Defense Daily articles from March 2002

Defense Daily archives from March 2002

Army Addressing IAV Weight Issues.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... By Neil Baumgardner FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--The Army is working with Canada's General Motors Defense [GM] and General Dynamics [GD] to make sure that the service's new Stryker Interim Armored Vehicles (IAV) are under weight requirements,...

Army Ready To Move Forward With Comanche, Program Manager Says.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... By Neil Baumgardner FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--The Comanche program office has come up with a restructuring plan for the RAH-66 armed reconnaissance helicopter under development by Boeing [BA] and Sikorsky [UTX] and is waiting on approval from...

More Needed To Guarantee Launch Reliability Beyond EELV, Air Force Official Says.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... By Kerry Gildea While the Air Force expects its new Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program will increase launch reliability, it may not go far enough in assuring access to space, said Richard McKinney, deputy director of the...

Atlantic Fleet Commander Lists Priorities, Stresses PGM Production.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... By Hunter Keeter Replenishment of precision guided munitions (PGM) is a top priority for the Navy, according to Adm. Robert Natter, Atlantic Fleet commander-in-chief. "That [PGM production] is my No. 1 priority today," Natter...

Conrad: U.S. Should Proceed With 'More Affordable' Missile Defense.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... By Frank Wolfe A price tag of $150 billion is too much to spend for a comprehensive national missile defense system, and the United States should instead pursue a more limited system, a top Democratic lawmaker said yesterday. "I...

Boeing's CH-47F Improved Chinook Helicopter Facing Nunn-McCurdy Breach.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... By Neil Baumgardner FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-- Boeing's [BA] CH-47F Improved Chinook cargo helicopter is experiencing a unit cost growth of more than 25 percent, qualifying it as a breach under the 1982 Nunn-McCurdy Amendment, although the...

Army Unfunded Requirements List For FY '03 Totals $9.5 Billion.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... By Marc Strass The Army has nearly $9.5 billion in unfunded requirements (UFR) beyond its FY '03 defense request, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki said yesterday. "In terms of round numbers, the compelling requirements are...

Defense Contracts.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Northrop Grumman [NOC] Linthicum Heights, Md., is being awarded a $487 million (maximum) firm-fixed-price, time and material and cost reimbursement no- fee contract to provide for engineering services and technical support of the F- 16 AN and...

Defense Watch.
March 4, 2002... The Latest Word on Trends and Developments in Defense and Aerospace When? The Army and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are expected to pick a lead systems integrator (LSI) for the service's multi-billion Future Combat System...

Air Force Plans To Increase JDAM Production Capacity To Nearly 3,000 Per Month.
March 4, 2002... By Frank Wolfe and William Arkin By summer next year, the Air Force plans to increase its production capacity of the Boeing [BA] Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) to nearly 3,000 a month, about one and a half times the current production...

Aldridge Finalizes FY '02 ACTD List.
March 4, 2002... By Hunter Keeter Pentagon acquisition chief Pete Aldridge has finalized his list of 15 advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) projects approved for funding in FY '02, which are focused largely on technologies associated with the...

Air Force Prepares For Acceleration of GPS III Program.
March 4, 2002... By Kerry Gildea The Air Force is getting ready to kick off a "very accelerated" GPS III program in the next six months, said Air Force Col. Douglas Loverro, GPS Joint Program Office system program director at Air Force Space and Missile...

Crusader Meets MRSI Requirement, On Track, Official Says.
March 4, 2002... By Neil Baumgardner FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--After demonstrating last month the required Multiple-Round Single-Impact (MRSI) capability, United Defense's [UDI] Crusader self-propelled howitzer is on track for the April 2003 Milestone B...

Greece To Buy C-27Js, Raytheon-Northrop-BAE Jammers For F-16s, Rejects GD.
March 4, 2002... By Vago Muradian Greece last week said it would buy a dozen C-27Js transports from Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Italy's Alenia, jammers from a team composed of Raytheon [RTN], Northrop Grumman [NOC] and Britain's BAE SYSTEMS, but rejected...

