• Boeing charged the US Army $13 million more than the “fair and reasonable” price for 18 parts, the DoD Inspector General concludes [PDF]; so far, Boeing has refunded $1.6 million.

• House Armed Services Committee panels release details of FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act markups.

• Australia’s DoD adapting to new disclosure rules for all government agencies.

• Australia delivers its initial report on its MRH-90 (NH90) helicopter program. Short version? The program’s on probation.

• US AFSOC begins running a transportable $7.5M waste to energy plasma system at Hurlburt Airfield, FL. It has 5x more capacity than the next biggest system using this technology.

• The textile specialists at Ehmke Manufacturing have designed a new system of body armor vests and attachments they call “Higher Ground.” They’ve put some thought into it, too… check it out.

• NATO-related spending is expected to fuel a turnaround in the Romanian defense market, from a 1.5% decline from 2006 to 2010 to 2.8% annual growth through 2015, according to iCD Research.

• ATK receives more than $488 million in US Army orders to produce a mix of 5.56mm, 7.62mm and .50 caliber military ammunition at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Mo.

• A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled to launch the first satellite (GEO-1) of the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS)-High satellite constellation on May 6 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.

• MCR in McLean, VA wins an $8.8 million contract to provide management and acquisition support for NATO’s Consultation, Command, and Control Agency.

• Osama Bin Laden is killed by US Navy SEALs... in a Pakistani mansion about 40 miles outside Islamabad. No SEALs killed, but 1 American helicopter was damaged and then destroyed by the SEALs. A Pakistani helicopter may have also gone down. Unfortunately, Ayman-al Zawahiri, the brains of the operation, is still alive.

• General Dynamics Electric Boat receives $1.2 billion to begin construction of the 14th Virginia-class submarine, SSN-787, part of Block III with a revised bow design.

• Russia lays out its vision of European missile defense.

• Angola & Kenya may become the next customers for IAI’s Heron-1 UAV or UAV services, joining export customers like Brazil, India & Turkey, and rent-a-UAV customers like Australia, Canada & Germany.

• Saab sees potential Gripen jet fighter orders in Brazil, Romania, Croatia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. All are possible. Likely is another matter.

• Pentagon looks to place military payloads on commercial satellites in order to reduce costs. On the other hand, they’re not moving to take advantage of Iridium NEXT’s slots, which would seem to be a natural opportunity. But Iridium is just 1 of 7 firms in the new “Hosted Payload Alliance” lobby group.

• Wyle gets $14 million contract to provide IT services to support DARPA’s relocation in Arlington, VA.

• Atlas Air to begin providing passenger service for US military personnel in May, completing its existing military cargo service.

• “Why GE, Coca-Cola, and IBM Are Getting Into the Water Business.” Underlying these efforts: it’s becoming so important, that it will rival oil as a source of conflict in the 21st century.

• Reuters Special Report: How Libya is a showcase in the new arms race. Dassault’s Rafale fighters definitely grabbed attention with their reconnaissance and ground attack punch – still needs a targeting pod, though. Competing Eurofighters are touting EGBU-16 GPS/laser-guided bomb tests and showcasing their Paveway precision attack punch in Libya, complete with targeting pods, while Tornados fire the new MBDA Brimstone anti-armor missiles. Meanwhile, the US State Department has reportedly restricted some proposed regional arms sales from American firms.

• Qatar supplies French-made Milan anti-tank missile systems to Libyan rebels. Can they use them effectively?

• SpaceX prepping Falcon 9 Heavy rocket, aims to surpass EELV performance and break the $1,000 per pound barrier for payload delivery to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

• Northrop Grumman, US Navy successfully test laser weapon by setting target boat on fire.

• After posting a healthy 8.6% annual growth rate from 2006 to 2010, Portugal’s defense budget is headed for a .45% annual decline through 2015, according to iCD Research. Of course, if Portugal’s lenders keep raising their rates… any Wall St. types want a used F-16 for their garage? Maybe a U212A submarine to cruise Cape Cod?

• US Army Rapid Fielding Initiative’s Project Workhorse hopes to field a load-carrying, soldier-following robot to Afghanistan by October 2011. Nothing like testing the idea on terrain fit for the Mars Rover.

