UK MOD: New Defence Ministers - responsibilities confirmed

UK MOD: New Defence Ministers - responsibilities confirmed
28 May 10

The full titles and responsibilities of each minister have now been confirmed.


Dr Liam Fox has been appointed as the new Secretary of State for Defence.

Dr Fox has been the MP for Woodspring (renamed North Somerset for the 2010 May General Election) since 1992 and was appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Defence in December 2005.

Dr Fox was born and raised in East Kilbride, Scotland, and attended the local comprehensive school, St Bride's High School, before going on to study medicine at the University of Glasgow.

He worked as a GP before becoming a Member of Parliament.


Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Nick Harvey

Liberal Democrat MP Nick Harvey has been confirmed as the new Minister of State for the Armed Forces.

Born in 1961 in Chandler's Ford, Hampshire, Mr Harvey was educated at Queen's College, Taunton, and Middlesex University.

He worked in communications and marketing from 1983 to 1992, mainly for City consultants Dewe Rogerson, and entered the House of Commons as Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon in 1992.

He was made the Liberal Democrats' Defence Spokesman in 2006.

Mr Harvey is married to Kate and they have a son and a daughter.


Conservative MP Gerald Howarth has been confirmed as Minister for International Security Strategy.

Mr Howarth was born in September 1947. He was educated at Haileybury and ISC Junior School, Windsor, and Bloxham School, Banbury (scholar). He read English at the University of Southampton (BA Hons), where he served with the University Air Squadron, and was commissioned into the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1968.

Mr Howarth is the Conservative MP for Aldershot.

Mr Howarth has been married to Elizabeth since 1973 and they have three children. He has held a pilot's licence since 1965 and is a church warden at the Royal Garrison Church in Aldershot.

In 2002 he became a Shadow Defence Minister with responsibility for defence procurement and the Royal Air Force.


Conservative MP Andrew Robathan has been confirmed as Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans.

Mr Robathan is the Conservative MP for South Leicestershire. He was born in 1951 and educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, and Oriel College, Oxford.

He served in the Coldstream Guards from 1974 to 1989 before leaving to pursue a career in politics. He served throughout the world and attended the Army Staff College, Camberley. Mr Robathan volunteered to rejoin the Army, January - April 1991, and served as Chief of Staff of the Prisoner of War Guard Force in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait.

Mr Robathan and his wife Rachael have one son and one daughter.



Lord Astor has been confirmed as Under Secretary of State and the Lords spokesman on Defence.

Lord Astor was born in June 1946 and educated at Eton. From 1966 to 1970 he served in The Life Guards in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Northern Ireland and on ceremonial duties in London.

Since 2005 Lord Astor has been an Honorary Colonel of 101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment, which was recently transferred from the Territorial to the Regular Army and specialises in bomb and improvised explosive device (IED) disposal.

He worked in France for 11 years and is Patron of the Conservatives in Paris.

In 1994 Lord Astor was a British Parliamentary Observer in Johannesburg during the South African General Election. He was a member of the Executive Association of Conservative Peers from 1996 to 1998. In 1999 he was elected an Hereditary Peer.

From 1998 to 2001 he served as an Opposition Spokesman on Social Security, and Health from 1998 to 2003. From 2001 he has been an Opposition Spokesman for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and International Development, and from 2003 Defence.

Lord Astor is a Trustee of the Astor of Hever Trust, Chairman of the Rochester Cathedral Trust, and is also Patron of Westerham Sea Cadets.

He is President of Kent County Agricultural Society, the Earl Haig branch of the Royal British Legion, and the Motorsport Industry Association, and a former President of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Lord Astor is a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent and is married with one son and four daughters.

In May 2010 Lord Astor was appointed a Lord-in-Waiting.



Peter Luff MP has been confirmed as Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology.

Mr Luff was educated at Windsor Grammar School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he read Economics. Mr Luff worked from 1977 to 1980 for Peter, now Lord, Walker who was then MP for Worcester. He then went on to be head of private office to former Prime Minister the late Sir Edward Heath in the early 1980s.

After this Mr Luff became a successful businessman in the corporate communications industry. He has also been company secretary of his family's retail stationery firm.

In 1997 Mr Luff was appointed chairman of the Commons Agriculture Committee. In 2000 he joined the front bench as an Opposition Whip and served as Assistant Chief Whip from 2002 to 2005. Since the 2005 election, Mr Luff has been Chairman of the influential Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and its predecessors (the Trade and Industry and subsequently Business and Enterprise Committees).

Mr Luff was first elected as MP for Worcester in 1992 and then for the new Mid-Worcestershire seat in 1997. He lives in the county with his wife Julia. They have two grown-up children.

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Appointments, UK Ministry of Defence

House Armed Services Committee: schedule for the week of June 7 – June 11, 2010

House Armed Services Committee: schedule for the week of June 7 – June 11, 2010
Ike Skelton, Chairman
May 28, 2010

The House Armed Services Committee announces the following schedule for the week of June 7 – June 11, 2010:

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 – 1:00pm – 2212 Rayburn – Open

The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will meet to receive testimony on Interagency National Security Reform: Pragmatic Steps Towards a More Integrated Future.

Witnesses:

Mr. James R. Locher III
President and Chief Executive Officer
Project on National Security Reform

Ms. Janet A. St. Laurent
Managing Director
Defense Capabilities and Management
Government Accountability Office

Mr. Gordon Adams
Distinguished Fellow
The Henry L. Stimson Center

Dr. James R. Thompson
Associate Professor of Public Administration
University of Illinois – Chicago


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HASC (House Armed Services Committee), Schedule

Today in the Department of Defense, Monday, May 31, 2010

Today in the Department of Defense, Monday, May 31, 2010
May 28, 2010

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates has no public or media events on his schedule

Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn; Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen; Secretary of the Army John McHugh; Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli participate in the annual Tomb of the Unknowns wreath-laying ceremony, followed by remarks, at 11 a.m. EDT at Arlington National Cemetery.

Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen will make remarks at the Vietnam Memorial Day Observance at the Vietnam Memorial at 1 p.m. EDT.

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Department of Defense (DoD), Schedule

DOD CONTRACTS for May 28, 2010

DOD CONTRACTS for May 28, 2010
May 28, 2010

NAVY
Metro Machine Corp., Norfolk, Va., is being awarded an $114,045,809 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-4416) for USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) modernization, upgrades, preservations and alterations in support of the multi-ship multi-option (MSMO) mid-life extension. The LSD MSMO was developed to provide extended dry docking, modernization, upgrades, repairs and alterations to several shipboard systems such as the engineering control systems, power management platform, and chilled water distribution system for the LSD 41- and LSD 51-class amphibious landing ships. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va., and is expected to be completed by May 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $68,736,651 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Norfolk Naval Ship Support Activity, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.

L-3 Communications, EOTech, Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich., is being awarded a $25,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for an optical sighting system for the M4A1 carbine in support of the U.S. Special Operations Command's weapons accessories program. The optical sighting system will increase the operational effectiveness of the M4A1 carbine, M203 grenade launcher, and other special operations forces small arms. Work will be performed in Ann Arbor, Mich. and is expected to be completed by May 2015. Contract funds in the amount of $262,636 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not awarded on a competitive basis. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity (N00164-10-D-JN68).

Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $23,066,554 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-09-C-0007) for the procurement of 53 fiscal 2010 Tomahawk composite capsule launching system capsules. Work will be performed in Lincoln, Neb. (31.5 percent); Camden, Ark. (28.8 percent); Tucson, Ariz. (7.2 percent); Joplin, Mo. (7 percent); Carpentersville, Ill. (4.9 percent); Rocket Center, W.V. (4.7 percent); Hopkinton, Mass. (3.9 percent); Huntsville, Ala. (2 percent); Torrance, Calif. (1.5 percent); Los Alamitos, Calif. (1 percent); and various locations throughout the U.S. (7.5 percent). Work is expected to be completed in February 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Aviation Ground Equipment Corp.*, Freeport, N.Y., is being awarded a $16,986,180 fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of up to 200 mobile load banks capable of providing electrical loads for the maintenance and testing of aviation ground power units, including: five pilot production units and associated testing; technical and logistics data; and training. Work will be performed in Freeport, N.Y., and is expected to be completed in August 2014. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals as a 100-percent small business set-aside; five offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity (N68335-10-D-0014).

