KOREA AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES (KAI) has begun flight testing of the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer with external stores, KAI and partner Lockheed Martin said. Flight testing with captive AIM-9 air-to-air missiles began in November and the first flight with external fuel tanks occurred in February, the companies said. The initial flights were to verify the aircraft's stability and control, flutter and handling qualities. Later flights are to verify its performance, store functionality and interfaces, and store separation.
Taiwan has requested a sale of early warning radars that could be worth nearly $1.8 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency has notified Congress. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. is seeking two Ultra High Frequency long-range early warning radars and related equipment to improve Taiwan's planned command and control infrastructure. "These radars will assist the recipient to identify and detect ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and air-breathing targets," DSCA said in a statement.
NEW DELHI - The Indian air force plans to buy 20 AgustaWestland EH101 helicopters for multimission operations, a defense ministry official said. The decision to buy the AgustaWestland helicopters was based on an Indian air force proposal submitted last year, which mainly sought to acquire a helicopter powered by GE T700 engines. The EH101s are powered by three of the engines, and are expected to be very effective for use in the high-altitude regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
Northrop Grumman says it is ramping up activities for two major manned aviation programs for the U.S. Navy. Operational testing of Northrop Grumman's Increased Capability (ICAP) III radar-jamming system was scheduled to begin April 1 and last five months, paving the way for an initial operational capability (IOC) in the summer of 2005, company representatives said at a March 31 press briefing.
Some big-ticket defense programs, including the Navy's future aircraft carrier (CVN-21), the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and the Airborne Laser (ABL) are entering system development before all of their technologies mature, a new General Accounting Office (GAO) report concluded.
BOEING has selected FR-HITEMP of the United Kingdom as a supplier of fuel pumps and valves for the 7E7 Dreamliner mid-sized passenger aircraft. FR-HiTemp will provide pumps to be used for engine fuel feed, fuel override and jettison, the auxiliary power unit, the center fuel tank and water scavenging, Boeing said. "With this announcement, we have completed more than 60 percent of the systems awards for the 7E7," program Senior Vice President Mike Bair said in a statement. FR-HiTemp is a business unit of Cobham plc's Aerospace Systems Group.
Several key lawmakers and the General Accounting Office are expressing concern that the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program is facing steep technological hurdles that could cause major cost and schedule overruns.
EURO-ART has delivered the first French Counter Battery Radar (COBRA) production system for the French armed forces, the consortium said. The consortium is made up of Thales Air Defence of France and Thales Defence of the United Kingdom, EADS Defence and Communications Systems of France and Lockheed Martin of the U.S. The highly mobile weapon-locating radar, which has a full active phased-array antenna, initially will be used for training, peacetime trials and exercises. Final delivery of the French order for 10 radars is expected to be completed by the end of 2006.
One of the U.S. Navy's prototypes for its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the High Speed Vessel 2 (HSV) Swift, made a port call to Alexandria, Va., this week to showcase the LCS' transformational platform and modules. The Navy is leasing Swift, a double-hulled catamaran made by the Australian company Incat, through a joint venture with Bollinger Shipyards to use as a test platform for LCS development. Swift was delivered to the Navy on Aug. 15, 2003. The Navy is leasing the ship for two years, although the deal could be extended to five years.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Two offensive counter-space systems are coming into use, according to Lt. Gen. Brian A. Arnold, commander of Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. One is the Counter Surveillance Reconnaissance System (CSRS) and the other is the Counter Communications System (CCS), Arnold said at the National Space Symposium here. Both are ground-based, and both are designed to create only temporary effects, he said. CSRS "will be out there around 2007," and CCS will come later, Arnold told reporters March 31.
MEGGITT SAFETY SYSTEMS INC. and SPECTRONIX LTD. have formed a strategic alliance to provide modern fire and explosion detection and suppression systems to the aviation industry and the U.S. military, the companies said. One goal of the partnership is to enable Meggitt Safety Systems Inc. to enter the armored vehicle market to supply programs such as the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems, the companies said.
NASA's latest projection for the total cost of returning the space shuttle to flight some time next year is running at $600-700 million, according to Administrator Sean O'Keefe. The estimates are contained in NASA's latest return-to-flight implementation plan, which should be released April 9, O'Keefe says. NASA updates the plan roughly each month (DAILY, Nov. 25, 2003).
Military forces overseas need more unmanned aerial vehicles and improved intelligence-gathering technology, regional commanders told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee April 1. "We need a dynamic mix of national and airborne assets capable of maintaining access for IMINT [imagery intelligence] and SIGINT [signals intelligence] coverage over target areas for extended periods," Adm. Thomas Fargo (USN), commander of U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM), said in written testimony.
GPS III TEAM: Boeing has formed a team to compete for the U.S. Air Force's GPS III development contract, scheduled to be awarded in 2006. The team includes ITT, Lockheed Martin IS&S, Raytheon Aurora, Raytheon Fullerton, Harris Corp., Sun Microsystems, BAE Systems, General Dynamics, SRI, Trimble, L-3 Communications, Rockwell Collins, Alcatel Space and Alenia Spazio.
SENSYTECH INC. said its Defense Systems Group will provide two WBR-2000 Electronic Warfare Systems and integrated logistics support to ATK Missile Systems Co. under a $2.6 million contract. "These systems will function as an integral part of a forward-deployed air defense system for an international customer, S. Kent Rockwell, the chairman and CEO of Sensytech, said in a statement. "This award to Sensytech is one of several pending for this international customer."
EMS TECHNOLOGIES INC. said its AMT-50 satellite communications antenna is now available for C-130 aircraft. EMS' Satcom Division developed the Hatch-Mounted Inmarsat Antenna (HMIA) in cooperation with Aerospace Integration Corp. The product incorporates the AMT-50 Aero-H Satcom Antenna coupled to an AIC UNICOM hatch to provide an integrated assembly for use on C-130s, the company said. The HMIA works with the EMS VIPER II ruggedized satcom terminal to provide up to 256 kilobits per second (kbps) of data throughput to the aircraft.
The V-22 Osprey program is attracting interest from the U.S. National Guard's lobbying organization as it seeks a multi-purpose platform for emerging homeland security missions. The National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) last week passed a resolution calling for a fiscal 2005 budget line item for a analysis of roles and missions for a potential fleet of CV-22s, a NGAUS air programs official said in a Sept. 22 interview.
Air Canada said yesterday that is the launch customer for Airbus Industrie's ultra-long range A340-500 and the high-density market A340-600. Lamar Durrett, president, said the airline intends to purchase two A340-500s and three A340-600s and place options on 10. The five aircraft, valued at C$1 billion, are to be delivered in 2002. Airbus has "committed to arrange 85% of financing," Durrett said.
