“The Class I UAV is an essential asset for identifying improvised explosive devices and other hazards facing soldiers,” said Vicki Panhuise, Honeywell Vice President, U.S. Defense Customers. “It is the only unmanned system with hovering capability to identify opposing forces located on roof tops, within buildings and along maneuver routes well in advance of the Army unit.”

The Class 1 Unmanned Aerial System, branded by Honeywell as T-Hawk™ micro air vehicle, is a 17-pound vehicle that can hover and stare with an option of electro optical and infrared camera for real-time surveillance without exposing soldiers to enemy fire.

The T-Hawk can take off and land vertically and can fly more than 40 minutes. In addition, the vehicle can move at more than 40 knots of airspeed and operates at density altitudes of more than 7,500 feet. Other versions of the T-Hawk have been fielded in Afghanistan and Iraq with the U.S. Army and Navy, and are on order for the U.K. Ministry of Defense. Each vehicle is small enough to carry in a backpack, weighing less than 20 pounds when fueled and measuring 14 inches in diameter.

Low-rate initial production will allow for the capabilities to be fielded to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division for initial operational test and evaluation beginning in 2011.

The contract award follows a successful production review by the Defense Acquisition Board in December.

A key element of BCTM, Increment 1 will provide soldiers with enhanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, as well as increased survivability and lethality.

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The Army on Wednesday announced it would revamp the terms of the competition after a review done together with Pentagon acquisition officials showed risks in proceeding as planned.

The unexpected change to the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program threatens jobs as well as revenue for the competing teams of companies and marks another setback for the Army’s effort to develop new infantry vehicles.

The new program was developed to replace the ground vehicle part of the Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) modernization program, which Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled in April 2009, saying it had not kept up with changing wartime demands.

The prime contractors bidding for the program are: Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC, Inc.) [NYSE:SAI], Britain’s BAE Systems [LON:BA], and General Dynamics Corporation [NYSE:GD], and their subcontractors include many of the largest U.S. defense contractors, such as Lockheed Martin Corporation [NYSE:LMT], The Boeing Company [NYSE:BA], and Raytheon Company [NYSE:RTN].

The companies submitted bids in May and expected a contract award next month. They were notified about the Army’s decision to early on Wednesday, according to several industry and government sources familiar with the program.

“The Army seems to be losing its way on vehicle modernization and undercutting the ability of its suppliers to meet future needs,” said defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute.

Thompson, who has close ties to industry and defense officials, told Reuters the decision effectively amounted to a one-year delay in the Army’s largest acquisition program at the same time that it was also rethinking plans for a major program to replace its workhorse Humvees.

Now a contract award is unlikely before mid-2011, jeopardizing engineering jobs at the companies bidding for the work, Thompson said.

He said Pentagon could also still decide to put its increasingly scarce dollars into modernization and upgrades of existing tanker and Stryker vehicles instead of proceeding with the new ground combat vehicle program, he said.

Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings said the Army and Pentagon acquisition officials conducted a holistic study of the GCV program in May 2010, examining proposed vehicle capabilities, operational needs, the acquisition strategy, program schedule and technology readiness.

The study concluded that Army needed to prioritize the planned vehicle’s capabilities to meet achievable goals within the program’s acquisition schedule, he said.

That prompted the Army to conclude that it needed to revamp its plans for the program to reduce developmental risk and keep the program on track to deliver a new armored vehicle for groups troops in about seven years.

The Army’s decision to postpone the ground vehicle acquisition — a deal valued at tens of billions of dollars over the next years — comes just days after the U.S. Navy said it was putting off a contract award in its biggest new acquisition program for a new coastal warship.

A decision on the Air Force’s biggest acquisition program, for new refueling tankers, has also been delayed, fueling speculation among some industry executives that the Obama administration is trying to postpone potentially controversial contract decisions, and possible job losses, until after the mid-term elections in November.

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A contentious debate has taken place among Army officials regarding the new infantry fighting vehicle’s lengthy requirements list, a debate fed by an Army and OSD staffed “Red Team” analysis which scrutinized vehicle proposals and the lethality of modern and future battlefields, as well as disagreement among leadership about the service’s GCV acquisition strategy. The new RFP will reflect the Red Team’s findings as well as the Army’s analysis of alternatives.

The proposed GCV, which is intended to replace the Army’s Bradley fleet, was getting a bit unwieldy, sources say, as builders attempted to meet the many requirements. The Army will issue a formal announcement this afternoon. Lawmakers (the few who are available in late August; more like their secretaries) were notified of the GCV cancellation this morning.

The GCV competition was cancelled so the Army can “better ensure an achievable, affordable, and timely infantry fighting vehicle,” according to an emailed Army announcement. The cancellation will result in a six month delay of the program, although the service intends to field a vehicle within seven years after a contract is awarded.

“In conjunction with the Red Team recommendations, the Army determined that it must revise the acquisition strategy to rely on mature technologies in order to reduce significant developmental risk over a seven year schedule following the initial contract award. The refined RFP will result in a vehicle that provides soldiers with critical armored protection in the modern combat environment.”

The emailed announcement says details of the specific RFP are still being finalized and the service expects to issue a new solicitation within the next 60 days.

Army Abruptly Cancels Ground Combat Vehicle Competition (Updated) | Defense Tech.

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The U.S. senator from Kansas dreams of enticing aerospace companies to locate facilities in his home state.

But as Brownback unveiled his so-called road map for Kansas aviation on Tuesday he also grappled with present-day realities: an industry battered by a global economic downturn, foreign competition from subsidized companies and efforts by other states to lure those Kansas companies and their high-paid jobs elsewhere.

“Kansas needs to be proactive instead of reactive on new program starts and be prepared for the future direction of the industry,” Brownback said.