Italian MoD Expected To Submit JSF Participation Plan To Parliament Soon.
March 4, 2002... By Vago Muradian Senior Italian defense officials are assessing an offer from the Pentagon to participate in the current system development and demonstration (SDD) phase of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program with an investment of...

Sambur: F-22 Must Prove Itself Before FB-22 Becomes Formal Program.
March 4, 2002... By Frank Wolfe Lockheed Martin's [LMT] F-22 fighter must prove itself before the company's proposal for an FB-22 medium bomber can become a formal Air Force program, a top service official said Friday. "Nobody will go ahead and move...

Air Force $3.8 Billion Unfunded List Includes $275 Million For Tanker.
March 4, 2002... By Frank Wolfe The Air Force's $3.8 billion unfunded priority list (UPL), submitted to Congress Friday, contains $275 million to accelerate by two years a replacement for hundreds of aging Boeing [BA] KC-135E tankers. The funding,...

Northrop's Bid For TRW Turns Hostile; Legal Battle Could Prove Successful.
March 5, 2002... By Vago Muradian Northrop Grumman's [NOC] unsolicited $11.4 billion bid to acquire TRW [TRW] yesterday turned hostile with Northrop commencing its exchange offer for TRW shares and filing suit in Ohio court to change the state's laws...

Army, Sweden Working To Bring Raytheon, Bofors Defence Together On Excalibur.(M982 Excalibur 155mm improved artillery round)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... By Neil Baumgardner FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--The Army and Sweden are working to merge their requirements for precision munitions and have asked Raytheon [RTN], which is developing the M982 Excalibur 155mm improved artillery round, and...

Pentagon Drops First Thermobaric Weapon In Heavy Strikes Over Weekend.(BLU-118B used against Afghan cave complex)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... During large-scale allied air strikes against Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters over the weekend, the BLU-118B so-called "thermobaric" weapon was used against a key enemy cave complex. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen....

Air Force Requests Funding To Prevent Grounding of Some B-1s, B-2s, F-15s.
March 5, 2002... By Frank Wolfe The Air Force asks for $163.3 million in its FY '03 Unfunded Priority List (UPL) to prevent the grounding of some of its Boeing [BA] B-1B bombers, Northrop Grumman [NOC] B-2 stealth bombers and Boeing F-15 fighters. ...

Orbital Sciences Gets Official Okay To Start Building New Missile Defense Booster.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... By Kerry Gildea The Pentagon formally announced yesterday the selection of Orbital Sciences [ORB] to provide a new alternative booster vehicle (ABV) for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program. The Missile Defense Agency with...

Workers Vote To Strike At Lockheed Martin Palmdale, Sunnyvale, Marietta.(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... More than 6,000 members of the International Association of Machinists yesterday voted to reject three-year contract offers by Lockheed Martin [LMT] and to go on strike, effective March 11, at facilities in Palmdale and Sunnyvale, Calif., and...

Navy LCS Development To Be Under PEO(S).(littoral combat ship program to be under US Navy Program Executive Office for Surface Strike)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... By Hunter Keeter The development of a littoral combat ship (LCS) concept is to be established under the authority of the program executive office for surface strike (PEO(S)), according to a Feb. 23 memorandum from Navy acquisition chief...

Army Settles On Five TUAV Systems For Third LRIP Contract.(Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle low-rate initial production contract)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... By Marc Strass The Army has decided to acquire a total of five Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) systems for its third low-rate initial production contract from AAI [UIC], according to sources. The Army will exercise an existing...

JSOW-Broach Integration Tests Continue.(Joint Standoff Weapon with Broach unitary warhead)(Brief Article)
March 5, 2002... By Hunter Keeter The Navy and its industry partners on the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) program continue to test integration of the missile with a version of Britain's Broach unitary warhead, according to a Navy statement and an industry...

Weapons Total From Afghanistan Includes Large Amount of Cannon Fire.(air-to-ground weapons)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 5, 2002... By William Arkin The number of weapons delivered in Operation Enduring Freedom is significantly greater than commonly understood if cannon fire from AC-130U gunships is included in the total. While aircraft delivered some 17,400...