Raytheon Co., Network Centric Systems, Fort Wayne, Ind., is being awarded an $8,694,337 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide performance-based engineering services in support of the AN/ALQ-227 communication countermeasure systems for the EA-18G. Support services to be provided include systems engineering, test, product assurance, logistics, training and production. Work will be performed in Fort Wayne, Ind., and is expected to be completed in May 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity (N68936-10-D-0013).

MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY
John Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory (JPU/APL), Laurel, Md., is being awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract (HQ0006-07-D-0001) to task order #0016 with a total value of $10,000,000. Under this modification, JPU/APL will continue work on advanced technology initiatives by providing technical support to systems engineering and integration for assessments; studies and analyses of command and control; battles management and communications; fire control; missile engineering; combat systems; and space component and space systems. The work will be performed in Laurel, Md. The performance period for this work is from June 2010 through August 2010. Research, development, test and evaluation funding fiscal 2010 will be used to incrementally fund these efforts. The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity.

AIR FORCE
Booz Allen & Hamilton, Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded a $9,226,092 contract which will provide Air Force Materiel Command, 526th Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Systems Group technical analysis. At this time, $793,651 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-03-D-1380).

Boeing Co., Seal Beach, Calif., was awarded a $7,085,000 contract for services to support pre-launch, launch and post-launch activities through completion of on-orbit checkout for Space-Based Space Surveillance satellite. At this time, $7,000,000 has been obligated. SMC SYSW/PK, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity. (FA8819-08-C-0006)

Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Fla., was awarded a $5,986,457 contract which will sustain systems engineering support for the production and fielded systems of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range. At this time, $4,905,990 has been obligated. 308 ARSG/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contacting activity (FA8682-10-C-0016-P00004).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Genesis Vision, Inc.*, Rochester, N.Y., is being awarded a maximum $9,000,000 fixed-price with economic price adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the purchase of various optical frames and accessories using the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia electronic catalog system. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. The original proposal was Web-solicited with four responses. This contract has a base period with four one-year option periods. The date of performance completion is June 2, 2011. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM2DE-10-D-7545).

*Small business

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Contract win, Department of Defense (DoD)

Today in the Department of Defense, Sunday, May 30, 2010

Today in the Department of Defense, Sunday, May 30, 2010
May 28, 2010

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn have no public or media events on their schedules.

Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen will make remarks at the 2010 National Memorial Day concert and reception at 8 p.m. EDT on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Technorati Tags:
Department of Defense (DoD), Schedule

House Armed Services Committee: House Approves FY11 Defense Authorization Bill

House Armed Services Committee: House Approves FY11 Defense Authorization Bill
Ike Skelton, Chairman
May 28, 2010

Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 5136, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011, by a vote of 229 to 186.

“This year’s defense authorization bill makes record investments in our nation’s military, authorizing a $726 billion budget to further strengthen our national security, provide our men and women in uniform with the tools they need to do their jobs, and take care of our service members and their families. The bill provides the resources we need to sustain two wars today and be prepared for the wars of tomorrow – whenever and wherever they may be.

“This defense bill makes counterterrorism a priority, improving the ability of our military to protect themselves at home and abroad and providing them with the additional tools they need to disrupt, dismantle, and eventually defeat al Qaeda and its extremist allies. The bill increases funding to restore military readiness that has been strained by two wars, and also demonstrates our commitment to service members and their families by providing a pay raise and other benefits recognizing the personal sacrifices they make to keep our country safe and secure.

“This is an excellent bill and I want to thank the members of the House and particularly the members of the House Armed Services Committee for their efforts to make this the best bill possible for America’s national defense. Next, we await the Senate’s action on the defense authorization bill and look forward to sending a first-rate defense bill to the President for his signature.”

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Technorati Tags:
Defense Budget, HASC (House Armed Services Committee)

House Armed Services Committee: Skelton Praises Bill Providing Relief for Disabled Military Retirees

House Armed Services Committee: Skelton Praises Bill Providing Relief for Disabled Military Retirees
Ike Skelton, Chairman
May 28, 2010

Skelton Praises Bill Providing Relief for Disabled Military Retirees

Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) praised legislation approved in the House of Representatives today that makes strides toward ending the disabled veterans tax known as concurrent receipt.

“Ending the disabled veterans tax has been a key priority for Congress, the President, and for military and veterans service organizations. I am pleased this legislation brings us closer to providing the benefits disabled military retirees deserve and have earned. While there is still more work to do, this legislation is the critical first step on the path to full concurrent receipt for this most deserving group of military retirees,” said Skelton.

H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, includes a provision to provide full concurrent receipt of military retired pay paid by the Department of Defense and disability compensation paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs to those forced to prematurely leave their military careers due to disability retirement under chapter 61 of title 10, United States Code. The legislation ends the disabled veterans tax and provides full retirement and disability benefits to 77,000 of these disabled service members for two years, in anticipation of extending it to all 136,000 medically retired veterans over four years.

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HASC (House Armed Services Committee), Health Care

House Armed Services Committee: Skelton Pleased by Progress on U.S.-Japan Security Issues

House Armed Services Committee: Skelton Pleased by Progress on U.S.-Japan Security Issues
Ike Skelton, Chairman
May 28, 2010

Skelton Pleased by Progress on U.S.-Japan Security Issues

Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) released the following statement on progress related to the realignment of U.S. Marines from Japan to Guam reflected by the Joint Statement of the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee:

“I am pleased that Japan and the United States have committed to a way forward for the realignment of U.S. Marines from Japan to Guam. I support the two sides’ reaffirmation of commitments regarding a Futenma replacement facility, and I am glad to see a common-sense approach to shared objectives involving environmental, training, land use and other issues. Today’s joint statement on these matters reaffirms the strength and vitality of the U.S.-Japan alliance at a time when North Korea’s aggression demands nothing less. I commend the President and the Government of Japan on their efforts to further strengthen the ties between our great nations.”

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HASC (House Armed Services Committee), Japan

General Dynamics Chairman and CEO Johnson to Speak at Investor Conference

General Dynamics Chairman and CEO Johnson to Speak at Investor Conference
May 28, 2010

FALLS CHURCH, Va., -General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jay L. Johnson will speak at the Sanford Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York on Friday, June 4th, at 8 a.m. ET.

General Dynamics will provide a live webcast of the presentation. A replay will be available after the live presentation.

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General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)

Boeing GPS IIF-1 Satellite Sends 1st Signals from Space

Boeing GPS IIF-1 Satellite Sends 1st Signals from Space
May 28, 2010

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., - Boeing [NYSE: BA] has acquired the first on-orbit signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-1 satellite, the inaugural spacecraft in a 12-satellite constellation that the company is building for the U.S. Air Force. The signals indicate that the spacecraft bus is functioning normally and ready to begin orbital maneuvers and operational testing.

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket launched the GPS IIF-1 satellite at 11 p.m. Eastern time on May 27 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. At 2:33 a.m., the satellite separated from the rocket's upper stage, and a ground station on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean received the first signals from the newest member of the Air Force's GPS satellite constellation. The Air Force 19th Space Operations Squadron and Boeing's Mission Operations Support Center in El Segundo, Calif., confirmed that the satellite is healthy. GPS signals from the spacecraft payload will be turned on for test purposes in the coming weeks.

GPS is the U.S. Department of Defense's largest satellite constellation, with 30 spacecraft on orbit. The GPS IIF satellites will provide more precise and powerful signals, a longer design life, and many other benefits to nearly 1 billion civilian and military users worldwide.

"The inaugural launch of the GPS IIF-1 is a milestone in Boeing's 30 years of support to the Air Force that goes back to the first days of this program," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems. "The new GPS IIF satellites bring key improvements, including a more jam-resistant military signal, a new civil signal to enhance commercial aviation and search-and-rescue operations, and significantly improved signal accuracy as more of these new satellites go into operation."

The GPS IIF-1 satellite will undergo months of on-orbit tests, including functional testing of its payloads and end-to-end system testing to verify operability with older GPS satellites, ground receivers, and the ground control system.

Boeing has production of the next 11 GPS IIF satellites well under way as it implements an innovative pulse-line manufacturing approach that will help deliver the satellite fleet on schedule. Adapted from Boeing aircraft and helicopter assembly lines, the Boeing GPS IIF pulse line efficiently moves satellites under development from one work area to the next in a steady, pulse-like rhythm. The second GPS IIF satellite is scheduled for launch later this year.

Boeing's legacy with GPS includes development of the current GPS ground control infrastructure, the Operational Control Segment (OCS), which has supported an expanding set of GPS services and capabilities since 2007. Boeing also is a member of the Raytheon team that recently won a contract to build the next version of the ground segment, which will support current and future GPS satellites.

