SAN DIEGO, April 26 (UPI)

The U.S. Navy has given Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. a contract for pump and motor overhaul services aboard Navy ships. The firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contract, awarded with two other companies, has an estimated value of $120 million for all three prime contractors. The contract will have an ordering period of five years and each company will compete for job orders. Work by Huntington Ingalls Continental Maritime division would be performed on ships within a 50-mile radius of San Diego. "It has been over 13 years since Continental Maritime was a prime contractor and this award is important in that respect," said Dan Flood, CMSD vice president and general manager. "This award provides us opportunities moving forward that we did not have in the past. "Additionally, this contract gives CMSD the opportunity to showcase our superior mechanical and electrical repair capabilities." Huntington Ingalls Industries was a business sector of Northrop Grumman Corp. until effectively separating March 31 in a spinoff of the company to shareholders. Additional contract details weren't disclosed.

Apr 26, 2011 ASDNews Source : Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT)

Marietta, Ga. - The first Combat Shadow II for the United States Air Force Special Operations Command has completed its first flight at the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta. Less than one month after a rollout ceremony for the aircraft's AFSOC customer the MC-130J has begun a series of flight tests prior to delivery to Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., in September. The new aircraft is based on a KC-130J tanker baseline and will have the Enhanced Service Life Wing, Enhanced Cargo Handling System, a Universal Aerial Refueling Receptacle Slipway Installation (boom refueling receptacle), more powerful electrical generators, an electro-optical/infrared sensor and a combat systems operator station on the flight deck. In-line production of this configuration reduced cost and risk, and fully supports the required 2012 Initial Operational Capability date. Lockheed Martin is contracted to build 15 MC 130Js to begin replacing the current aging fleet. The U.S. Air Force is authorized to acquire up to 20 MC-130Js against an approved requirement for 37.

source businesswire.com

April 26, 2011: STRATEGY PAGE

For over half a century, the U.S. Department of Defense has been seeking a better night vision system for their pilots, particularly those flying helicopters and low-flying fixed wing aircraft. Decade by decade, the devices have gotten better, but they all had some limitations which, in turn, restricted what pilots could do while flying at night. Now a U.S. firm is demonstrating their HRNVS (High Resolution Night Vision System), which will eliminate the "looking through a straw" problem and provide a much enhanced image. This is one step closer to the perfect night vision system.  It's been a long journey.

It was six years ago that the U.S. Air Force has received the first of a new generation of night vision goggles. The ANVG (Advanced Night Vision Goggles) had a 95 degree field of view, compared to 40 degrees for the old ones. The 40 degree field of view was described as looking through a straw and required the user to look around a lot. This got old real fast, caused fatigue, and was responsible for some accidents. The first ANVGs were given to the crew of AC-130 gunships and the MC-130 transports used by SOCOM (Special Operations Command). Both of these aircraft frequently operate at night. A-10 pilots received them next, along with crews on SOCOM helicopters. The initial order was for about 400. The ANVGs cost about $10,000 each and run for twenty hours on two AA batteries.

Five years ago, another improvement was introduced. This worked by projecting what night vision devices (attached to the pilots helmet) saw, right onto the head up display items already being projected onto the helmet visor used by pilots. But when U.S. Marine pilots began using their Top Owl helmet visors in this way, some of them encountered hyperstereopsis (an exaggerated depth perception view). This was not safe for pilots flying close to the ground, so marines went back to using the older night vision goggles. These, despite the "looking through straws" problem,  at least avoided any depth perception problems. The Top Owl manufacturer (Thales) developed training methods to overcome the effects of hyperstereopsis when flying under 60 meters altitude, and the marines eventually resumed using Top Owl.

If HRNVS survives testing and initial use by combat pilots, this will represent another major step forward in night vision gear for pilots.

