Boeing Gives Back. Boeing is increasing the amount of cash it returns to its shareholders, raising its quarterly dividend and their shares repurchase authorization. The company is increasing its quarterly dividend payment by 20 percent to $1.09 per share. Boeing also has a new $14 billion stock buyback program that replaces its year-old $12 billion repurchase authorization. Boeing had $5.3 billion remaining on the previous share repurchase program. Boeing President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg says the dividend and repurchase increases are part of the company’s “balanced cash deployment strategy.”
New Border Sensors. Customs and Border Protection is surveying industry for potential replacements for electro-optical and infrared cameras used on the Remote Video Surveillance System on the nation’s northern border. The northern border RVSS currently uses the L-3 Communications Nighthawk HP Long Range EO/IR surveillance system and the company’s WALRSS HD IR cameras. Any replacement systems must be comparable in form, fit and function.
The Disruptors. Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Dave Melcher says disruptive companies, which have different business models, ideas and lots of money, have reached out to AIA to better learn what the trade association does because when you enter the government aerospace and defense markets “you have the regulatory issues you’ve got to deal with and you understand this is a controlled market.” He also says AIA has reached out to these disruptors to have “the right voices to express not only what we do today but what we could we be doing tomorrow is a part of who we should be.” During his year-end industry review Melcher lauds reusable rocket developer Blue Origin for successfully launching and then vertically landing its New Shepard launch vehicle, and jokes that they “damn well should be” a member of AIA.
…Big Data. Pointing to the difference in business models that many new start up companies use versus traditional aerospace companies, Melcher says that some of the disruptors are “about big data,” which is something the aerospace and defense industry has to better understand. “We got to have “more of an emphasis on big data and all of the things we do inside of our organizations to understand it, cause their models are built more on things like Uber than they are necessarily on some of the traditional defense production and procurement models.”
PAC-3 Contract. The Army awards Lockheed Martin a $1.1 billion contract for production and delivery of Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missiles and PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles, according to a company statement. The contract includes PAC-3 and PAC-3 MSE interceptor deliveries for the Army and foreign military sales (FMS) of PAC-3 interceptors, launcher modification kits and associated equipment and spares for Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Qatar. The Army expects work to conclude by June 30, 2019. PAC-3 currently provides missile defense capabilities to the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, United Arab Emirates and Taiwan. Lockheed Martin is also under contract with Kuwait.
Stephenson To Boeing. Boeing’s board of directors elects Randall Stephenson as a new director, effective February, according to a company statement. Stephenson is chairman and CEO of AT&T, a position he has held since 2007. Stephenson’s previous positions in his 33-year AT&T career include serving as COO and senior vice president and CFO. Stephenson will serve on the Boeing board’s audit, finance and special programs committees.
UAS Registration. The FAA announces a web-based aircraft registration process for owners of small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) weighing more than 0.55 pounds and less than 55 pounds, including payloads such as on-board cameras. Registration is a statutory requirement that applies to all aircraft, according to a FAA statement. Any owner of a small UAS who has previously operated an unmanned aircraft exclusively as a model aircraft prior to Dec. 21 must register no later than Feb. 19. Owners of any other UAS purchased for use as a model aircraft after December 21 must register before the first flight outdoors.
…More Registration. Registrants need to provide their name, home address and email address. Upon completion of the registration process, the web application will generate a certificate of aircraft registration/proof of ownership that will include a unique identification number for the UAS owner, which must be marked on the aircraft. Registration is valid for three years. The normal registration fee is $5, but in an effort to encourage as many people as possible to register quickly, the FAA is waiving this fee through Jan. 30. Aviators can register at www.faa.gov/uas/registration.
JASSM Contracts. The Air Force awards Lockheed Martin a $302 million contract for continued production of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and its extended range version (JASSM-ER), according to a company statement. The Lot 14 contract includes 146 baseline JASSMs for U.S. and international partners, 140 JASSM-ER missiles for the U.S., as well as data, tooling and test equipment. The contract is the sixth production order for JASSM-ER, which received full-rate production approval in 2014.
RPA Operator Reform. Air Combat Command (ACC) chief Air Force Gen. Herbert Carlisle directs his staff to develop detailed implementation plans in an effort to normalize operations and ensure long-term mission success of the remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) community, according to an Air Force statement. These include: approximately doubling the number of RPA flying squadrons, increasing manning and associated resources by 2,500-3,500 airmen, defining career tracks for officer and enlisted RPA operators and maintainers, increasing RPA to decrease the heavy burden of persistent in garrison combat operations and creating a new wing to normalize organizational and command and control structures relative to other weapon systems, among others.
XCOR Engine Milestone. XCOR Aerospace reaches an important milestone in the development of its reusable 5K18 Lynx main propulsion rocket engine by “closing the loop” of the thermodynamic system under test conditions, a key technology for the Lynx sub-orbital vehicle. According to a company statement, this technology includes a novel method to drive essential engine parts using waste heat from the rocket engine, thus eliminating the need for adding large, heavy compressed gas tanks to the vehicle. This propulsion system is an essential part of the Lynx “instant reusability” because it allows the vehicle to be flown multiple times per day without costly servicing of components. XCOR Director of Engineering and acting CTO Michael Valant says in a statement there is still some work to do to improve the cycle efficiency before this engine is ready for flight, but this is a massive step forward for XCOR in the development of this technology.