Textron Optimistic For ASV Restoration, Sales.(M1117 Armored Security Vehicle)
March 6, 2002... By Neil Baumgardner FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-- Textron [TXT] is optimistic of getting the Army to restore funding for the company's M1117 Armored Security Vehicle, which is terminated under the service's FY '03 budget request, as well as for...

Britain Reduces Nimrod Upgrade Numbers.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... Britain's Ministry of Defence said last week that it is reducing from 21 to 18 the number of MR2 Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft that will be upgraded to the MRA4 by BAE SYSTEMS. "Since the Nimrod contract was signed in 1996, we have been...

Blair: Long-Term Fight Against Terror May Require Bolstered Pacific Presence.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... By Frank Wolfe A long-term fight against terror that continues at the pace of the Central Command-led operation for the past six months will require an increase in United States forces in the Pacific, Adm. Dennis Blair, commander-in-chief...

Army Conducts First Deployment of AH-64D Apache Longbows To Kuwait.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... By Marc Strass The Army last month started its first deployment of Boeing [BA] AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters to Kuwait, according to sources. The aircraft are part of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation, part of the 3rd...

Raytheon, Navy Select General Dynamics' Unitary Warhead For ERGM.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... By Hunter Keeter Raytheon [RTN] and the Navy have selected a unitary warhead produced by General Dynamics [GD] for the Extended Range Guided Munition (ERGM) program, according to service officials and industry sources. "We understand...

Boeing, EADS Prepare To Submit Tanker Data To Air Force Today.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... By Vago Muradian Boeing [BA] and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) today plan to submit to the Air Force information on military derivatives of their popular jetliners that could serve as the service's future aerial...

Pentagon Budgets $159 Million For New Technology Projects In FY '02.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... By Hunter Keeter The Pentagon has $159 million to spend in FY '02 on 15 new advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) projects and is now looking for additional funds to begin three more projects, according to a senior official....

Launch Industry Grapples With Satellite Consolidation, Escalating Insurance Costs.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... By Kerry Gildea Escalating insurance rates since the events of Sept. 11 combined with consolidation in the telecommunications satellite industry and over capacity in the launch arena are growing constraints for the overall launch...

Britain to Retire Sea Harriers In Anticipation of JSF.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... Britain's Ministry of Defence said last week that it will retire the Royal Navy's FA2 Sea Harrier jump jets between 2004 and 2006, in favor of the Royal Air Force's upgraded GR9 Harriers until Lockheed Martin's [LMT] F-35 Joint Strike Fighter...

Army Sees ACN As Future Communications Relay System For UAVs.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... By Marc Strass The Army is considering the use of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Airborne Communications Node (ACN) as a future communications relay and signals intelligence (SIGINT) payload for unmanned aerial...

Navy Awards Northrop Grumman $24.9 Million Contract To Develop BQM-74F.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2002... The Navy last week awarded Northrop Grumman [NOC] a $24.9 million contract to develop and test the BQM-74F target drone, according to a company release. The BQM-74, also known as the Chuckar, is a high subsonic target drone used by the...

Roche: Tanker Replacement Plan To Be Ready By Summer.
March 7, 2002... By Frank Wolfe The Air Force plans to determine by this summer whether to proceed with a lease of tanker aircraft or whether it will go ahead with a competition between Boeing [BA] and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS)....

Army Identifies Cause of PAC-3, PAC-2 Failures In February Test.
March 7, 2002... By Kerry Gildea Preliminary results of the investigation into a failure last month of a Lockheed Martin [LMT] Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile and a Raytheon [RTN] PAC-2 missile point to a computer failure and electrical...

HASC Urged To Shift Satellite Export Licensing Process To Commerce Dept.
March 7, 2002... By Kerry Gildea The House Armed Services Committee (HASC), in marking up its version of the Export Administration Act of 2001 (H.R. 2581), should shift the licensing process back to the Commerce Department so the United States can...

Boeing Gets Contract To Build First Two Wideband Gapfiller Satellites.
March 7, 2002... Boeing [BA] reported yesterday that it received a $336.4 million contract from the Air Force to build the first two satellites in the Wideband Gapfiller Satellite (WGS) system. The contract also includes long-lead material for a third...

