Rapid Fire 2011-02-07: Medium Military Airlifters

* 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 […]