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The Raytheon-built AGM-154A JSOW (joint standoff weapon) has been used in combat for the first time. The weapon, used in air strikes against antiaircraft defense sites in Iraq, was labeled a clear success by Navy officials.

Three JSOWs, precision-guided standoff glide bombs with a 40-mile range, were launched by Navy F/A-18C Hornet strike fighters against the Iraqi targets while the aircraft were patrolling the Southern Watch "no-fly" zone over Iraq.

"Reports from the fleet indicate JSOW performed flawlessly," said C. Dale Reis, senior vice president and general manager of the Raytheon Systems Company's Defense Systems Segment in Tucson, Ariz.

In January, warfighting commanders in the Persian Gulf requested the deployment of JSOW in response to new Iraqi provocations following the Desert Fox strikes in December. In less than 10 days the Naval Air Systems Command's Conventional Strike Weapons Program Office arranged for the delivery, on a C-17 cargo aircraft, of JSOWs to the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

The two F/A-18C squadrons (VFA-22 and VFA-94) assigned to Carrier Air Wing 11 on board the Carl Vinson were not specifically equipped with the mission computer hardware and software upgrades necessary for employment of the JSOW, but personnel at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, Calif., worked with Raytheon personnel to rapidly test an unreleased version of the JSOW software. The tested and validated software was quickly loaded into the JSOWs, which were then readied for shipment. Upon arrival on the carrier, a JSOW project pilot and a JSOW logistics expert conducted two days of refresher training for the Hornet pilots and ordnance crews.

The JSOWs were used to attack targets, Navy officials said, that previously would have required a dedicated strike group of 25 to 30 aircraft. Rear Adm. Alfred G. Harms Jr., commander of the USS Carl Vinson Battle Group, commenting on JSOW's "awesome capabilities," predicted that the new high-tech weapon "will revolutionize the way we prosecute targets."

The AGM-154A version used in the 25 January strikes dispenses 145 BLU-97 bomblets over an area the size of a football field. The AGM-154A recently received Department of Defense approval for full-rate production.

NNS Begins Design Of CVN 77 "Transition Carrier"

Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) representatives have met with Navy officials to formally begin the contract design process for the 10th and last Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the yet-unnamed CVN 77.

The CVN 77 design team includes members from NNS; the Naval Sea Systems Command; the Naval Air Systems Command; the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command; Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet; and several Navy laboratories. The contract design, officials said, "will include items such as drawings, specifications, and a list of equipment intended for installation in the ship."

"The work we do over the next year will allow the Navy and Newport News to resolve important issues that affect the capability and affordability of the ship," said Irwin F. Edenzon, director of future carrier programs for NNS.

CVN 77 will serve as a transition platform for the Navy's next-generation CVNX class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Full construction funding for CVN 77 is expected to be appropriated in fiscal year 2001.

NNS and SAIC Form New Fleet Service Venture

Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) have formed a worldwide joint-venture limited-liability company to offer a range of fleet services.

The new company, named AMSEC LLC, will absorb 1,200 employees of the current AMSEC, SAIC's subsidiary, as well as 300 NNS employees. AMSEC LLC expects to generate $130 million in revenues from services provided from 20 sites worldwide. AMSEC LLC will provide integrated engineering, installation, and logistics services for Navy ships. The work performed by AMSEC LLC most familiar to Sailors Navy-wide is the installation of new electronic equipment.

Carl M. Albero, president, chairman, and CEO of AMSEC, will serve as chairman and CEO of AMSEC LLC. The new company, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Va., is scheduled to begin operations this month.

"By combining NNS's integrated logistics support capability with AMSEC's total ship systems engineering and technical services, we have created the most cost-effective, full-service, platform life-cycle support organization for the U.S. Navy," said J. Robert Beyster, chairman and CEO of SAIC.

"The partnership with SAIC is another big step forward in our strategy to significantly grow fleet services," said William P. Fricks, chairman and CEO of NNS. "These services are increasingly important given the Navy's budget constraints and its aging fleet. Furthermore, with the financial resources of NNS and SAIC behind it, AMSEC LLC will pursue acquisitions to further expand its inventory of products and services for the Navy's active fleet."

