The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Murtha Tanker Talk. House Appropriations Defense subcommittee Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.) is sticking with the idea of a split buy for the Air Force’s troubled aerial refueling tanker competition, which he has said may be the only way to get the aircraft built following delays and errors with the contest between Northrop Grumman and Boeing. “I’d like to buy two a month, one from each outfit,” Murtha says. “The staff right now is looking at how much it costs us to maintain these old tankers, how important is it to build tankers right away, and how many can we buy.” Boeing supporters from states including Washington aren’t thrilled about a dual buy. Murtha jokes that his colleagues all agree with him on the split buy idea, before acknowledging HAC-D Vice Chairman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) “has his reservations.”
Return of The Tanker Letters. Defense appropriator Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and authorizer Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) are calling for Defense Secretary Robert Gates to restart the tanker competition (which Gates earlier this year deferred to the next defense secretary) now that it’s clear Gates will be the next defense secretary. The two Northrop Grumman backers write in a Dec. 11 letter: “Acknowledging the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recommendation that a full re-competition is not warranted, we urge the Department to quickly move forward with an acquisition strategy that follows the established competitive process and simply addresses the eight issues of concern stated by the GAO. Further, the tanker replacement program should be based on a best value process.” Lawmakers learned in recent months that the bid from Northrop Grumman, which won the since- contested contract in February, was cheaper than Boeing’s.
Sestak Q&A. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), the former Navy admiral reelected to a second term in Congress last month, says he’s focused on his current job. What about buzz about him as a possible Navy secretary? “That’s just all rumor out there,” he says. “The first we’ve ever heard of it was on the blog sites.” Would he be interested in an appointment in President-elect Barack Obama administration? “I love my job,” the congressman says. What about a recent statement from Sestak’s office that some reporters took to mean he is not eyeing a 2010 Senate run against Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), as MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews reportedly is? “I didn’t say (in the statement) I was interested; I didn’t say I was uninterested,” Sestak says. “What I said was I am focused on economic security in the upcoming Congress.”
Approps Newbies. The House Appropriations Committee will have two new Democratic members in January: Rep. Lincoln Davis (Tenn.) and John Salazar (Colo.), an Army veteran, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced last week.
Under New Management. The Air Force announced last week that Maj. Gen. C.R. Davis will leave his post as F-35 program manager to become commander of the Air Armament Center in the spring. Marine Brig. Gen. David Heinz, Davis’ deputy, is expected to succeed him.
Plus 50? The Air Force wants to buy “50 or so” more Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighter jets, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen says. Mullen said during a Dec. 10 Pentagon briefing that the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz, had cited the number, which would bring the total to fleet to 243. “We’re going to work our way through that,” Mullen says. “I am concerned that it is such an expensive system.” Mullen says more F-22s could be needed, depending on the pace of the next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program’s development. “It’s very important we have capability to bridge to that [F-35] system with respect to the broad range of capabilities for the country,” he said. Absent new orders in the upcoming budget cycle, Lockheed Martin will shut down the F-22 production line early next year.
Keeping The Bugs Out. While making sure information systems are secure, it is also critical to have life cycle security management in place, David Mihelcic, chief technology officer at DISA, tells Defense Daily. “It’s actually easy to build a system that’s secure the day you deploy it. It’s what happens the next day…when a bug is found and patches need to be applied,” he says. “What happens when an operator makes a configuration error? So that life cycle security problem is a constant challenge in the DoD.” DISA has actually invested quite a bit of effort in trying to manage that, Mihelcic notes. “Under JTF-GNO we have processes in place where the commander of JTF-GNO, Rear Adm. Elizabeth Hight, can issue directives that everyone in the DoD has to follow to patch security bugs within all systems in the department within a specified amount of time,” Mihelcic adds.
…Keeping Track. Services and agencies use the Joint CERT to track compliance with those orders to signify that they have complied with those orders to apply patches, Mihelcic says. “We have acquired a commercial tool called Host Based System Security (HBSS), developed by MacAfee.” HBSS is a piece of software that is being installed on all desktops in the DoD to help maintain configuration management, Mihelcic says. HBSS will know the security status of every desktop and be able to manage the configuration of that desktop and ensure that the proper patches and the proper security configurations are applied to those workstations, he adds.
Where The Rubber Meets The Road…And The Sky. Michelin Aircraft Tire Company delivers its 250,000th aircraft tire to the Navy earlier this month. The milestone was set with the delivery of a nose landing gear for the Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet, the company says. Michelin was awarded a PBL contract in 2001 for aircraft tires. The company picked Lockheed Martin as a partner for the program, Michelin adds. The contract requires the team to deliver aircraft tires anywhere in CONUS in less than two days and less than four days everywhere else around the world–including deployed aircraft carriers. The team has maintained an on-time delivery rate of over 98 percent with an impressive “zero back orders” record, Michelin says.
