The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Tanker Trash Talk. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.)–a backer of the GAO’s June 18 call for the Air Force to reopen its tanker bid process because of a faulty award to Northrop Grumman over Boeing–sends a warning to the air service last Thursday night. “We are hopeful the GAO report is heeded, if it is not by the Air Force, we’ll be doing our job here in Congress, and we will find the right avenue in the appropriations process to not allow this decision to stand,” Inslee says on the House floor. Fellow Boeing-tanker-protest backers Reps. Phil Hare (D-Ill.), Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.), and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) join Inslee for the hour-long speech, calling on their House colleagues to read the GAO decision and support their efforts to spur the Air Force to reopen the bid process.
Bill Prodding. Boeing backers Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) have been crafting legislation mandating the Air Force to re-start the tanker competition. “Cong. Tiahrt and Senator Roberts will introduce a bill to re-compete the contract, the language is still being drafted for introduction next week,” Roberts’ spokeswoman says via e-mail last week.
So Misunderstood. Sen. Peter Domenici (R-N.M.) says he can’t find a forum to debate the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW), a nascent yet uncertain program he backs to replace the U.S. nuclear arsenal with redesigned warheads. “I think it is totally misunderstood, and those who seem to oppose it, [who] one would think would be for it based on their kind of thinking, appear to me to have gotten the wrong idea,” he tells Defense Daily. “This program is not one that is based on a proposition of America building more nuclear weapons…This program could end up with everybody having many less nuclear weapons, they would also be smaller and also be more safe.” He wants RRW to be debated on the Senate floor or in a committee hearing, but questions if that will happen.
A Separate Piece. The Air Force anticipates fielding its Next-Generation Global Positioning System Ground Control Segment (GPS-OCX) in 2013, Maj. Gen. William McCasland, director of space acquisition in the Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force, says. “We had, through the life of the program, associated the master control station prime contract, responsibility with the people who build the satellite–not a bad idea when you initially field it,” he says. “But we’ve learned over the years that…we can manage the program as a whole better if we separate the replenishment of the space component with the management of the ground segment. We’re competing that and managing it as a separate program.”
Counting Down. The fledgling U.S. Africa Command has incrementally been taking over responsibility for U.S. efforts on the continent from EUCOM, PACOM and CENTCOM since last fall, AFRICOM Commander Army Gen. William Ward says. “It’s a lot of work, but we are making tremendous progress,” he says. “A mere three months from now, we will assume full responsibilities as the sixth geographic combatant command in the U.S. Department of Defense.”
The Benefit of Being Unmanned. Right now the Navy’s UCAS is sized to carry the same load as a F-35C, says CSBA’s Tom Ehrhard. “It carries two, 2,000-pound bombs or it can carry up to 12 SDBs.” Additionally, UCAS could also carry the network centric air defense element (NCADE), an AMRAAM missile designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in their vulnerable phase, he adds. “[UCAS] can carry four of those. So now you have a very stealthy system that can sit right on top of the launch baskets of enemy ballistic missiles. So rather than trying to shoot down a missile that is coming at you at 20,000 mph, you shoot it when it is only at 200 to 300 mph trying to break the bonds of gravity.” UCAS is extremely flexible and would add an entirely new dimension to an aircraft carrier, Ehrhard says. “Not only would it be an intercontinental strike system, it would be an intercontinental range anti-ballistic missile system.” Ehrhard adds there are slides showing the N-UCAS with NCADE.
Improved Rescue Posture. The Navy’s SRDRS will differ in a number of ways from its predecessor, DSRV, not only in maintenance and operation, but in support too, Capt. Gary Dunlap, program manager for the Advanced Undersea Systems Program office, tells Defense Daily. “[With the] DSRV system we had support ships and mother submarines. You needed to have a submarine physically present,” he says. “DSRV would rescue people from one submarine and transfer them to another submarine.” The ability of having hundreds of commercial vessels that would be compatible with SRDRS raises the overall world rescue posture, Dunlap adds.
Stepping Up. Chief of the Canadian Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier says Rear Adm. Denis Rouleau will be the new Vice Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS) and will be promoted to the rank of Vice Adm. Rouleau will replace Lt. Gen. Walt Natynczyk, who will become the new CDS in the coming weeks.
