The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Corps Reset. Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway says his service needs billions of dollars in previously unplanned funds for resetting damaged equipment. He cites several reasons to reporters on Dec. 15, including how the Marine Corps, unlike the Army, does not bring all its equipment home from theater. “It saves money, but it also means that equipment is not available for reset or rework,” Conway says. “So it’s starting to reach a little bit of crisis proportion. And today it’s fair to say that…our equipment readiness in home station is not what we would want it to be to be able to train and or deploy to another crisis elsewhere. And so we’ve made the point that we simply need to start laying in some more procurement dollars against some of that equipment so that we can, I think, have a better picture on reset.” The service may need $15 billion more than previously estimated, just earlier this year, for resetting and buying equipment, service officials say. “That’s everything, that’s reset and that’s what we need in terms of some interim infusions for sort of our temporary requirements,” Conway says, adding: “it’s a lot more money than we first thought it was going to be.”
Tanker Talk. Backers of Boeing’s bid for the Air Force tanker contract say Pentagon officials told them Dec. 17 that few changes will be made to the draft RFP before the final solicitation is released next month. “We were encouraged by Deputy (Defense) Secretary (William) Lynn’s assurance that the (Defense) Department was not intending to alter the tanker RFP solely for the purpose of guaranteeing that there would be competition for this procurement,” Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) says, after he and fellow defense appropriator Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) met with Lynn and others. “(Lynn) reiterated the position he stated in September when the draft RFP was issued: that this would be a fair and open process that would be driven by the military requirements only.” The Boeing backers don’t want the Pentagon to change the document in reaction to a threat from competing team Northrop Grumman-European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) team to withdraw from the contest if changes they want aren’t reflected in the final RFP.
Sessions’ Missiles. Defense authorizer Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) prods Defense Secretary Robert Gates in a recent letter to move forward with plans to bolster the capability and reliability of the 30 ground-based interceptors planned for deployment in Alaska and California. “If the administration is going to cut the number of deployed interceptors from 54 to 30, it should also take steps today to ensure that the remaining missiles are fully operational and reliable when they are needed tomorrow,” Sessions says. “America has invested too much in this program to see it whittled down to a state of ineffectiveness. Proper planning for continued production and improvements, and a request for adequate funding, will demonstrate a commitment on behalf of the Pentagon to this critical program.” Sessions reminds Gates that the FY ’10 Defense Authorization Act states he “should ensure the reliability, availability, maintainability, and supportability” of the Ballistic Missile Defense system’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense element throughout its service life.
Drone Web. A new Web site intended to be the primary source of information on unmanned aerial vehicles for members of Congress and others has launched. The site for the Congressional Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Caucus–chaired by HASC Ranking Member Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.) and Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.)–is http://uav.mckeon.house.gov/. The caucus’ mission statement calls for it to relay the “overwhelming value” of UAVs and recognize the “urgent need” to rapidly develop and deploy more of the drone aircraft to support current military operations. The group of lawmakers also is charged with supporting budgets and policies that “promote a larger, more robust national security UAV capability.” The new site does not shy away from controversy, and includes links to news articles about insurgents hacking U.S. drones.
Shelby V. Augustine. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) is vexed because, he says, some staff members for the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee are lobbyists for the commercial space industry. Shelby, ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies subcommittee, calls for an investigation in a Dec. 14 letter to NASA Inspector General Paul Martin. The so-called Augustine Commission, led by retired Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine, wrote a report for President Barack Obama with options for future manned spaceflight. “It is unfortunate that the options presented by the Augustine Commission are now tainted by the efforts of these individuals who happen to gain the most from the imbalanced comparisons and lack of consistent treatment of flight options in the report,” Shelby says. He wants Martin’s office to “investigate and document any and all contacts these lobbyists made while serving on staff on the commission” and to conduct “a review of any and all input these individuals had into the report and its findings.”
REAL ID Extension. The Department of Homeland Security has extended the material compliance deadline for REAL ID, which means that come Jan. 1, 2010, citizens of all states will still be able to board passenger planes and enter government buildings with their existing driver’s licenses. Only 10 states and territories have informed DHS that they were working toward compliance with the federal law, which requires every state driver’s license to meet certain security standards. Originally, citizens of states that were not moving toward compliance would not be able to board a plane without first going through additional security measures. The date for full compliance remains May 10, 2011 although DHS is working with Congress to replace REAL ID with PASS ID, which among other things would shift more of the financial burden to the federal government and limit the number of databases used in background checks to ensure privacy and security of individual’s data. There is no new date for material compliance.