B-2 Maintenance. Northrop Grumman says it has completed a periodic “wingtip-to-wingtip” overhaul of the B-2 in 359 days. The company returned B-2 Spirit of Kitty Hawk to the bomber’s operational home at Whiteman AFB, Mo., on Sept. 23. Under a B-2 contract modification signed in April, Northrop Grumman is overhauling each jet once every nine years, versus the previous frequency of once every seven years. The company will maintain only two jets in programmed depot maintenance (PDM) at any one time instead of the historical three and will complete PDM in an average of 365 days.
OSTP. Ashkan Soltani joins the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as a senior adviser to the U.S. chief technology officer. Soltani recently serves as chief technologist for the Federal Trade Commission beginning October 2014. In the new position Soltani is to focus on big data, privacy, and consumer protection issues.
Carrier Presence. The Navy’s “carrier gap” in the Middle East ends on Dec. 14 as the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) carrier strike group passed through the Suez Canal and entered the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of operations, the services says. The strike group left Norfolk, Va., on Nov. 16. The region had been without an aircraft carrier since October, when the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) departed. Navy officials have told Congress that a maintenance backlog caused by high operational tempo caused the gap, and that there may be instances in the next few years where the Middle East or Asia-Pacific regions will not be supported by an aircraft carrier.
You’ve Got Mail. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter admits he has used his personal iPhone to send work related emails after The New York Times obtained copies of the correspondence. “This is a mistake I made with respect to e-mail, entirely my mistake, entirely on me,” he tells reporters on Dec. 17. Carter says that he used personal email accounts up until a few months ago, but only used it to send administrative messages that contained no sensitive information. The Pentagon on Dec. 18 released 34 pages of emails sent from Carter’s personal account, with topics including the secretary’s speeches and schedule.
…Congressional Response. SASC has requested copies of the emails and will conduct a review to ensure classified information was not disclosed, says its chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). “With all the public attention surrounding the improper use of personal email by other administration officials, it is hard to believe that Secretary Carter would exercise the same error in judgment,” he says in a written statement.
Littoral Combat Ship Breakdown. On Dec. 12, the USS Milwaukee (LCS-5), a Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) commissioned on Nov. 21, broke down at sea after it lost pressure in the starboard combining gear lube oil system. The Navy determined that metal debris in the gear lube oil system prompted the issues, but hasn’t figured out the root cause of the debris. The ship was tugged to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va., and repairs are ongoing. The LCS program office (PMS 501) is determining the extent of the shipbuilder/original equipment manufacturer warranty obligation and who will cover the repair costs, a Navy spokeswoman says. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the Freedom-class LCS.
… More LCS. The Navy will christen the USS Omaha (LCS-12) during a ceremony Dec. 19. The USS Omaha is the sixth Independence-class LCS built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., and the fourth Navy ship named after Omaha, Neb. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus will attend the ceremony, and Susie Buffett, an Omaha philanthropist and daughter of Warren Buffet, will serve as the ship’s sponsor.
P-8 Contract. The Navy awards Boeing a $178 million modification to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm contract (N00019-12-C-0112) to update and modify P-8A multi-mission martitime aircraft training systems, including 16 operational flight trainers, 13 weapons tactic trainers and four part task trainers. The contract also includes update to the training system support center and electronic classrooms and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida; Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington; Dallas, Texas; and St. Louis, Missouri. Work is expected to be completed by Dec. 2018.
Multi Spectral Targeting System. Raytheon picks up a $28 million contract for procurement of 29 multi-spectral targeting systems (MTS) and data to be used on the Navy’s MH-60R multi-mission helicopter. MTS uses an electro-optic, forward-looking, infrared sensor package to provide long-range surveillance, high altitude target acquisition, tracking, range-finding, and laser designation. The funds will be awarded through a firm-fixed-price job order modification under previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00164-12-G-JQ66, and work is anticipated to be complete by May 2017.
LPD Services. The Navy awards Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding a $34.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for lifecycle engineering and support services for the USS San Antonio-class (LPD-17) of amphibious transport docks. Options, if executed, could bring the contract up to $242 million. Among the services provided by the contract are: post-delivery planning and engineering, systems integration and engineering support, research engineering, material support, fleet modernization program planning, supply chain management, maintenance, and training for certain San Antonio-class shipboard systems.
Saudi Choppers. Sikorsky, which was recently purchased by Lockheed Martin, is awarded a $145 million modification to foreign a military sales contract to build 10 green MH-60R helicopters for the Royal Saudi naval forces. Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn., with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2018.
Civilian Leadership. The Obama administration’s pick to become undersecretary of the Army tells members of the Senate this week that his experience as a veteran of the Iraq War will help him on the job. Patrick Murphy is a former Army captain and staff judge advocate who spent eight years in the service. He deployed to Bosnia in 2002 and Iraq in 2003, and also served as a constitutional law professor at the U.S. Military Academy. The 42-year-old served two terms in the U.S. House representing Pennsylvania’s 8th District. Appearing before SASC, alongside the nominees for undersecretaries of the Navy and Air Force, Murphy says that if confirmed he will engage in a top-to-bottom review looking for “efficiencies within the organization.” Murphy vowed to “make sure that the Army is manned, trained and equipped to accomplish what Gen. Milley recently articulated as his fundamental task, to win in the unforgiving crucible of ground combat. And, I’ll make sure that our troops do not have a fair fight, that they have a tactical and technical advantage against our enemies.”
… Size Matters. Murphy says a prime concern is the shrinking size of the nation’s land force. “When I left Congress five years ago, we were 45 brigade combat teams on active duty. We are now down to 31,” he says. SASC Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says Murphy and the other nominees must guide the development of their service’s “business systems and processes during a time of severe fiscal restraint, in one of the most dangerous national security climates that this nation has ever seen.”