The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Washington Or Bust. Lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill this week, though they aren’t expected to hold any defense-related hearings or vote on Pentagon issues during the brief lame-duck session expected to be dominated by a proposed automaker bailout. Defense authorizers and appropriators including Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.), Joe Sestak (D- Pa.), and Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) do have speaking gigs planned around Washington, and are likely to share their views on the incoming Obama-Gates Pentagon. Developments are possible on new congressional committee leadership assignments, including an initial recommendation for the new ranking Republican on HASC. While the Senate had definite plans as of last Friday for a lame-duck session this week, House aides at the time were hesitant to say the lower chamber undoubtedly would hold such a session.
56 For Stryker. Fifty-six House members tell Defense Secretary Robert Gates in a Dec. 1 letter they’re vexed by Army plans to cut more than $2 billion in Abrams tank and Stryker vehicle funding in an unpublicized draft of the outgoing Bush administration’s fiscal year 2010 Pentagon budget proposal. “The Army has placed tremendous investment in these valued programs and it is in the best interest of our Armed Services to continue (to) upgrade these vehicles until future programs present viable alternatives,” they write, touting Abrams and Stryker successes in Iraq. They warn the cuts “would create production breaks and disruptions that would ripple through the combat vehicle industrial base.” Signers of the letter–which follows a similar missive to Gates on Sept. 29 from HASC leaders–include Michigan Reps. Candice Miller (R) and Carolyn Kilpatrick (D).
Supp’s Up. The Pentagon’s proposal for the base FY ’09 supplemental war-funding bill should be sent to Congress this month, Gates said last week, after confirming he’ll keep his job next month under President-elect Barack Obama. “It’s still being worked by (the Office of Management and Budget) and us,” Gates said Dec. 2 about the supplemental. “It has not gone to the Hill. My hope would be that we could do that in the next couple of weeks for the ’09 supplemental.” War spending for the start of this fiscal year that began Oct. 1 is covered by “bridge” funding in the final FY ’08 supplemental, worth a combined $162 billion, passed last June. Sources place the value of the DoD’s base FY ’09 supplemental pitch as high as $80 billion. The Pentagon’s proposal is expected to include funding to buy four F-22 stealth fighters and support a new mine-proof vehicle program for Afghanistan.
F-22, Where Are You? Pentagon acquisition czar John Young is not happy with F-22 maker Lockheed Martin’s request for a $147 million in “tail-up” costs, which it is certainly allowed to seek, if the Pentagon stops production of the fighter jet. Young, who wants the Obama administration to decide whether to build more F-22s, notes the $147 million tail-up cost “is expected to transfer to any future Lot 10 F-22 purchase.” He adds: “In my view, the Air Force should not have negotiated a punitive tail-up provision which pressures OSD and Air Force leadership to purchase additional aircraft. My initial research indicates that tail-up provisions are an Air Force acquisition practice that I believe should be discontinued.”
Sestak Stays. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), the former three-star Navy admiral who was elected to a second House term last month, says he is not eyeing a 2010 Senate run against Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.)–as MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews reportedly is. “Congressman Sestak is honored to be rehired to represent the 7th Congressional District of Pennsylvania,” Sestak’s spokesman tells Roll Call. “His absolute focus at present is addressing the nation’s pressing economic crisis, and bringing unprecedented accountability transparency and bi-partisanship to the 111th Congress…and to future Congresses in the House of Representatives.”
Gates Isn’t (R). Gates confirmed to reporters last week he is not a registered Republican, something Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid happily told CNN as it became clear Gates would serve under a Democratic president. “I felt, when I was at CIA, that as a professional intelligence officer, like a military officer, I should be apolitical, and so I didn’t register with a party,” Gates said Dec. 2. “I consider myself a Republican. Until yesterday, all of my senior appointments have been under Republican presidents.”
Murtha Out of Africa. House Appropriations Defense subcommittee Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.) wants to shift money from shift money from the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) to the State Department for diplomatic efforts in Africa. “They should use diplomacy in Africa rather than military,” Murtha is quoted as saying in a Stars and Stripes article, reported from Germany, which his office confirmed is correct. “We can’t win these wars militarily….It has to be done diplomatically. So I’ve been trying to shift money and convince the people that make the decision on where the money goes that more money should go to the State Department for those kind of things.” Murtha’s panel helped reduce the Bush administration’s AFRICOM funding request in FY ’09.