Apr 26, 2011 ASDNews - Source : US Army

Washington - Some 23 Black Hawk helicopters have been freed from duty in the United States to go to combat elsewhere, thanks to stateside delivery of UH-72A Lakota helicopters. As Lakotas are fielded, said Col. John Thurgood, project manager for Army utility helicopters, they take Black Hawks out of the mix and send them back to combat. "As we field the UH-72A, we are able to take Black Hawks at some of those units and give them back to combat units, and those combat units take those aircraft to the fight," Thurgood said. "So the Lakota is a very important part of our Army strategy to make sure our combat units have what they need." "And to make sure our states, our governors, our homeland-security missions have what they need -- this platform delivers all those things," he continued. Thanks to delivery of Lakotas, about one assault battalion of Black Hawks have been freed to return to combat, Thurgood said, about half of a combat aviation brigade. Thurgood, along with John Burke, program manager for EADS North America's light utility helicopter program, spoke April 20, 2011, at a press conference regarding the Lakota program during the 2011 Army Aviation Association of America's Annual Professional Forum and Exposition in Nashville, Tenn. Thurgood said the Army has been pleased with both the aircraft and with contract performance. "They have been doing a tremendous job of producing every aircraft on time, or early," he said. "That's very important to us." Thurgood said the Army plans to purchase about 345 Lakotas, and today, about 154 have been delivered. "We are about halfway through the delivery of this program and doing it exactly on the cost and schedule that the Army asked it to do."

The Lakota is a slightly modified version of the manufacturer's commercial EC145 aircraft. "We literally chose the EC145, painted it green, and we've only added to it -- the basic aircraft -- one thing, and that's an ARC-231 radio," Thurgood said. The Army "knew what they wanted and they have held to that requirement," Thurgood said regarding the Lakota. "Holding ourselves to that requirement without changing it really gives the program managers a lot of flexibility to use best business practices." Variants of the Lakota include a two-litter medical version, a VIP version used in the National Capital Region, a security and support version used for state missions by National Guard units, and a version used by "opposing forces" during at combat training centers. The S&S version of the aircraft, on display at the AAAA convention, sported a mission equipment package with a search light, a GPS navigation system that allows pilots to find locations by street address as well as military grid coordinates, and a visual sensor ball that can transmit imagery to a ground station. Thurgood said there will be small continuous modifications for the Lakota -- the sensor ball might become obsolete, for instance, and may be changed eventually. But because the Lakota is essentially a commercial product, the manufacturer is incentivized to do continuous improvements on their version of it -- improvements the Army can opt to buy into without having to fund. "If they decide to put on a new tilt rotor system then the Army gets to take advantage of that without the investment to do that," he said. Conversely, for an aircraft like the Black Hawk -- the Army must pay for such modifications, Thurgood said.

Right now, the Lakota is fielded to National Guard units for state support, disaster relief and homeland defense, and in the active component where it's used in non-deployable units for medical evacuation and at training centers, for instance. "There is no better aircraft in the military's inventory right now for domestic operations -- there is none," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kevin Mudd, Utility Helicopters Project Office, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. "With its communications, sensors, and ability to be in a location you're not used to and still function and complete your mission -- this is the premiere domestic-operation platform right now."

source american.edu

April 26, 2011: STRATEGY PAGE

For the first time in twenty years, the U.S. Air Force has placed an order for PGU-13 30mm cannon rounds used in the A-10 aircraft. The A-10 is a 23 ton, twin engine, single seat aircraft whose primary weapon is a multi-barrel 30mm cannon originally designed to fire armored piercing shells at Russian tanks. These days, the 30mm rounds are mostly high explosive, and it has been heavily used in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Libya. The 30mm cannon fires 363 gram (12.7 ounce) rounds at the rate of about 65 a second. The cannon is usually fired in one or two second bursts.

The new $32.5 million contract will not only include new rounds, but refurbishment of older 30mm high explosive rounds still in inventory. Over 200,000 new and refurbished rounds will be delivered within two years. Since 1991, the A-10s have been using up large Cold War era inventories, which is why refurbishing of some older munitions is included. Some of the older 30mm ammo was quite old indeed, since large war stocks had been maintained since the A-10 was introduced in the late 1970s. While only 716 A-10s were built, each carried the 30mm cannon, and 1,174 rounds of 30mm ammo. Wartime use of the 30mm rounds was expected to be high, and the ammo was bought and stockpiled accordingly.

April 24, 2011 By Marjorie Censer, Washington Post

The Pentagon is launching a preferred supplier program to incentivize its vendors as part of a larger effort to promote competition and curb unnecessary paperwork and other bureaucratic hurdles in the procurement process. Ashton Carter, the Pentagon’s acquisition chief, said the Defense Department is making changes in hopes of driving down the cost of programs. He and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates last year first unveiled a departmental effort, dubbed the “better buying power initiative.”

