The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Hagel Hounding. Former Nebraska GOP senator Chuck Hagel will face former colleagues opposed to his nomination as defense secretary at his confirmation hearing before the SASC on Jan. 31 at 9:30 a.m. Those critics include incoming SASC Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-Okla.). After meeting with Hagel Jan. 15, Inhofe says “we are simply too philosophically opposed on the issues for me to support his nomination.” Inhofe says one of his personal “biggest concerns” is preventing pending sequestration cuts of $500 billion to longterm defense spending. “However, Senator Hagel’s comments have not demonstrated that same level of concern about the pending defense cuts,” the SASC ranking member says. Inhofe cites other qualms, including Hagel’s support of nuclear reductions, opposition to sanctions on Iran in 2001, and refusal to sign a letter affirming U.S. –Israeli solidarity in 2001. Hagel and his allies insist he is not anti-Israel. Hagel receives a boost Jan. 15 when Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announces he will support the nominee, who Schumer says convinced him he would be a strong supporter of Israel.
NSC Contract Update. The Coast Guard expects to be able to award a construction contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries in the next three to six months for the sixth National Security Cutter (NSC), Adm. Bob Papp, the Coast Guard Commandant, says at the Surface Navy Association symposium. Papp says that the Coast Guard has not been allowed to execute the construction contract under the Continuing Resolution that has been used to fund the federal government since Oct. 1, 2012, but adds that he is “pretty confident” that the “mechanisms” currently are in place to move toward a contract award. Contract negotiations are underway, he says.
…Budget Talks. Congress approved long-lead funding for the seventh NSC in the FY ’13 Appropriations Bill and the Coast Guard will have to continue to negotiating within the Obama administration to obtain construction funds for this ship and the eighth NSC as part of deliberations on the FY ’14 and FY ’15 budget requests, Papp says. The administration did not request long-lead funding for NSC-7 in its FY ’13 budget request. Coast Guard plans call for eight NSC high-endurance cutters to be built.
…Interest in the OPC. Last fall the Coast Guard issued a Request for Proposals for the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC), which will recapitalize its existing fleet of 210-foot and 270-foot medium-endurance cutters. Papp says that the response period will close in a few weeks but that so far there has been “significant interest” for the opportunity, which calls for 25 new ships. “We’re very pleased about that,” he says. Based on bids submitted so far, “People are thinking out of the box,” Papp says. “They’re looking at new designs. We need to think out of the box as well as we go forward.” Papp says the OPC is the most important project in his mind because it will be the services’ “workhorse” vessel over the next 40 years.
…Ice Breaker in Sea Trials. This month the Coast Guard’s heavy ice breaker the Polar Star left the shipyard and has begun sea trials, Papp says. The vessel, the only heavy icebreaker in the service’s fleet of two icebreakers, had been in mothballs. The medium icebreaker Healy has remained operational. Papp says the strategy is to keep the Polar Star around for a least 10 more years. The FY ’13 budget contains $8 million to begin the design for a new polar icebreaker replacement and Papp says the next step is to begin talking about another polar icebreaker replacement for when the Polar Star is decommissioned.
Air Force SATCOM. The Air Force needs to settle on a solution to its commercial satellite communications bandwidth issues in the next six months to a year, according to the service’s space chief. Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) Gen. William Shelton tells reporters during a Defense Writers Group breakfast that the Air Force is in the middle of studies to determine which is the best way for the service to go about fulfilling its bandwidth needs. Shelton says the Defense Department’s main communications satellites: AEHF, WGS and the Navy’s MUOS, won’t be enough. “Our demand for bandwidth always outstrips our available resources,” Shelton says. “So we’ll have to create an additional demand signal that hopefully can be filled by commercial industry.”
…SATCOM. Shelton says some solutions could include a sort of lease arrangement or a “lease/buy” arrangement similar to how Shelton said U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) handles airlift, in which TRANSCOM has aircraft on standby that can be used for a fee. “Maybe we can have something similar to that in commercial satellite,” Shelton says. “There’s a broad variety of solutions here we just haven’t settled on, but we’re going to need to do that in the next six months to a year.” The Air Force has been under fire from commercial satellite operators for not planning for the future, preventing operators from investing in their infrastructure to support military needs.
ATP-SE Contract. The Air Force approves full-rate production (FRP) for Lockheed Martin’s Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) under then ATP-Sensor Enhancement Program (ATP-SE), according to a company statement. Sniper pods in the new ATP-SE configuration provide expanded mission capability and recently completed stringent operational testing to confirm their maturity for fielding and FRP. Sniper is integrated and operational on the F-15E, F-16 and A-10 fighter jets as well as the B-1 and B-52 bombers. The Sniper ATP provides superior detection ranges, stability and pointing accuracy while supplying imagery for non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $152 million contract in September for ATP sustainment.
HARM Award. The Air Force awards Raytheon a $12 million contract to begin full-rate production (FRP) of its High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) Control Section Modification (HCSM) upgrade units, according to a company statement. The modification adds a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and an improved inertial measurement unit (IMU) to the existing HARM for precision navigation. HCSM also features a digital flight computer that merges targeting solutions from navigation and seeker systems. These enhancements improve the probability of hit, while controlling where the missile can, and cannot, fly. Raytheon is scheduled to begin modification of existing HARMs early this year with delivery of HCSM units beginning in fourth quarter 2013.
Drew To Exelis. Exelis appoints Pamela Drew as president of its information systems business area, according to a company statement. Drew replaces Mike Wilson, who retires effective March 31. Drew will be responsible for leading the effort to apply the company’s engineering and science talent in system development, networking, radio frequency communications and information systems. Drew’s team will provide capabilities for critical missions that include defense and intelligence systems, air traffic management, space and earth science and homeland defense. Before Exelis, Drew served as the senior vice president of strategic capabilities and technology at TASC. In an earlier role at TASC, Drew led the enterprise systems business unit that served defense and federal civilian agencies, including the FAA.
GEO-2 SBIRS. The Air Force and Lockheed Martin deliver the second Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO-2) Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) spacecraft to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., where it will be prepared for a March liftoff above a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, according to a Lockheed Martin statement. Before launch, engineers will complete post shipment testing, fuel the satellite’s propulsion system and encapsulate the spacecraft inside the launch vehicle’s payload fairing. The fairing will be configured for final testing and, approximately 24 hours before liftoff, the vehicle will roll to the launch pad for liftoff. Lockheed Martin’s SBIRS contracts include four HEO payloads, four GEO satellites and ground assets. Initial work has already begun on the fifth and sixth GEO satellites while two HEO payloads and GEO-1 have already launched into orbit. SBIRS is the Air Force’s next-generation nuclear-hardened missile warning constellation.
Airmen App. Apple, Inc., releases a free cellphone application created by two airmen that compiles news and other material from a variety of websites related to the 57th Presidential Inauguration, according to National Capital Region Public Affairs. Senior Airman Daniel Burkhardt and Staff Sgt. Christopher Bevins create “Inauguration,” which is designed to distribute Defense Department-related information on the inauguration. The app also collects real-time updates from websites linked to it, offering the latest press releases, videos and photographs covering the event. It also contains a map of the parade route, complete with global positioning that automatically orients the map based on the user’s location and icons that pinpoint medical stations and indicate road closures and walking routes. The app is available through Apple’s App Store.
BAE Parts Deal. The Air Force awards BAE Systems a $25 million contract to help manage obsolete parts for aircraft, weapons systems and a range of electronics and equipment, according to a company statement. BAE will utilize its award-winning suite of tools and services called Advanced Component Obsolescence Management (AVCOM), which is a web-enabled tool that allows the government and commercial customers to forecast when a part will become obsolete or too expensive and then finds suitable replacements for that part from across the marketplace. The new contract includes a one-year base plus a one-year option. The work will be managed at the BAE facility in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Additional work will be performed at Hill AFB, Utah; Tinker AFB, Okla., and Robins AFB, Ga.
GPS Contract. The Air Force awards Lockheed Martin a $100 million contract to sustain the ground segment for the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation, according to a company statement. The contract’s period of performance is from January through June 2019. Lockheed Martin will perform on-orbit operational control of the GPS satellite constellation and will provide organizational and depot sustainment support, which includes support for command and control (C2) ground systems, systems engineering, hardware and communications engineering, space vehicle and ground equipment simulation, software testing and hardware maintenance. The GPS mission ensures that precise position, navigation and timing signals are available for worldwide users across numerous domains.
Amazonas 3 Arrives. The Amazonas 3 multi-mission satellite built by Space Systems/Loral (SSL) arrives at the European Spaceport in the French Guiana, where it will be launched Feb. 7 aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle by Arianespace, according to SSL and Arianespace statements. Amazonas 3 is designed to provide a wide range of telecommunications services, including direct-to-home television, corporate fixed and mobile telephone networks and broadband in the Americas, Europe and north Africa. When launched, the satellite will be positioned at the orbital location of 61 degrees west longitude. Amazonas 3 is built for HISPASAT Group and includes the first Ka-band payload for broadband service in Latin America.
Missile Defense Conference Canceled. AIAA cancels the 11th US Missile Defense conference and exhibit scheduled for March 18-20. “Due to the uncertain atmosphere surrounding the budget sequestration and the near term guidance received from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Missile Defense Agency decided to cancel the conference this morning,” says a note from AIAA last week. However, it goes on, “this unfortunate and unplanned cancellation is not expected to have an impact on future years’ events nor on the 26th Annual Ballistic Missile Defense Conference and Exhibition this fall.” Refunds will result.
Milestone Helicopter. Bell Helicopter delivers the 100th of a planned total of 349 H-1 helicopters during a ceremony at its Amarillo Assembly Center. The Marine H-1 helicopter program is comprised of both the UH-1Y utility helicopter and the AH-1Z attack helicopter. The UH-1A story began back in 1959 with the U.S. Army and it progressed through various versions ending with the M model. The “Huey”, as it was affectionately known, also served as the foundation for the Cobra attack gun ship. These helicopters also have a long Marine Corps lineage going back to the original basic Huey helicopter, first deployed during the Vietnam War in 1963 as the UH-1E.
M&S Support. Alion says it received a $10.6 million DoD Contract to enhance interoperability and reuse of modeling and simulation (M&S) Solutions. The work will provide strategic planning and technical support across a spectrum of tasks, including strategic outreach, modernization of information systems, high-level architecture (HLA) compliance testing and M&S education. The work runs through Sept. 24, 2015.
Leaders Talking. Chief of the General Staff, British Army, Gen. Sir Peter Wall says he talks to U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno on how to solve mutual problems including revamping U.K. reserves and how to approach regional partners. He was in town doing just that last week. “We look to the U.S. to benchmark capability against what U.S. components would want of us,” he says at a CSIS Military Strategy Forum. The U.K. Army has close force development links with the U.S. Army, he says, as well as common interests and values. The two also share an interest in applying those in the uncertain modern world. This is all helped, he says, by the longstanding U.S.-U.K. relationship.
Ford Island. Huntington Ingalls Industries plans to place the island onto the flight deck for the first of the next generation of Navy aircraft carriers later this month. HII will lift and place the 555 metric ton island onto the flight deck of the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) Jan. 26. The shipbuilder has extended invitations to view the event at its Newport News Shipbuilding facility in Newport News, Va. The event will be attended by Susan Ford Bales, the ship sponsor and daughter of the 38th president.