The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Budget Bundle. With the fiscal year 2010 defense appropriations bill still not passed by Congress, DoD spending is poised to be continued at FY ’09 levels through Dec. 18 under a continuing resolution the House and Senate approved last Thursday. Defense spending had already been extended through a similar month-long resolution since FY ’10 started Oct. 1. HAC-D Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.) tells Defense Daily on Oct. 29 a House-Senate conference committee could meet as soon as this week to approve a final appropriations bill. Hill staffers have already negotiated many differences between the two Pentagon spending plans. Murtha acknowledged that House leadership has wanted to add other non-related legislation to the defense appropriations bill, and predicted the Pentagon measure may end up as part of large multi-agency omnibus spending legislation.
… Across The Potomac. Murtha says one of the reasons the defense appropriations bill has been delayed is because “the Defense Department hasn’t said a word” to pressure Democratic leaders to pass the legislation, as defense officials did in past fiscal years for delayed spending bills. That’s partly because the FY ’10 legislation does not include large spending increases Pentagon leaders are awaiting, he says. Still, contracts for defense programs are stalled without the bill’s passage, he adds. “I would say until (Pentagon officials) start to get concerned” Hill leaders won’t be prodded to move faster on the bill, he says. Once congressional leaders give the go-ahead on the bill, Murtha says, “we can finish it in a week.” An additional scheduling hangup, he adds, is finding time to sit down with Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), who is busying chairing the full SAC as well as it defense subcommittee.
Ben’s Missiles. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) says he is preparing for his new position as the chairman of the SASC Strategic Forces subcommittee, meeting with officials including SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and U.S. Strategic Command head Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton. “Obviously I’m going to stay very closely connected with what is in fact going on and hopefully have some involvement in the final decision” on how to proceed with the Obama administration’s new proposal for sea-and-land based missile defense in Europe and the Middle East, Nelson tells reporters Oct. 27. He traveled to Eastern Europe earlier this year to discuss the now-defunct Bush administration plan for ground-based interceptors and radars, he notes. “The decision that has been made is consistent with the discussions that we had when I was there,” he says. Nelson took over the chairmanship from Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) two weeks ago after a committee leadership shakeup following the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and retirement of Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.).
Risky Business. The F-35 program is still at risk of significant cost increases, according to an independent study of the nearly $300 billion effort, the Pentagon acknowledged last week. The Joint Estimating Team’s latest cost projection for the program is “pessimistic and continues to raise concerns about the course the program is on,” says DoD spokesman Geoff Morrell. Morrell says Pentagon acquisition czar Ashton Carter has received the first of three briefings on the matter. “This is the biggest, most expensive and arguably most complicated program this department has ever pursued,” he adds. “Clearly, we have a lot riding on this.” The JET provides a worst-case assessment of how the program will likely develop, while the F-35 program office tends to be much more optimistic about its cost estimates, according to Morrell. Defense Secretary Robert Gates earlier this year decided to cancel additional F-22 production, instead putting the department’s money on the F-35, which is expected to enter service with the Navy and Marine Corps, in addition to the Air Force. Several allied nations have also signed on to the effort. Last year’s JET study estimated the program may need as much as $16.6 billion more for both development and production through 2015. This year’s update remains “pessimistic,” according to Morrell, who declined to provide further details.
More Raptors. Lockheed Martin last week was awarded a $474.2 million Air Force contract to build four more F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft. Under the fiscal 2010 defense authorization act signed into last week by President Obama, the F-22 production line in Fort Worth, Texas, will be shut down when production of 187 aircraft has been completed.
Oh, Give Me a Home. The Air Force last week announced the list of candidate locations for basing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Five bases have been selected as candidate bases for training: Boise Air Terminal Air Guard Station, Idaho; Eglin AFB, Fla.; Holloman AFB, N.M.; Luke AFB, Ariz.; and Tuscon International Airport Air Guard Station, Ariz. The six bases selected as candidate bases for operations are: Burlington International Airport Guard Station, Vt.; Hill AFB, Utah; Jacksonville International Airport Air Guard Station, Fla.; Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; Shaw AFB, and McEntire Air Guard Base, S.C. The Air Force will also evaluate existing F-22 force structure at Holloman AFB, N.M., as it considers F-35 basing, according to a statement released by the service. The candidate bases were selected using previously announced basing criteria such as airspace, flight training ranges, weather, support facilities, runways, taxi ramps and environmental concerns, as well as military judgment factors such as combatant commander requirements, aircraft retirements and delivery schedules, aircraft maintenance and logistics support and integration with the Air National Guard and Reserve. The formal environmental impact analysis process and site assessments will now begin, allowing communities around each candidate base to participate and provide input into the environmental impact analysis. Officials expect to announce preferred locations in late Spring 2010. Once the formal Environmental Impact Statements are complete, Air Force officials will issue the Records of Decision and announce the final basing decisions in early 2011.