SMDC Outlines $118 Million Budget Plan To Develop MTHEL.(Army Space and Missile Defense Command)
March 7, 2002... By Kerry Gildea The Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) has finalized a $118 million outyear budget plan for the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) with the hopes of completing a demonstrator in the 2006-07 time frame,...

Shinseki: Affordability An Issue For European-Based BCT.
March 7, 2002... By Neil Baumgardner Affordability has been identified as an issue in the Army's study of how to meet a requirement of the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) to station an Interim Brigade Combat Team (BCT) in Europe, according to Army Chief...

Air Force Requests Funding For Upgrades To Inventory of EW Jammer Pods.
March 7, 2002... By Marc Strass The Air Force wants funding for upgrades for its entire inventory of ALQ- 131 and ALQ-184 radar jammer pods, according to its FY '03 Unfunded Priority List (UPL). The service, according to the list, wants a total of...

England, Clark Say 2003 Budget Is 'Foundation' For Transformation.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2002... By Hunter Keeter The FY '03 Navy budget is part of the "foundation" for force transformation, prolonging the strategy put in place during the FY '02 budget- building process and delaying the initiation of real Navy transformation for...

Raytheon Delivers Additional MTS Sensor Balls To Air Force For Armed Predators.
March 7, 2002... Raytheon [RTN] is in the middle of a series of deliveries of Multi- spectral Target System (MTS) sensor balls that will enable the Air Force to conduct additional testing of the armed Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) concept, according...

GAO Advises Limiting F-22 Build To 13 Until Operational Testing Completed.
March 7, 2002... In a nw report, the General Accounting Office (GAO) recommends that the Pentagon limit the buy of Air Force F-22 fighters by Lockheed Martin [LMT] to 13 a year until operational testing is completed. The GAO report (GAO-02-298) said that...

GPS III Acceleration Plan Expected To Include Afghanistan Lessons.
March 7, 2002... By Kerry Gildea Lessons learned about the performance of GPS satellites in the war in Afghanistan will likely be incorporated into the Air Force's plan to accelerate and enhance the GPS III program, according to industry officials...

LockheedMartin-Alenia, EADS Bid For Brazilian Light Transport Program.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2002... Lockheed Martin [LMT] teamed and Italy's Alenia, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS), and Russia's Rosoboronexport last week submitted bids for Brazil's CL-X light transport aircraft program, the Brazilian air force said. ...

Boeing-SAIC Team Picked As FCS Lead System Integrator.(Science Applications International Corp., Future Combat System)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Army yesterday named a team composed of Boeing [BA] and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) over General Dynamics [GD] and Lockheed Martin [LMT] as the lead system...

Afghanistan Operation Marks First Combat Use of M141 Bunker Defeat Munition.(Army)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... By Marc Strass The Army has deployed its M141 Bunker Defeat Munition (BDM) for the first time in combat during Operation Enduring Freedom, according to a service official. "We are very pleased that the weapons are deployed and are...

Marine Corps Looking For New Supplier of Stinger Night Sights.(Raytheon to discontinue PAS-18 Stinger Night Sight)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... By Neil Baumgardner FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--The Marine Corps is looking for a new supplier of night sights for its Stinger man-portable missiles after Raytheon decided to end production of the current PAS-18 Stinger Night Sight (SNS). ...

MDA Outlines Detailed Plan For Missile Defense Testbed.(Missile Defense Agency)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... By Kerry Gildea The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in additional FY '03 budget documents released this week, outlined in more details plans for the development of a Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) testbed at Ft. Greely, Alaska. ...

Raytheon Looking To Rebound From Land Warrior With Objective Force Warrior.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... By Neil Baumgardner FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-- Raytheon [RTN], which in 1999 was removed from the Army's Land Warrior program, is looking to rebound with a strong team to compete for the service's follow-on Objective Force Warrior (OFW)...

SBIRS Low Restructure Plan Near Completion, Aldridge Reports.(Space Based Infrared System, Pete Aldridge)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... By Kerry Gildea Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), is slated to provide the office of the secretary of defense (OSD) a plan for a restructured Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Low program in...

