Program Under Way. Vehicle production has started for the significant upgrade of the Army’s M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer to the M109A7 configuration. The First of the A6 variants was received at Anniston Army Depot where it will be taken down and refurbished. The production of the A7 variants is a joint effort between the depot and BAE Systems. Mark Signorelli, vice president and general manager for Combat Vehicles at BAE Systems, said at the May 14 ceremony: “The M109A7 will be a significant upgrade over the previous system, providing greater commonality with current systems across the ABCT, improving survivability, and integrating a new electric on-board power system and components from past developmental howitzer programs. The design also allows for significant future growth…”
New UK Defense Committee Chair.
Conservative Member of Parliament Rory Stewart is the newly elected chairman of the U.K. Parliamentary Defense Committee. The MP for Penrith and The Border, he was briefly in the army’s Black Watch, before serving in the diplomatic service, running a charity in Afghanistan, and teaching at Harvard University. He is the author of three books and walked 6000 miles across Asia between 2000 and 2002.
Meeting Time. The Defense chiefs of the 28 allied NATO nations meet Wednesday and Thursday at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The 171 meeting of the chiefs are expected to discuss the Russia-Ukraine crisis, it’s implications for NATO, assess the Middle East and North African region situation and evaluate NATO’s readiness to respond to crises. Throughout the two days the NATO defense chiefs will try to provide “concrete and unequivocal” military advice for the defense and foreign ministerial meetings later this spring.
NASA Protest. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) denies a NASA request for reconsideration over a protest sustainment, according to a May 14 GAO statement. In a Dec. 27 decision, GAO sustained the protest of Wyle Laboratories against NASA’s award of a contract to SAIC for medical, biomedical and health services supporting NASA’s human spaceflight programs. NASA asserted that GAO’s earlier decision was incorrect as a matter of fact and law, and should have been reversed. In a prior decision, GAO found SAIC’s proposal, and NASA’s evaluation, failed to reflect the manner in which SAIC actually intended to perform the contract. GAO says NASA was aware that SAIC contemplated an imminent corporate restructuring that would divest the parent corporation of the primary business unit (SAIC Company 116) responsible for the subject health services contract.
GPS IIF-6. The Air Force schedules May 16 for its second attempt at launching the sixth Global Positioning System (GPS IIF-6) satellite after a last minute scrubbing May 15 due to weather. Launch window opens at 8:08 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Boeing develops GPS IIF. Launch provider United Launch Alliance (ULA) spokeswoman Jessica Rye said late May 15 the launch forecast showed 90 percent chance of favorable weather. Launch will take place on a Delta IV launch vehicle.
Czech-Swede Gripen. Saab welcomes the signing of a new Gripen fighter jet lease agreement between the Czech Republic and Sweden, according to a company statement. According to the contract, signed May 16, the Czech Republic continues to operate 14 Gripen C/D aircraft another 12 years, until at least 2027. The partnership is a contract between two governments, where Saab acts as a subcontractor to FMV, who provides the aircraft. No order has been placed with Saab yet. Gripen has been in service with the Czech Air Force since 2005, with the current lease expiring in 2015.
Rogers (Ala.) SpaceX. A key lawmaker asks Air Force Secretary Deborah James and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden for further information on Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) new entrant certification, any anomalies by Space Exploration Technology Corp. (SpaceX) on its EELV certification, NASA or commercial launches and potential Air Force concerns over anomalies affecting new entrant certification. House Armed Services (HASC) strategic forces subcommittee Chairman Michael Rogers (R-Ala.) says in a April 29 letter SpaceX suffered anomalies in an April 18 NASA mission and in a 2012 commercial launch. SpaceX is in the process of certifying as a new entrant for EELV missions. The company is also suing the Air Force to force it to compete its “block buy” of launch missions issued to national security launch provider United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
NG GTIMS. Northrop Grumman and the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) successfully deliver a major Graduate Training Integration Management System (GTIMS) update to the Air Mobility Command (AMC) at Scott AFB, Ill., according to a company statement. GTIMS optimizes and manages all aspects of aviation operations and training, including personnel, resources, planning, schedules, standards and evaluation, flight records and reporting. GTIMS is a Defense Department product, managed by AETC, with maintenance and modernization provided by Northrop Grumman.