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Technorati Tags:
Boeing (NYSE:BA), Space systems

SELEX Galileo’s latest sensor systems on show at UK MoD trials

SELEX Galileo’s latest sensor systems on show at UK MoD trials
May 28, 2010

On the 26 May, SELEX Galileo, a Finmeccanica Company, played a key part in the UK
Ministry of Defence (MoD)’s trials being carried out under the Electro-Magnetic Remote
Sensing (EMRS) Defence Technology Centre (DTC). Since the start of the DTC initiative in
2003, SELEX Galileo has led the EMRS DTC consortium’s efforts to manage this £42M collaborative research programme, a key building block in the UK's military sensing research programme.

Working closely with the UK MoD and a range of UK Industry partners, the trials involved the Company gathering data from a number of its latest sensors with a view to improving the
technology behind them. SELEX Galileo also proved new ways of exploiting the data
collected from the Company and partner’s sensors for the benefit of troops on the ground.
The trials provided an important opportunity for partners in Government and Industry to work together to solve some of the problems facing troops in the field. SELEX Galileo’s
participation in the trials is a confirmation of the Company’s commitment to research for the development of new technologies able to give troops the situational awareness they need.

The MoD’s event included a range of static and dynamic scenarios including those relating to the IED life-cycle and its disruption, as well as the tracking of ground targets, with SELEX Galileo being involved in trials covering both air and ground sensing capabilities. The air trials included the Company’s proven PicoSAR Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, while the ground trials involved the Company’s Burst Illumination Ladar (BIL), the state-of-the-art Harrier thermal imaging camera and Nexsense C chemical detector.

SELEX Galileo’s PicoSAR radar was integrated into two helicopters, each radar being
teamed with an Industrial partner’s surveillance turret. As well as collecting data for future research use, the output from the two PicoSAR radars was then exploited by a SELEX
Galileo-UK Industry team to provide a dual-radar Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI)
capability to more accurately track land vehicles.

On the ground, SELEX Galileo’s BIL, which provides increased target identification ranges
during the day and at night, operated in both 2D and 3D active imaging modes. New
techniques designed to improve imaging through atmospheric turbulence such as heat haze
were then evaluated by another collaboration between SELEX Galileo and UK Industry. The
Nexsense C chemical detector also collected data for use in future efforts to improve the
system.

Notes to editors:
Electo-Magnetic Remote Sensing (EMRS) Defence Technology Centre (DTC) is a partnership between the UK MoD, industry and the science base working to develop military sensing technology for future defence needs. Formed in 2003, the EMRS DTC is managed by an industrial consortium led by SELEX Galileo. The EMRS DTC industrial consortium

comprises: SELEX Galileo Ltd, Thales UK Ltd, BAE Systems Insyte and Roke Manor
Research Ltd PicoSAR, the compact and lightweight ground surveillance AESA radar, provides all-weather surveillance for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), fixed-wing and helicopter Platforms.

Technorati Tags:
C4ISTAR, Selex, UK Ministry of Defence

Boeing NewGen Tanker Win Would Bring 4,500 Jobs, $233 Million to California

Boeing NewGen Tanker Win Would Bring 4,500 Jobs, $233 Million to California
May 27, 2010

ST. LOUIS, - The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that California will benefit from approximately 4,500 jobs with nearly 100 companies and an estimated $233 million in annual economic impact if the Boeing NewGen Tanker is selected as the U.S. Air Force's next aerial refueling aircraft.

"Californians have played a key role in many of America’s most important defense programs, and we’ll need their help to build a fleet of NewGen Tankers if we win this critical U.S. Air Force contract," said Mark DeVoss, Supplier Management director, Boeing Tanker Programs.

California manufacturers ready to produce critical components on the NewGen Tanker include:

- Alarin Aircraft Hinge Inc., Commerce -- aircraft hinges
- ITT Industries, Valencia -- adapter shaft assemblies, actuators and valves
- Lamsco West Inc., Santa Clarita -- engineered details, standards and laminated sheet
- Raytheon, El Segundo -- military GPS, Radar Warning Receivers
- Sonic Industries, Torrance -- specialty high-strength fasteners
- Tuffer Manufacturing, Anaheim -- machined parts.

"We are proud to work with our partner of more than 40 years as part of the Boeing NewGen Tanker team that will support our troops with high-quality aerospace products," said Steve Griffith, vice president, Lamsco West Inc. "In addition to strengthening national defense, we know that the work we do here at Lamsco West also supports hundreds of highly skilled, high-paying jobs in Santa Clarita and surrounding communities."

Boeing currently has nearly 25,000 employees in California supporting a variety of programs and works with 5,700 suppliers/vendors across the state, resulting in an estimated $6.2 billion in annual economic impact.

The NewGen Tanker is a widebody, multi-mission aircraft based on the proven Boeing 767 commercial airplane and updated with the latest and most advanced technology. Capable of fulfilling the Air Force's needs for transport of fuel, cargo, passengers and patients, the combat-ready NewGen Tanker is being offered as a replacement for 179 KC-135 aircraft. Boeing is writing a proposal to meet or exceed the 372 mandatory requirements described in the service's final KC-X Request for Proposal released on Feb. 24. The Air Force is expected to award a contract later this year.

The NewGen Tanker will be made with a low-risk approach to manufacturing that relies on existing Boeing facilities in Washington state and Kansas as well as U.S. suppliers throughout the nation, with decades of experience delivering dependable military tanker and derivative aircraft. Nationwide, the NewGen Tanker program will support approximately 50,000 total U.S. jobs with Boeing and more than 800 suppliers in more than 40 states.

The Boeing NewGen Tanker also will be more cost-effective to own and operate than a larger, heavier tanker. It will save American taxpayers more than $10 billion in fuel costs over its 40-year service life because it burns 24 percent less fuel than the competitor's airplane.

Boeing has been designing, building, modifying and supporting tankers for decades. These include the KC-135 that will be replaced in the KC-X competition, and the KC-10 fleet. The company also has delivered four KC-767Js to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and is on contract to deliver four KC-767s to the Italian Air Force. Three of the four Italian tankers are in flight test, with the fourth airplane in production.

More information on Boeing's NewGen Tanker, including video clips and an interactive tour of the aircraft, is available at www.UnitedStatesTanker.com. For more information on joining the company's efforts, visit www.RealAmericanTankers.com.

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Boeing (NYSE:BA), KC-767 Tanker

Boeing Receives 1st F-16 for Conversion into QF-16 Aerial Drone

Boeing Receives 1st F-16 for Conversion into QF-16 Aerial Drone
May 27, 2010

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., - The first retired F-16 Falcon arrived at Boeing's [NYSE: BA] Cecil Field facility in Jacksonville on April 22 to begin conversion into a QF-16 aerial drone. Boeing received a $69.7 million contract from the U.S. Air Force on March 8 for the first phase of the QF-16 program.

The Boeing-led team, which includes BAE Systems, will begin engineering, manufacturing and development of the full-scale manned and unmanned QF-16s during Phase 1. The drones will be used as aerial targets for newly developed weapons and tactics. They will be a higher-performing aircraft than the QF-4s they will replace.

The team will receive six F-16s during the program's development phase. After modification to the QF-16 configuration, they will serve as prototypes for engineering tests and evaluation prior to low-rate initial production. Up to 126 QF-16 drones will be converted beginning in 2014.

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Technorati Tags:
Boeing (NYSE:BA), F-16 Falcon, Military Training

Northrop Grumman Selected to Supply National Maintenance Services and Logistic Support to the Federal Aviation Administration

Northrop Grumman Selected to Supply National Maintenance Services and Logistic Support to the Federal Aviation Administration
May 27, 2010

ELKRIDGE, Md. - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) to provide national maintenance services and logistic support of several critical FAA communications products and systems, including the Integrated Communications Switching System (ICSS), Rapid Deployment Voice Switching System (RDVS), Enhanced Terminal Voice Switch (ETVS), and Small Tower Voice Switch (STVS).

Under the terms of the contract, Northrop Grumman will ensure the existing communications systems, hardware, firmware, and documentation are supported into the year 2015. The company will supply round-the-clock technical assistance support, including next day delivery of critical repairs. The-five year contract encompasses one base year and four additional one-year options with a not-to-exceed value of $32 million.