EADS Tanker World Tour. An EADS A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) destined for the Royal Australian Air Force touched down at Dover AFB, Del., last week, for a stopover on its journey from Australia to Spain. The aircraft stopped at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, as well. The aircraft is the second of five A330 MRTTs ordered by Australia, and is nearly identical in configuration to Northrop Grumman’s KC-45 Tanker offered for the U.S. Air Force to modernize its aging aerial refueling fleet. The A330 MRTT was outfitted as a tanker in Brisbane, Australia, by the indigenous Qantas Aviation Services with the support of EADS. The success of this process, according to the EADS, demonstrates the company’s ability to transition tanker conversion activity to the domestic industry of nations that will operate the aircraft. EADS North America plans to assemble A330 platforms at a new facility in Mobile, Ala., if the EADS-Northrop Grumman team is selected to produce the U.S. tanker replacement fleet. Deliveries to the Royal Australian Air Force are scheduled to begin next year. Conversion is complete for the first two aircraft and ongoing for the third at Qantas. The A330 MRTT has won all of the latest competitions for next-generation aerial refueling aircraft, with selections by the air forces of Australia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Intel Growth. The intelligence community’s budget in FY ’09 was $49.8 billion, nearly 5 percent higher than in FY ’08, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence says. As required by the 9/11 Act of 2007, ODNI must disclose the annual budget figure for the National Intelligence Program within 30 days after the end of the fiscal year. In FY ’07, the first year the NIP budget was disclosed, Congress appropriated $43.5 billion for the intelligence community.
Cyber Center. DHS last week opened the new National Cybersecurity and Communications Center (NCCIC), a watch and warning operations center that combines two of the department’s operational organizations, the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), and the National Coordinating Center for Telecommunications (NCC). US-CERT leads a public-private partnership to protect the nation’s cyber infrastructure, and the NCC, which is the operational arm of the National Communications System responsible for restoring and reconstituting the United States government national security and emergency preparedness telecommunications services in the event of an emergency. The NCCIC will also integrate the efforts of the National Cybersecurity Center, which coordinates operations among the six largest federal cyber centers, the DHS Office of Intelligence, and private sector partners. The new center is aimed at better integrating and interoperating current cyber and communications incident response mechanisms.
Another GAO Slap. The GAO says that DHS plan to acquire a consolidated financial management system for the entire department lacks key elements, including an analysis of current processes to better understand user requirements in the evaluation of a new system. DHS is currently reviewing bids for its Transformation and Systems Consolidation and plans to award a contract in January 2010 based on an integrated COTS system already in use at another federal agency. GAO also says that DHS didn’t go a gap analysis before deciding on the type of financial management system it plans to buy nor did it “assess the extent to which the COTS-based system used at another agency has been customized for the respective federal entities.” GAO adds that where gap analyses haven’t been performed, the selected system lacks “essential capabilities.”
Off To College. Insitu, Inc., has provided the University of North Dakota (UND) with its ScanEagle UAS to be used in the nation’s only program offering a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics UAS Operations, the company says. UND is a designated Department of Defense Center of Excellence for UAS Research, Education and Training. It used funds provided by the U.S. Air Force to acquire its ScanEagle system. “Our program requires an optimal system–one with a proven operational track record, reliability and effectiveness to support our educational and research activities. ScanEagle is market-validated and well-positioned to deliver to our requirements,” UND Associate Professor of Aerospace Mark Askelson says.
EW Partnership. NSWC Crane and Johns Hopkins University APL sign a three-year CRADA in October to leverage technical expertise and advance EW technology, NAVSEA reports. As part of the CRADA, NSWC Crane will supply advanced equipment and facility access as needed, and develop effects data related to the use of laser technology for EW applications. Johns Hopkins University APL will research EW technologies, develop modeling capabilities and provide UAV/UAS equipment and expertise, NAVSEA says. “Signing this CRADA establishes a partnership that will enable and promote the transition of laser-based technologies into real-world military applications,” Ted Smock, NSWC Crane Infrared/ Radio Frequency Systems Technologies Division manager, says. “Currently, there is limited use of laser-based technologies to accomplish military EW missions. As these systems become more compact and reliable, more military applications are possible.” Potential EW application technologies the partnering organizations will explore include the use of Ultrashort Pulse Lasers (USPLs), high-average power lasers, laser-material interactions, Infrared and Radio Frequency (RF) counter-measures, and employment of, and defense against, UAV/UAS, NAVSEA adds.
Kit Contract. The Marine Corps awards Harris a five-year $90 million ceiling firm-fixed-priced, IDIQ contract for up to 3,385 multi-band radio vehicular installation kits. Work will be performed in Rochester, N.Y., and is expected to be completed October 2014. This contract was competitively awarded, with one offer received, DoD says.
Tracking Obsolescence. NUWC Keyport receives a 2009 DoD Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) Achievement Award. Keyport’s Virginia-class Tech Refresh Integrated Product Team (IPT) earned the award for outstanding achievement in parts obsolescence management, NAVSEA says. “Monitoring obsolescence issues early allows timely procurement of many ‘on-board-repair-parts,’ which has a positive impact on the platform operational availability,” Lindsey Womeldorf, Virginia-class Tech Refresh team lead for NUWC Keyport, says. The usable lifetime of electronic systems aboard naval ships often far exceeds the availability of its individual components used to produce that system. NAVSEA is changing its contracting strategies to direct ship designers to work with a smaller pool of parts with wider applications that will create a more efficient process with a better return on investment, NAVSEA adds. The Virginia-class Tech Refresh IPT evaluates alternative solutions for Virginia-class submarine electronic systems obsolescence issues.