General Dynamics Awarded Almost $300 Million In Contracts.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... General Dynamics [GD] has been awarded almost $300 million in contracts over the past two weeks, including for the production of Hydra 2.75-inch rockets, 120mm tank rounds and M1A1 Abrams tank upgrades. The largest contract was a $91...

Air Force Wants Multi-Platform Approach To EW.(Electronic Warfare)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... By Frank Wolfe The Air Force is examining the path ahead for the service on Electronic Warfare (EW) as a result of the Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) to replace the Northrop Grumman [NOC] EA-6B Prowler, and that approach is likely to...

Burnham: Raytheon To Conclude $1.13 Billion Sale of AIS Unit To L-3 Soon.(Dan Burnham, Aircraft Integration Systems, L-3 Communications)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2002... By Vago Muradian Raytheon [RTN] soon will conclude the planned $1.13 billion sale of its Aircraft Integration Systems (AIS) unit to L-3 Communications [LLL], according to Raytheon's top executive. "We are in the very final stages and...

Defense Watch.(industry briefs)
March 11, 2002... The Latest Word on Trends and Developments in Defense and Aerospace GMD Countdown. The Missile Defense Agency remains on track to conduct the next flight test in its Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program this Friday, says Air Force...

Boeing's Simulation-Based Acquisition Experience A Factor In FCS LSI Selection.(Future Combat Systems, lead systems integrator)
March 11, 2002... By Neil Baumgardner Boeing's [BA] experience in simulation-based acquisition was one of the factors in the selection of the Boeing-Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) team to be the lead systems integrator (LSI) for the Army's...

Lockheed Martin Reaches Agreements With Unions, Marietta May Still Strike.(International Association of Machinists )(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... Lockheed Martin [LMT] last week reached tentative agreements with the local International Association of Machinists unions at its facilities in Palmdale and Sunnyvale, Calif., and Marietta, Ga., but the Marietta-based union may still go on...

F-15 Program Office Recommends Vertical Stabilizer Replacement.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... By Frank Wolfe The F-15 System Program Office (SPO) has recommended the replacement of all vertical stabilizers for the Boeing [BA] fighter to remedy chronic water intrusion, cracking and hole elongation problems. The Air Force's $3.8...

Air Force Stands Up First Armed Predator UAV Squadron.(unmanned aerial vehicle)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... By Marc Strass The Air Force on Friday stood up its first armed Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) squadron, according to a service official. The unit, designated the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron, will be the first Predator unit to...

Army Wants to Charter High-Speed Catamaran For Operation Enduring Freedom.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... By Neil Baumgardner The Army wants to charter a second catamaran high-speed vessel (HSV) from Australia's Incat and Bollinger Shipyard to support the movement of forces as part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), according to a...

Burnham: Homeland Security A Promising Market, But Scope Hard To Predict.(Dan Burnham, Raytheon CEO)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... By Vago Muradian Bush administration plans to spend billions of dollars on bolstering homeland security could prove lucrative for major defense contractors willing to satisfy government needs by leveraging existing military technologies,...

Jones: FY '03 Budget Forms Basis For Additional Transformation.(James Jones, Marine Corps transformation)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... By Hunter Keeter While the Marine Corps recognizes important shortfalls in fire support and amphibious-lift capabilities, the foundation for force transformation and consequently improved capabilities is being established in the FY '03...

Defense Brief.(General Dynamics contract with Air Force)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2002... General Dynamics [GD] was awarded a $1.6 billion contract on Friday from the Air Force to provide 20 C-37A Gulfstream V business jets and 10 years of contractor logistics support.

Northrop Grumman Files Protest With Navy On S-Band Radar.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2002... By Frank Wolfe Northrop Grumman [NOC] filed a protest last week with Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) over the Navy's recent $420 million award to Lockheed Martin [LMT] for S-Band radar work, sources said yesterday. NAVSEA is to...

Boeing's Sears, Swain, Koellner Tapped To Fill Top Jobs.
March 12, 2002... Ending months of speculation, Boeing [BA] Chairman and CEO Phil Condit yesterday said three company executives have been elevated to the Office of the Chairman to fill the roles now performed by several executives, including Vice Chairman...