He wants to form an aviation advisory committee of industry leaders to develop a strategy for current challenges and future opportunities. He wants to build Wichita State University’s aerospace engineering program into the nation’s best. He wants to work with the National Center for Aviation Training and the National Institute for Aviation Research in Wichita to keep the city hold on to its self-styled “Air Capital of the World” status.

Brownback said Kansas has to defend its aviation industry aggressively with tax and regulatory policies that encourage growth.

The Republican campaign rhetoric drew a quick response from the camp of his Democratic opponent, Tom Holland.

Holland’s campaign spokesman, Seth Bundy, said in an e-mail that while Brownback is waiting for his advisory committee to get back to him with some ideas, Holland has put forth concrete commitments to invest in training the Kansas work force and expand research at the state’s colleges and universities.

“If Sam Brownback really wanted to help this industry, he shouldn’t have voted to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out the Wall Street crooks who created this mess, and then voted against unemployment assistance for the thousands of laid-off aviation workers in Kansas,” Bundy said.

Brownback’s news conference came on the heels of a meeting with the Wichita Aero Club in which he spoke briefly about the possibilities of commercial space travel and the vision of a commercial space operation with products built in Wichita. He was accompanied by Dr. Alan Weston, director of programs at NASA‘s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.

Weston told aviation leaders there is no reason a private space company could not someday do the job of resupplying the space station that the United States now pays Russia to do. The aviation industry is key to lowering the cost of space travel, one day building the first true spaceship, Weston said.

Some dream of a space hotel, making space the location of the future for tourism and entertainment, he said.

Weston said the commercial aviation industry can make space travel more cost effective than the government.

It was a theme Brownback carried to his aviation road map.

“We will pursue partnering opportunities with our existing companies and private space companies on the design and manufacture of commercial space vehicles, as well as encourage them to locate some of their facilities here,” Brownback said. “This type of manufacturing lines up nicely with our core competencies in composite materials and aerospace structures.”

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FASTeR is a Performance-Based Logistics contract providing weapon systems sustainment of the F-22 fleet at all operational bases for the 2010 calendar year, including training systems, customer support, integrated support planning, supply chain management, aircraft modifications and heavy maintenance, sustained engineering, support products and systems engineering.

“Our focus in sustaining the F-22 Raptor fleet is total support to our customer by helping enable higher readiness rates, more sorties, faster response and lower life-cycle costs,” said Scott Gray, F-22 Program vice president of sustainment for Lockheed Martin. “Our mature supplier base ensures the F-22 receives efficient support anywhere in the world and provides the fastest, most effective link between customer requirements and delivered capability.”

F-22 Raptors are assigned to seven U.S. bases. Flight testing takes place at Edwards AFB, Calif. Operational tactics development is ongoing at Nellis AFB, Nev. Pilot training occurs at Tyndall AFB, Fla. Operational F-22 aircraft are assigned to Langley AFB, Va.; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; Holloman AFB, N.M.; and Hickam AFB, Hawaii.

The world’s only operational 5th generation fighter, the F-22 boasts a unique combination of stealth, speed, agility, situational awareness and lethal long-range air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry to make it the world’s best air dominance fighter and to enable it to deter and defeat current and emerging threats.

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The cost plus fixed-fee contract involves not only U.S. Navy vessels but also ships of foreign navies, the company said.

Under the contract the company will provide engineering; technical analyses; mechanical and electrical design; manufacturing; installation; test and evaluation; and emergent field repair services at naval shipyards, fleet homeports and around the world as needed.

“We maintain and overhaul a wide range of U.S. Navy nuclear and conventionally-powered ships,” said Becky Stewart, vice president, submarine programs and fleet support for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. “Northrop Grumman is committed to providing these products and services to the U.S. Navy with the highest quality, on budget and on schedule.”

The identities of the foreign navies that would be serviced under the agreement were not disclosed.

The company noted its facility at Newport News, Va., is one of only two U.S. shipyards capable of building nuclear-powered submarines.

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When fully developed, the IBCS battery engagement operations center will enable an Army air defense battery to establish common battle command of air defense assets that are fully integrated with other Army and joint IAMD systems.

The initial system consists of common hardware and software housed in a rigid wall shelter and mounted on a 5-ton M1085 Medium Tactical Vehicle, the company said.

“This initial system will be used as a test bed to support the IBCS critical design review and the IBCS software development and coding,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Genaro “Gino” Dellarocco, program executive officer, Missiles and Space, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. “This prototype will allow the warfighter to interact early and influence the design to ensure we provide them this critical capability.”

Northrop Grumman and its team were awarded a $577 million, five-year contract last December for the development of a common battle command system.

Systems that will be integrated via IBCS include the Patriot, the Surface-Launched Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile and the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor.

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Randy Hutcherson, Chief Operating Officer for Force Protection Industries, Inc., said, “Maintaining the installed Cougar fleet of vehicles is very critical to current operations. We are proud of the performance of the vehicles in the field and appreciate the continued trust and confidence our customer places in us to perform vital field service support in Afghanistan.”

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The planned facility, at MidAmerica Airport, is tentatively projected to open late this year or early next year, the company said.

The operation will use leased space in an existing building to house assembly and subassembly work.

Dennis Muilenburg, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said the “facility’s proximity to BDS headquarters, the presence of an established, skilled work force, and the infrastructure at MidAmerica Airport make it an ideal choice as Boeing looks for opportunities to expand our core business and ensure our St. Louis site remains competitive as we meet the high-value, low-cost needs of our customers.”

The company estimates opening of the facility will create about 75 jobs.

Boeing and St. Clair County are entering into a long-term lease for the existing 50,000-square-foot facility, which will be the first Boeing manufacturing center in Illinois.

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