"We have been providing air traffic control services to the FAA and Department of Defense for over 40 years," said John Jadik, vice president of Communications, Intelligence and Networking Solutions for Northrop Grumman's Land and Self Protection Systems Division. "With this latest contract award, pilot and air traffic control specialist communications will be enhanced, thanks to Northrop Grumman's Commercial Repair Center, a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to providing accelerated service and support turnaround time. In addition, the FAA will gain access to expertise in net-centric hardware, information technology, security and other air traffic control mission critical services, all focused on increasing the safety of the flying public."

The ICSS, RDVS, ETVS and STVS systems are the primary communications links between air traffic controllers and air crews onboard commercial aircraft. To date, Northrop Grumman has delivered more than 1,400 voice communications systems and over 600 Digital Voice Recorder Systems (DVRS) to customers worldwide.

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Technorati Tags:
Civil Aviation, Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)

Northrop Grumman Doubles Frequency of Fastest Reported Integrated Circuit

Northrop Grumman Doubles Frequency of Fastest Reported Integrated Circuit
May 27, 2010

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. - Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has set a new electronics performance record with a Terahertz Monolithic Integrated Circuit (TMIC) operating at 0.67 terahertz (THz), or 0.67 trillion cycles per second.

Developed at the company's Simon Ramo Microelectronics Center under a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Terahertz Electronics program, this new performance record more than doubles the frequency of the fastest reported integrated circuit.

Dr. William Deal, THz Electronics program manager for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector, detailed the performance of this new TMIC amplifier today at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) International Microwave Symposium being held in Anaheim, Calif. He told fellow scientists that the TMIC amplifier is the first of its kind operating at 670 GHz.

"A variety of applications exist at these frequencies. These devices could double the bandwidth, or information carrying capacity, for future military communications networks. TMIC amplifiers will enable more sensitive radar and produce sensors with highly improved resolution," said Deal.

His technical paper is available online.

The goal of DARPA's Terahertz Electronics program is to develop the critical device and integration technologies necessary to realize compact, high-performance, electronic circuits that operate at center frequencies exceeding 1.0 THz. Managed by DARPA's Microsystems Technology Office, the program focuses on two areas – terahertz high-power amplifier modules, and terahertz transistor electronics.

"The success of the THz Electronics program will lead to revolutionary applications such as THz imaging systems, sub-mm-wave ultra-wideband ultra-high-capacity communication links, and sub-mm-wave single-chip widely-tunable synthesizers for explosive detection spectroscopy," according to Dr. John Albrecht, THz Electronics program manager for DARPA.

A transistor amplifier magnifies input signals to yield a significantly larger output signal. In 2007, Northrop Grumman set a new world record for transistor speed with an ultra-fast device to provide much higher frequency and bandwidth capabilities for future military communications, radar and intelligence applications.

The company produced and demonstrated an indium phosphide-based High Electron Mobility Transistor (InP HEMT) with a maximum frequency of operation of more than 1,000 gigahertz, or greater than one terahertz.

# # #

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Information Technology, Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)

DOD CONTRACTS for May 27, 2010

DOD CONTRACTS for May 27, 2010
May 27, 2010

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Sterlingwear of Boston, Inc.*, Boston, Mass. is being awarded a maximum $36,700,000 firm-fixed-price, total set-aside, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for men's and women's overcoats. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Air Force. The original proposal was Web solicited with five responses. The date of performance completion is Nov. 27, 2011. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM1C1-10-D-1077).

Aviall Services, Dallas, Texas, is being awarded a maximum $17,325,000 firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract for helicopter engine parts. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Army. There was one proposal originally solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is May 30, 2013. The Defense Logistics Agency Philadelphia (DSCR-AHB), Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (SPRRA1-10-D-0015).

AIR FORCE
Alion Science and Technology Corp., Chicago, Ill., was awarded a $24,761,763 contract which will provide for research development for Air Force Research Laboratory for critical live, virtual and constructive environments. At this time, $99,206 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (N61339-03-D-0300, Delivery Order 0246).

Alion Science and Technology Corp., Chicago, Ill., was awarded a $24,251,273 contract which will provide research and engineering integration of Department of Defense manned and unmanned ground vehicle systems. At this time, $4,405,506 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (N61339-03-D-0300, Delivery Order 0248).

Wyle Laboratories, Huntsville, Ala., was awarded a $23,809,521 contract which will conduct engineering, analysis and testing tasks to facilitate a reliability improvement, parts obsolescence problems, and identify corrective actions that can be taken to eliminate or control problems. At this time, $125,984 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (HC1047-05-D-4005).

Booz Allen & Hamilton, Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded a $12,321,308 contract which will provide Joint Program Analysis and Integration Office survivability/vulnerability scientific and technical analysis. At this time, $3,214,286 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-03-D-1380).

Booz Allen & Hamilton, Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded an $11,904,222 contract which will provide survivability/vulnerability analysis and assessment. At this time, $347,222 has been obligated. 55 CONS/LGCD, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., is the contracting activity (SP0700-98-D-4002, Delivery Order 0410).

Raytheon Co., Intelligence and Information Systems, Reston, Va., was awarded an $11,350,052 contract which will provide Transportable Ground Receive Suite terminals. At this time, no funds have been obligated. 653 ELSG/KCK, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (FA8628-06-C-2066 P00072).

L-3 Services, Inc., Herndon, Va., was awarded a $6,050,543 contract which will provide intelligence analysis; operations and planning; targeting; collection management; support analysis and production support; and information systems sustainment support in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. 700 CONS/LGCD, Kapaun Air Station, Germany, is the contracting activity (FA5613-09-D-5000-0016).

NAVY
TolTest, Inc., Maumee, Ohio, is being awarded $8,644,201 for firm-fixed-price task order #0005 under a multiple-award construction contract (N69450-08-D-1283) for design and construction to replace a JP-5 fuel storage tank at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay. The proposed work includes replacement of the fuel storage tank, backup diesel generator, tank stilling wells, and paved dike access road. Work will be performed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and is expected to be completed by November 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity.

L-3 Communications Corp., Arlington, Texas, is being awarded a $10,686,851 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-04-D-0110) for additional logistics support services for the Navy's C-40A aircraft fleet. Services to be provided include site activation; site support at Naval Air Station (NAS) Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Fort Worth, Texas, NAS Jacksonville, Fla., and NAS North Island, Calif.; inventory management and support, to include tracking and control of government- and contractor-owned inventory; depot-level support, scheduled and unscheduled; drop-in maintenance; component repair and overhaul of government- and contractor-owned inventory; replacement of government- and contractor-owned inventory; contractor field teams; and engine condition monitoring. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (22 percent); NAS Jacksonville, Fla. (22 percent); NAS North Island, Calif. (22 percent); Oklahoma City, Okla. (20 percent); Arlington, Texas (8 percent); and Tulsa, Okla. (6 percent). Work is expected to be completed in November 2010. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a $7,079,047 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-07-D-0004) to exercise an option for the VH-60N executive helicopter special progressive aircraft rework induction. Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn., and is expected to be completed in September 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $7,079,047 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $6,376,999 firm-fixed-price delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) for the procurement of 144 kits in support of engineering change proposal #6282, "Fatigue Test Article 50/Fatigue Test Article 77 Post-Cost Reduction Initiative Inner Wing Retrofit Out of Warranty Kits," for the F/A-18E/F aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed in January 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

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Contract win, Department of Defense (DoD)

Raytheon Company Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend

Raytheon Company Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend
May 27, 2010

WALTHAM, Mass., - Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.375 cents per outstanding share of common stock. The cash dividend is payable on August 12, 2010 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 6, 2010.

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Financial Results, Raytheon (NYSE:RTN)

DOD Announces Units for Upcoming Rotation to Afghanistan

DOD Announces Units for Upcoming Rotation to Afghanistan
May 27, 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the alert of replacement forces scheduled to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The announcement involves two brigades of Army National Guard consisting of approximately 7,000 personnel.

Specific units alerted are:

37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Ohio Army National Guard

45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Okla. Army National Guard

The units will replace redeploying units, with no increase in overall force levels. They are currently scheduled to begin their deployment in the summer of 2011 and are receiving alert orders now in order to provide the maximum time to complete preparations. It also provides a greater measure of predictability for family members and flexibility for employers to plan for military service of their employees.

The 37th and 45th IBCTs will deploy to Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations in partnership with the Afghan National Security Forces.

DoD will continue to announce major unit deployments as they are identified and those units are alerted.

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Afghanistan, National Guard

Lockheed Martin to Webcast CEO Presentation at Investor Conference

Lockheed Martin to Webcast CEO Presentation at Investor Conference
May 27, 2010

BETHESDA, Md., -Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) will webcast live a presentation by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bob Stevens, at Sanford C. Bernstein's Twenty-sixth Annual Strategic Decisions Conference on Thurs., June 3, 2010.