Support Shop For LCS. NSWC Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) helds a ground-breaking ceremony last week for its new Littoral Warfare Systems Facility (LWSF). The facility will support the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the Navy says. The site will include a state-of-the-art facility specially designed to support the research, development, testing, evaluation, acquisition support, integration and certification of Littoral Warfare Systems. It will allow NSWC PCD to consolidate work under one roof that is now being performed in facilities spread throughout the base more efficiently and economically. LWSF also will be a center of excellence for research, development and integration of existing and future adaptive force packages. The project is expected to be completed by Nov. 29, 2009. The center is contracted to cost $12.5 million, the Navy adds.
Honored. Retiring Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), who cast his final senate vote Thursday, was honored Friday by the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) with the first ever National Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Medal. Warner is the second-ranking Republican member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the committee’s former Vice Chairman. He has also served as both Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and is a current member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Senator Warner’s service on these committees reflects the highest commitment to national security, ODNI says. He is retiring in January after serving 30 years in the Senate, says ODNI. ODNI established the award Oct. 1 to acknowledge individuals who rendered extraordinary service at considerable personal sacrifice and who were motivated by patriotism, good citizenship or a sense of public responsibility, ODNI adds.
I’ve Got A Name. Raytheon’s integrated undersea warfare combat system for DDG-1000 received its official Navy nomenclature–AN/SQQ-90 earlier this month, the company reports. The tactical sonar suite is composed of new integrated system capabilities, including the hull-mounted mid-frequency sonar (AN/SQS-60), the hull-mounted high-frequency sonar (AN/SQS-61), and the multi-function towed array sonar and handling system (AN/SQR-20). These systems provide unique mission capabilities and are fully integrated with the MH-60R helicopter’s combat system to deliver broad warfighting coverage for the Zumwalt-class destroyer, Raytheon adds.
Faster Sim. Lockheed Martin delivers an upgrade to its TOPSCENEr mission rehearsal system that enables faster mission rehearsal preparation to the Navy, the company says. The improvement increases the speed at which the system converts two-dimensional terrain images into accurate three-dimensional workspaces, speeding the system by a factor of 20, adds Lockheed Martin. The TOPSCENE system supports mission planning, mission preview, mission rehearsal and mission training. Using real-world images, warfighters can repeatedly rehearse a mission, taking advantage of visually significant clues and aim points. The new software was installed in August at the Naval Strike Air Warfare Center at NAS Fallon, Nev. This “grid-enabled” application, produced by Digipede Technologies, allows a network of machines to work in parallel to process the geospatial environment. Instead of one computer operating at a single speed, the work is farmed out to a set of computer nodes supporting the same objective, Lockheed Martin says.
Living History. The Army today opens a new Pentagon exhibit honoring those serving the nation and the veterans who’ve served before them: the “U.S. Army Pentagon Exhibit – A Living History.” Army Secretary Pete Geren will host former Army secretaries and Army chiefs of staff of the Army general officers at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The exhibit showcases 400 artifacts, hundreds of photos and 80 pieces of original artwork from the Revolutionary War to the present. The exhibit was prepared using artifacts and information from throughout the U.S. Army Museum System and the Army History Program. More than 70 other companies and individuals provided materials and artifacts for this exhibit. The materials were assembled and presented by Army Heritage and Education Center.
Environmentally Friendly. Boeing’s St. Louis and St. Charles, Mo., facilities and the Rotorcraft Systems site in Philadelphia all earned International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 certification–global benchmarks of an organization’s commitment to understand and continuously improve its environmental performance. Boeing is working to have all of its major manufacturing facilities certified to the ISO 14001 standard by the end of 2008. Independent auditors from Det Norske Veritas, an accredited certification body of quality, environmental and safety management systems, audited the facilities.
New Bosses. ITT names David Melcher president of ITT Defense Electronics & Services and Gretchen McClain president of ITT Fluid and Motion Control. Melcher, previously head of strategy, business development and international sales for ITT’s defense business, succeeds Hank Driesse, who had served as acting president of ITT Defense since April. Melcher, a retired Army three-star, was senior military financial manager. McClain, appointed to the newly created position of president of ITT Fluid and Motion Control, was previously president of ITT Fluid Technology, a position she has held since March 2007.
Sikorsky Renewed. United Technologies’ subsidiary Sikorsky Aerospace Services signs an $840 million contract with the Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) to provide technical, logistical, and engineering expertise through Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Best Practices to the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD). The contract renews a five-year agreement initially signed in December 2002. Sikorsky Aerospace Services is Sikorsky Aircraft’s aftermarket business. The CCAD-Sikorsky partnership increases time-on- wing of repaired components and on site support helps decrease component repair turn around times.
Talking It Through. West Point in 2009 plans to open the Center for Oral History, an online research center gathering the personal stories of American service men and women of all ranks–starting with those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and going back to veterans of Vietnam, Korea, World War II and other campaigns (http://www.westpointcoh.org/). Among the early projects undertaken by the COH: an oral history of the Iraqi conflict as well as a look back at the West Point Class of ’67, most of whose graduates were immediately sent to Vietnam.
