 63,000 hours in 5,200 combat missions.
Sim Training. ACI says it was awarded $2.3 million by the Hawaii National Guard for 10 TrainAsYouFight(tm) simulation systems. It is the prime contractor in the third delivery of this growing pilot program that represents a $4.5 million investment to date. This program has successfully trained more than 1,000 soldiers at the 13-station facility at the 29th Infantry Division Brigade Combat Team Headquarters at Kalaeloa, Hawaii. ACI’s pilot installation of the Immersive Group Simulation system in 2008 marked the first time a state National Guard unit employed dismounted infantry simulation powered by gaming technology as an integrated feature of the training curriculum.
Yama Sakura Under Way. The U.S.-Japan bilateral exercise Yama Sakura 59 started Jan. 22. It is a simulation-driven, joint-bilateral, command post exercise and is the 29th iteration of the Japan-based exercise. It is designed to improve U.S. and Japan combat readiness and interoperability while strengthening bilateral relationships and demonstrating U.S. resolve to support the security interests of friends and allies in the region. U.S. and Japanese forces exchange ideas, techniques, and military experiences during Yama Sakura. “A bilateral command post exercise improves our mutual capabilities, reinforces our ties and strengthens our relationships,” says Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander, U.S. Army Pacific and YS 59 exercise director.
New Body Armor. The first batch of the new Tiered Body Armor System (TBAS) for Australian soldiers in Afghanistan has come off the production line at Australian Defence Apparel (ADA). Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare inspected the production line recently, saying: “The new body armor system is lighter, fits better, is more comfortable and provides more mobility than the existing body armor our troops use.” The new TBAS allows troops to insert different types of ballistic plates in the vest depending on their mission. ADA will produce around 1,600 tiered body armor systems over the next few months.
Renaming. The Army Contracting Command (ACC) renames its major contracting centers to reflect their geographical locations. The centers provide comprehensive acquisition, contracting, business advisory, production support, and depot-level maintenance services in acquiring, fielding, and sustaining Army weapon systems, services and soldier support, the command says. If a soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, communicates with it, wears it, or eats it–ACC contracts for it, the command says. Effective Jan. 19, the seven ACC contracting centers have new names: Army Contracting Command-National Capital Region; Army Contracting Command–Warren; Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground (C4ISR) [Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance]; Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground (SCRT) [Soldier, Chemical, Research and Test]; Army Contracting Command-Picatinny; Army Contracting Command-Redstone; and Army Contracting Command-Rock Island.
Lieberman Leaving. Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s (I/D-Conn.) newly announced plans to retire in two years will leave Connecticut employers including Pratt & Whitney and General Dynamics without a strong congressional advocate, observers say. President Barack Obama in a Jan. 19 statement praises Lieberman, who fought the president’s move to end production of F-22 stealth fighters. “Even if we don’t always see eye to eye, I always know Joe is coming from a place of principle,” Obama says, hailing Lieberman’s “years of work defending our nation’s security on the Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees.”
Defense Defended. The House Republican Study Committee (RSC) does not include Pentagon spending in its proposal for $2.5 trillion in federal spending cuts over the next 10 years. Still, members suggest at a Jan. 20 press conference that defense cuts, while not addressed in their proposal, may be needed. The conservative group officially unveils its budget-cutting Spending Reduction Act on Jan. 20. Backers including RSC Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), RSC Budget and Spending Task Force Chairman Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), and Senate GOP Steering Committee Chairman Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).