Mr. Stevens will present on behalf of Lockheed Martin from 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. EDT. He will highlight the Corporation's performance, as well as its pursuit of a continued growth strategy. An audio replay will be available for two weeks.

Access the webcast and replay.

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Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)

Boeing CEO McNerney to Speak at Bernstein Conference on June 3

Boeing CEO McNerney to Speak at Bernstein Conference on June 3
May 27, 2010

CHICAGO, - Boeing (NYSE: BA) Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney will speak at the 26th Annual Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York on June 3rd at approximately 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

McNerney's remarks will be broadcast live. Individuals should check the website prior to the event to ensure their computers are configured for the audio stream.

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Boeing (NYSE:BA)

US Army General Officer Assignment

US Army General Officer Assignment
May 27, 2010

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced today that the President has nominated Army Lt. Gen. Francis H. Kearney III, for reappointment to the rank of lieutenant general and assignment as deputy director for Strategic Operational Planning Directorate, National Counter Terrorism Center, Washington, D.C. Kearney is currently serving as deputy commander, U. S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

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Appointments, US Army

Northrop Grumman's Robert Brammer and the Cybersecurity Research Consortium Address Critical Need for Emerging Technologies in Cybersecurity

Northrop Grumman's Robert Brammer and the Cybersecurity Research Consortium Address Critical Need for Emerging Technologies in Cybersecurity
May 27, 2010

OMAHA, Neb. - Dr. Robert Brammer, Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Information Systems Sector vice president and chief technology officer, led a panel calling for increased collaboration in cybersecurity research addressing a critical and immediate national need at the Annual Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) STRATCOM Cyberspace Symposium.

Other panel participants included members of the Northrop Grumman Cybersecurity Research Consortium, Dr. Tom Knight, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Dr. Eugene Spafford, Purdue University. Also participating in the panel was Dr. Michael Van Putte, DARPA.

During the panel discussion, the participants addressed the urgent national need for increased cybersecurity research and development for emerging technologies in these areas. The participants also discussed the programs currently in progress to help address this need.

"We see some promising emerging technologies in many of the areas that our Cybersecurity Research Consortium is addressing," said Brammer. "Substantial work by the government, industry, and academia is needed to realize the potential of these technologies for large-scale implementations that will have national impact."

Northrop Grumman established the Cybersecurity Research Consortium in 2009 to help develop leap-ahead technologies in the cybersecurity field. The consortium includes Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, and Purdue. The research conducted through the consortium spans many areas of cybersecurity, defined as protection of information and information systems on networks. These areas include hardware and software security, privacy, simulation of cyber attacks and defenses, protection of critical national infrastructures, and others. Currently, the consortium is involved in 10 projects at the member universities with complementary research projects at Northrop Grumman.

The Cybersecurity Research Consortium is just one of the initiatives that Northrop Grumman is taking to help develop advances in cyber technology. Earlier this month, the company announced that it would be the presenting sponsor of the Air Force Association's CyberPatriot III competition. CyberPatriot is a national high school cyber defense competition designed to excite, educate, and motivate the next generation of cyber defenders. Through this sponsorship, Northrop Grumman will be recognizing its responsibility to helping develop cybersecurity leaders and promoting new technological advances.

Northrop Grumman is an industry leader in all aspects of computer network operations and cybersecurity, offering customers innovative solutions to help secure the nation's cyber future. For more about cybersecurity at Northrop Grumman.

# # #

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Information Technology, Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)

House Armed Services Committee: Skelton remarks on H.R. 5136, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011

House Armed Services Committee: Skelton remarks on H.R. 5136, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011
Ike Skelton, Chairman
May 27, 2010

Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) delivered the following remarks during general debate on H.R. 5136, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011:

“Madam Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 5136, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011. I am pleased to be joined here today with my friend, Buck McKeon. Buck has been a true partner in this effort to bring forward a bipartisan bill that addresses the national security needs of our country. The committee passed the defense authorization bill by a vote of 59 to 0.

“H.R. 5136 authorizes $567 billion in budget authority for the Department of Defense (DoD) and the national security programs of the Department of Energy (DoE). The bill also authorizes $159 billion to support ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan during fiscal year 2011. These amounts are essentially equal to the President’s budget request for items in the jurisdiction of the Armed Services Committee.

“H.R. 5136 continues Congress’s deep commitment to supporting U.S. service members and their families and to provide the necessary resources to keep Americans safe. The bill provides our military personnel a 1.9 percent pay raise, an increase of 0.5 percent above the President’s request. The bill also includes a number of initiatives to support military families, including extending health care coverage to adult dependent children up to age 26. We also have the single most comprehensive legislative proposal to address sexual assault in the military.

“The bill also fully funds the President’s budget request for military training, equipment maintenance, and facilities upkeep, which continues the committee’s efforts to address readiness shortfalls that have developed over previous years. The bill provides an increase of $12 billion above the fiscal year 2010 budget for operation and maintenance, including $345 million to fully fund the first increment of construction necessary to modernize DOD schools, $13.6 billion for training of all active-duty and reserve forces to increase readiness, and an increase of $500 million for day-to-day operations of Army bases, which has a direct impact on our soldiers. It also provides an increase of $700 million above the Administration’s budget to address the equipment shortfalls in National Guard and Reserve units

“The war in Afghanistan is a critical mission that is essential to our national security. To ensure that our strategies in both Iraq and Afghanistan are effective and achieve the intended goals within well-defined timelines, the bill requires the President to assess U.S. efforts and regularly report on progress, including providing timelines by which he plans to achieve his goals. It also extends the authorization of the Pakistan Counter-Insurgency Fund through fiscal year 2011 to allow commanders to help Pakistan quickly and more effectively go after terrorist safe havens. The bill also provides $1.6 billion for coalition support fund to reimburse nations that are providing logistical, military and other support to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“On Iraq, the bill upholds Congress’s responsibility to provide oversight to the process of drawing down the mountain of material purchased, transported, and built up in Iraq at tremendous expense to the taxpayer.

“In the area of nonproliferation, the bill continues our focus on keeping weapons of mass destruction and related materials out of the hands of terrorists, and strengthens our nonproliferation programs and activities. The bill increases funding for the Department of Energy’s nonproliferation programs, and adds funding to continue the Administration’s plan to secure and remove all known vulnerable nuclear materials that can be used for weapons.

“There are lots of other good things in this bill, which my colleagues will cover. I want to recognize the members of the House Armed Services Committee for their contributions in making this bill one of the best that the committee has put forward in recent years.

“Madam Speaker, our nation has been at war for nearly a decade. Our troops are worn and their families are tired and the nation recognizes their sacrifices. This bill addresses many of the concerns that they have raised. I urge my colleagues to support our troops and their families, and vote for the defense authorization bill.”

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Defense Budget, HASC (House Armed Services Committee)

General Dynamics Awarded FAA SE2020 Systems Engineering Contract to Support NextGen Modernization

General Dynamics Awarded FAA SE2020 Systems Engineering Contract to Support NextGen Modernization
May 27, 2010

FAIRFAX, Va., --General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) has been selected as one of three large-business contractors for the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) System Engineering 2020 Research and Development/Mission Analysis Support program. The ten-year contract awarded to General Dynamics has a maximum potential value of $1.2 billion if all options are exercised. Funding will be awarded through individual task orders.

Through this program, General Dynamics will support the FAA's NextGen modernization program to improve safety and bring greater efficiencies to the U.S. airspace system by providing research and development and systems engineering services. The work will focus on achieving or improving a series of operational capabilities, including trajectory-based operations; increased arrivals and departures at high-density airports; increased flexibility in the terminal environment; improved collaborative air-traffic management; advanced flight-deck technologies; reduced weather impact; improved safety, security and environmental performance; and facility transformations.

Marcus Collier, senior vice president of General Dynamics Information Technology, said, "The General Dynamics team - which includes Gulfstream Aerospace and Jet Aviation, who are among the aerospace industry's leading aircraft manufacturing and business-aviation service support organizations - is uniquely qualified to deliver innovative and timely solutions to help the FAA quickly achieve NextGen objectives to modernize and upgrade IT infrastructure, systems and equipment for 21st century requirements."

The General Dynamics team will perform mission-analysis support in such areas as air traffic management automation, airplane design and analysis, avionic systems operations and maintenance, cost-benefit analysis, National Airspace System (NAS) security, large-scale demonstrations and NAS air- traffic facility certification. The company will provide systems integration, development and operations expertise, modeling and simulation, and ground and air-based information and communications systems upgrades.