Boeing Super Hornet Passes 4,000-Hour Milestone

The seven aircraft in the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet EMD (engineering and manufacturing development) fleet have now accumulated more than 4,000 flight hours in the aircraft's three-year development program. The 4,000-hour milestone was passed shortly before the Navy awarded Boeing a $1.8 billion contract modification to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) on the third lot (30 aircraft) of Super Hornets.

The fiscal year 1998 option calls for the production of 14 single-seat F/A-18E and 16 two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornets. General Electric Aircraft Engines has been awarded a $318.7 million contract to produce 66 F414-GE-400 turbofan engines (including spares) for the LRIP III Super Hornets. In a related development, Boeing has been awarded an $80 million contract for the mechanization and automation of production processes and for design improvements in the Super Hornet.

The milestone flight--number 2,683 for the Super Hornet EMD fleet--was flown on 12 January by Boeing test pilot Phil Pirozzi. "The Super Hornet government/industry team has achieved every milestone that was briefed seven years ago," said Capt. Robert O. Wirt, the government's Super Hornet flight-test director. "This airplane will be ready for OPEVAL [operational evaluation] on schedule, under cost, below weight, and performing to the standards the fleet warfighters asked us to deliver to the carrier decks."

Operational evaluation of the Navy's newest strike fighter is scheduled to begin in May 1999 at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif. The OPEVAL will include more than 800 flights over a six-month period. Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine (VX-9) will test the aircraft in all of its mission areas in various climates and at sea on board an aircraft carrier.

Related note: Navy officials said that the Super Hornet returned to sea in March 1999 on board the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman for further sea trials.

LM, RSC Reach Agreement On CEC Integration

Raytheon Systems Company and Lockheed Martin have agreed on a higher level of cooperation to help the Navy achieve its goals on integration of the cooperative engagement capability (CEC) concept in its surface-ship combat systems, Navy spokesmen said. The agreement will pave the way for minimizing interoperability problems between the systems being developed by the two companies.

Cooperation in the integration of CEC into the development of Raytheon's Ship Self-Defense System (SSDS) Mk2 and the Aegis theater ballistic-missile defense systems built by Lockheed Martin Government Electronics Systems will reduce the potential for interoperability conflicts that have arisen in the past, Navy officials said.

Possession of a CEC capability will enable sensors such as radar to share target data within a distributed network, thereby significantly improving tracking capability against aircraft and missile targets. The CEC capability also will enable a weapon fired by one platform to engage a target being tracked by another unit. Raytheon is the prime contractor for the CEC program.

Rear Adm. Kathleen K. Paige, deputy program executive officer for theater air defense and surface combatants, praised the cooperative effort. "The companies have put the best interests of the Navy first," Paige said.

Marinette Marine to Build Two More USCG Junipers

The Coast Guard has awarded a contract option to Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC) to build two Juniper B-class seagoing buoy tenders. The contract, valued at approximately $60 million, calls for the delivery of the Aspen and Sycamore in 2001 and 2002, respectively.

The new 225-foot buoy tenders will replace WWII-vintage 180-foot buoy tenders currently in Coast Guard service. The Juniper-class ships--equipped with state-of-the-art electronic navigation and positioning equipment--will maintain and repair many of the more than 50,000 buoys and other navigation aids used in the nation's marine transportation system. MMC now has four Juniper B-class tenders--of 11 planned by the Coast Guard--under contract. The company already has built five Juniper A-class tenders for the Coast Guard.

Outrider UAV Added To TCS Success String

The Tactical Control System (TCS) developed by the Navy has reached a major development milestone with the successful control of a flight of the Outrider unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the Alliant Techsystems flight test facility in Glasscock, Texas.