• IAI is offering a tethered ETOP UFO-style UAV in Latin America, to provide 10+ km radius surveillance from tactical ground vehicles.

• SAIC gets $41 million SeaPort-e task order to develop a lifecycle research program to combat equipment and infrastructure corrosion, which the DoD estimates [PDF] costs $22.5 billion per year to address.

• Pall gets $14 million order to supply engine filters for 59 US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters.

• Setpoint Systems snags an $11.9 million contract from ATK Small Caliber Systems to provide 4 additional .50-caliber ammunition case manufacturing systems at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, MO.

• ROE Farce. Taliban detainees who had been videotaped placing bombs in the culverts of roads near Kandahar, with chemical traces found on their hands, are released after 96 hours rather than prosecuted, in a drearily familiar routine. All the technology in the world won’t make up for terrible policy, and its corresponding effects on both morale and local cooperation.

• USAF F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet catches fire and crashes in northeastern Libya due to mechanical failure; crew ejects and landed safely in rebel-held territory, before being picked up by a USMC MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor.

• The UK MOD is proposing to cut 2,000 corporate services jobs and save GBP 73 million per year by consolidating the provision of corporate services under a new Defence Business Services Organisation.

• At the same time, the MOD is increasing the pay for the lowest paid UK armed forces personnel by around GBP 24 million.

• The USAF is seeking industry proposals for a new $250 million reusable booster system for space flight.

• DARPA unveils program to reduce size and weight of advanced optics.

• Telos gets $3 million contract to support the USMC’s Defense Messaging System at 6 area control centers located in the US and overseas.

LGM-30G Minuteman III

$12.5 million to Lockheed Martin to refurbish re-entry vehicle arming and fuzing assemblies. (March 14/11)

For 50 years, land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) have been part of the US primary strategic deterrence capability, the nuclear-armed triad that also includes submarine-launched ballistic missiles and long range heavy bombers.

Although the main target for the US deterrent – the Soviet Union – imploded in 1991, other threats – such as nuclear-armed rogue states and non-state actors – have emerged. To address these new threats, the US Air Force undertook a major ICBM modernization program.

To carry out this program, the USAF awarded a 15-year ICBM Prime Integration Contract (F42610-98-C-0001) in 1997 to a team led by Northrop Grumman. Since then, the team, which includes Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and ATK, has been carrying out a major modernization of the ICBM system to ensure its readiness…

• US Senate appropriators unveil a 7-month FY 2011 continuing resolution (CR) with $514 billion proposed for the defense base budget, $26 billion below what DoD wants and $2.1 billion less than the House-passed CR.

• On the other hand, China is expanding its defense spending by a robust 12.7% in 2011.

• USAF launches 2nd X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-2) from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas V rocket.

• Perhaps the OTV will help the Air Force get out of the 20th century, a recommendation Pentagon chief Robert Gates offered to cadets.

• GAO estimates [PDF] the US Navy would incur a 1-time cost of between $258.7 million and $356.0 million to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at Naval Station Mayport, FL, a move called for in the 2010 QDR and approved in the FY 2011 defense authorization law.

• Brazil continues to receive new UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters from Sikorsky.

• Is the UK military going to the dogs?

• DoD and the US intelligence community pledge to bolster the space industrial base, update space technology export controls, and pursue strategies for fighting in a degraded space environment, according to the new National Security Space Strategy.

• What is the global medium military airlifter market like for key competitors like Lockheed’s C-130J, Embraer’s KC-390, HAL/Irkut’s MRTA, and the Airbus A400M? Forecast International has some thoughts.

• Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the country is preparing to launch 4 domestically-built satellites, although the launches of the Rasad-1 and Tolou imaging satellites and Mesbah-2 and Mehr Navid-e-Elm-O-Sanat communications satellites have been postponed before.

• Israel is considering expanding its military presence along the border with Egypt in response to the unrest and its possible negative aftermath.

• It’s also re-engining its Hermes 450 UAVs with an upgraded 70hp R902 (W) Wankel engine.