The FAA's Air Traffic Control and Next Generation (NextGen) modernization program will require major updates and modernization for aircraft, air traffic control facilities and airport technologies to improve the safety, capacity and efficiency of the country's airspace.

The General Dynamics team includes General Dynamics Information Technology, General Dynamics C4 Systems, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, and Jet Aviation. In addition, General Dynamics has assembled a strong team of 24 other companies that represent the most skilled experts in air traffic control, aviation and information technology.

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Civil Aviation, Contract win, General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)

Lockheed Martin Awarded Contract for Kuwait Air Force KC-130J Tankers

Lockheed Martin Awarded Contract for Kuwait Air Force KC-130J Tankers
May 27, 2010

MARIETTA, Ga., -Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has received a $245 million contract from the U.S. Government for the Foreign Military Sale of three KC-130J tanker aircraft to Kuwait. The program will be managed by the U.S. Navy.

The Kuwait Air Force's new KC-130Js will provide aerial refueling for its F18 fleet and augment its current airlift fleet of three Lockheed Martin L-100s. Kuwait's KC-130Js also will perform air mobility, disaster relief and humanitarian missions throughout the world.

"We are proud to add yet another country to the growing worldwide C-130J community," said Jim Grant, Lockheed Martin vice president for C-130 business development. "The combination of tanking and airlift missions yet again shows the tremendous versatility of this proven aircraft. KC-130Js have been used in high-tempo operations for the last five years and will provide Kuwait with an effective, efficient and reliable multi-mission capability."

Kuwait's first KC-130J delivery is scheduled for late 2013, with deliveries completed in early 2014. Using only wing and external tanks, the KC-130J has a 57,500 pound fuel offload capability. The KC-130J is configured to accept a fuselage tank, adding another 24,392 pounds of available fuel. The standard probe-and-drogue configuration of the KC-130J is suited for both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. In addition to aerial and ground refueling, the KC-130J has the same airlift capability as non-tanker variants - including airdrop and paradrop.

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C-130 Hercules, Contract win, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)

Today in the Department of Defense, Thursday, May 27, 2010

Today in the Department of Defense, Thursday, May 27, 2010
May 26, 2010

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn have no public or media events on their schedules.

Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen will deliver the commencement address at St Mary's High School, 113 Duke of Gloucester St. Annapolis, Md., at 10:30 a.m. EDT.

Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen will be honored at the 2010 Gold Star Wives Congressional Reception at noon EDT at the Congressional Visitor Center Atrium and Auditorium.

Technorati Tags:
Department of Defense (DoD), Schedule

DOD CONTRACTS for May 26, 2010

DOD CONTRACTS for May 26, 2010
May 26, 2010

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Science Application International Corp., Fairfield, N.J., is being awarded a maximum $50,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for maintenance, repair and operations of supplies. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. The original proposal was Web solicited with six responses. This contract is exercising the fifth option-year period. The date of performance completion is May 30 2011. The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM500-04-D-BP06).

Northrop Grumman Corp., El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a maximum $11,220,000 firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract for aircraft rudders in support of the F-18 aircraft. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Navy. There was one proposal originally solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is July 31, 2013. The Defense Logistics Agency Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (N00383-06-G-032D-THCU).

NAVY
Mandex, Inc.*, Fairfax, Va. (N65236-10-D-6831), and Systems Applications & Solutions, LLC*, Charleston, S.C. (N65236-10-D-6832), are each being awarded a $9,555,712 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity performance-based multiple-award contract for integrated electronic security systems support services. Services that may be ordered under these contracts include the overall sustainment, integration and upgrades of existing systems, including any system that automates what would alternatively require manpower to accomplish; security systems; surveillance systems; automated fuel systems; and similar systems. These contracts include a one-year base period and four one-year option periods making the total potential period of performance five years. The total aggregate value of all task orders awarded over the life of these two contracts combined will be approximately $47,680,000, covering a maximum of approximately 500,000 staff hours over the five-year period of performance. Each contractor will be awarded $12,500 at the time of award. These two contractors may compete for the task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C. (25 percent), Norfolk, Va. (20 percent), and other government installations (55 percent), and is expected to be completed May 2011. If all options are exercised, work could continue until May 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The multiple award contracts were competitively procured under a 100-percent small business set-aside via the the Federal Business Opportunities and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command E-commerce Web sites, with four offers received. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic is the contracting activity.

Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-5432) to establish contract line item ceiling worth $36,666,667 (cost-plus-fixed fee) for May 2010 through December 2010 for Evolved Sea Sparrow missile production support and technical engineering. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz. (45 percent); Camden, Ark. (2 percent); Andover, Mass. (10 percent); Australia (11 percent); Canada (7 percent); Denmark (1 percent); Greece (1 percent); Germany (8 percent); The Netherlands (6 percent); Norway (5 percent); Spain (3 percent); and Turkey (1 percent. Work is expected to be completed by December 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $936,401 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, LLC, Madison, Miss., is being awarded an $18,074,568 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery requirements contract (N00019-04-D-0131) to provide for additional logistics services and materials for organizational, intermediate and depot-level maintenance of 13 T39N and 6 T-39G aircraft located at the Naval Air Station (NAS), Pensacola, Fla. In addition, this modification provides for aircraft intermediate maintenance services in support of Chief of Naval Air Training aircraft and transient aircraft at NAS Pensacola, Fla., and NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. The estimated level of effort for this modification is 72,657 man-hours. Work will be performed in Pensacola, Fla. (75 percent), and Corpus Christi, Texas (25 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Hourigan Construction Corp., Virginia Beach, Va., is being awarded a $10,898,000 firm-fixed-price contract for developing design documents and construction to repair airfield pavements to runway 5L/23R at Naval Air Station Oceana. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Va., and is expected to be completed by August 2013. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site, with three proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity (N40085-10-C-3007).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Rolling Meadows, Ill., is being awarded a $7,196,706 delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-08-G-0012) for non-recurring engineering associated with the upgrade of the fiscal 2010 AN/AAQ-24(V)25 missile warning sensors and processor software, including the production, test and delivery of additional features. Work will be performed in Rolling Meadows, Ill, and is expected to be completed in May 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

EDO Communications and Countermeasures Systems, Thousand Oaks, Calif., is being awarded a $6,871,194 cost-plus-fixed fee contract under basic ordering agreement N00164-10-G-WQ22 for depot repair support for the Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (CREW) vehicle receiver jammer systems that are fielded in theater. The CREW vehicle receiver jammer systems are used to counter the continuous and evolving improvised explosive device threat as it becomes known in theater. Work will be performed in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and is expected to be completed in September 2014. Initial funding in the amount of $250,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity.

Clayton International, Inc.*, Peachtree City, Ga., is being awarded a $6,332,010 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-10-D-0013) to perform inspections, repairs and related services in support of H-3 helicopters for the governments of Egypt, Peru and Argentina. Work will be performed in Peachtree City, Ga., and is expected to be completed in December 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the governments of Egypt ($2,849,405; 45 percent), Peru ($2,216,203; 35 percent), and Argentina ($1,266,402; 20 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

AIR FORCE
ITT Corp., Systems Division, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., was awarded a $7,642,042 contract which will provide integration services to support the launch and range systems wing spacelift range systems contract to install additional hardware to an existing string of telemetry equipment at the Oak Mountain B Site at the Western Range in Vandenberg, Calif. The entire amount has been obligated. SMC/LRSW/PK, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity (F04701-01-C-0001).

*Small business

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Contract win, Department of Defense (DoD)

Lockheed Martin Dedicates New PAC-3 Missile Facility in Camden, Arkansas

Lockheed Martin Dedicates New PAC-3 Missile Facility in Camden, Arkansas
26 May, 2010 2:02 PM

CAMDEN, Ark., -Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) dedicated the expansion of its state-of-the-art Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile production complex in Camden, AR, during a ribbon cutting ceremony today. The company anticipates that the new facility will allow for continued production expansion and modest employment growth over the next several years.

The new 72,000 square-foot PAC-3 All Up Round (AUR) II building is located on Camden Operations' campus adjacent to the existing 52,000-square-foot PAC-3 AUR I facility.

"The dedication of the new building marks our continued investment in the state of Arkansas and Lockheed Martin's commitment to developing and manufacturing the PAC-3 Missile here in Camden," said Glenn David Woods, site director of Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control's Camden Operations. "Our Camden employees are proud to play a pivotal role in producing the world's most advanced terminal air defense missile that serves our Warfighters in their defining moments."