Speaking at the Heritage Foundation last week, Carter offered an update on the effort to date. He said the Pentagon is readying the Superior Supplier Incentive Program, designed to recognize contractors who receive high marks in the Defense Department’s performance-tracking system. The recognition won’t help suppliers win work, but if they do receive orders, they could see better performance payments, among other rewards, said Carter. Additionally, Carter said he is now requiring all program managers to have a competitive strategy, or an explanation for how they will use competition to reduce the cost of their program. Acknowledging that head-to-head competition isn’t always feasible, Carter said there are other ways to cut program costs, such as contract provisions that provide companies a share of any savings they produce. The Pentagon also plans to reduce “non-productive processes and bureaucracy,” Carter said. Paperwork the department mandates not only costs money, but also obstructs companies unaccustomed to defense work, he said. “It’s important that we have an open defense system that is attractive and isn’t so exotic to sell to that companies, particularly small companies, can’t do it,” Carter said. He said the Pentagon will consider canceling more existing weapons programs but will also focus on driving down the costs of new programs. “You see that philosophy reflected in the new tanker,” Carter said of the Defense Department’s recent award to Boeing to build the next-generation aerial refueling tanker. The fixed-price contract means “we, the government, are insulated against cost growth in the tanker program, both in development and production.”

source Bae Systems

LEXINGTON, Mass., April 25 (UPI)

BAE Systems will provide more thermal weapon sights to the U.S. Army under a $56 million contract that continues production of the widely used system. The second-generation thermal sights give soldiers a day/night advantage to detect, observe and engage the enemy on the battlefield by providing imagery independent of darkness, smoke and other common battlefield obscurants. Under the contract, BAE Systems will provide light, medium and heavy variants for use on individual and crew-served weapons. The new order is the most recent under a five-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract administered by the Army's Research and Development Command Acquisition Center. A previous award increased BAE Systems' total thermal weapon sight contract value to more than $1 billion since 2004. BAE Systems has delivered more than 94,000 sights to meet Army fielding requirements to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. BAE Systems provides thermal weapon sights to the United States and several other countries.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire

Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, announced today that Michael (Mike) Bright has joined the corporation as vice president of the Missile Defense Business Unit.

Bright comes to Aerojet from Lockheed Martin with a long history in the missile defense community. His very successful engineering, program management and product line management career make him an ideal fit for this leadership position. Bright has a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Fort Lewis College and has completed master's-level courses in Aerospace and Systems Engineering, Leadership, Program Management and Financial Strategies. He has received numerous prestigious awards which attest to his outstanding performance, management and leadership abilities.

Bright replaces Pete Massey, the current Missile Defense Business Unit leader, who will be leaving his position to join the company's Business Development and Strategy department. Massey has successfully led the Missile Defense team for the past 10 months and has been instrumental in overseeing the business unit's excellent growth and profitability efforts. His leadership has positioned us to both capture and retain critical program revenue. In his new role, Massey will enhance and expand Aerojet's external business relationships throughout the national and international marketplaces.

Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile and space propulsion, defense and armaments markets. GenCorp is a leading technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems with a real estate segment that includes activities related to the entitlement, sale, and leasing of the company's excess real estate assets. Additional information about Aerojet and GenCorp can be obtained by visiting the companies' websites at http://www.Aerojet.com and http://www.GenCorp.com.

SOURCE Aerojet

26/04/11 By John Croft Flight International

A next-generation air transport system's avionics component should not be tested in real time - nor should new procedures for the National Airspace System (NAS). That is why the US Federal Aviation Administration created its NextGen integration and evaluation capability (NIEC). Located at the agency's William J Hughes technical centre at Atlantic City international airport, the NIEC is government and industry's one-stop shopping choice to test anything from new warning systems on air traffic controller displays to how pilots will eventually fly alongside unmanned aircraft and their ground-based operators. Elements of the laboratory, which has been open for business since June 2010, include a simulated air traffic control tower with a 270° "outside" view (eventually to be 360°), terminal and en route air traffic controller workstations, unmanned aircraft system ground stations, desktop computer "pseudo" pilot workstations and a fixed-base cockpit simulator for human-in-the-loop studies. Feeding the various simulators with realistic or real data are a variety of home-grown hardware and software suites that bring in weather, communications or surveillance data from other FAA laboratories or from the actual NAS. "The reason we built this lab is to give the opportunity for principal investigators to take a NextGen technology and introduce it so you can see the ripple effect across the NAS," says Hilda DiMeo, NextGen and operations planning director for the centre. Ongoing or completed projects demonstrate the capabilities much better than any brochure. This summer the NIEC will continue testing of an FAA project to determine what tools controllers would need to someday "man" control towers from remote locations. During two simulation sessions, investigators and engineers have progressively built the technologies and procedures that are part of the "staffed next generation tower" project. Elements of the project include a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-developed traffic information display system and tower flight data management system (an electronic version of paper flight strips) for controllers, and a variety of front- and back-end systems that the FAA built to allow controllers to see aircraft on the tower displays and out of the simulated tower cab windows. Standard procedure is to bring in one group of FAA controllers to develop the scenarios and a second group to take part in the simulated scenarios.

