A “switchboard in the sky” for the Iridium NEXT constellation of global communication satellites is one step closer to becoming reality as Lockheed Martincompleted a major software design milestone. Lockheed Martin’s Application Software for the Iridium NEXT constellation held the Critical Design Review, which showed that the design is at a high level of maturity…

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced Sept. 24 that the first Armstrong-class Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research ship will be named Neil Armstrong. Mabus named the future R/V Neil Armstrong (AGOR 27) to honor the memory of Neil Armstrong, best known for being the first man to walk on the moon. Armstrong was an aeronautics…

The U.S. Navy on Sept. 21 awarded Boeing a $1.9 billion contract for 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft, which will take the total fleet to 24 and bolster the service’s anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. This third low-rate initial production award follows two last year that totaled 13 aircraft. Boeing has delivered…

The Lockheed Martin team developing the U.S. Air Force’s next generation Global Positioning System III satellites has delivered the first spacecraft’s propulsion core module to the company’s Denver-area GPS Processing Facility. The milestone represents the program’s first major hardware delivery for GPS III Space Vehicle 1 and highlights the satellite’s initial Assembly, Integration and Test…

Lockheed Martin has received a $111 million Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) Performance Based Logistics contract from the U.S. Army. The PBL contract is a firm-fixed price, comprehensive sustainment solution that enables mission readiness, reduces Operations and Support costs and drives reliability and maintainability improvements. The contract consists of a one-year…

U.S. trade office bows to WTO ruling on Boeing The United States Trade Office says the U.S. government has responded to and complied with a World Trade Organization ruling that found the U.S. had provided illegal subsidies to Boeing. The U.S. and the European Union have been at odds over subsidies to the world’s top…

A recent U.S. Army and Navy test proved the Raytheon JLENS can integrate with defensive systems currently in the U.S. Navy’s inventory to provide, for the first time, overland cruise missile defense from the sea. During the test, a JLENS’ fire-control radar acquired and tracked a surrogate anti-ship cruise missile target. The track information was…

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc announced Sept. 24 that its PredatorÆ/Gray EagleÆ-series aircraft family has reached a historic industry milestone: two million flight hours. The noteworthy achievement occurred on Sept. 9, with more than 150,000 total missions completed and nearly 90-percent of all missions flown in combat. GA-ASI’s business is the development of transformational systems…

Northrop Grumman has completed the acquisition of M5 Network Security Pty Ltd, a Canberra, Australia-based provider of cybersecurity and secure mobile communications products and services, and advanced analytics to Australian military and intelligence organizations. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “We’re delighted to welcome M5 Network Security into Northrop Grumman and look forward to…

NASA selects Science Applications International Corp. of McLean, Va., for ocean color services at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. This is a five-year cost-plus-fixed fee, indefinite-delivery-indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum ordering value of $43 million. Performance period for the contract is Oct. 24 – Oct. 23, 2017. Under this contract, SAIC will…