The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Pelosi Talks Tanker. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) met last Wednesday with the CEOs of the two defense industry powerhouses battling over the Air Force’s tanker contract–Northrop Grumman head Ronald Sugar and Boeing leader James McNerney, Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami confirms. The meetings were at different times, he says. All eyes in the Capitol are on June 19, when the GAO is due to rule on Boeing’s protest of Northrop Grumman’s contract. Sources expect some buzz this Wednesday when the House Armed Services Committee–on which Buy America proponent Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) presides as ranking member–marks up the FY ’09 defense authorization bill. Then Thursday the Senate Armed Services Committee–on which Boeing supporter Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) sits–marks the war supplemental.
MRAPs A-Coming. The next round of orders of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAP) will likely come in July, and the Pentagon is considering buying another 1,600 of the hulking vehicles for the Army, sources say. That would lift the service’s MRAP total to 12,000, though the number could rise more further down the road. The Army’s current JROC-approved requirement is a range of 10,433 to 15,884 vehicles. The most-recent batch of MRAP orders in March brought the total of the armored trucks bought for all the services near the low end of the overall range of just over 14,000 to just under 20,000 vehicles.
… Mining For Dollars. The Pentagon is asking Congress for $2.6 billion for MRAPs in the White House’s FY ’09 war supplemental request sent to the Hill two weeks ago. A summary of the bill–for FY ’08 and a FY ’09 bridge–that the full House and Senate appropriators may act on this week shows $1.7 billion in FY ’09 monies for MRAPs. DoD’s May 2 budget plea, notably, does not say the desired $2.6 billion is for solely procuring the mine-resistant vehicles. It would be for sustaining, transporting and upgrading them, and procuring more “should on-going analysis of theater requirements warrant,” the request says.
Tanker Mail. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, is circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter urging other lawmakers to not rush to judgment on the disputed tanker contract. “Congress should, of course, exercise appropriate oversight in this matter,” he says in the May 6 missive. “It may even end up deciding that the Air Force was wrong. But it should not to do so on the basis of parochial calculations and flimsy ‘Buy America’ distinctions. It ought to be based on which tanker best serves our airmen.”
Coming Soon. NAVAIR is anticipating issuing a draft RFP for its Small Tactical Unmanned Air System toward the end of May after PMA-263 works through some final changes in requirements, Capt. Paul Morgan, PMA-263, tells Defense Daily. “The additional changes are in language concerning propulsion,” he says. Once the draft RFP is issued, NAVAIR will hold an industry day followed later this summer by the release of the RFP. Morgan says NAVAIR is looking to a SDD contract award in early 2009. LRIP will not occur until Milestone C, he adds. “We set the TRLs high. It’s a fast moving train for acquisition.”
Ain’t Gonna Happen. Navy Secretary Donald Winter is confident General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin will both respond to the LCS RFP. Concerns have been raised by the industry teams that the RFP may not be to their liking–leading to a decision not to bid on the next three LCS contracts. “I don’t think that will happen,” Winter tells Defense Daily. “I think we are now at a much more advanced stage than when we tried to negotiate LCS-3 and -4 as fixed price contracts previously.”
…Further Along. Both Lockheed Martin’s USS Freedom (LCS-1) and General Dynamics’ USS Independence (LCS-2) are quickly approaching sea trials, and the vast majority of construction activity has all been completed, Winter points out. “The vast majority of almost all of the components that have been purchased and acquired, which is a significant fraction of the cost, have all been delivered. So we are in a very different situation right now,” he adds. “I am quite hopeful we will be able to get proper responses.”
Under Consideration. The Navy is reviewing Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding’s (NGSB) analysis, findings and long-term recommendations regarding weakness in the processes associated with the control of weld filler metal in some non-nuclear piping welds on Virginia-class submarines, NAVSEA says. The Navy received the report on April 21. The weaknesses were discovered in late 2007 during routine testing and did not impact the safety of the crews, the submarines, or the carriers, NAVSEA adds. The Navy will determine the appropriate course of action and expects to complete its review this summer.