"This expansion reaffirms our strong commitment to the U.S. Army and the Camden community," said Richard McDaniel, director of the PAC-3 Programs for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "Through this expansion, we will be able to maintain the high level of quality and performance that our customers demand and accommodate future program growth."

Camden Operations is the final assembly site for the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) line of launchers and precision-strike guided rockets; the transformational High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher; the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Launcher and Fire Control System; and the PAC-3 Missile, currently the world's only fielded, combat-proven terminal air defense missile employing hit-to-kill technology.

The PAC-3 Missile defeats the entire Patriot Air Defense System threat spectrum: tactical ballistic missiles, evolving cruise missiles and fixed and rotary winged aircraft. PAC-3 Missiles significantly increase the Patriot system's firepower, since 16 PAC-3s load out on a Patriot launcher, compared with four legacy Patriot PAC-2 missiles.

Lockheed Martin achieved the first-ever hit-to-kill intercept of a ballistic missile target in 1984 with the Homing Overlay Experiment, using force of impact alone to destroy a mock warhead outside of the Earth's atmosphere. Further development and testing produced today's PAC-3 Missile, which won a competition in 1993 to become the first hit-to-kill interceptor produced by the U.S. government. The PAC-3 Missile has been the technology pathfinder for today's total conversion to kinetic energy interceptors for all modern missile defense systems.

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Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Patriot

James Webb Space Telescope Model Featured at World Science Festival Opening Ceremonies on June 1; Life-Size Model of "Time Machine" on Display in Battery Park

James Webb Space Telescope Model Featured at World Science Festival Opening Ceremonies on June 1; Life-Size Model of "Time Machine" on Display in Battery Park
May 26, 2010

What: World Science Festival opening ceremonies will feature a life-size model of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. With a 21-foot hexagonal mirror and five-layer sunshield as large as a tennis court, media will have a rare opportunity to see up-close a model of the nation's premier next-generation telescope and to learn about the discoveries it will make. On orbit, the Webb telescope will look back in time more than 13 billion years to help us understand the formation of galaxies, stars and planets.

This is a visual opportunity and B-roll will be available.

Speakers at the Opening Ceremonies include Lori Garver, deputy administrator for NASA; Dave DiCarlo, vice president of Northrop Grumman Space Systems; Brian Greene, Festival co-founder; and Warrie Price, president of Battery Park Conservancy.

Experts will be on hand to discuss the Webb telescope's deep-space mission, how it will observe distant galaxies and nearby stars and planets, and the progress made to date by building the observatory.

When: Tuesday, June 1, 11 a.m.-11:35 a.m.
Spokespersons will be available starting at 10 a.m.

Where: Battery Park, a 25-acre public park located at the Battery

A team led by Northrop Grumman, including Ball Aerospace, ITT and ATK, has invented new designs and manufacturing technologies for the first deployable space telescope. The Webb telescope will add to observations by earlier space telescopes, and re-write science textbooks with its new discoveries. The model's size shows the complexity of the mission and how the observatory will enable the Webb telescope's unique mission.

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Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), Space systems

Lord Astor and Peter Luff MP confirmed as new Parliamentary Under Secretaries of State for Defence

Lord Astor and Peter Luff MP confirmed as new Parliamentary Under Secretaries of State for Defence
26 May 2010

Lord Astor of Hever and Peter Luff MP have been confirmed as new Parliamentary under Secretaries of State for Defence.

Further details of their exact titles and responsibilities will be confirmed over the coming days.

Lord Astor of Hever

Lord Astor was born in June 1946 and educated at Eton. From 1966 to 1970 he served in The Life Guards in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Northern Ireland and on ceremonial duties in London. He worked in France for 11 years and is Patron of the Conservatives in Paris.

In 1994 Lord Astor was a British Parliamentary Observer in Johannesburg during the South African General Election. He was a member of the Executive Association of Conservative Peers from 1996 to 1998. In 1999 he was elected an Hereditary Peer.

From 1998 to 2001 he served as an Opposition Spokesman on Social Security, and Health from 1998 to 2003. From 2001 he has been an Opposition Spokesman for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and International Development, and from 2003 Defence.

Lord Astor is a Trustee of the Astor of Hever Trust, Chairman of the Rochester Cathedral Trust, and is also Patron of Westerham Sea Cadets.

He is President of Kent County Agricultural Society, the Earl Haig branch of the Royal British Legion, and the Motorsport Industry Association, and a former President of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Lord Astor is a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent and is married with one son and four daughters.

In May 2010 Lord Astor was appointed a Lord-in-Waiting.

Peter Luff MP

Mr Luff was educated at Windsor Grammar School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he read Economics. Mr Luff worked from 1977 to 1980 for Peter, now Lord, Walker who was then MP for Worcester. He then went on to be head of private office to former Prime Minister the late Sir Edward Heath in the early 1980s.

After this Mr Luff became a successful businessman in the corporate communications industry. He has also been company secretary of his family's retail stationery firm.

In 1997 Mr Luff was appointed chairman of the Commons Agriculture Committee. In 2000 he joined the front bench as an Opposition Whip and served as Assistant Chief Whip from 2002 to 2005. Since the 2005 election, Mr Luff has been Chairman of the influential Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and its predecessors (the Trade and Industry and subsequently Business and Enterprise Committees).

Mr Luff was first elected as MP for Worcester in 1992 and then for the new Mid-Worcestershire seat in 1997. He lives in the county with his wife Julia. They have two grown-up children.

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Appointments, UK Ministry of Defence

Boeing Conducts Test Flight of ScanEagle Compressed Carriage

Boeing Conducts Test Flight of ScanEagle Compressed Carriage
May 26, 2010

ST. LOUIS, - The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] successfully flew its ScanEagle Compressed Carriage (SECC) unmanned airborne system (UAS) at a testing facility in eastern Oregon on May 12. The 75-minute flight evaluated the aircraft's airworthiness and flight characteristics in a simulated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission.

The SECC -- powered by a six-horsepower, heavy-fuel engine -- was launched from a ground vehicle, flew an autonomous flight plan at various altitudes and provided streaming video from its electro-optical/infrared sensor package to a nearby ground station. The SECC was recovered using the same runway-independent SkyHook recovery system used by the ScanEagle and Integrator unmanned airborne systems. The SECC system will complete additional tests in the coming months.

"This is a big step toward adding another aircraft with additional capabilities to Boeing's UAS stable," said Ron Perkins, director of Boeing Phantom Works' Advanced Unmanned Airborne Systems. "The vehicle's 132-inch wingspan and folding aero surfaces allow it to be carried on an aircraft pylon or in a container, giving the warfighter the choice of operating it from air, underwater, ground or surface platforms."

The SECC is a long-endurance, autonomous UAS designed to provide ISR, targeting, and battle-damage assessment.

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Boeing (NYSE:BA), UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)

DARPA Awards Lockheed Martin $3.9m Contract to Develop Advanced Rifle Scope for Soldiers

DARPA Awards Lockheed Martin $3.9m Contract to Develop Advanced Rifle Scope for Soldiers
26-May-2010 9:08 AM

AKRON, Ohio, -The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a $3.93 million contract to develop a rifle-scope attachment to enhance soldiers' marksmanship capabilities.

The Dynamic Image Gunsight Optic or DInGO system will enable soldiers to accurately view targets at varying distances without changing scopes or suffering a decrease in optical resolution. The system will enhance soldiers' ability to accurately hit targets at a range of between three and 600 meters.

DInGO automatically calculates the range with a low power laser rangefinder, digitally zooms in on it and accounts for environmental conditions such as wind using sensors built into the scope. It then projects the bullet's point-of-impact calculated from the embedded ballistics computer.

"Current scopes are optimized for a single target range, impacting soldiers' effectiveness and survivability when engaging targets at different distances during a single mission," said Dan Schultz, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Mission Systems & Sensors Ship & Aviation Systems business. "DInGO will solve this problem, significantly increasing soldiers' ability to rapidly reconfigure optics for use from short to long ranges and improving marksmanship capabilities for all soldiers."

DInGO is based on Lockheed Martin's One Shot Advanced Sighting System, which utilizes similar precision engagement technology to automatically transmit crosswind information to a long-range sniper's scope and modify the crosshairs to display exactly where the bullet will strike.

DARPA awarded Lockheed Martin an 18-month, $9.7 million contract in 2008 to integrate One Shot's new crosswind measurement technology into a prototype spotter scope - a small telescope that is carried by sniper teams and is used to bring far-away objects into close view. During tactical field tests in December 2009, snipers were able to engage targets twice as quickly and increase their probability of a first-round hit by a factor of two using the One Shot technology at distances beyond 1,000 meters.