CAMERA VIEW OF OPERATIONS

A new element this summer will be the inclusion of a camera view of operations at Dallas-Fort Worth international airport. Controller participants in the NIEC will use a joystick and other controllers to steer the camera to zoom in and out. The end-to-end capability of the facility will allow for a gate-to-gate simulation if need be, with traffic seen first on controller screens, then from the tower cab, then to the screens of terminal and en route controllers and finally to the destination tower cab. A simulation later this year will use a level 4 fixed-base flight training device at the NIEC as part of a National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) project to help determine how existing or new auxiliary avionics - in the form of an electronic flight bag - could help with the safety of transoceanic flights. The one-week study will include at least two airline crews who will fly simulated 4h moonless night missions from Miami to Lima in Peru to investigate methods of displaying satellite-based weather in the cockpit. Called "weather technology in the cockpit for transoceanic human over the loop", the project's goal is to help the FAA determine the most cost-effective and usable methods of bringing satellite-linked severe weather data to airline pilots in remote ocean regions. The June 2009 crash of Air France flight 447 over the South Atlantic on a flight from Brazil to Paris brought new emphasis to the problem. The fixed-base simulator will use an Airbus A320 cockpit with sidestick, rudder pedals, flight management system and ACARS thermal printer, but with reconfigurable displays featuring touchscreen controls to model other avionics and hardware. A class 2 electronic flight bag will also be used to display colour graphical weather data.

BASIC QUESTION

Arguably the most intense use of the NIEC to date has been from the UAS community, both within the FAA and the broader government and industry community. The basic question being addressed is what it takes to fly an unmanned air vehicle in national airspace. Avionics, both in the air and on the ground are an obvious piece of the puzzle. With six studies completed, officials are accumulating experience. One piece of software kit - a "stop light" - was developed for a study looking into how military UAS controllers and FAA air traffic controllers could better co-ordinate occasions where a remotely piloted vehicle must traverse civil airspace en route to a practice area. Simulations use actual or software-simulated UAS ground control stations integrated into the NIEC as well as links to various NAS elements for the human-in-the-loop studies. To date, there are three ground control stations integrated into the NIEC: the AAI Shadow 200, the General Atomics Predator and the Boeing ScanEagle. For the Cherry Point Marine Corps air station simulation with the Shadow 200, the FAA developed a traffic light indicator for controller displays based on the projected path of the unmanned aircraft vehicle ahead in time. The idea was to give controllers a light-coded alert that would provide ample time to make UAV flightpath corrections during a certain airspace transition to avoid civil aircraft not in contact with air traffic controllers. As with a traffic light, a green indicator on the screen signalled a nominal transition: yellow indicated a potential collision concern with other aircraft, and red an imminent hazard. As with the tower simulations, the UAS efforts are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Along with human-in-the-loop studies with a flight management system-equipped Shadow 200 capable of flying 4D trajectories set for later this year, the NIEC will also host an operational assessment of "multi-UAS" operation focused on Victorville, California. Along with the NIEC tower simulator and Predator UAS ground station, the simulation will introduce an AeroVironment Raven UAS, Boeing Hummingbird rotorcraft UAS and an airship, all flying in the simulated control tower environment. "The goal is to assess the feasibility of simultaneously operating multiple UAS in a joint-use military/civilian class D air traffic environment," says the FAA. Future enhancements to the NIEC include setting up a simulated airline operations centre in which airline representatives will interface directly with air traffic controllers to simulate how to better co-ordination between the two for events - like summertime weather - that traditionally snarl air traffic flow and force tough priority decisions.

source flightglobal.com

PHILADELPHIA, April 25 (UPI)