…Tackling The Problem. The Navy and NGSB have already addressed the short-term effects of this problem by correcting the weld process deficiencies and conducting an engineering analysis of the issue, NAVSEA reports. Sample testing of critical NGSB-Newport News-fabricated non-nuclear socket welded joints on current Virginia-class submarines has been completed. Fatigue testing of portions of hydraulic piping systems is still ongoing. NGSB-Newport News expects to complete this testing and submit its findings to the Navy by August 2008.
Totally. Raytheon receives a $32 million contract to develop and integrate the total ship electronics systems for the USS Somerset (LPD-25), the ninth ship of the Navy’s LPD-17 class of expeditionary warfare ships, the company reports. Under the contract, awarded by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Raytheon extends its role as the total ship electronics systems integrator for all LPD-17-class ships. Raytheon IDS will provide the Shipboard Wide Area Network, integrated product data environment, total ship information management, and integrated ship electronics architecture.
Saving Green By Going Green. Over the past year, EDS has been helping the Navy consolidate 2,000 of its servers down to 300, with another 2,000 servers to go. When the project is complete, there will have been an 8:1 consolidation of servers in the system, saving the government $800,000 per year in power and cooling costs, a 65 percent reduction, the company says. Additionally, virtualizing one server saves $700 per year in power costs, prevents annual emissions of four tons of carbon into the atmosphere per year–the equivalent of removing 1.5 cars off the road per year, the company adds.
Aircraft For Afghanistan. NAVAIR’s Support and Commercial Derivative Aircraft Program Office, was directed to buy four Antonov AN-32 “Cline” aircraft for the Afghan National Army Air Corps, says NAVAIR. The request for the aircraft came Afghanistan’s President and Minister of Defense via the Navy’s International Program Office. “This program was really unique,” says Capt. James Wallace, program manager for the support and commercial derivative aircraft program office (PMA-207). “People can work in the acquisition world their entire careers and not see the final product. With this AN-32 buy, the team got to see the entire process happen in front of their eyes in a little more than 60 days. I’m very proud of what the team has accomplished.”
IOT&E For Virginia. The USS Virginia (SSN-774) embarked upon its Initial Operational Test and Evaluation period last month, under the direction of Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force (COTF), the Navy’s operational test agency, and overseen by Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), Department of Defense, the Navy says. During this rigorous six-month testing period, the Virginia warfighting capabilities will be evaluated in operationally realistic and demanding scenarios across its seven mission areas–Anti-Submarine; Anti-Surface Ship; Strike; Naval Special Warfare; Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance; Battle Group Support; and Mine Warfare. This comprehensive evaluation will include operations with a Navy Carrier Strike Group in a major naval exercise, simulated combat operations against surface ships and other submarines, the launch of Tomahawk test missiles, and execution of a simulated Naval Special Warfare mission using Special Operation Forces. Upon completion of this testing, COTF and DOT&E will issue assessments of the combat effectiveness and suitability of the Virginia-class design in support of the DoD’s Full-Rate Production decision in April 2009, the Navy adds.
The Real McCoy. Rear Adm. Kevin McCoy has been nominated for appointment to the grade of vice admiral and assignment as Commander, NAVSEA. McCoy is currently serving as Deputy Commander for Ship Design, Integration and Engineering, Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C.
Fire Scouting. The Navy intends to conduct the Fire Scout OpEval aboard an FFG-7, Oliver Hazard Perry-class ship in summer 2009 to provide the fleet with unmanned aerial system support as soon as possible, says Northrop Grumman. According to the current schedule, the Navy will conduct Technical Evaluation on Fire Scout on FFG-7 in fall 2008 and OpEval in summer 2009. Fire Scout will reach IOC soon after OpEval in 2009, the company says.
New Helicopters Coming. Defence Minister Phil Goff May 8 signs a contract to buy new training/light utility helicopters for the Royal New Zealand Air Force. “The contract involves the purchase of five Agusta-Westland A109 LUH helicopters, a flight simulator and an extensive package including spares, onboard equipment, tools and other equipment, with a total cost of $139 million,” Goff says. “In considering tenders, we chose a higher cost aircraft because of its capability of operating at sea and training Seasprite helicopter pilots. “The purchase complements the Government’s earlier decision to purchase eight NH-90 medium utility helicopters at a cost of $592 million,” he says. “The A109s will enter into service in 2011.”