Take The Challenge. Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. William Landay has announced the 2008 “CNR Challenge” for innovative ideas brought to the Office of Naval Research (ONR) during the upcoming ONR Naval Science & Technology Partnership Conference, Aug. 12-14, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., ONR says. This year’s CNR Challenge has been revised to support up to 10 awards of up to $100,000 each. The purpose is to provide research seed funding to encourage promising ideas and people from both traditional and non-traditional sources. White papers will be received only at the ONR Naval Science & Technology Conference. Ideas will be evaluated in the weeks following the conference and prospective awardees will be announced in the fall, ONR adds.
…Themes And Topics. Participants this year must focus their ideas on the theme for the conference, “Sustaining the Edge: Serving the next generation warfighter, now,” and on one or more of the six science and technology topics that will be featured (see http://www.onr.navy.mil/conferences/science_technology_partnership_2008/ for more information). In addition, programs highlighted at the conference will identify research challenges that participants should consider before making their final idea submission, says ONR.
Made of Rock And Steel. The USS New Hampshire (SSN-778), the fifth Virginia-class submarine, was to be christened June 21 at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Conn. Cheryl McGuiness of Portsmouth, N.H., is New Hampshire‘s sponsor. She is the widow of Thomas McGuiness, co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11 which was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The New Hampshire is the third ship to honor the Granite State. Cmdr. Mike Stevens will become the ship’s first commanding officer and will lead a crew of approximately 134 officers and enlisted personnel, the Navy says.
Spartan Flight. The first C-27J for the U.S. conducted its maiden flight June 17 in Italy at Finmeccanica-subsidiary Alenia Aeronautica’s Turin-Caselle Flight Test Centre and an Alenia spokesperson tells Defense Daily that everything went well and according to schedule. “This first flight is a great achievement for the program and demonstrates our ability to deliver JCA (Joint Cargo Aircraft) to the warfighter,” adds James Burkhardt, vice president of JCA at L-3 Communications, the program’s prime contractor. The first U.S. C-27J will be engaged in a test campaign, envisaging about 70 flight hours and 180 ground-test hours, including tests in the U.S., Alenia says. The delivery of the first aircraft to the U.S. Army is expected by Sept. 25, 2008.
…Deal in Air. Early last week Alenia and Boeing announced that they had been negotiating a deal to establish a U.S. production/final assembly facility in Florida, in anticipation of increased aircraft quantity requirements following the initial JCA contract. However, the companies, have been unable to reach a business relationship, L-3 says. “We will continue to maintain our focus on performance–we are confident that this recent announcement will have no effect on our ability to fully meet the JCA program requirements,” Bob Drewes, L-3 Integrated Systems Group president, says.
Intel Management. Israel’s Elbit Systems says it is supplying a foreign country with a tailor-made Intelligence Knowledge Management system based on several projects already operational inside Israel. “We take pride in our selection, which reflects the genuine trust and global recognition of our capabilities,” Butzi Machlis, general manager of Elbit Systems Land and C4I Tadiran, says. The $9 million project demonstrates Elbit’s unique, highly integrated technological capabilities and extensive accumulated experience and knowledge in this area, he adds. “We hope this project will lead to further orders in the emerging, diverse field of intelligence management.”
…Simpler Comms. Elbit is also rolling out a new software-defined radio that the company says has the potential to revolutionize battle group communications via fewer radios with more capability. Elbit introduced the SDR-7200 at last week’s Eurosatory in Paris, saying, “while many say that the modern battlefield communications are now more complex than they have ever been, the SDR-7200 just made things simpler.” The SDR-7200 is capable of simultaneous voice and data operation, on a single network of only 25Khz bandwidth at VHF frequency band with data transfer rates of up to 115.2 Kbps, enabling the reception and transmission of live video feeds, Elbit says.
…On the Move. The SDR-7200 is designed to allow true command on the move with data communication of several Mb/s across various bandwidths, which is enabled by strong error correction algorithms and self-healing ad hoc networking–ensuring no single point of failure across the network–with excellent RF performance, Elbit says. Additionally, a single radio is capable of working on more than one network simultaneously, reducing the number of radios required in vehicles and saving on weight and space. Remote IP interface means the radio can be optimally located inside the vehicle, aircraft or surface vessel, as it only needs to be accessible for routine maintenance, Elbit adds.