DAB Time. The Army’s PEO Integration is preparing for a major review today that could lead to limited rate initial production for the first set of equipment–Increment 1– equipment to improve capabilities for Infantry Brigade Combat Teams starting in 2011, the director of public communications tells Defense Daily. The equipment Dec. 16 completed an Army Systems Acquisition Review Council meeting, a comprehensive review of “materiel development, requirements, resourcing, production readiness and test and evaluation results” and the capabilities were approved to move forward to a Defense Acquisition Board review, Paul Mehney says. Meanwhile, the PEO, Army Training and Doctrine Command and the Test and Evaluation command will continue its test-fix-test approach to the equipment. For example, coming in 2010 are a technical field test, a force development test and in September, a limited user test. Testing will continue throughout LRIP to highlight and support functionality, reliability, maintainability and to continue to refine tactics, techniques and procedures for this equipment, he says.
Conversion Delivery. Boeing Defence UK Ltd., confirms the Nov. 30 delivery of the first converted Chinook Mk3 helicopter to the Royal Air Force (RAF). Following the early delivery, the RAF declared Initial Operational Capability for Chinook Mk3, allowing the aircraft to begin supporting operational needs in locations such as Afghanistan. A team led by Boeing’s UK Rotorcraft Support business converted the aircraft to a cockpit standard coherent with the rest of the U.K. Chinook fleet and also installed several modifications to increase the aircraft’s capability. Concurrently, Boeing, with Vector Aerospace and cooperating with MoD, has increased the availability of the current forward Chinook fleet in Afghanistan. This has been achieved through improvements to the UK Chinook Through Life Customer Support (TLCS) contract.
First Delivery. Oshkosh Defense was awarded a $56 million delivery order to supply the Army with the first Light Equipment Transporters (LET), a variant of the next-generation Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. The delivery order calls for Oshkosh Defense to produce more than 200 M983 HEMTT A4 LETs. Production and delivery will be completed in September 2010.
Success In Field Trials. ITT Corp. says its Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) 1.0C was successful in field trials at the S4ISR On-The-Move 09 conducted by the Army, the first time it was deployed on multiple networks in simulated military missions. “Successful field trials of ITT’s Soldier Radio Waveform confirmed its sophisticated and robust performance capabilities across a series of challenging battlefield environments,” says Ken Peterman, president, ITT Communications Systems. “SRW, as well as our latest hardware, demonstrates ITT’s consistent leadership in developing affordable, low-risk communications solutions to the global defense market.” ITT also demonstrated its cost-efficient SideHat radio and Wearable Soldier Radio Terminal (WSRT) at the experiment.
Improved Patriot Test. The Army and Lockheed Martin say they recently successfully conducted the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) PC-08 Flight Test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. Preliminary test data indicate mission objectives were successfully achieved. The test demonstrated system capability using Post Deployment Build -6.5 (PDB-6.5) software to search, detect, track, engage, and kill an aerodynamic Tactical Ballistic Missile (TBM) using a ripple method of fire engagement.
Training Aircraft Arrive. The Iraqi Air Force celebrates the arrival of four training aircraft, along with a ground breaking for a new air traffic control tower, and finally the handover of facilities for an air college in Iraq, Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq says. The aircraft are the first of 15 T-6As that will be used as a stepping-stone toward training Iraqi pilots to handle more advanced multi-role fighters that the air force would use in the future to protect Iraqi airspace. This $210 million joint U.S.-Iraq venture provides the aircraft to the Iraqi Air Force, along with flight simulators and associated training. The first eight, bought by the Government of Iraq, will all be at Tikrit by the end of January 2010. The last seven, purchased by the United States, are expected by the end of December 2010. The construction of a new air traffic control tower at Tikrit, slated to be completed in the latter half of 2010, will provide the base with critical airspace control for its pilot training environment.
More Trailers. Oshkosh Corp. receives an order valued at more than $63 million to supply more than 1,150 Palletized Load System trailers. Production of these trailers will be completed in June 2011. The PLS truck and trailer form a self-contained system that reduces the need for forklifts or other material-handling equipment. Additionally, they both carry a demountable cargo bed, also known as a flatrack, that features a 16.5-ton payload capacity.