The last remanufactured MH-47G Chinook has been delivered to the U.S. Army by Boeing's Military Aircraft Mobility Division in Pennsylvania. The handover of the 65th Special Operations Aviation aircraft marked the completion of the Service Life Extension Plan that has been in existence for more than 10 years. "This program has been a model of cost effectiveness and accelerated fielding," said Army Maj. Dan Henzie. "Because each MH-47G began its life as either a CH-47D or MH-47E, Boeing was able to accelerate the engineering and begin production years earlier than it could have provided a new airframe to the Army to support their critical mission. "Having this technology and combat power in the air over the past several years has undoubtedly saved American and allied warfighters' lives." Henzie is the U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency's Boeing-Philadelphia chief of flight operations and an MH-47G acceptance pilot. The remanufacture timeline for each MH-47G took about 16 months, Boeing said. DCMA Boeing-Philadelphia maintained oversight of the remanufacturing, which took place in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Although the last remanufactured aircraft has been delivered, there are plans to build additional MH-47Gs. The program office is planning the production of eight new-build aircraft. The timeline for new production hasn't been finalized but it could begin in the next three years, Boeing said.

DULLES, Va., April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire

Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC (RTSC), a subsidiary of Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), has won a U.S. Air Force Cobra Dane radar systems contract valued up to $65 million for maintenance operations, radar sustainment, systems engineering and integrated logistics support. The Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency contract began April 1 and ends Dec. 31, 2015, if all options are exercised. "The Cobra Dane radar system is a key platform supporting the Air Force and Missile Defense Agency, and Raytheon's operational support and sustainment engineering have been instrumental in meeting the customer's missions," said John Harris, RTSC president. "Cobra Dane was introduced in 1977, and the upgraded hardware and software, which we support, have extended the system's operational life by more than 15 years," Harris added. The AN/FPS-108 Cobra Dane was originally built by Raytheon and modernized by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.

Apr 25, 2011 Tinker AFB OK (SPX)

Military commanders may soon have the ability to access the full range of smartphone applications anywhere on their installations with the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) MONAX 3G wireless communications system. Lockheed Martin recently demonstrated the ability to successfully integrate MONAX to the legacy voice and data communications deployable infrastructure with the 3rd Combat Communications Group, at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. "With MONAX, commanders now have the ability stay connected at anytime and anywhere on base with full voice, text, e-mail, imagery and applications," said Sam Guthrie, Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Solutions-Defense Director of Strategic Development. "We demonstrated that MONAX extends existing communications systems and allows all these features with just one device on a secure private network." The MONAX communications system connects a COTS smartphone to a ground or airborne MONAX XG Base Station, enabling the use of a single, convenient, touch screen COTS smartphone. The system is frequency flexible, connects hundreds of users to a single base station, and delivers superior range and link performance in voice, video and data transmission. The network uses a secure RF link, protected through exportable encryption for joint and coalition operations. "Just as smartphones in the commercial world allow us to do much more than just talk to one another, MONAX will provide our warfighters with secure access to email, imagery and other mobile applications in a military environment," Guthrie said. The use of COTS devices means that MONAX is more affordable than other systems. It's also fully portable and can be deployed with the military unit, Guthrie said. In fact, in the case of a bare base deployment, MONAX can have commanders in full operations almost immediately and can replace the need for wired phone systems. Other advantages of MONAX for military installation use include the ability to talk simultaneously in two directions, unlike "push to talk" systems. MONAX also has greater range and can accommodate more simultaneous users than regular mobile phone system.

avril 24, 2011 Armée du futur

Des chercheurs de l’université Yale ont mis au point le premier anti-laser au monde. L’appareil reçoit des faisceaux entrants de lumière qui interfèrent entre elles au point de s’annuler l’une l’autre. Les lasers fonctionnent en utilisant un semi-conducteur comme l’arséniure de gallium pour produire des ondes de lumière de même fréquence et amplitude. Ces ondes constituent un faisceau de lumière. A l’opposé, l’anti-laser utilise une gaufre de silicium ; lorsque deux faisceaux de laser sont envoyés sur une cavité contenant cette gaufre, celle-ci aligne les ondes de lumière pour les « piéger », les faisant ricochet d’avant en arrière jusqu’à ce qu’ils soient absorbés et transformés en chaleur. L’anti-laser, dont le nom scientifique est CPA (coherent perfect absorber), fait environ 1 cm de large et peut absorber 99,4 % de la lumière entrante. Les prochaines versions devraient atteindre 99,999% et faire 6 microns. L’actuel CPA est limité dans l’absorption de l’infrarouge mais les chercheurs pensent pouvoir traiter aussi bien le visible que l’IR. Si les applications annoncées portent sur les calculs optiques et la radiologie, on peut rêver à un boucler aux armes à énergie dirigée, encore au stade de développement.

Sources : Gizmag, CDRInf