Curing “Next-War-Itis.” The U.S. military must improve its irregular warfare capabilities, Defense Secretary Robert Gates writes in the upcoming issue of Foreign Affairs. The fight against extremism will be a “prolonged, worldwide, irregular campaign,” he writes. He has repeatedly criticized the Pentagon bureaucracy for “next-war-itis” –building expensive weapon systems for high-end conflicts that may never come while neglecting the low intensity wars currently being fought. In the article, Gates instead calls for the rapid fielding of cheaper, low-tech weapons. “It is time to think hard about how to institutionalize the procurement of such capabilities and get them fielded quickly,” Gates writes. The article criticizes his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, for overemphasizing conventional “shock and awe” capabilities. “We should look askance at idealistic, triumphalist or ethnocentric notions…that imagine it is possible to cow, shock or awe an enemy into submission,” Gates writes, “instead of tracking enemies down hilltop by hilltop, house by house, block by bloody block.”
New Bomber Squadron. The Air Force is creating a fourth B-52 squadron as part of the service’s effort to reinvigorate its nuclear capabilities. A provisional location for the newly established Global Strike Command is expected to be announced by the end of the year, Air Force sources tell Defense Daily. Most say Minot AFB, N.D., is the most likely location, but no official decision has been made. The new squadron will stand up by late 2009 or early 2010, according to officials. Minot currently has one operational B-52 squadron. The total active B-52 fleet is composed of 76 aircraft. Global Strike Command is intended to place the Air Force’s ICBMs and nuclear-capable bombers under a single command.
Top Team. A Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., weapons-development team recently won the prestigious “Top Five Department of Defense Program Award” for its work on the 120mm Dismounted Mortar Fire Control System, or MFCS-D, during the National Defense Industrial Association’s Systems Engineering Conference in San Diego. The award is given to technology programs that best exemplify system-engineering and program-management principles, practices and results, and are considered models for meeting cost, schedule and performance requirements. The MFCS-D is a new fire control system that will be integrated into the 120mm mortar to make the weapon fire more easily and accurately, says Ron Tatusch, Dismounted Mortar System team lead. It combines a highly accurate weapon-pointing device, inertial navigation and position system and digital-communications capability, all embedded in the fire-control computer. The MFCS-D will make the weapon system three times more accurate and allow mortar crews to send and receive digital call-for-fire messages, calculate ballistic solutions, determine the position of the gun and accurately point the weapon.
Leading Edge. The Edge Innovation Network is now at 70 members after opening in December 2006 at General Dynamics C4 Systems in Scottsdale, Ariz. Since opening, the EDGE facility has a record for rapidly turning out new capabilities and equipment to meet lower size, weight and power requirements. “As the U.S. Department of Defense transitions their current networks into a Joint Netcentric environment, the complexity and challenges associated with operating command, control, and communications systems have never been greater,” says Col. Roger McDonald, Army Training and Doctrine Command’s capability manager for Battle Command. “The EDGE model provides an excellent venue for the military to directly interact with industry in order to rapidly deliver an interoperable automation solution that meets the warfighter’s critical needs.” The success of EDGE in the United States led General Dynamics United Kingdom to open EDGE UK last month.
New Team. Boeing announces it is teaming with Creative Technologies Inc. (CTI) Hollywood, Calif., to explore new training solutions for the military and law enforcement. The agreement brings together Boeing’s expertise in aviation training systems and CTI’s experience in game-based simulations for ground forces training. Mark McGraw, vice president for Training Systems and Services, a division of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems Global Services and Support, says: “We are committed to finding new ways to use the talents of both companies to expand the services we’re able to offer the military.” The agreement formalizes an ongoing relationship–CTI contributes to the Boeing Future Combat Systems program, and Boeing and CTI are partners in the Army’s Fires Center of Excellence integration effort at Fort Sill, Okla.
Diamond Quality. BAE Systems says its won a five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract valued up to $78.5 million from DoD for Information Operations Family of Systems (IOFoS). The system is based on BAE’s Diamond(tm) open software architecture. It will be a family of systems that provides full capability while minimizing the number of fielded units. Under this contract, BAE will provide DoD with analysis, research and development, field support and sustainment, as well as the production of IOFoS units. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2009 and continue through 2013.
Cash Back. Defense firms are now a “leading sector” in the economy in terms of generating free cash flow and returning it to shareholders, Sanford Bernstein aerospace and defense analyst Douglas Harned says. In 2005, the defense sector moved to the top in terms of generating free cash flow yields but was relatively weak in terms of returning that cash to shareholders. “Today, however the story is very different, with more shareholder-oriented management teams that are deploying cash more effectively,” Harned writes in a note to clients. “We appear to be past the days of using cash in aggressive diversification or acquisition strategies, particularly with few large acquisition candidates available.” Firms typically return cash to shareholders through stock repurchases, which tends to boost earnings per share and dividend payments.
A Good Hand. Raytheon’s advanced countermeasures electronic system, known as ACES, has been selected the Royal Moroccan Air Force’s F-16 aircraft, the company says. Morocco purchased 24 Block 52 F-16s from Lockheed Martin. ACES consists of a radar warning receiver, digital jammer and chaff-flare dispenser. Raytheon’s contract, received from Lockheed Martin, calls for deliveries to begin in December 2009.