Divvy Up The Pie. Australian companies and universities will share some $20.5 million in the latest round of defense capability development funding, the Minister for Defense Science and Personnel, Warren Snowdon, says. “The projects are a mix of leading edge technologies and innovative applications of existing technologies, with the potential to result in major savings for Defense, spin-offs for civilian use and export opportunities for Australian industry,” Snowdon says. The Defense Science and Technology Organization manages the CTD Program on behalf of Defense.
…On the Hunt. Snowdon confirms Australia and the United States are pursuing a Defense Trade Treaty that would improve technology transfer between the two countries. Speaking to representatives of the South Australian chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, Snowdon says. “The Defence Science and Technology Organization (DSTO) partners with a number of organizations in the U.S. to deliver capability outcomes for the Australian Defence Force, as well as maintaining strong science and technology links with the U.S. through the important multilateral organizations, such as The Technical Cooperation Program.
Not That Old. Bell Helicopter, a Textron company, sees an increased interest in its Huey II helicopter kits as operators around the world look to upgrade their older Hueys for extended life and improved performance. Mike Blake, Bell’s executive vice president for Customer Solutions, says, “There are literally hundreds of Hueys around the world that can benefit from these kits and that represents a significant market for us. The Huey is a very capable aircraft and once installation of these kits is performed the operators basically end up with a zero time Huey.” The kits represent a major upgrade that involves roughly 9,000 piece parts and 900 part numbers and include a new tail boom, rotors and modifications to the engine for enhanced performance.
Medals In The Private Sector. Blackwater Worldwide May 23 held the first of a series of award ceremonies aimed to honor the dedication and service of Blackwater personnel wounded in action, the company says. Ten private security contractors received recognition during the ceremony at Blackwater Worldwide Headquarters in Moyock, N.C. Erik Prince, Blackwater CEO and founder, presented medals and an award certificate to each contractor. More than 300 people attended this ceremony including Blackwater employees, special guests, community members, along with medal recipient’s friends and family members. Since it wasn’t a public event, the company did not release the names of those honored to the media. Prince presented “The Blackwater Worldwide Defense of Liberty Medal” to each contractor. “I thank each and every one of you for your many sacrifices and for your distinguished, selfless service,” Prince said.
Talking About Africa. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) meets with Gen. William “Kip” Ward, commander of United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) June 19. Inhofe is supportive of the command and says, “It is critical that we in Congress provide the support needed for this new organization. It will play a crucial role in helping African nations reach their security and stability objectives through meaningful partnerships.” Inhofe also supports the International Military and Education Training Program (IMET), which builds relationships between foreign and U.S. personnel through side-by-side training and education, he says in his Weekly Round-Up. “AFRICOM is new way of thinking about our engagements on the continent by combining the efforts of the Department of Defense, the State Department, and other U.S. agencies,” he says. “By assisting the nations of Africa meet their security objectives, we in turn support our national security objectives.”
Seeing How Stackley Stacks Up. SASC plans Thursday to consider the nomination of Sean Stackley for assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition–the job John Thackrah has held since Delores Etter left late last year. Stackley’s a familiar face to SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and crew–he’s now a member of the committee’s Republican staff. He’s also a retired Navy officer who once worked on ship programs. SASC also will consider the White House’s nominations of Nelson Ford to be under secretary of the Army, Joseph Benkert to be assistant secretary of defense for global security affairs, and Frederick Celec to be assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and chemical and biological defense programs.
Timing Is Everything. Northrop Grumman sends a reminder to reporters last Wednesday about its June 28 groundbreaking ceremony for new tanker production facilities in Mobile, Ala. Problem is, some e-mail recipients had already received early copies of the GAO report that puts the company’s tanker contract in serious jeopardy. Last Thursday, the company makes the unsurprising e-mail announcement: “Northrop Grumman Defers Mobile, Alabama Groundbreaking Event.”
Afghanistan On Top. HASC Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) sends President Bush a letter June 19 declaring the United States “must once again make Afghanistan our number one priority–our national security and Afghanistan’s future are at stake.” Skelton adds: “The genesis of the 9/11 attack was in Afghanistan and any future attack on our homeland is likely to originate in Afghanistan or in the border region with Pakistan. Afghanistan needs additional resources to succeed, but this is unlikely to be made available while we remain in Iraq in large numbers. We must re-prioritize and shift needed resources from Iraq to Afghanistan.”