Department of Defense & Industry Daily News
Advertisement
Defense program acquisition news, budget data, market briefings
  • Contact
    Editorial
    Advertising
    Feedback & Support
    Subscriptions & Reports
  • Subscribe
    Paid Subscription
    in-depth program analysis & data sets
    Free Email Newsletter
    quick daily updates
    Google+ Twitter RSS
  • Log in
    Forgot your password?
    Not yet a subscriber? Find out what you have been missing.
Archives by category > Forces – Space (RSS)

Russian Armed Forces: Bring on the Big Budget Boost

Jan 19, 2017 00:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: January 19/17: Russia has test-fired external link a Topol-M ICBM, one of the first ballistic missiles to be developed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Capable of being deployed from missile silos or APU launchers mounted on the 16-wheeled MZKT-79221 universal transporter-erector-launcher, the test was carried out to confirm the weapon’s stability. The weapon’s developers claim their product is able to bypass any current or planned US missile defense system, and can make evasive maneuvers to avoid missile interceptors during flight.
LAND_T-80s.jpg

Making a comeback?

The Russian Ministry of Defense plans to replace nearly half of the Russian Army’s hardware by 2015, according to Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. Ivanov said military spending over the next 8 years was planned at $189 billion, and that official Russian military spending had quadrupled from 2001 to reach $31 billion this year.

Ivanov said weapons purchases would include “17 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 4 military spacecraft with the same number of launch rockets for them,” as well as new bombers, ships, and other heavy equipment. The ICBMs are believed to be the new SS-27 Topol-M, and other plans reportedly include 50 new bombers, 31 ships of varying sizes, and fully re-arming 40 tank, 97 infantry and 50 parachute battalions. Some outside observers doubt Russia’s ability to fulfill these plans, however, given a closed military procurement system, that’s very resistant to scrutiny, in a country with a record of corruption. See Defense-Aerospace: “Russia to Spend $189bn on Weapons by 2015” | “Russia’s Defense Minister Unveils Plans to Overhaul Military.”

Update

January 19/17: Russia has test-fired a Topol-M ICBM, one of the first ballistic missiles to be developed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Capable of being deployed from missile silos or APU launchers mounted on the 16-wheeled MZKT-79221 universal transporter-erector-launcher, the test was carried out to confirm the weapon’s stability. The weapon’s developers claim their product is able to bypass any current or planned US missile defense system, and can make evasive maneuvers to avoid missile interceptors during flight.

Aerospace, Excelled: The USA’s Arnold Engineering Development Center

Jun 11, 2014 00:36 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The Air Force awarded an approximately $1.5 billion, eight-year contract for the sustainment and test operation of Arnold Engineering Development Complex, with $2 million of this awarded on Wednesday. The AEDC is the world's largest and most sophisticated flight simulation test facility, with fourteen unique test units worldwide.
AEDC X-29 Wind Tunnel Test

AEDC at work: X-29

The Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), named for U.S. Air Force pioneer Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold, bills itself as “The World’s Premier Flight Simulation Test Facility.” Nearly half of the AEDC’s 58 test facilities are unique in the U.S., and 14 are unique in the world. These specialized test facilities have played a crucial role in the development and sustainment of virtually every high performance aircraft, air-to-air and air-to-ground weapon, missile, and space system in use by all four of the U.S. military services today. The Center has also been involved in the development of every NASA manned space system, many satellites, and numerous commercial aircraft and spacecraft systems.

In 2003, the Air Force consolidated the test operations contract and the base services contract into a single contract for operations, maintenance, information management, and base support, which was awarded to Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) in Tullahoma, TN.

Continue Reading… »

The UAE’s Falcon Eye Satellites: Quis custodiet?

Jun 09, 2014 17:37 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Contract still hung up, UAE wants to renegotiate tech transfer.
Advertisement
Pleiades 1B satellite

Pleiades 1B

The United Arab Emirates’ AED 3.4 billion (EUR 703 million/ $925 million) “Falcon Eye” optical observation satellites are meant to provide a wholly new capability to their military by 2018, and represented the most advanced optics France had ever sold to another country. France’s CNES cites 0.7m / 2′ 4″ spatial resolution for the Pleiades Class at nadir, and a field of view of 20 km. EADS DS/ Astrium touts up to 100 km x 100 km in strip mapping mode.

