Nov. 15, 1999 -- The Army announced late last week it plans to inspect its entire fleet of AH-64 Apache helicopters for faulty gearbox components. The components may have been to blame for a June 1 crash of an Israeli air force AH-64, the service said in a statement.
Daily News
November 15, 1999
Nov. 15, 1999 -- The Naval Aviation Systems Command announced last week that the last of 12 low-rate initial production F/A-18E/F Super Hornets was delivered to the Navy on Nov. 9, six weeks earlier than required.
The aircraft was ferried to the Navy's F/A-18E/F Integrated Test Team at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD, for final tests before it is sent to Naval Air Station Lemoore, CA, home to the first Super Hornet squadron, the Aviation Systems Command said in a statement.
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November 12, 1999
Nov. 12, 1999 -- Once President Clinton signs the fiscal year 2000 intelligence authorization conference report into law, his administration will have 60 days to produce a study that details the legal standards employed by the U.S. intelligence community when eavesdropping on American citizens.
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Nov. 12, 1999 -- The General Accounting Office this week recommended the Air Force strengthen its management oversight procedures for handling excess inventory.
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Nov. 12, 1999 - Northrop Grumman, the fifth-largest U.S. defense contractor, today announced it had signed an agreement to acquire Navia Aviation AS, an operating unit of Navia ASA of Oslo, Norway.
Northrop Grumman said in a statement that it would pay $35 million in cash for the Norwegian instrument landing systems supplier, and the company expects to close the deal by the end of the calendar year.
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GEORGIA
Nov. 12, 1999 - Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA) today said he hoped that rumors defense giant Lockheed Martin is closing its plant in Marietta, GA, are just that - rumors.
"We've been dealing with this kind of speculation for years, and it has proven false in each case," Barr said in a statement. "It is my hope and belief these latest rumors fall into the same category."
The Aeronautical Systems facility, which is adjacent to Barr's district, manufactures the C-130J cargo aircraft as well as the F-22 fighter aircraft.
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November 11, 1999
Nov. 11, 1999 -- The Defense Department this week handed out more than $1.7 billion worth of contracts to four companies for the production of Multi-Mode Receivers in support of the Global Air Traffic Management program.
Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA, got the largest deal, for $505.7 million. Raytheon Systems Company, El Segundo, CA, won a $487.6 million award; Marconi Aerospace Systems, Wayne, NJ, won a $442.6 million contract; and AlliedSignal, Redmond, WA, received a $274.4 million deal.
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MILITARY SALES
Nov. 11, 1999 - The Pentagon yesterday announced three potential foreign military sales collectively worth half a billion dollars to the Netherlands, Colombia and Egypt.
The prospective sale to the Netherlands involves the remanufacturing of 30 Apache AN/APG-78 Longbow Fire Control Radars with APR-48A Radar Frequency Interferometers, according to the announcement. Longbow radars are built by Northrop Grumman; the Apache Longbow prime contractor is Lockheed Martin.
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Nov. 11, 1999 -- Northrop Grumman announced this week it has been picked to evaluate the performance of new sensors that may be used in support of the Open Skies treaty.
The contract, worth $5 million, was won by the company's Integrated Systems and Aerostructures sector in El Segundo, CA. It will run three years, with two one-year options.
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November 10, 1999
Nov. 10, 1999 - Army officials expect to spend $13.5 million to replace a bearing assembly in the tails of about 400 Apache helicopters, a job that should take between eight and 10 months, a Defense Department spokesman said yesterday.
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Nov. 10, 1999 - House and Senate lawmakers have created an independent commission to perform a top-to-bottom review of the National Reconnaissance Office, the secretive DOD organization that buys and operates the nation's spy satellites.
The goal of the 11-member commission is to ensure that the U.S. intelligence community is acquiring "the most efficient, technologically capable, and economical satellite collection systems," according to language included in the recently released fiscal year 2000 intelligence authorization conference report.
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CHINA
Nov. 10, 1999 - Sens. James Inhofe (R-OK) and Bob Smith (R-NH) are asking the Pentagon for several documents related to retired Adm. Joseph Prueher's dealings with China when he was the commander of all U.S. forces in the Pacific. Prueher is President Bill Clinton's nominee to be the next ambassador to China and was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Nov. 3. No date has been set for a full Senate vote on the nomination.
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Nov. 10, 1999 - South Korea has asked to buy $4.2 billion worth of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile systems, according to the Defense Department. The potential foreign military sale was one of three announced by the Pentagon yesterday.
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November 09, 1999
The Army's Multiple Launch Rocket System, built by Lockheed Martin, was successfully test-fired last week using a European-produced AT-2 rocket, the company said in a statement.
The M270A1 version of the MLRS launcher, which features improved fire control and mechanical systems, fired six of the German AT-2 rockets "to demonstrate the ability of the improved launcher to fire the munition," the statement added. "This was the first time the rockets have been fired from the improved MLRS M270A1 launcher."
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November 08, 1999
Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-AK) today (Nov. 8) was named the chairman of the Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee, his first chairmanship.
"The personnel subcommittee oversees many of the military's most critical issues, including recruitment and retention," Hutchinson said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to the challenges and responsibilities of chairing this committee and playing an active role in strengthening our armed forces."
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Northrop Grumman announced late last week that it successfully completed live-fire tests of an advanced, laser-based Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) system.
The tests of the Wanda/Viper/Multi-Imaging Multi-Spectral configuration of the DIRCM system were conducted between Sept. 30 and Oct. 22 at the Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
"Data confirm that the system met and exceeded all expectations," the contractor said in a Nov. 4 statement.
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The Army announced today (Nov. 8) that its fleet of Apache helicopters will "undergo a one-time inspection and possible replacement" of a tail rotor system component cited as the cause of a January crash that resulted in the loss of a helicopter and minor injuries to two crew members.
The inspection and replacement initiative may keep half the Apache fleet grounded for a year, Inside the Army reported today. Late last week, the service was preparing a safety-of-flight message mandating inspection before any aircraft can be flown again, according to ITA.
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