Shelton Retirement. August 31 will be Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) chief Gen. William Shelton’s last day, the Air Force announces on his online bio. Shelton graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1976 and immediately entered the service. He has served in various assignments, including research and development (R&D) testing, space operations and staff work. The general has commanded at the squadron, group, wing and numbered air force levels and served on the staffs at major command headquarters, Air Force headquarters and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). Prior to assuming his current position, Shelton was the assistant vice chief of staff and director of air staff at the Pentagon.
Iraqi F-16. Lockheed Martin successfully completes the first flight of the inaugural F-16 for the Iraq Air Force, according to a company statement. The jet is the first of 36 F-16 Block 52 aircraft on order thorough the Defense Department for Iraq. More than 4,540 F-16s have been delivered to date.
Export Control…. The State Department publishes changes to U.S. export controls on satellites and related parts and components. These changes to Category XV (spacecraft and satellites) of the U.S. Munitions List (USML) allow most commercial, scientific and civil satellites, including their parts and components, to move to the Commerce Department’s Commerce Control List (CCL), according to a State Department statement. This revision also removes from the USML: communication satellites that do not contain classified components; remote sensing satellites with certain performance parameters; any spacecraft parts, components, accessories, attachments, equipment or systems that are not specifically identified in the revised category; and most radiation-hardened microelectronic microcircuits.
More Exports…The rule allows satellites controlled by the CCL that incorporate certain parts and components controlled by the USML to remain CCL-controlled, if certain conditions are met. It also removes from the USML certain spacecraft, while supporting the U.S. National Space Policy by creating conditions that allow the government to more easily host payloads on commercial satellites. The changes to the controls on radiation-hardened microelectronic microcircuits take effect 45 days after publication of the rule, while the remainder of the changes takes effect 180 days after publication.
…Reaction. The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) applauds the new rules in a statement. “With a more modern regulatory environment for exports in place, we look forward to unleashing the full force of American ingenuity and innovation at work in the international market,” SIA President Patricia Cooper said in a statement. But the Coalition for Security and Competitiveness, while also pleased with the progress, believes there is still work to do. The Coalition urges the Obama administration to turn attention to licensing management reforms, in particular reforms that can reduce the export licensing caseload. It also suggests reconsidering examining issues such as cloud computing, record keeping, cyber security and possibly encryption as they are subjects that industry fears will lead to more controls and more complex requirements. The Coalition is a collection of industry trade groups.
BAE U.S. Consolidation. Britain’s BAE Systems on Friday said it is consolidating the organizational structure of its United States-based business, BAE Systems, Inc., going from four business sectors to three. The company is moving elements of the Support Solutions sector into the three remaining sectors, Electronic Systems, Land & Armaments, and Intelligence & Security. The company says the changes are being made to better align its customer focus and program execution through more comprehensive, integrated, and cost-effective solutions.
…Details. BAE says about 40 to 50 positions across various locations will be eliminated in the Support Solutions headquarters due to the consolidation. Under the consolidation, which is effective July 1, the Global Fighter Program business will become part of the Electronic Systems sector, led by Dan Gobel. The Land & Armaments sector, led by Erwin Bieber, will incorporate Ship Repair, Ordnance systems, and the legacy Protection Systems segment of the Survivability & Missions Solutions business area. Intelligence & Security, led by DeEtte Gray, will bring in the Electronics & Warfare Systems business area and the TSS Aerospace Solutions segment from Survivability & Missions Solutions.
Silver Linings? ATK Chief Mark DeYoung says that friction between the United States and Russia over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and related unrest in Ukraine could help the company if the U.S. decides to bolster its rocket launch capabilities. United Launch Alliance, the U.S. joint venture that does most of the U.S. military’s space launches, relies on the Russian-made RD-180 first state engines in its rockets. DeYoung says ATK is “somewhat optimistic that this will encourage the United States to look closer ad some domestic launch capability, which could actually bolster the focus and attention on our solids propulsion capability and hopefully lead t new missions and solutions that we could help provide for them.”
Hiring Goals. Textron Systems CEO Ellen Lord says her hiring goals include getting about 80 percent of new hires either right out of college or from the military with the remaining 20 percent hired from within the parent organization, Textron, Inc. She says the company has internships for college students between their junior and senior years and begins the process of signing them up for security clearances so that if the company wants to hire a former intern and that intern wants to work for Textron, a clearance is ready for them. Lord says the fact that Textron is a “multi-industry company allows us to move talent around and attract talent we might not otherwise see if we were just a defense contractor.”