News
Wounded Warrior Project fires CEO, COO –
The board of Wounded Warrior Project, one of the nation’s largest veteran support groups, has fired two top officials amid news reports accusing the group of wasteful spending.
Business
Lockheed Martin joins race to make long-haul airships –
The secretive Skunk Works in Palmdale, Calif., has over the years spawned such sleek aircraft as the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.
Inside Lockheed Martin’s giant blimp –
Lockheed Martin has unveiled a prototype with mock ups of the cockpit and cabin of its LMH-1 heavy lift airship at its Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, Calif.
Pakistan F-16 sale survives U.S. Senate dogfight –
A measure to block the $700 million sale of eight US F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan was scuttled in the U.S. Senate March 10, though US financing for the deal was on hold.
ITC Defense scores Kuwaiti contract to track military vehicles –
Arlington-based ITC Defense Corp won a $7.7 million contract through a foreign military sale to develop and field a system to help Kuwait keep track of its military vehicles.
BAE supplying counter-measure systems for new helicopter –
Survivability and situational awareness technology are being supplied by BAE Systems for the new U.S. Air Force HH-60W combat rescue helicopter.
Top commander defends blimp program –
A top commander defended an embattled military blimp program Thursday as necessary to detect cruise missiles that countries such as Russia could use against the United States.
Dassault says close to Rafale deal with India –
Dassault Aviation is in the “final phase” of price negotiations with India for 36 Rafale fighters, with the company in talks with potential local partners to build a hoped-for 90 more units, chairman Eric Trappier said March 10.
Airbus to support French naval comms with Comcept –
Airbus Defense and Space has been awarded a French military contract for shipboard communications.
L-3 wins Army contract for manned, unmanned helicopter data link –
L-3 has been awarded an $11.4 million Army contract option for helicopter data links.
Boeing, Paramount developing weaponized surveillance plane –
Boeing and South Africa’s Paramount Group are expanding their cooperation on a light reconnaissance aircraft by developing a strike-mission variant.
Navy wants to rush Lockheed Martin’s $2.6 million missile to the front –
In recent months, we’ve seen the Navy make multiple moves in this direction, first encouraging Boeing to double the range of its ubiquitous Harpoon anti-ship missile last summer, then approving the use of Raytheon’s Standard Missile 6 — originally designed for anti-air missions — to target warships as well. But what the Navy really wants is for the DARPA-sponsored effort to build a new Long Range Anti-Ship Missile to get off the ground, and out to the war fighters.
Pentagon orders upgraded Gen 2 WASP aerostats –
Drone Aviation Holding Corp. has been awarded a $780,000 Department of Defense contract for aerostats.
Airbus continues operating German military satellites –
Airbus Defense and Space is to continue to operate Germany’s military communications satellites under a seven-year contract worth $159.3 million.
Defense
Vintage attack planes are brought out of retirement –
Two vintage planes used in the Vietnam War have been brought out of retirement to help U.S. special forces in Iraq.
Lawmakers want to replace Hueys with Black Hawks –
A group of lawmakers said it’s time for the Air Force to replace the Vietnam-era UH-1N Hueys used by the service’s nuclear forces, and that the military shouldn’t wait for a new helicopter to be designed.
F-35 logistics system may not be ready for Air Force IOC target –
The latest version of the F-35’s logistics system may not be ready by the time the Air Force wants to declare its jets combat-ready this summer, according to the program manager.
U.S. Air Force’s next-gen GPS ground control station to proceed –
The Pentagon recently conducted a “deep dive” review of the Air Force’s troubled ground control system for its next-generation GPS satellites, and will allow the program to move forward — for now.
Army Apaches with skis: Attack helos get cold weather upgrades –
As the Army builds its very first AH-64 Apache battalion in Alaska, soldiers in the unit are experiencing a lot of firsts.
U.S. Army chief moves to center of acquisition universe –
The U.S. Army chief will take on a much more central role in the service’s acquisition process to include weekly oversight meetings as part of acquisition reforms, according to the three-star general in charge of funding and equipping the branch.
Navy draft RfP for LCS follow-on frigate due to shipyards this year –
The Navy plans to release a draft request for proposal for its planned new class of frigate – based on one of the two existing Littoral Combat Ship hulls — to shipyards later this year, the Program Executive Officer LCS said.
Navy wants to shed RAQ designation from Stingray carrier UAV –
The Navy wants to continue to tweak what it will call the Stingray — its first carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle.
Veterans
Agent Orange exposure linked to bladder cancer, hypothyroidism –
A new review of Agent Orange research found evidence that bladder cancer and hypothyroidism are more strongly linked to exposure to the herbicide than previously thought, but the science does not support a previously held belief that spina bifida occurs in the offspring of exposed veterans at higher rates.
Space
Are we on the verge of finding live on Mars? –
Europe and Russia are to begin their journey to Mars next week in a mission designed to understand the red planet’s atmosphere and look for signs of life.
Technology
Is this what air travel will look like in 2050? –
This incredible futuristic aircraft could be the way people travel to far-flung destinations in the year 2050.