Air Force Wants New Parts, Inspection Procedures For F-16 Engine.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2002... By Frank Wolfe To solve an overheating found in some of the Pratt & Whitney [UTX] F100- PW-220 engines for the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-16 fighter, the Air Force said it wants new parts and inspection procedures. Six F-16s belonging to...

TRW Restructuring To Secure Position In Missile Defense Arena.
March 12, 2002... By Kerry Gildea TRW's [TRW] recent internal restructuring is geared at creating more focus on the missile defense arena and securing the company's position as a key member of the new national industry team (NIT) working with the Missile...

Northrop Grumman Files Hart-Scott-Rodino Notification For TRW.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2002... Northrop Grumman [NOC] yesterday filed notification with the Department of Justice to acquire TRW [TRW] under the premerger requirements of the Hart- Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, Northrop Grumman said yesterday. Last...

Raytheon Concludes AIS Sale To L-3 For $1.13 Billion.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2002... Raytheon [RTN] yesterday said it has completed the sale of its Aircraft Integrated Systems (AIS) unit to L-3 Communications [LLL] for $1.13 billion. Raytheon also said that despite the sale, it will remain the prime contractor of the...

DARPA Extends Boeing Work On Orbital Express Effort.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2002... The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said that it has selected Boeing [BA] to perform Phase II of the Orbital Express Advanced Technology Demonstration. The team received a $99 million modification to a previous agreement...

Raytheon ESSM Successfully Intercepts Supersonic Target.(Evolved SeaSparrow Missile)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2002... A Raytheon [RTN] Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) missile last week successfully conducted its first interception of a supersonic target drone, according to a company spokeswoman. The test, the latest in a series to test the compatibility...

Atlas IIA Boosts TDRS-I Satellite For NASA.
March 12, 2002... An Atlas IIA rocket placed a NASA communications satellite into orbit on Friday, marking the 60th consecutive successful mission for the launch vehicle, International Launch Services (ILS) reported. The Atlas IIA lifted off at 5:59 p.m....

More Than 2,800 Workers On Strike At Lockheed Martin's Marietta Plant.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2002... More than 2,800 members of the International Association Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) went on strike yesterday at Lockheed Martin's [LMT] Marietta, Ga., facility, the site of work on the Air Force's F-22 fighter and C- 130J...

South Korean T-50 Program Manager Arrested In F-X Scandal, Replaced.(Col. Cho Joo-Hyung)
March 12, 2002... The South Korean air force program manager for the country's T-50 advanced jet trainer being developed by Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Col. Cho Joo-Hyung, was arrested last week on charges of accepting bribes...

Air Force Reorganizes Communications Structure, Bodie To Head New Operation.
March 12, 2002... The Air Force yesterday said it will reorganize its public affairs operation under a more unified structure to be headed by William Bodie, Air Force Secretary Jim Roche's special assistant, who will serve as the service's new director of...

Coyle Raises Concerns About Pace of Missile Defense Test Flight Program.
March 12, 2002... By Kerry Gildea While the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has increased the pace of its missile defense flight test program, it will be difficult to conduct all the tests to get an initial capability fielded in the 2005 time frame,...

Allied Research Awarded $130 Million 90mm Ammunition Contract.
March 12, 2002... Allied Research [ALR] said last week that its MECAR subsidiary in Belgium has been awarded a $130 million foreign military sale contract from the Army's Operations Support Command (OSC) to produce 90mm ammunition for a unnamed customer, which...

Thornberry Advocates Early Study of Space-Based PGM Options.(Mac Thornberry, precision guided munitions)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... By Kerry Gildea The United States should begin studying now non-traditional means for delivering precision guided munitions including firing from space-based platforms, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), a member of the House Armed Services...

Updated JDAM Requirements Document Likely To Include UCAV.(Joint Direct Attack Munition, operational requirements document, Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2002... By Frank Wolfe An updated operational requirements document (ORD) for the Boeing [BA] Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is expected to include integration of the munition on the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV), JDAM program officials...