The nine-month Phase 1 contract, with options for additional phases, calls for Lockheed Martin to develop the DInGO system for use on the M-4 and M-16 automatic rifles. Work will be performed at Lockheed Martin's Akron, Ohio, site, which has a strong track record for developing laser technology for ship and airborne infrared countermeasures, communications, wind correction and active sensing.

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Land Systems, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)

Lockheed Martin-Developed Tool Enables Scientists to Efficiently Utilize Massive Data Stream From NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory

Lockheed Martin-Developed Tool Enables Scientists to Efficiently Utilize Massive Data Stream From NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory
26 May, 2010 11:02 AM

PALO ALTO, Calif., -The immense volume of data generated by the suite of instruments on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) requires new tools for efficient identifying and accessing data that is most relevant to research investigations. Scientists at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory of the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto have developed the Heliophysics Events Knowledgebase (HEK) to fill this need.

The HEK system combines automated data mining using feature detection methods and high-performance visualization systems for data markup. In addition, web services and clients are provided for searching the resulting metadata, reviewing results and efficiently accessing the data.

"We have so much high-resolution data from SDO that we need to make sure that we don't miss anything important. As a comparison, SDO generates as much data in a single day as our Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) instrument - launched in 1998 - produces in five years," said Dr. Neal Hurlburt, Lockheed Martin astrophysicist and head of the Solar Software Group at the ATC. "The HEK tool enables us to characterize significant features and events that will be of interest to solar physicists, and make these data subsets easily accessible."

The HEK is designed to catalog interesting solar events and features and to present them to members of the solar physics community in such a way that guides them to the most relevant data for their purposes. This is a problem of data markup that is arising in many scientific and other fields. For example, the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Research Institute developed a similar system for annotating and cataloging video sequences of ocean fauna and activities, and various sports leagues have systems for cataloging clips of athletic events. The distinguishing factor for SDO is the large image format and complex event types.

The HEK was developed as an integrated metadata system designed with the following goals in mind:

To help researchers find data sets relevant for their topics of interest,

To serve as an open forum where solar and/or heliospheric features and events can be reported and annotated,

To facilitate discovery of statistical trends and/or relationships between different classes of features and events,

And to lighten the load on the SDO data system in terms of providing access to subsets of data that would be too large to transmit over the Internet.

To achieve these goals, HEK consists of registries to store metadata pertaining to observational sequences (the Heliophysics Coverage Registry, or HCR), to heliophysical events (Heliophysics Events Registry, or HER), as well as browse products such as movies. Interfaces for communications and querying between the different registries are also provided as web services.

The design and implementation of the HEK and its interfaces allow expansion beyond its primary function as a searchable database that contains metadata on solar events and on the observation sets from which these are derived. It can track temporary data products that users may wish to have online for a limited period. It is also possible to include numerical data sets based on assimilated observations, or even such data sets and events within them. In addition, it can also contain information on papers published based on certain data sets and events within them, so that for any given event users can be pointed to such publications, or likewise for a given publication users can be pointed to one or more data sets from one or more observatories.

Lockheed Martin developed the HEK system to address the immediate needs of SDO. However, the underlying motivation of devising a means for coping with enormous data sets resonates with many other missions and projects throughout modern science, and HEK could serve as a model.

Two of the SDO instruments were built at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory of the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), a suite of four telescopes, provides an unprecedented view of the solar corona, taking images that span at least 1.3 solar diameters in multiple wavelengths nearly simultaneously, at a resolution of 0.6 arc-seconds and at a cadence of 10 seconds or better. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI), designed in collaboration with Professor Philip Scherrer, HMI Principal Investigator, and other scientists at Stanford University, studies the origin of solar variability and attempts to characterize and understand the Sun's interior and magnetic activity. The third SDO instrument, the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE), measures fluctuations in the Sun's ultraviolet output. EVE was built by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado.

The goal of SDO is to understand - striving towards a predictive capability - the solar variations that influence life on Earth and humanity's technological systems. The mission seeks to determine how the Sun's magnetic field is generated and structured, and how this stored magnetic energy is converted and released into the heliosphere and geospace in the form of solar wind, energetic particles, and variations in the solar irradiance.

SDO is the first mission and crown jewel in a fleet of NASA missions to study our Sun. The mission is the cornerstone of a NASA science program called Living With a Star (LWS). The goal of the LWS Program is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the Sun and solar system that directly affect life and society.

The Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory at the ATC has a 47-year-long heritage of spaceborne solar instruments including the Soft X-ray Telescope on the Japanese Yohkoh satellite, the Michelson Doppler Imager on the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, the solar telescope on NASA's Transition Region and Coronal Explorer, the Solar X-ray Imager on the GOES-N, -O and -P environmental satellites, the Focal Plane Package on Hinode and an Extreme Ultraviolet Imager on each of the two spacecraft in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory. The laboratory also conducts basic research into understanding and predicting space weather and the behavior of the Sun including its impacts on Earth and climate.

The ATC is the research and development organization of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC). LMSSC, a major operating unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, designs and develops, tests, manufactures and operates a full spectrum of advanced-technology systems for national security and military, civil government and commercial customers. Chief products include human space flight systems; a full range of remote sensing, navigation, meteorological and communications satellites and instruments; space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft; laser radar; ballistic missiles; missile defense systems; and nanotechnology research and development.

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Information Technology, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Space systems

Boeing X-51A WaveRider Breaks Record in 1st Flight

Boeing X-51A WaveRider Breaks Record in 1st Flight
May 26, 2010

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., - In its first flight attempt, the Boeing [NYSE: BA] X-51A WaveRider today successfully completed the longest supersonic combustion ramjet-powered flight in history -- nearly three and a half minutes at a top speed of Mach 5.

The unmanned aerial vehicle was released from a U.S. Air Force B-52H bomber off the southern California coast around 10 a.m. today. It flew autonomously for more than 200 seconds, powered by its Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) motor, as it transmitted telemetry data to ground stations. Something then occurred that caused the vehicle to lose acceleration. At that point, the X-51A was terminated as planned.

"The technology proven today is something The Boeing Company has worked on for the past seven years," said Alex Lopez, vice president of Advanced Network & Space Systems, a division of Boeing Phantom Works. "It is thrilling to be a part of history and advance hypersonic science to the next level. Boeing is looking forward to transitioning the technology to operation in the near term, but for now, we are exhilarated."

Even before analyzing the terabytes of telemetry data transmitted by the X-51A during flight, Air Force officials called the test an unqualified success.

"We are ecstatic to have accomplished many of the X-51A test points during its first hypersonic mission," said Charlie Brink, X-51A program manager with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. "This gives us huge confidence. We built four test vehicles to get a successful flight, and we hit many of our goals right out of the gate, the first time around."

The X-51A was carried aloft under the left wing of an Air Force Flight Test Center B-52H Stratofortress that took off from Edwards Air Force Base. It was released while flying at approximately 50,000 feet over the Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center Sea Range. Four seconds later, a solid rocket booster from a U.S. Army tactical missile accelerated the X-51A to about Mach 4.5 before it and a connecting interstage were jettisoned. The X-51A's engine ignited on a mix of ethylene and JP-7 jet fuel. After a short period, the X-51A ran exclusively on JP-7 jet fuel. The flight reached an altitude of about 70,000 feet and an approximate speed of Mach 5.

Onboard sensors transmitted data to both an airborne U.S. Navy P-3 Orion and to ground systems at Point Mugu, Edwards, and Vandenberg Air Force Base before the X-51A was terminated. The team will review the data from today's test before scheduling additional flights with the three remaining test vehicles.

"This is a new world record and sets the foundation for several hypersonic applications, including access to space, reconnaissance, strike, global reach and commercial transportation," said Joe Vogel, Boeing director of Hypersonics and X-51A program manager.

Boeing Phantom Works, a division of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, performed the overall air vehicle design, assembly and testing for the X-51A's various components. The X-51A program is a collaborative effort of the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, with industry partners Boeing and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.

The vehicle's fuel-cooled engine design serves both to heat the JP-7 to an optimum combustion temperature and to help the engine itself endure extremely high operating temperatures during the long burn.

Program officials noted that while development of the vehicle's engine and the test program are complex, controlling costs has been a key objective. The team has adapted existing proven technologies and elected not to build recovery systems into the flight test vehicles.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide.

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Boeing (NYSE:BA)