New Customer. General Dynamics United Kingdom Ltd., says it signed a $165 million contract with Libya to supply a tactical communications and data system as part of the United Kingdom’s initiatives to improve economic, educational and defense links. The work is to provide communications and data handling capabilities, and technical and training support, to the Elite Brigade of Libya’s armed forces. The U.K. government is supporting the program that accords with both the U.K.’s Defence Industrial Strategy and foreign policy objectives. It recognizes the international reputation of General Dynamics U.K. as a leading exporter of command, control, communications, computing and intelligence (C4I) capabilities. Sandy Wilson, president and managing director of General Dynamics U.K., says: “This initiative has been developed with the full help and guidance of the Defence and Security Organisation, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. It complements current business activities in Libya, and other opportunities being explored by European companies.”
Try This Out. The Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) will conduct the disaster response field exercise “UUSIMAA 2008” from June 1-5 near the Finnish capital Helsinki. Teams from 25 Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) nations will participate in the exercise. About 1,100 participants with capabilities to deal with different aspects of emergencies, including experts with staff officer assignments, will take part in the event. Some 150 observers also are expected. UUSIMAA will allow NATO and partner countries to practice disaster response mechanisms and capabilities and to enhance co-operation in emergency situations. The fictitious scenario will be flooding and storms along the coastline of the Gulf of Finland, where water levels and storms will damage critical infrastructure objects. There will be also Chemical, Biological and Radiological threat simulations. Through this exercise, NATO and partner nations will practice the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) procedures and Euro-Atlantic Response Unit (EADRU) capabilities to improve EAPC nations’ ability to respond to a disaster.
Top Dogs Gather. On Wednesday and Thursday, top military officers of the Alliance’s member and partner nations will convene at NATO headquarters in Brussels for their spring meeting. For the first time, defense chiefs from non-NATO countries contributing to NATO operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo will participate in the discussions. This is the first of three meetings per year for the NATO Chiefs of Defence. More than 60 NATO defense chiefs are expected, making it the largest gathering of high-level military expertise in NATO’s history.
…Sign Here. The spring meeting will also see a signing ceremony with seven nations inking a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the establishment of the NATO- accredited Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, in Estonia.
Helpers. QinetiQ North America’s subsidiary Foster-Miller May 6 announced delivery of the 2,000th robot to the U.S. military. Talon robots are primarily used to help in the detection and disabling of roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. More TALON robots are deployed with the U.S. military than any other robot. First deployed in 2001, TALONs have been damaged, some many times, and are rapidly repaired by military personnel at the Joint Robot Repair sites around the world…sort of a robot hospital. TALON robots on average can be repaired after blast damage and returned to service more than 10 times before complete replacement is needed.
FCS Dissent. Some House Armed Services air and land subcommittee members aren’t thrilled about the panel’s proposed $200 million Future Combat Systems cut. Ranking member Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) notes a coming 2009 decision on continuing the program. “It seems to me that after the previous four years of decrements that were made, that this year would be good to permit the Army to have what they have stated that they need in order to make the best decision possible,” he says at the panel’s defense authorization bill markup last week. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) says he is concerned about cutting “the only comprehensive modernization program that the Army has had in years.”
British Fighter. Baroness Ann Taylor, the U.K. minister of defense equipment and support, calls the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) “critical” to ensuring the United Kingdom government’s “expeditionary capability is retained well into the 21st Century,” in prepared remarks for a lunchtime talk at the Capitol last Tuesday. The previous day she visited Lockheed Martin’s JSF facility in Forth Worth, Texas. “We will all be taking some important decisions–particularly in the context of allocating resources–over the coming months to take the program forward,” she says. In her speech she adds it “troubles” her to “hear and read reports of Buy America and U.S. protectionism.”