• NATO’s “Proud Manta 11” exercise in the Mediterranean features Teledyne’s UUV/AUV “Slocum Gliders,” which use buoyancy changes instead of propellers to move around slowly underwater, collecting hydrographic data for weeks at a time. Of course, future AUV/UUVs can and will do more.

• At its C-130J-30 induction ceremony, the IAF says it will phase out its MiG-21 Type 77 fighters by 2012. The aging MiG-21s have a high accident rate, and different takes on that phenomenon can be found from Prodyut Das’s aerodynamics analysis and Wing Commander K S Suresh VrC’s 2009 take.

• Shareholders of L-1 Identity Solutions, a Stamford, CT-based military and civilian biometric technology firm, have approved the company’s merger with French aerospace and defense firm Safran, in a transaction valued at $1.6 billion, including outstanding debt. As part of the deal, L-1 is selling its intelligence services businesses to UK’s BAE Systems.

• Virginia, which led US states in total FY2009 DoD expenditures with $56.9 billion, prepares for Pentagon belt tightening.

• Camgian Microsystems in Starkville, MS, gets 3-year, $9.2 million small business innovation research contract from the AFRL to develop ultra-low power application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for radar and infrared cameras.

• A governmental commission is investigating whether Russia’s GEO-IK-2 satellite – designed to gather gravitational data to improve guidance of ballistic missiles and launched Feb 1/02 aboard a Rokot rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome – is stranded in a useless orbit.

• Russian parliament ratifies military supply agreement with Belarus.

• New report [PDF] examines US reliance on China as a near monopoly supplier of rare earth metals, which are used in high-tech weapons such as radar, night vision devices, and smart bombs.

• Todd Shipyards gets a 5-year US Navy contract worth up to $80 million to provide drydocking of surface combat ships homeported at Naval Station Everett or visiting the Puget Sound area.

• Telos gets task order to design and build an enterprise-level information transport system at 10 Air National Guard (ANG) locations under the $9 billion NETCENTS contract vehicle.

• Booz Allen Hamilton gets $10.7 million contract to provide IT services to the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

• SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space capsule launch successfully (webcast & tweets | PDF briefing | Space.com). This is the first flight under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) project, and the 1st new American human capable spacecraft to travel to orbit and back since the Space Shuttle took flight in 1981.

• US F-15 fighters scramble to intercept Russian Navy Illyshin Il-38 patrol aircraft gathering intel on US-Japan military exercises.

• Asia Sentinel maps out key northern Asian maritime disputes and flashpoints.

• Eight companies, including Boeing and L-3, win contracts worth up to $900 million to support military training simulators for the US services, Kuwait, and Malaysia.

• Kazakhstan to pay $150 million for Russian S-300 surface-to-air missiles as part of regional missile defense system.

• GeoEye agrees to pay $46 million for SPADAC, a McLean, VA-based provider of geospatial predictive analytics to defense, intelligence, and homeland security customers.

• CACI gets $34 million contract to maintain budget systems for the Pentagon’s Comptroller under the $12.3 billion Encore II contract vehicle.

• RQ-4 Global Hawks to replace KC-135 Stratotankers at Grand Forks Air Force Base, after a 50-year KC-135 air refueling mission at the base.

FALCON HTVs

The path toward a hypersonic space plane has been a slow one, filled with twists and turns one would expect given the technological leap involved. Speeds of Mach 8+ place tremendous heat and resistance stresses on a craft. Building a vehicle that is both light enough to achieve the speeds desired at reasonable cost, and robust enough to survive those speeds, is no easy task.

Despite the considerable engineering challenges ahead, the potential of a truly hypersonic aircraft for reconnaissance, global strike/ transport, and low-cost access to near-space and space is a compelling goal on both engineering and military grounds. The question, as always, will be balancing the need for funding to prove out new designs and concepts, with risk management that ensures limited exposure if it becomes clear that the challenge is still too great. In October 2008, the US Congress decided that FALCON/Blackswift had reached those limits. That decision led to the program’s cancellation, though some activities will continue.

• The FALCON Hypersonic Vehicle: Technical Challenges
• The FALCON Hypersonic Vehicle: Industrial Teams
• The FALCON Hypersonic Vehicle: Program History & Changes [NEW]
• FALCON Hypersonic Vehicle: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
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