Bright Outlook. Australia agrees to enter a 10-year, $150 million agreement with Chemring Australia Pty Ltd to manufacture pyrotechnics and air-expendable stores such as flares and chaff deployed from military aircraft in the country. Greg Combet, parliamentary secretary for Defence Procurement, says, “the establishment of an in-country manufacturing capability positions Chemring Australia to demonstrate the capacity to manufacture these items for the JSF project and this will allow them to compete for work on the global fleet.
New Three-Stars. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior SASC member, announces Senate confirmations of the appointments of two Oklahoma generals. Air Force Maj. Gen. Harry “Bud” Wyatt, currently Adjutant General of Oklahoma, was confirmed to his appointment as the Director of the Air National Guard. Air Force Maj. Gen. Loren Reno, commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Air Force Material Command at Tinker AFB, Okla., was confirmed to his appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Installations and Mission Support at the Pentagon. Both will be promoted to the grade of lieutenant general in their new roles.
Report Cards. Australia’s Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) is releasing information to leading defence contractors that are designed to help them benchmark their performance as suppliers to the Australian Defence Force (ADF). DMO’s Company Scorecard program compares the performance of suppliers in delivery and support of military equipment. This is the first year in a comprehensive summary benchmarking individual companies against other suppliers. Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement Greg Combet says, “Continual benchmarking is one way to improve industry performance. Companies who perform well have a huge impact on the defense industry and its ability to cost effectively support the ADF. Contractors are marked against 11 criteria, including keeping to contract cost, schedule and technical requirements.
Armor Up. BAE Systems wins a $6.26 million contract from Lockheed Martin to manufacture 26 Increased Crew Protection (ICP) cabs for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The contract also includes 26 cab up-armor appliqué kits. The cabs and kits will replace unarmored cabs on Army and Marine HIMARS vehicles. The HIMARS ICP Cab is produced in Sealy, Texas, and Cincinnati, Ohio. Work at Sealy will be completed by March 2009. The ICP cabs will be shipped to Lockheed Martin for installation on the HIMARS vehicles. The HIMARS ICP cab is designed to protect its crew from ballistic attack, mine blast, foreign object debris, and the toxic fumes associated with rocket launch, and has more than 40 enhancements from previous cab designs.
Convoy. Oshkosh wins a $250 million contract modification with the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command to manufacture and deliver an additional 825 of the next- generation Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTT) as part of the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV) contract. Oshkosh Defense will supply load handling system (LHS) variants of the next-generation HEMTT, the A4, which incorporates a fully air-conditioned and armor-ready cab, more powerful drivetrain, improved suspension, safety improvements, and other structural changes to help make installation of add-on-armor in the field quicker and easier. The HEMTTs are long term armor strategy compliant and come off the assembly line fitted with upgraded suspensions and integral armor and ready to receive armor appliqué.
Lucky Number Seven. The Air Force has released an amendment to the request for proposals for its combat search-and-rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter fleet replacement program, delaying the aircraft’s initial operating capability until at least the summer of 2013. The amendment is the seventh to the RFP and “contains minor changes that are intended to further clarify how the Air Force will make its source selection decision,” according to a Dec. 5 Air Force statement. “Beyond the clarifications, ‘Amendment 7′ updates the schedule and funding profiles to properly align with the new schedule,” the statement reads. “The contract award date will be extended to accommodate this amendment, but an exact date has not been established.” Air Force officials would not elaborate on the content of the amendment, but a copy of the new document gives the new IOC as between summer 2013 and winter 2015. The fleet had previously been expected to be up and running by 2012. Beyond the new IOC date, the amended solicitation now indicates the intent to factor the unique maintenance needs of each of the competitors’ offerings into the downselect process. The $15 billion CSAR-X contract was first awarded to Boeing in November 2006. But the Government Accountability Office sustained protests by the two losing bidders, Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin. The Air Force consequently reopened the bidding. The service had planned to award a new contract this past October, but has delayed it until at least next spring.
New PEO. Brig. Gen. Tim Crosby is the new Program Executive Officer for Aviation. Crosby assumed the PEO position from Paul Bogosian in a ceremony at Redstone Arsenal Friday. Dean Popps, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) and Army Acquisition Executive, presided over the Change of Charter. Bogosian retires after 35 years of service to the Army. Lt. Gen. Ross Thompson, Military Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology), presided over his retirement ceremony the same day. Bogosian received the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the highest Department of the Army honorary award granted by the Secretary of the Army, and Senior Executive Service Award The PEO Aviation is responsible for development, procurement, and life cycle management of the Army’s helicopter fleet, including the Apache, Black Hawk, Chinook, Kiowa Warrior and Lakota Helicopters. This PEO also manages all Army fixed wing aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems.