The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
State’s State. Hillary Clinton resigns as secretary of state Feb. 1, clearing the way for John Kerry to be sworn in as her replacement the same day. During a farewell address Clinton calls on State Department staff to show “why diplomacy and development are right up there with defense.” The Senate confirms Kerry, the now-former Democratic senator from Massachusetts, as secretary of state Jan. 29 after a speedy confirmation by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC). Kerry leaves the chairmanship of the SFRC, which now is steered by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). Meanwhile, defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel is expected to face a longer confirmation process than Kerry’s. SASC Republicans grill Hagel during a Jan. 31 confirmation hearing and request follow-up materials. If those documents are received today the Democratic-led SASC could vote on Hagel’s confirmation Thursday, SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) says after Hagel’s eight-hour grilling.
Hagel’s Sub. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) prods Hagel on submarine programs key to Connecticut, including the SSBN(X) Ohio-class replacement program. Pentagon plans call for a fleet of 12 of the boomers starting no later than 2031. Blumenthal notes that a May 2012 “Global Zero Nuclear Policy Commission Report,” which Hagel contributed to, talks of having 10 SSBN(X)s. Blumenthal says he “strongly” believes per-ship cost will increase and “that we will be at severe risk” if 10 and not 12 submarines are built. Hagel declines to tell Blumenthal he will commit to a fleet of 12 SSBN(X)s, saying: “I would want to talk with our…Chief of Naval Operations to get a better understanding of our budget. I can tell you this. I am committed completely to modernizing our Navy and everything it includes and will require. I will give you that commitment.”
HASC Hats. The HASC officially announces its new subcommittee rosters Jan. 29, confirming that Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) is now ranking member of the Tactical Air and Land Forces, which oversees many aircraft and vehicle programs. She has a familiar partner, as the subcommittee’s new chairman is Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), with whom she ran the Strategic Forces subpanel in the last Congress. Prior chairman Roscoe Bartlett lost his reelection to his Maryland seat last year. Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) is again the Seapower and Projection Forces ranking member, working with a new chairman: Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.). Prior Seapower chairman Todd Akin, a Missouri Republican, is no longer in Congress. The new Strategic Forces leaders, who oversee missile-defense programs, are Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.). Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) is chairman of the Intelligence Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee, which is steered on the minority side by Rep. James Langevin (D-R.I.); both lawmakers are outspoken on cybersecurity, an issue the panel will address this year. Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) returns to the ranking member spot on the Readiness subpanel, which is now chaired by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.).
…HAC Seconds. HAC Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) announces the committee’s subcommittee vice chairs on Jan. 31, saying they will be “playing a very important role in what will be a challenging but hopefully fruitful appropriations year.” Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) is the No. 2 Republican on the Defense subcommittee, after Chairman C.W. “Bill” Young (R-Fla.). The HAC vice chair for Homeland Security is Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), for State and Foreign Operations is Rep. Charles Dent (D-Pa.), and for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs is John Carter (R-Texas).
Wanted: Icebreaker Designs. The Coast Guard last week issued a Request for Information (RFI) to conduct market research for candidate heavy polar icebreaker designs and shipyards in the United States capable of building a heavy polar icebreaker. The RFI is a first step toward a possible polar non-nuclear icebreaker procurement program to help the Coast Guard develop an acquisition strategy for such a vessel. The Coast Guard currently has two icebreakers, with the Polar Star the only heavy icebreaker. Last month the service began sea trials of the Polar Star after removing it from mothballs.
Cyber Career Contract. The FBI has awarded a potential $20 million contract to the SANS Institute, a research and education organization that conducts information security training and certification, to run a Cyber Career Path Program for the agency, which has a need for cyber investigators with accredited training to support the growing need to combat cyber based threats. The program calls for 38 different classes of instruction, and while cyber security is one of the hottest national security tickets around, most of the course offerings don’t seem very interesting. Of course there’s Intro to Information Security, Securing Windows, Securing Linux/Unix, and IPv6 Essentials. But, the real excitement comes from classes like Web App Penetration and Ethical Hacking and the curious, Metasploit Kung Fu for Enterprise Pen Testing.
Senate Homeland Staff Changes. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the new chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has named Richard Kessler as the committee’s new staff director. Kessler previously served as the as Democratic staff director on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Mike Alexander was the previous staff director under former chairman Joe Lieberman (I/D-Conn.). Carper also named John Kilvington as deputy staff director. Kilvington was previously staff director for the committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security. He has also been Carper’s lead staffer on committee issues since 2001. Beth Grossman, who previously was the committee’s deputy staff director and chief counsel, retains her counsel role. Emily Spain, Carper’s communications director, is also now the communications director for the committee, succeeding Leslie Phillips.
Scaled Pres. Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites, which specializes in prototype airframes and composite tooling, announced last week that it has named a new president. Kevin Mickey will now serve atop the Mojave, Calif.-based outfit known for the development of Space Ship One, the first private manned spacecraft. Mickey has been with Scaled Composites for 23 years and most recently served as executive vice president and general manager, Northrop Grumman says. Mickey succeeds Doug Shane, who has taken on an assignment to support the completion of testing and the transition of commercial operations for the Virgin Galactic and Stratolaunch programs. Scaled Composites was founded in 1982 and acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2007.
Understanding Hunley. Scientists believe they are getting closer to understanding what caused the Civil War-era Confederate submarine known as the Hunley to sink. For years scientists at the Hunley Conservation Lab in North Charleston, S.C., have been examining the Hunley, which is believed to have become the first ever successful combat submarine when it used a torpedo to sink the USS Housatonic in 1864 in Charleston Harbor before vanishing along with eight crew members. The scientists last week announced they’ve come across remnants of the torpedo on the 16-foot pole used to deliver the weapon, showing the Hunley was much closer to the Housatonic than previously believed at the time of the torpedo’s detonation. Earlier thinking was that the Hunley’s crew sought out a much larger distance from the ship before triggering the torpedo. But there is still no evidence to suggest that the Hunley sustained damage during the explosion, leaving the mystery behind its sinking unresolved, says Kellen Correia, the executive director of Friends of the Hunley. She says the next step is to peel back the concretion that built up on the sub while it rested on the ocean floor for more than 130 years to check for possible damage. Scientists also plan to use digital simulations to determine how the sub encountered its fate. The 39-foot long Hunley was raised in 2000, five years after being discovered about one-half mile from the site of the Housatonic sinking.
SDB II F-35. The Air Force and Raytheon successfully complete a “fit check” of the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) II on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, according to a company statement. During the test, four SDB II shapes were loaded into an F-35 weapon bay alongside an Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), also manufactured by Raytheon. Sweeps of the inboard and outboard bay doors verified there was adequate clearance between the two weapons. Raytheon spokeswoman Holly Caldwell says available A and B variants of the F-35 were used for the fit check. The A is the Air Force’s conventional variant while the B is the Marine Corps’ short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant. SDB II is designed to be carried by a host of fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft, including the F-15E, F-35A, F-35B, F-35C, F/A-22, F-16C/D and the F/A-18E/F.
HARM Award. The Air Force awards Raytheon a $12 million contract to begin full-rate production (FRP) of 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) for precision navigation to the existing HARM. HCSM also features a digital flight computer that merges targeting solutions from navigation and seeker systems, which improve the probability of a successful 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 the fourth quarter of 2013. Raytheon is teaming with Honeywell, Rockwell Collins and others for the HCSM program.
C-130J Propulsion. The Air Force awards Rolls-Royce a $97 million firm-fixed price, requirements contract modification for sustaining C-130J propulsion systems, according to the Air Force. Rolls-Royce spokesman George McLaren says this is the sixth option year for the company’s contract to support the AE2100 engines, propellers and nacelles. McLaren says the contract has been successful for both Rolls-Royce and the Air Force with over 90 percent availability of aircraft and parts. McLaren credits the company’s new Defense Operations Center in Indianapolis for helping support propulsion logistics and engines.
Red Flag Intel. The Air Force this year introduces “realistic military intelligence” into its signature aerial combat training exercise, known as Red Flag, according to a service statement. The Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Agency and the Air Force Warfare Center team to produce a realistic environment that prepares both intelligence analysts and aerial operators for war. Red Flag, hosted north of Las Vegas, Nev., on the Nevada Test and Training Range, is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies.
GD’s TACLANE-16. The National Security Agency certifies General Dynamics C4 Systems’ new TACLANE-16 (KG-175G) encryptor to secure classified information at the top secret level and below, according to a company statement. TACLANE-1G can be used in vehicles, remote command posts, data centers or wherever government and military personnel travel or work. With advanced encryption technology, the TACLANE-1G is capable of alerting network personnel when potentially threatening software code, deep within a message “packet,” is detected. It also has enhanced routing capabilities to ensure that classified information reaches its destination, even if part of the network is inoperable or unavailable.
SpaceX AMOS-6. Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) agrees to launch Space Communication Ltd.’s (Spacecom) AMOS-6 satellite on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle, according to a SpaceX statement. Falcon 9 will insert the communications satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The AMOS-6 satellite, to be built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), will provide communications services, including direct satellite home internet for Africa, the Middle East and Europe. AMOS-6 will replace AMOS-2, which is expected to end its service in 2016.
ORBIT Telemetry. A large Asian country’s defense organization awards ORBIT Technologies Ltd.-subsidiary ORBIT Communication Systems Ltd. a major contract to supply an end-to-end aeronautical test telemetry solution, according to a company statement. The project, worth more than an estimated $3 million, comprises ORBIT’s off-the-shelf tracking systems, third-party equipment and software and services. ORBIT will supply the defense organization with a turnkey, end-to-end aeronautical telemetry solution and will assume full project ownership from installation to operation.
Burbage Retiring. Tom Burbage, the head of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program, announces his retirement. “After 32 years of working with Lockheed Martin and legacy divisions, Tom has decided to retire,” Lockheed Martin spokesman Mike Rein said in a statement. “His impact to the F-35 program and other areas of aeronautics is immeasurable.” Rein said Burbage will remain with the company until March. The Defense Department is buying 2,443 F-35s: 1,753 As for the Air Force; 260 Cs for the Navy as well as 340 Bs and 80 Cs for the Marine Corps. The F-35A is the conventional variant, the F-35B is the Marine Corps’ short take off and vertical landing (STOLV) variant and the F-35C is the Navy’s aircraft carrier variant.
New Hume Center Leader. The Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology at Virginia Tech names Mark Goodwin as its first portfolio director, responsible for overseeing programmatic activities within the quickly-growing, two-year-old center. The Hume Center heads the university’s educational and research programs in supporting the defense and intelligence communities. Also, it executes a broad range of research programs in wireless communications, satellite engineering, cyber security, and data. Before joining Virginia Tech, Goodwin spent 13 years at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
New CTO. Thales Communications says it appointed Todd Borkey as the company’s Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives. Borkey is responsible for leading the management of a diverse portfolio of businesses and products including Sonars, Ship Combat Management Systems, Helmet Mounted Displays, Cyber Security, Training and Simulation, and Radars. This includes identifying additional business areas for company expansion in the U.S. defense and security market and leading the company’s initiatives to extend the scope and reach within U.S. markets for the products and systems of the global Thales organization. Borkey comes to Thales from DRS Defense Solutions where, as Chief Technology Officer since 2007, he led the strategic planning, innovation, and IR&D process for its diverse $1.3 billion defense business. Before DRS, he was director of Business Development for Northrop Grumman’s Government Systems Division.
Exec Resigns. ATK says Ronald Johnson , senior vice president and president of ATK Sporting Group, resigned from his position, effective Feb. 1. Johnson served in his current role since April 2010. He joined ATK in 2001 when it acquired the Sporting Equipment Group from Blount International. During his tenure at ATK, Johnson also served as the vice president and general manager of ATK Commercial Products division. “Ron has contributed to the success and growth of our shooting sports platform, including our expansion into accessories and new markets,” says ATK President and CEO Mark DeYoung . “I congratulate him on his many accomplishments here at ATK and wish him well.” ATK’s Board of Directors will make a determination on an interim group president this week during its regularly scheduled meeting and will make an announcement next week.