The TCS is being developed under the direction of the program executive office for cruise missiles and joint unmanned aerial vehicles as a ground station capable of controlling all types of Department of Defense tactical UAVs. Over the last two years, program officials said, the TCS has demonstrated its capability to control the Predator, Outrider, Prowler, and GNAT-750 UAVs, as well as one unmanned ground vehicle and one unmanned maritime vehicle.

During the test with Outrider, the vehicle was launched from an Outrider ground control system and seamlessly handed off to a TCS installed in an HMMWV (high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle, or "Humvee"). The TCS then controlled the Outrider in flight and the operations of its electro-optical/infrared payload.

A TCS launch-and-recovery test of a Predator UAV is scheduled for June 1999 at Camp Roberts, Calif. The Milestone II decision point for the program is scheduled for the third quarter of this fiscal year, following which the TCS will enter its engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase.

Raytheon's SM-2 Block IIIB Scores Seven Target Kills

Recent Follow-On Test and Evaluation (FOT&E) of the SM-2 Block IIIB version of the Raytheon-built Standard antiaircraft missile has resulted in the destruction of seven targets by eight Standard missiles.

The FOT&E series was conducted to evaluate the performance of the missile's new infrared seeker and to ensure that the missile's existing system capabilities remain intact. The tests--conducted against low-altitude, high-altitude, and short-range targets--were flown using SM-2s drawn from the low-rate initial production (LRIP) lot delivered to the Navy in October 1998. Full-rate production of the SM-2 Block IIIB is expected to begin this year. Raytheon completed the missile's engineering and manufacturing development phase in 1997.

"The SM-2 Block IIIB's outstanding performance during the FOT&E testing validates the missile's effectiveness against a variety of stressing threats and underscores the Navy's decision to authorize full-rate production," said Jerry K. Lockard, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems.

Raytheon officials said that the company expects the SM-2 Block IIIB to be in production for at least the next five years as the premier medium-range air-defense missile on the Navy's Aegis guided-missile cruisers and destroyers.

Northrop Grumman, Wärtsilä To Team on New Marine Diesels

Northrop Grumman Marine Systems has announced the signing of a teaming agreement with Wärtsilä NSD North America (WNSNA) to market diesel marine engines to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard.

WNSNA will supply engine designs and manufacturing technology for medium- and slow-speed diesel engines under the agreement; Northrop Grumman will provide marketing, program management, manufacturing, and logistics support.

"As the U.S. Navy continues to stress reductions in total cost of ownership, the transition from older, less reliable engines which propel amphibious and auxiliary ships to modern, fuel-efficient medium-speed diesel engines is inevitable," said William Malacrida, vice president of WNSNA. "The teaming arrangement provides the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard with a modern, cost-effective, systems-integration solution for propulsion and power generation."

LMAS Offers C-130J-30 For European FTA Program

Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems (LMAS) has submitted proposals to the governments of Belgium, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom offering the C-130J-30 Hercules to fill the Future Transport Aircraft (FTA) requirement.

The United Kingdom, currently accepting delivery of a batch of C-130J and C-130-30 ("stretched" version of the C-130J) aircraft, seeks to complement that fleet with additional transport aircraft. Spain and Belgium both are seeking to augment their current fleets of C-130H versions with more capable aircraft. France has a need to replace its aging C-160 Transall transports.

"We are offering an aircraft ... [that] through a combination of technical, operational, and economic advantages offers [these] nations the best value for money," said Robert Lange, LMAS vice president for business development.

The LMAS offer follows an offer to supply the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) six or seven C-130J-30 aircraft modified with an advanced derivative of Northrop Grumman's Hawkeye 2000 airborne early warning and control system. The RAAF aircraft's mission system would feature an advanced UHF (ultrahigh frequency) radar developed by Lockheed Martin Ocean, Radar, and Sensor Systems.

Defense Industry Notes

Newport News Shipbuilding has been awarded a Navy contract modification valued at $170 million for advance planning for the three-year overhaul and refueling of the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. The contract would fund design, documentation, engineering, material procurement, ship checks, fabrication, and preliminary shipyard and support facility work. The Dwight D. Eisenhower is scheduled to enter the shipyard in late 2000 when overhaul and refueling of the USS Nimitz has been completed.

