Submitting a low bid to secure a federal contract knowing that the contract will cost the government more when fulfilled is a violation of federal law confirmed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in an Aug. 2, 2012, decision. The court’s ruling permits The Cullen Law Firm, PLLC, to proceed to trial…

Boeing has delivered production units of a smaller, lighter version of its Tactical Compact Communications Relay, which allows a small unmanned aerial vehicle to function as a tactical, range-extending communications repeater for military handheld radios. Boeing subsidiary Insitu received four 1-pound TCCRs following tests of the narrowband relay aboard the Insitu ScanEagle UAV. A 1.6-pound…

Raytheon has completed a successful warhead and guidance system test of its Pyros™ small tactical munition at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz. The end-to-end test validated the weapon’s guidance modes (semi-active laser and global positioning system), its height-of-burst sensor, electronic safe and arm device, and multi-effects warhead. “All systems functioned perfectly,” said Tom Bussing, vice president…

Lockheed Martin secured a contract with the Office of Naval Research for the design and development of solid oxide fuel cell generator sets as an alternative to traditional battlefield power generation equipment. Lockheed Martin’s fuel cell technology will be integrated with solar panels, providing the military with the power needed to perform missions while using…

UTC Aerospace Systems has received a contract from AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems to supply Cloud Cap Technology autopilots, stabilized camera payloads, ground station software components and flight management software from its business in Hood River, Ore. UTC Aerospace Systems is a unit of United Technologies Corp. These will be utilized for AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems’…

UTC Aerospace Systems introduced its next generation Sensors Unlimited shortwave infrared digital video camera at AUVSI Unmanned Systems North America Exhibition in Las Vegas, Nev. This high-resolution, indium gallium arsenide mil-rugged digital video camera features 30Hz full-frame rate and adds snapshot mode capability to the Sensors Unlimited high-definition SWIR product range. The camera is lightweight…

Draken International has signed an agreement with the New Zealand government to purchase eight McDonnell Douglas A-4K Skyhawks as well as various other equipment and accessories. This successful transaction marks the end of a great chapter in New Zealand aviation history and the beginning of a great foundation for Draken International. Draken, recognizing the increasing…

European aerospace giant Airbus said Aug. 6 it plans to double the $12 billion it now spends with U.S. suppliers amid strong airplane sales, explaining that the company has a backlog that is “disturbingly healthy.” Airbus America Chairman Allan McArtor told representatives from 114 companies at an aviation supplier conference in Kansas that 40 percent…