The deal has had a rough road lately, and is currently hung up in re-negotiations…

Continue Reading… »

Up to $188.7M to InDyne for Cape Canaveral Space Launch Facility Support

Sep 16, 2009 16:50 UTC

SPAC_Satellite_WGS_Launch_From_CCAFS

WGS-2 Satelllite
Launches from CCAFS

InDyne in Reston, VA received a $24.6 million contract modification to provide infrastructure operations and maintenance services at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) and several Florida annexes. The original contract (FA2521-08-C-0006), awarded in 2008, has a maximum value of $188.7 million if the 6 option years are exercised.

CCAFS is an installation of the Air Force Space Command’s 45th Space Wing headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in Florida, CCAFS and the Kennedy Space Center, from which Shuttle launches are conducted, are the primary space launch facilities in the Eastern United States.

Under the original contract, InDyne provides engineering, planning, operations and maintenance services for facilities and launch systems at CCAFS, Florida annexes, and limited services for Patrick Air Force Base, which manages the contract…

Continue Reading… »

Orbital Express: Testing On-Orbit Servicing

Apr 19, 2007 11:33 UTC

Astro and NextSat Inspection

Astro checks out NextSat

The Orbital Express advanced technology demonstration couples a prototype servicing satellite (ASTRO) and a surrogate next generation serviceable satellite (NextSat). Together, they are meant to test robotic, autonomous, on-orbit refueling and reconfiguration of satellites. If that were possible, it would mean faster, less risky missions to maintain and extend the lives of America’s critical military satellite fleet – and the technology would have more than a few civilian/NASA uses, as well.

Continue Reading… »

Supporting the USAF’s Space Wings

Sep 15, 2006 05:51 UTC

CULT_Stargate_SG-1.jpg

We’re not telling…

The units of USAF Space Command have a wide range of functions, from supervising Space Shuttle launches to maintaining surveillance satellites and radars, operating America’s land-based nuclear missiles, and conducting ballistic missile defense.

Over the last couple of weeks, a number of contracts have been issued for various support services to these entities. We thought our readers might appreciate a look at several of these contracts at once, rather than just presenting them on a contract by contract basis.

Continue Reading… »

Japanese Military Venturing Into Space?

Jun 07, 2006 09:34 UTC

CULT_Gundam.jpg

Not yet.

Japan is finding itself hemmed in these days by increasingly hostile and dangerous neighbours. Whether the issue is the unstable Kim Jong-Il of North Korea with his drive for nuclear weapons and penchant for launching missile tests that travel over Japan, or a Chinese government perceived as increasingly hostile, Japanese situational awareness and self-defense are beginning to require deep surveillance capabilities.

This may help to explain why Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party has drafted a bill to allow Japan’s military into space within the parameters of self-defense rights. That would be a major change from the current civilian-only restrictions that Japan has placed on space ventures.

Continue Reading… »

Lockheed’s SBIRS High Satellite Program Bracing for a Fall

Jan 17, 2006 05:55 UTC

SBIRS-High

SBIRS-High

The Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High satellite program aims to replace the current fleet of DSP satellites for early detection of ballistic missile launches. Lockheed Martin has delivered the sensors for the classified satellites, and the payload for the first dedicated satellite is in thermal vacuum testing (UPDATE: completed successfully Jan 18, 2006). Even so, the Lockheed program has had more than its share of difficulties. Its costs grew from $4 billion to $11-12 billion, and the launch date slipped from 2002 to 2009, but SBIRS has thus far been viewed as a problem program with no alternative.