Raytheon E-Systems has been awarded a $31.5 million Naval Air Systems Command contract to install and test airborne command post modifications to convert two E-6A Mercury aircraft into E-6B versions. The modifications are expected to be complete by August 2000.

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $23.6 million Navy contract for 90 additional BQM-74E multirole aerial targets and associated air launch kits. First deliveries of the new batch are expected in April 2000. The BQM-74E--produced at the company's facility in Hawthorne, Calif.--is a subsonic target that can simulate enemy strike aircraft and both antiship and land-attack cruise missiles.

Motorola's Systems Solutions Group has been awarded a $37.7 million three-year Naval Sea Systems Command contract to produce 756 Mk45 Mods 9 and 10 target detecting devices and associated materials. The devices serve as the fuzing components of the Navy's Standard missile.

Raytheon Systems Company has been awarded a $44 million contract for the production of eight Block 1 launching systems and three ordnance alteration kits for the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM). The company also has been awarded a $35 million contract modification to support work on 100 RAMs now in low-rate initial production.

Boeing has been awarded a $12 million contract to produce 28 retrofit kits to upgrade Naval Air Reserve F/A-18A Hornet strike fighters to the F/A-18A+ configuration.

Lockheed Martin (Canada) has selected Software Kinetics for Phase 2 of the Canadian Naval Electronic Warfare System II (CANEWS II). CANEWS II will enable shipboard operators to analyze radar signals in real time in a dense signal environment, identifying the source of a signal by comparing it with a library of known signals.

Lucas Aerospace has been awarded a contract from Raytheon Missile Systems Company to supply 23 control-actuation systems for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Tactical Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile program. A follow-on contract for 1,350 systems is expected, company officials said. Low-rate initial production is scheduled to begin in 2002.

National Technical Systems (NTS) has been awarded a $2.5 million contract to provide technical and engineering support to the Marine Corps Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD). NTS has teamed with M2 Technologies to focus on the development of new nonlethal technologies for all of the nation's armed services. The Marine Corps is the DOD executive agent for all nonlethal weapons activities and developments.

Telephonics has received additional orders for its APS-143 Ocean Eye surveillance radar, bringing to 23 the number on order. The APS-143 is being installed on Royal Australian Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy Kaman-built SH-2G Super Seasprite shipboard helicopters.

Cubic Defense Systems has delivered the first 10 (of 36 ordered) Ground Proximity Warning Systems (GPWSs) to the Navy. The systems, which will be installed on H-46 and H-53 helicopters, are designed to warn pilots of impending accidents caused by what is called "controlled flight into terrain." Cubic has an option to produce 90 additional GPWSs, and the potential for follow-on orders, the company said, is for 400 more.

Det Norske Veritas (DNV), a maritime classification society, has licensed Intergraph Corporation's 2D Rapid Application Development (RAD) environment and 3D design and engineering software development platform to speed to market its next-generation applications for shipbuilding, ship classification, and structural analysis.

Wide Band Systems has received a Navy contract for modification kits to extend the life of the WLR-1 electronic countermeasures receiver sets aboard Navy ships.

Computing Devices Canada, a General Dynamics subsidiary, has been selected to supply active-matrix liquid-crystal displays (AMLCDs) for the Marine Corps' AAAV (Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle) program. The full-color flat-panel AMLCDs (three per vehicle) are designed to meet all shock, vibration, and environmental specifications required for the AAAV, company officials said.

Lucent Technologies and Daimler-Chrysler Aerospace have been awarded a Royal Navy contract for 45 Lucent DEFINITY enterprise communication servers. The "ruggedized" equipment--interoperable with the equipment used by NATO allies--will be installed on R.N. ships when the ships are refurbished. DEFINITY systems already are installed on more than 55 U.S. Navy ships. *

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U.S. Shipbuilders: The Tide Begins to Turn