The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
F-22 Fight. The Senate is expected to vote early this week on an amendment to remove $1.75 billion for seven F-22 fighter jets from the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization bill. The chamber late last Thursday night passed another controversial defense-bill amendment–related to hate crimes–that had blocked the F-22 vote. Senators debated all last week in floor speeches the notion of buying seven more fighters, beyond the 187 the Pentagon wants. A close vote is widely predicted on the F-22 amendment crafted by SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Ranking Member John McCain (R-Ariz.). Some observers say votes were swayed by President Obama’s strongly worded threat last week to veto the bill over the F-22 funding. The first votes of the week on the defense bill are expected today at 3 p.m. The initial votes will be related to the now-passed hate-crimes amendment, and the F-22 vote will be the next on deck. Two hours of F-22 debate have been slotted for the pre-vote aircraft debate.
Supp Return. Lead defense appropriator Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) says Congress may need to approve more war funding next spring, despite the Obama administration’s goal of no longer appropriating monies for Iraq and Afghanistan through emergency supplemental spending bills mid-fiscal year. “You see what’s happened in Afghanistan,” Murtha tells reporters, noting commanders have been calling for more troops. “As you press forward, you start to run into resistance. When you run into resistance, you run into casualties. When you run into casualties, then you try to figure out how do you reduce casualties. And that’s the problem you face.” He says he can’t cite a figure for the potential war funding. “It will depend on personnel, the increase in personnel mainly, and, of course, what happens,” he says. The Obama administration requested $130 billion in FY ’10 war funding the same time it submitted its base FY ’10 defense budget.
Reid On F-22s. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) isn’t hiding his frustration with senators who inserted the F-22 funds in the defense authorization bill despite Obama’s objections. “There is broad bipartisan consensus that ending the F-22’s production is in our national security interests,” Reid says July 15. “I think we have to have the most sophisticated, secure weapons systems that exist, but it has to be something that is good for our country. It is obvious–with all these people from President Obama to President Bush to the secretaries of defense in the past to now–these airplanes are not necessary. They prudently point out that buying more F-22s that we don’t need means doing less of something else that we do need.” Reid talked to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel about Obama’s veto threat, which the Senate leader is convinced Obama will follow through on.
Inspection Update. As of Friday, the Navy has completed inspections on more than 50 percent of its F/A-18A-D Hornet fleet, due to cracks discovered in some horizontal stabilator actuator support fittings, also known as bootstraps. Although inspections revealed only two aircraft have cracks, five other aircraft were found to have missing fastners, Lt. Clayton Doss, a Navy spokesman, tells Defense Daily. In the past year the Hornets have undergone inspections for both the bootstrap issue and for cracks on the Hornets’ outer wing panels.
…Slapped And Slepped. Since 2000, the Navy has been reviewing the potential to extend the life of its legacy Hornet fleet. SLAP Phases 1 and 2 began in December 2001 and ended in October 2005. The SLEP effort, which began last year, is divided into three phases. Phase A provided preliminary cost estimates and performed analysis of critical Safety- of-Flight structure. SLEP Phase A began June 2008 and was completed in November 2008, says Marcia Hart-Wise, spokeswoman for PEO Tactical Aircraft Programs, NAVAIR, tells Defense Daily. Phase B will categorize and prioritize critical aircraft structure and develop structural analysis tools. SLEP Phase B began in December 2008 and is expected to finish in spring 2010. The third phase of the F/A-18A-D SLEP will define and analytically certify all required structural modifications. SLEP Phase C engineering work is expected to begin late spring 2010. F/A-18 Hornet A-D aircraft will undergo SLEP modifications in the 2012-2018 time frame, she adds.
Dogfight. Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week criticized Congress for wanting to purchase more F-22 Raptor fighter jets. Speaking in Chicago, he criticized lawmakers for accusing the Obama administration of cutting spending on the program–despite the fact that the president requested more funds for the program this year than the Bush administration did last year. “Only in Washington, D.C., would that be considered gutting defense,” says Gates. The secretary went further, calling the airplane the epitome of what is wrong with U.S. defense spending. “Every defense dollar diverted to fund excess or unneeded capacity–whether for more F-22s or anything else–is a dollar that will be unavailable to take care of our people, win the wars we are in, to deter potential adversaries, and to improve capabilities in areas where America is underinvested and potentially vulnerable,” he says.
…Bells and Whistles. Speaking at the same venue, Gates also singled out the Presidential helicopter as an example of how requirements creep can drive up costs. “We ended up with helicopters that cost nearly half a billion dollars each and enabled the president to, among other things, cook dinner while in flight under nuclear attack,” Gates quips. The program’s supporters in Congress have said that canceling it now would waste money spent on development. Gates, however, reiterated his theme of the need to spend less on high-end “exquisite” systems, and more on simpler programs that fill immediate needs. “We must change the way we think and the way we plan–and fundamentally reform–the way the Pentagon does business and buys weapons,” he says.