That status may be changing. First of all, the existing DSP satellites are lasting longer than expected. In addition, C4ISR Journal reports that SBIRS is being scaled back from at least 5 to no more than 3 satellites (and possibly 2), due to technical difficulties that have proven “intractable.” They also note that the U.S. Air Force will seek Congressional approval next year to begin work on a new space-based Overhead Non-Imaging Infrared (ONIR) missile-warning satellite system instead. The ONIR competition will take advantage of more up to date sensor and software technologies, but will not be as ambitious as SBIRS in terms of performance requirements. It will also dump the ADA programming language that is the basis of SBIRS current software, in favor of more modern programming languages.

Read C4ISR’s article “Pentagon Scales Back SBIRS Program” for more details regarding SBIRS, the near-term design compromise that the USAF still rejects, and the blow that Undersecretary Krieg’s Dec 12/05 memo represents to Lockheed.

UK Launches Advanced TopSat Micro-Satellite Experiment

Oct 31, 2005 16:20 UTC

TopSat

TopSat Concept

TopSat is a low cost, high capability micro-satellite designed and built by a QinetiQ-led consortium of British companies. After some initial launch delays, it was successfully launched on October 27, 2005 from the Plesetsk launch site in Northern Russia, along with micro-satellites from China, Iran, and Russia. The launch was the culmination of a project that began in 2000 and was jointly funded by the British National Space Centre (BNSC) and the UK Ministry of Defence.

TopSat is attracting increasing interest from international government and commercial interests because it’s designed to provide 2.5 meter resolution imagery at about 20% of the cost of larger satellites with similar capabilities. It is part of Britain’s larger Micro Satellite Applications in Collaboration (MOSAIC) program.

Continue Reading… »

AirLaunch LLC Performs QuickReach Test

Oct 07, 2005 12:14 UTC

SPAC_AirLaunch_QuickLaunch_Test.jpg

Test successful

On Sept. 8, 2005, DID covered the evolution of DARPA’s FALCON program for low-cost, fast satellite launches. The goal is a booster that can launch a small satellite for less than $5 million with only 24 hours notice. On Sept. 29, 2005, AirLaunch LLC’s QuickReach system was successfully tested with a dummy booster that was live launched from a C-17 aircraft at 6,000 feet. AirLaunch LLC has now completed an $11.3 million contract under the Falcon program Phase IIA. If selected to move forward, the project would lead to a test flight to orbit in early 2008. See the full release for more details.

Here at DID, we applaud the innovation even as we wonder whether a similar approach could also be used by lesser powers to launch 2-stage ICBMs with INS/GPS guidance.

Continue Reading… »
1 2 3 Next »
Advertisement
Archives
  • MIL
  • BIZ
  • GEO
  • DAY

Aircraft

Air Reconnaissance
Blimps & LTA Craft
Engines - Aircraft
Equipment - Other
Fighters & Attack
Heavy Bombers
Helicopters & Rotary
Protective Systems - Aircraft
Specialty Aircraft
Transport & Utility
UAVs

Electronics & IT

Avionics
ECM
Electronics - General
Eng. Control Systems
IT - Cyber-Security
IT - General
IT - Networks & Bandwidth
IT - Software & Integration
Radars
Sensors & Guidance
Signals Radio & Wireless
Simulation & Training

Land Equipment

Engineering Vehicles
Engines
Other Equipment - Land
Robots
Soldier's Gear
Tanks & Mechanized
Trucks & Transport

Logistics & Support

Asstd. Support Equipment
Bases & Infrastructure
C4ISR
Chemicals & HAZMAT
Clothing
Engineer Units
Environmental
Financial & Accounting
Food-related
Fuel & Power
Intelligence & PsyOps
Logistics
Marketing & Advertising
Medical
MPs & Justice
Power Projection
Public Relations
Signals Intercept, Cryptography, etc.
Support & Maintenance
Support Functions - Other
Testing & Evaluation

Military Overall

Expeditionary Warfare
Force Structure
Forces - Air
Forces - Land
Forces - Marines
Forces - Naval
Forces - Space
Forces - Special Ops
Forces - Strategic
Interoperability
Leadership & People
Memoriam
Policy - Doctrine
Policy - Personnel
Policy - Procurement
Security & Secrecy
Training & Exercises
Transformation
Warfare - Lessons
Warfare - Trends