Demo Done. Boeing says it has completed a demonstration for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) at Fort Bragg, N.C., that integrated both air and ground unmanned systems to perform psychological operations (PSYOP) wartime missions for combatant commands. The November demonstration used the Schiebel S-100 Unmanned Aerial System and the John Deere R-Gator Unmanned Ground Vehicle to demonstrate an electro-optical/infrared, audio, and leaflet drop mission. “Working with USASOC, we were able to pull together a team to demonstrate this integrated, multimodal operation in just 45 days,” says Vic Sweberg, director of Boeing Unmanned Airborne Systems. “We brought together hardware and software from five different contractors into a single multimodal system that allowed the control of different unmanned systems capabilities to accomplish a particular mission.”
Highest Rating. Northrop Grumman announces its Electronic Systems sector campus in Rolling Meadows, Ill., has been appraised at Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI(R)) Maturity Level 5–the highest rating possible–for a broad range of systems, software and hardware engineering processes with aspects of manufacturing, program management, organizational management, logistics and supply chain management. Higher maturity levels signify lower risks for successful program execution, and fewer than seven percent of all rated companies achieved Maturity Level 5 in 2009.
…And Another. Northrop Grumman receives the software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI(R)) Level 5 rating for acquisition at the company’s Missile Systems business unit. This is the first organization to be appraised the highest level of recognition for CMMI’s model focused on acquisition excellence, according to SEI. The audit appraised Missile Systems and the ICBM Prime Integration Contract (IPIC) program.
Finding Targets. BAE Systems receives a $41.9 million U.S. Army contract for all-weather, lightweight, handheld laser target locator systems that allow soldiers to accurately identify target locations while on foot, in daylight or at night, and in fog and smoke. The company will produce its Laser Target Locator Modules, or LTLMs, under a five-year indefinite-elivery/indefinite-quantity contract for PEO Soldier, Fort Belvoir, Va. Weighing less than 5.5 pounds, the LTLM consists of a direct-view optic system, a night-vision camera derived from the thermal cameras used in BAE’s advanced thermal weapon sights, a laser range finder, a digital compass, and a GPS receiver. The system will allow users to recognize targets in daylight and in total darkness.
Black Hawk Support. Australia awards BAE Systems a three-year, potential $35 million contract with five-one year options to support the army Black Hawk helicopters for the rest of their service. Greg Combet, the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, says: “This new contract offers increased value for money and a more balanced approach to risk when compared to the previous arrangements. This is in line with the principles that have been outlined in the Government’s Strategic Reform Program for Defence.”
All Linked Up. Insitu successfully flight tests L-3 Communication Systems’ West Bandit digital data link onboard the Integrator unmanned aircraft system (UAS), the company reports. This flight test demonstrated communications well in excess of range requirements. Insitu is integrating the Bandit digital data link into ScanEagle, NightEagle and Integrator UAS. Bandit is Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) capable, which improves operations security and is ROVER 4 and ROVER 5 compatible, enabling ground forces to see real- time data streams from Insitu UAS using small laptop devices. The information provided by the new, encrypted digital data link can enhance situational awareness and surveillance for convoys and other missions where improvised explosive devices and other threat detection is required. Insitu’s entire family of UAS are ROVER 4 and ROVER 5 compatible to streamline mission operations and minimize footprint, Insitu says. Earlier this year, Insitu conducted test flights on the ScanEagle with a similar encrypted digital data link from L-3. The core technologies from that data link were used to create the Bandit with a design suitable for integration into small unmanned aircraft.
Fixing FLIR. Representatives from Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) and Raytheon dedicate the new FLIR AAS-44(C) Avionics repair site at NAS Jacksonville earlier this month. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Program Manager Air (PMA)-299, responsible for the program’s acquisition, engineering and contracting, funded more than $10 million for the new FLIR repair equipment, which was built in McKinney, Texas by Raytheon, the Navy says. The FRCSE Targeting Surveillance and Radar Systems production shop is already partnering with Raytheon to perform maintenance and repair on the AN/AAS-44(V) FLIR legacy system.
Another Delivery. The Navy accepts delivery of the future USS Independence (LCS-2) last week during a ceremony at Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. Independence is the second LCS delivered to the Navy, and the first of the General Dynamics variant. Between now and sail away in February 2010, the GD-led team will correct most of the trial cards received during INSURV. Any remaining cards will be corrected during scheduled post-delivery maintenance availabilities including the post-shakedown availability scheduled for completion in 2011, the Navy says. Commissioning is scheduled for Jan. 16 in Mobile, Ala.