The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Clock Ticking. The Senate hadn’t taken up the bicameral compromise versions of the fiscal year 2009 defense authorization bill or its appropriations counterpart (within a continuing resolution–CR–temporarily extending most government spending) by Defense Daily‘s deadline last Friday. The new fiscal year starts in two days. Aides predicted last Friday that one or both of the House-passed bills could hit the Senate floor as soon as last Saturday. For the CR, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) planned to hold a cloture vote last Saturday, which, if passed, would set up a final vote 30 hours later. Reid suggested last Friday that a vote on the authorization bill could fall over the weekend or this week. SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) last Friday afternoon was trying to garner support for a unanimous-consent agreement setting up a quick vote on the authorization bill–which, because it was not an official conference committee report, could be amended and filibustered.
Earmark Marks. In the final two defense bills, lawmakers maneuver around an executive order banning U.S. agencies from spending money on earmarks, and following detailed program tables, in bill report language but not in legislation. The defense appropriations bill states program, projects, activities, and dollar amounts detailed in tables within the bill’s explanatory statement “are hereby required by law to be carried out in the manner provided by such tables to the same extent as if the tables were included in the text of this Act.” The defense authorization bill states each funding table in the connected joint explanatory statement “is hereby authorized by law to be carried out to the same extent as if included in the text of the Act, subject to the availability of appropriations.”
No Holds. The path was clearing last Friday on Capitol Hill for acting Air Force Secretary Michael Donley to be officially confirmed in the post. The SASC favorably reported his nomination last Friday, when it also approved Lt. Gen. William Fraser–now assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff–to be Air Force vice chief of staff. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) had placed a hold on Donley’s confirmation in the full Senate because of concerns stemming from the controversial Air Force tanker competition. Yet Cantwell lifted the hold after receiving classified information she was waiting for from the Pentagon, the senator’s spokeswoman said last Thursday.
Outside of Africa. The new U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) will have air power at its disposal beginning this week. Seventeenth Air Force will officially be activated on Oct. 1, but will be subordinate to the United States Air Forces in Europe, the USAFE commander said during a Sept. 16 interview. The unit will be headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany and its approximately 300 personnel will coordinate Air Force assets in support of AFRICOM’s missions. AFRICOM is not a combatant command and therefore does not have assigned combat forces.
No Need. Boeing has thus far found no Air Force takers for a new C-17 variant that would be customized for smaller and makeshift runways. “Right now–and when I say right now, it is probably for the next 10, 15, 20 years–we do not see as much of a requirement for” the C-17B, Air Mobility Command chief Gen. Arthur Lichte said earlier this month. Last week, United States Air Forces in Europe commander Gen. Roger Brady told Defense Daily that even the anticipated lift demands of the new Africa Command would not warrant such a purchase at this time. “I think we’ve got a wide range of aircraft now,” Brady said during a Sept. 16 interview. “We’ve got C-5s, C-17s, C-130Js; we’re bringing on some C-27s here pretty soon. So that gives you everything from a very large port-to-port carrier like C-5 right on down to the C-27 last tactical mile kind of capability.” When it comes to a C-17B, Brady said he hasn’t “seen the gap that that would necessarily fill.” The Pentagon is currently conducting a lift mix analysis, with results expected next spring.
B-52 Makeover. Boeing last week announced that it has received a $15 million contract award from the Air Force to integrate the Lockheed Martin-manufactured SNIPER targeting pod onto B-52 aircraft. The necessary software upgrades will include improvements for transmitting video and targeting information from the targeting pod to friendly forces, according to a Boeing press statement. The contract also calls for the development of software that will better use new technologies such as the B-52 Multi-Function Color Display and a digital-integrated hand controller. The new targeting capabilities will begin tests next year and will be integrated onto the entire fleet by 2010, according to Boeing.
The Future Is Calling. Army Training and Doctrine Command is looking to the future, and its Capabilities Integration Center will take the lead on the work. “I have a piece of paper on my desk that directs the Army Capabilities Integration Center to begin the next turn on our future warfighting concepts,” says Gen. Scott Wallace, TRADOC commander. The last one was published about five years ago and it’s now time to relook that capstone concept, he says in a Defense Writers Group breakfast last week. The look at the future will be based on what the Army has learned over the past five years and input from operational commanders. “The conceptual work is a continuous process,” Wallace says.
…Still The One. As the Army’s newest field manual, FM 3.0 Operations, approaches the one-year mark, Wallace sees no need for changes. “I have seen nothing to indicate that our assessment of the joint operational environment or the contemporary operational environment is anything other than a situation where potential adversaries will try to employ strategic preclusion, operational exclusion and access denial, which is part of what is in the original capstone concept.”
Still The Vice. L-3 Communications appoints retired Army Gen. Richard Cody as corporate vice president. Cody reports to L-3’s corporate senior vice president Robert RisCassi and will be based in Washington, D.C. “Dick has a solid understanding of defense policy and priorities and will be an excellent resource for the company as part of our executive team,” Michael Strianese, L-3 president and CEO, says. Cody served as the 31st Army Vice Chief of Staff, and retired in August with more than 35 years of service.
Namesake Visit. EADS North America’s UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter visited its namesake American Indian tribe in South Dakota during a trip that also included a fly-past of Mount Rushmore, the company says. Two UH-72As from the 5th Aviation Battalion at Fort Polk, La., were present for the Lakota Sioux’s annual sun dance in Rosebud, S.D. The pilots were invited to participate in the traditional ceremony that honors the tribe’s warriors and elders. The UH-72A was given its Lakota designation in keeping with the Army’s tradition of naming rotary-wing aircraft after native American Indian tribes. Requests for the naming originate with the tribes, and their history and traditions are required to be aligned with the helicopter’s characteristics and uses in Army service.
Celebration. General Dynamics Canada officially celebrated its 60th Anniversary last week with a flag raising ceremony at its corporate headquarters in Ottawa. Incorporated on Aug. 31, 1948 as Computing Devices of Canada, the company was founded by three entrepreneurs to support the rebuilding of Canada’s military after World War II. The company is now one of Canada’s premier defense companies with more than 2,200 employees working in state-of-the-art facilities across Canada. “We are proud of the accomplishments and contributions our company has made to Canada’s defense and aerospace industries over the past 60 years, and of our enduring commitment to the Canadian Forces and the security of our country,” John Watts, president of General Dynamics Canada, says in a statement.
New Hire. QinetiQ North America appoints Donald Hazelwood as vice president of Unmanned Systems at its Systems Engineering Group. Formerly Army Project Manager for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), a position he held as an active-duty colonel, Hazelwood brings to the Systems Engineering Group more than 25 years of Defense Department material acquisition leadership and management experience. In his new position, Hazelwood will be responsible for the strategy, coordination and growth of the Systems Engineering Group’s unmanned systems business across all U.S. military branches and markets, including air, sea and ground. He also will support QinetiQ North America’s Technology Solutions Group in integrating advanced airborne technologies into the Group’s military robots.