Building A Knowledgeable Workforce. To continue to build some of the most complex systems ever designed in the world, the Navy needs to look for new personnel to come in, Rear Adm. Michael Frick, former vice commander of NAVSEA, tells Defense Daily days before his retirement ceremony last week. “The workforce we have at NAVSEA are some of the most professional folks and knowledgeable folks that you ever want to meet. They know their jobs, do their jobs…they come to work everyday and they want to make sure the fleet has what it needs,” he says. While much of the attention has been on attracting people with skills in science, technology, engineering and math (what NAVSEA calls STEM), “it doesn’t mean we don’t need financial managers…contract specialists,” notes Frick.
…Stiff Competition. Frick says there are challenges in finding employees with STEM skills because the Navy competes against the private sector for the same pool of workers. “They want the same kind of people we do. That’s no different than our military. The same individuals that come in to operate these systems are the same ones colleges want, and the colleges have people there that industry wants,” he adds. “We continue to work on trying to maximize our opportunities to show folks out in the educational world, ‘here is what we can do, here is why you should come work for us, and here’s what we can do for you.’ We need to continue to do that every morning noon and night.”
Spaced Out. NSWC Crane’s Strategic Missions Center conducted critical lifecycle testing and engineering evaluations to validate batteries installed on NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope before its return to orbit in May, the Navy says. Replacement batteries for the telescope had been idle beyond their specified shelf life. NASA requested NSWC Crane perform the required testing and engineering analysis to determine if the batteries were capable of fulfilling mission requirements or if new ones needed to be purchased before Hubble’s return to orbit. Strategic Missions Center experts conducted lifecycle testing and Low Earth Orbit testing to determine that the batteries could meet mission requirements. By utilizing NSWC Crane’s testing capabilities, NASA avoided significant costs in procurement funds and eliminated a lengthy replacement and development schedule for additional batteries, the Navy adds.
…A Jammin’ Test System. Crane has delivered its first AN/ALM-296 Tactical Pod Tester (TPT) production unit in support of the ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System (TJS) to Fleet Readiness Center Northwest (FRC NW), the Navy reports. AN/ALM-296 TPT is a state-of-the-art test set that proves the functionality of the AN/ALQ-99 TJS, which supports both the EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler Electronic Warfare (EW) aircraft. This innovative system adds a new testing capability that increases the AN/ALQ-99 TJS reliability to jam enemy threats, boosting Warfighter protection, the Navy says. Partnering with commercial industry, NSWC Crane’s Electronic Warfare/Information Operations (EW/IO) Center developed, produced and delivered three AN/ALM-296 TPTs to FRC NW. The TPT provides improved diagnostic capability, greater dependability and enhanced maintainability through improved ease of use, the Navy adds.
New In Town. Capt. Chris Meyer relieved Capt. Mark Thomas July 16 as Commander, NSWC Carderock, during a change of command ceremony. Thomas, who served three years as the commander of NSWC Carderock, will next serve at NAVSEA’s Surface Ship Design and Systems Engineering Department. Before coming to NSWC Carderock, Meyer served the Program Executive Office for Aircraft Carriers and the CVN-21 Future Aircraft Carrier Program as the assistant program manager for the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System and the Advanced Arresting Gear, the Navy says.
Motoring On. Aerojet says it will deliver HAWK rocket motors to the Army Aviation and Missile Command for sale to allies under a $40 million contract. The deliveries will start in 2010. HAWK is a surface-to-air guided, medium-range missile that provides air defense coverage against low-to-medium-altitude aircraft. Twenty allied nations use the system. “During the last 50 years, Aerojet has manufactured approximately 44,000 HAWK rocket motors for the U.S. Army and its allies,” Kevin Smith, director of programs for Missile Defense, says.
Testing 1,2. Boeing and its teammates say formal testing is under way on the Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radios (JTRS GMR). This milestone marks the completion of design activities and moves the program closer to a government decision on low-rate initial production for the Army. Tests on JTRS GMR engineering development models will be done at the Electronic Systems Center at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and at contractor laboratories across the United States through early 2010. “Tactical communications is really all about moving significant amounts of data over a network, and the JTRS GMR system delivers unprecedented data-transfer capability to the warfighter,” Ralph Moslener, JTRS GMR program manager for Boeing, says. The Boeing-led team includes BAE Systems, Rockwell Collins and Northrop Grumman, with support from Harris.
Keeping A Close Eye. Missile Defense Director Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly carefully monitors the missile defense industrial base. “We have a very precious commodity in our country. Our nation is one of few, if any, that can conduct the type of program that I conduct on a daily basis because of our industrial base,” he says. It’s a full-time job for some in MDA. We are continually aware and continually monitor and manage to the greatest extent possible the ability to maintain a viable industrial base.” Much of MDA’s research work–optics, high energy lasers, components, means a viable industrial base is needed. “If we do stop production of an item, we do pay very close attention to and work with the vendor base, on what would be necessary to start them back up,” he says. There is usually an investment up front. It depends on how automated their production lines are. It depends on how much training is needed and, so forth, in the workforce.”
…Minimum Cost. O’Reilly says the Multiple Kill Vehicle program will have “a minimum amount of contract termination negotiation involved.” The MKV program was a research and development program, and the contract consisted of a series of smaller tasks. “We are completing those tasks and the way that program is being terminated is we’re not just continuing new tasks that currently are not on contract,” he says.