One of the two competing Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) designs took a step closer to its first flight when Boeing rolled out its X-32 JSF concept demonstration aircraft (CDA) at the company's plant in Palmdale, Calif. 

An estimated 5,500 employees of Boeing and its suppliers and customers witnessed the rollout of both the X-32A--which will demonstrate the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) version of the JSF planned for the U.S. Navy (carrier-based) and U.S. Air Force--and the X-32B--the short takeoff/vertical landing version planned for the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.K. Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Assembly of the X-32B began three months after assembly began on the X-32A. 

"We have made lean design and manufacturing a reality on the JSF program," said Frank Statkus, Boeing vice president and JSF program manager. "Our One Team members have used innovation and dedication to demonstrate the benefits of being lean. Seeing is believing, and our customer has seen what we can do." 

Flight testing of the X-32 is planned for Spring 2000. The Defense Department is expected to choose between the X-32 and the Lockheed Martin X-35 in early 2001. The JSF is planned as a stealthy replacement for the Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet, the Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II, and the Air Force F-16 and A-10 aircraft. 

In other developments related to the X-32 program: 

• Testing has been completed of the fuel system for the X-32. The fuel system--designed by engineers from Boeing, Flight Refueling Ltd., and BFGoodrich--demonstrated the ability to fuel and defuel, transfer fuel between tanks, and provide fuel to the engine in a safe, leak-free manner, Boeing officials said. 
• Five months of testing of the Boeing JSF integrated avionics system has begun on board the company's Airborne Flying Laboratory (AFL), a modified Boeing 737-200 airliner. "We will save development time and costs because the AFL allows us to test more efficiently than with a fighter platform," said Dan Cossano, manager of Boeing JSF Mission Systems. 
• Pratt & Whitney has completed final assembly of the first of two JSF119-614 flight-test engines for the X-32A. The company previously had built two developmental and two qualification engines for the Boeing JSF program, and had completed sea-level and altitude developmental testing on the CTOL variant of the engine. 
• Martin-Baker Aircraft Company has successfully completed qualification testing of its MkUS16B ejection seat for the X-32. The dynamic tests--conducted at the company's facility in Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland--used a representative forebody of an X-32 under a full range of speeds to simulate emergency situations. 

Raytheon to Develop AESA Radar for Super Hornet 

Boeing has selected Raytheon to develop the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter. The AESA will be built by Raytheon Electronic Systems in El Segundo, Calif. 

The AESA will be designed to increase the Super Hornet's air-to-air target detection and tracking ranges and add higher-resolution air-to-ground mapping modes at longer ranges, enhancing the aircraft's ability to effectively target precision weapons. The AESA would replace the APG-73 radar currently installed in the Super Hornet. 

The Navy expects to award a contract in early 2001 for engineering and manufacturing development of the AESA. Deliveries of the radar are expected to begin in 2004. 

EB Contracted To Modify SSN 23 For Special Ops 

The Navy's plan to modify the third Seawolf-class nuclear-powered attack submarine for special operations was locked into gear with the award of an $887 million contract to the General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB) Company. EB will modify the Jimmy Carter--currently under construction--to accommodate advanced technology for naval special warfare, tactical surveillance operations, and mine- warfare missions. 

EB officials said that the Seawolf-class design will be altered in the areas of ballast control, mission-management spaces, and other services. A "flexible ocean interface," referred to as a "wasp waist," will enable the submarine to deploy and recover mission payloads without the requirement to use torpedo tubes. 

The changes in the design of the Jimmy Carter will result in slippage of the submarine's delivery date from December 2001 until June 2004. Navy officials said that the design changes will not sacrifice the submarine's warfighting capabilities as an attack submarine. 

Defense Industry Notes 

The DD 21 Alliance has been awarded a $238 million contract modification for Phase II of the DD 21 land-attack destroyer development program. The two competing alliance teams, headed by Bath Iron Works and Ingalls Shipbuilding, will develop initial systems designs and virtual prototypes of the DD 21. United Defense LP--which is developing the DD 21's Advanced Gun System (AGS)--will develop a proof-of-concept AGS. At the end of the 18-month Phase II the Navy will select one of the competing designs for the planned 32-ship construction program. 

The Block 1 variant of the RIM-116A Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) has completed its operational evaluation (OPEVAL). The Navy's Operational Test and Evaluation Force has determined that the RAM Block 1 is operationally suitable and effective, and has recommended fleet introduction. In a related development, Raytheon has been awarded a $1.4 million contract to develop the HAS (helicopter, aircraft, and surface) mode upgrade to the RAM. 

Bell Boeing has been awarded a $634 million Naval Air Systems Command contract for the Lot IV production of 10 MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft for the Marine Corps. The joint venture also has been awarded two contracts--totaling $55 million--for spare parts for the Lot IV aircraft. Bell Boeing has delivered to the Marine Corps the third low-rate initial production MV-22B--the first to be assembled at the new Tiltrotor Assembly Center in Amarillo, Texas. 

Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space Company has been awarded a $589 million contract for 12 UGM-133A Trident II (D5) submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The missiles, scheduled for delivery in 2004, will replace the Trident I (C4) missiles that arm the second four of the Navy's 18 Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines. 

Lockheed Martin Tactical Defense Systems in Eagan, Minn., has been awarded two Naval Air Systems Command contracts for upgrades to the Navy's P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. The company was awarded $72.2 million for the procurement of 12 AIP (Antisurface Warfare Improvement Program) kits and the installation of eight previously purchased AIP kits, and $45.5 million for 17 BMUP (Block Modification Upgrade Program) kits. The BMUP kits will be used to upgrade P-3C Update II aircraft to the P-3C Update III common configuration. The AIP kits will be used to convert more P-3Cs to the AIP configuration used so successfully during Operation Allied Force. 

Northrop Grumman in Sunnyvale, Calif., and General Atomics in San Diego, Calif., have been awarded $61.7 million and $59.9 million contracts, respectively, by the Naval Air System Command for the development of full-scale reduced-length fully integrated prototypes of an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS). The new launch system, designed for use on board the next-generation CVNX aircraft carrier, will replace the current generation of steam-launch catapults. 

Raytheon has been awarded a $109.6 million Naval Air Systems Command contract modification for the full-rate production of Lot 2 of the AGM-154A Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW). The production of 414 and 74 JSOWs for the Navy and Air Force, respectively, is expected to be complete by March 2002. 

Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems has been awarded a $78.0 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract for the development of the WLD-1(V)1 Remote Minehunting System (RMS). The RMS is designed as a high-endurance, remotely controlled, low-observable, semi-submersible, mine-reconnaissance vehicle organic to a battle group. 

The third-stage rocket motor (TSRM) of the Standard SM-3 missile--being developed by Raytheon for the Navy Theater Wide ballistic-missile defense program--has been successfully tested in a high-altitude chamber at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., that simulates actual altitude operating conditions. The TRSM is being developed by Thiokol Propulsion in Elkton, Md.