Naval Equipment

Coastal & Littoral
Engines & Propulsion - Naval
Protective Systems - Naval
Sensors - Aquatic
Submarines
Surface Ships - Combat
Surface Ships - Other
UUVs & USVs

Ordnance & Guns

ABM
Ammunition
Bombs - Cluster
Bombs - General
Bombs - Smart
Explosives
Grenades
Guns - 20-59 mm direct
Guns - 60+ mm direct
Guns - Artillery & Mortars
Guns - Naval
Guns - Personal Weapons
Guns - under 20mm direct
Laser & EM Weapons
Mines & Countermine-IED
Missiles - Air-Air
Missiles - Anti-Armor
Missiles - Anti-Ship
Missiles - Ballistic
Missiles - Precision Attack
Missiles - Surface-Air
Non-Lethal Weapons
Other Weapons
Remote Weapons Systems
Rockets
Shells & Mortar Rounds
Underwater Weapons

Space

GPS Infrastructure
Launch Facilities
Launch Vehicles
Satellites & Sensors
Space Warfare

WMD

Biological Weapons
Chemical Weapons
Nuclear Weapons
WMD Defenses
WMD Detection
WMD Proliferation

Corporation

Airbus
ATK
BAE
Boeing
Consulting Firms
DCNS
Elbit Systems
Finmeccanica
GE
General Atomics
General Dynamics
HAL
Honeywell
IAI
L3 Communications
Lockheed Martin
MBDA
Navistar
Northrop-Grumman
Oshkosh
Other Corporation
RAFAEL
Raytheon
Rolls Royce
Rosoboronexport
Security Contractor
Small Business
T&C - Big 5 Firms
T&C - Booz Allen
T&C - CSC
T&C - EDS
T&C - IBM
T&C - Microsoft
T&C - RAND Corp.
T&C - SAIC
T&C - SRI
Textron
Thales
United Technologies
University-related

DID site

Daily Rapid Fire
Early Edition
FOCUS Articles
Guest Articles
Sharpen yourself
Spotlight articles

Industry

Conferences & Events
Contracts - Awards
Contracts - Intent
Contracts - Modifications
Corporate Financials
Delivery & Task Orders
Industry & Trends
Mergers & Acquisitions
Partnerships & Consortia
People
Pre-RFP
Projections & Assessments
RFPs
Rumours

Innovation

After-Action Reviews
Corporate Innovations
DARPA
Design Innovations
Field Innovations
Logistics Innovations
Materials Innovations
New Systems Tech
Procurement Innovations
R&D - Contracted
R&D - Private
Science - Basic Research

News

Events
Field Reports

Politics

Alliances
Budgets
Domestic Security
Issues - Environmental
Issues - International
Issues - Political
Legal
Lobbying
Official Reports
Public Partnering
Scandals & Investigations
Think Tanks

Projects

Project Failures
Project Management
Project Methodologies
Project Successes

Americas

Americas - Other
Brazil
Canada
USA

Asia

Asia - Central
Asia - Other
Australia & S. Pacific
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Singapore
South Korea

Europe

Britain/U.K.
Europe - Other
European Union (EU)
France
Germany
Russia

Middle East & Africa

Africa - Other
Iraq
Israel
Middle East - Other
Saudi Arabia
Turkey
United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Other Geo

Oceans - International
Outer Space
Polar Regions

2023

January
February
March

2022

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2021

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2020

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2019

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2018

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2017

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2016

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2015

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2014

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2013

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2012

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2011

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2010

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2009

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2008

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2007

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2006

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2005

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
White Papers & Events
Advertisement
Advertisement

© 2004-2023 Defense Industry Daily, LLC | About Us | Images on this site | Privacy Policy

Contact us: Editorial | Advertising | Feedback & Support | Subscriptions & Reports

Follow us: Twitter | Google+

Stay Up-to-Date on Defense Programs Developments with Free Newsletter

DID's daily email newsletter keeps you abreast of contract developments, pictures, and data, put in the context of their underlying political, business, and technical drivers.