Still Growing After 40 Years. This year’s DARPA Network Challenge will mark the 40th anniversary of the Internet. The competition requires participants to discover the exact position of 10 large, red weather balloons that DARPA will place in undisclosed locations across the continental United States. The first person to identify the location of all the balloons will win a $40,000 cash prize. The balloons will be positioned on Dec. 5, 2009. “It is fitting for DARPA to announce this competition on the anniversary of the day that the first message was sent over the ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet,” DARPA says. “In the 40 years since this breakthrough, the Internet has become an integral part of society and the global economy. The DARPA Network Challenge explores the unprecedented ability of the Internet to bring people together to solve tough problems.” This is the latest example of DARPA’s interest in reaching nontraditional sources of ideas and talent. The 10 balloons will be placed in publicly accessible locations in the continental U.S. and will be on display for one day (Dec. 5) during daylight hours. The first participant to identify the latitude and longitude of all 10 balloons will receive the cash prize, DARPA adds.
Coating Cutting Costs. NAVSEA’s Fleet Readiness Research & Development Program (FRR&DP) continues to evaluate the Propeller Coating initiative onboard the USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44), the Navy says. Propellers on naval ships experience marine growth during periods of inactivity. The coating initiative is designed to easily remove the accumulation of marine growth while underway, thereby avoiding a fuel penalty associated with fouled propellers and supporting fleet readiness at a lower cost to taxpayers, NAVSEA adds. The detailed coating assessment will include evaluation of paint application and how the coating reacts to various cleaning methods. The assessment is scheduled to conclude in calendar year 2010. The initiative could be expanded to include coating propellers on transport dock ships (LPDs), general-purpose assault ships (LHAs and LHDs) and possibly surface combatant ships, NAVSEA says.
Return of The USB? A Department of Navy team is identifying the minimum requirements (policy, process and technology) necessary to fortify the services network security posture, Robert Carey, the Navy’s CIO, says in a recent blog posting (http://www.doncio.navy.mil/Blog.aspx?ID=1334). “The DoD Removable Storage Media Tiger Team, led by the Defense- wide Information Assurance Program, has been coordinating policy for incorporation into future USSTRATCOM operational guidance. The Navy and Marine Corps are drafting organizationally specific CONOPS and Communications Tasking Orders in preparation for secure USB flash media pilots once the DoD-wide ban is lifted.” Carey says in the future it can be expected that a “government-owned and procured USB flash media that is uniquely and electronically identifiable for use in support of mission-essential functions on DoD networks will be permitted for use by authorized individuals.” Carey notes work is being done on upgrading “anti-virus and malware detection, alert and eradication capabilities as well as implementation of controls to deny network access to unauthorized USB flash media and revised operating procedures for scanning and cleaning flash media.”
…Then Again, Maybe Not. “The bottom line is, the days of using personally owned flash media or using flash media collected at conferences or trade shows are long gone,” Carey says. “What we connect to our home PCs is very different from what is and will be allowed to occur on DoN networks. I expect (and support) that only approved, identifiable flash media of known origin will be permitted for use; and only by authorized and trained personnel, in support of mission-essential functions that could not be performed via non-flash media means.”
Talking. The Joint Enabling Capabilities Command has been interacting with coalition and NATO allies about its deployable command and control capabilities, and is talking to Canadians about it, the commander tells Defense Daily. The Canadians “are well aware of how we have slightly modified ourselves to be a capabilities-deployable concept,” Rear Adm. Ted Carter says. “They are interested, but right now we are really sharing ideas and seeing how we can best use our capabilities combined with each other to be a coalition force. But we are starting that dialogue.”
Stylin.’ The first prototype Mercedes Benz G-Wagons have been turned over to staff by Australia’s Defence Materiel Organization’s project Land 121 (Overlander) in Austria. Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, says. “The new G-Wagon is a very capable vehicle that will include detachable unit-specific modules designed for specific tasks, for example, munitions transfer, field ambulances or troop carriers.” The Australian Defence Force’s 1,200 G-Wagons and 315 specialist modules will require minimal mods. Combet says the prototype G-Wagons will undergo testing through late August 2010, with the first operational vehicle delivery in 2011. “This program is capitalizing on the crossover benefits of utilizing commercial engine and transmission technology in military vehicles,” Combet says. “This has led to greater reliability for the vehicle, which, in turn, is providing the Commonwealth with greater value-for-money.”
New Guns. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products will produce MK19 grenade machine guns under a $13 million order by Army TACOM-ARDEC. Deliveries should begin in June 2010 and be completed by late 2011. The order was made under a contract initially awarded in September 2008, and lifts the total contract value to date to about $81 million. Gun systems program manager Jeffrey Gramse says, “The MK19 has been in service for over 20 years, providing lethal fire against a variety of targets. The weapon’s accuracy and versatility provides the U.S. Armed Forces options for use in both offensive and defensive operations.”