On Wisconsin. The future USS Green Bay (LPD-20) has “sailed away” from Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding’s Avondale Operations Dec. 1 on its maiden voyage, manned for the first time by the ship’s crew, the Navy says. LPD-20 will first sail to its homeport of San Diego, before steaming to Long Beach, Calif., for commissioning in January 2009. Once commissioned, Green Bay and its crew will begin a succession of sea trials to thoroughly test the ship’s systems and to complete crucial certifications, the Navy adds. Meanwhile USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19) is completing its Post Shakedown Availability in its homeport of Norfolk, Va., the Navy says.
Betting To Lose. Phil Black, a former Navy SEAL, has invented a unique way to lose weight–playing cards. Black has developed FitDeck, a special deck of exercise playing cards for nearly every type of person-grandparents, children, fitness buffs, office workers, expectant moms, business travelers, yoga enthusiasts, and martial artists, Black says. With over 100,000 original FitDecks sold, Black has just launched 24 new titles that cover multiple age groups, fitness interests, and workout environments. Black conceptualized the original deck-of-cards workout as a Yale undergraduate and honed it as a Navy SEAL, Black adds. These FitDecks come in two sizes–a 56-card deck and a 26-card Booster deck. Some FitDecks require no equipment–others call for minimal equipment. Mix and match the different decks to create millions of unique workouts. Cards are color-coded by muscle group and offer three different levels for beginner, intermediate, and advanced players, Black says.
A Good Year. Sikorksy reports that in its first year of use by the United Kingdom Maritime and Coastguard Agency and under the operation of CHC Helicopter Corp., its Search-and-Rescue (SAR)-configured S-92r helicopter logged 279 rescues and is operating at availability levels of more than 98 percent, the company says. CHC operates the SAR S-92 helicopters from two bases covering territory in the North Atlantic and the North Sea. In Stornoway, Western Isles, Scotland, the fleet has conducted 174 rescue missions, while missions flown out of Sumburgh, Sheltand Isles, Scotland, have totaled 102 to date, Sikorsky adds.
Down Under. The Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Alliance, made up of the Defence Materiel Organisation, ASC, and Raytheon Australia, has signed contracts for the three ships’ Infra Red Search and Track capability, anti-ship missile and torpedo countermeasures, and Navigation Radar, the Australian government reports. The AWD Alliance is also currently assessing bids to build the ship modules or ‘blocks,’ with a decision expected early in the new year, the Australian government adds. “The most recent contract signings, worth about $20 million, mean the AWD Alliance now has in place contracts for six major components of the Australian AWD combat system. Further contracts worth a total value of more than $100 million are also likely to be signed by the end of the year,” says Hon. Greg Combet, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement.
Scouting. Northrop Grumman has demonstrated continuous combined payload coverage on its MQ-8B Fire Scout. The VUAS successfully downlinked simultaneous digital video from both a Telephonics RDR-1700B multi-mode maritime radar and a FLIR Systems, Inc. Star SAFIRE(r) III electro-optical/infrared sensor using its tactical common data link developed by Cubic Defense Applications, Northrop Grumman says. The multi-sensor Star SAFIRE(r) III provides domestic and international customers a state-of-the-art capability for meeting real-time video requirements for electro-optical and infrared imagery. The demonstration was part of an on-going internal research and development effort to reduce risk and solidify requirements for Fire Scout’s multiple radar integration programs. The successful 40-minute flight, using a company-owned air vehicle and ground control station, took place Nov. 18 at the Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., test center, Northrop Grumman adds.
T-AKE That. Navy Secretary Donald Winter names the next four T-AKE cargo ships after Navy Commodore Matthew Perry (T-AKE-9), Charles Drew (T-AKE-10), Washington Chambers (T-AKE-11) and William McLean (T-AKE-12). Perry led a squadron of ships to Japan in 1853 with the aim of opening that nation to trade, Drew’s pioneering work led to the discovery that blood could be separated into plasma; Chambers was a pioneer in naval aviation, and McLean conceived and developed the heat-seeking Sidewinder air-to-air missile while serving as a physicist for the Navy.
Kansas Gets New Bio-Lab. The Department of Homeland Security says that Manhattan, Kan., has been selected as the preferred site for the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), a high-security laboratory facility that will study foreign animal and zoonotic diseases that can impact livestock. DHS has released the final Environmental Impact Statement regarding the Kansas site and expects a formal record of decision designating the NBAF site to be published next month. Facility design will begin in 2009 and construction will commence in 2010, with an operational capability planned by 2015. “This facility, once built, will help us to protect our livestock industry, food supply, and public health from the accidental or intentional introduction of a foreign animal or zoonotic disease in the U.S.,” says Jay Cohen, under secretary for Secretary for Science and Technology at DHS, Jay Cohen. The NBAF will replace current facilities at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York.