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A ceremony at Marine Corps Air Facility in Quantico, Va., was the stage for the rollout of the first prototype of the General Dynamics Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV).

The AAAV was showcased with the other two platforms of the "amphibious triad" central to the Marine Corps' Operational Maneuver From the Sea (OFMTS) warfighting concept--the MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and the veteran LCAC (landing craft, air cushion).

"This morning we enter the 21st century, if not by date, then in our minds," said then-Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Charles C. Krulak at the 23 June ceremony. "We do not see a bridge to the future before us; we see a leap into the future."

Delivering the AAAV was Nicholas D. Chabraja, chairman and CEO of General Dynamics. "For General Dynamics, the best reward of all is when the Ma-rines tell us that the AAAV is tougher, more capable, and more survivable than any [previous amphibious] vehicle they have ever had," Chabraja said.

In a related development, General Dynamics Land Systems announced that it has delivered the hull of the second prototype to the AAAV Technology Center, operated by General Dynamics in Woodbridge, Va. The hull, fabricated at Lockheed Martin's Y12 facility in Oakridge, Tenn., was machined at the Lima (Ohio) Army Tank Plant, also operated by General Dynamics. The AAAV Technology Center will integrate the vehicle's hardware and software components and complete final assembly of the three AAAV prototypes.

Full-rate production of the AAAV--which can carry 18 Marines and a crew of three over water at speeds in excess of 20 knots and achieve land speeds up to 45 miles per hour--is scheduled to begin in 2005. The Marine Corps expects to purchase more than 1,000 AAAVs to replace its current fleet of AAV7s.

Raytheon AIM-9X Destroys Target in Fourth Test Shot

The latest version of the Raytheon-built Sidewinder heat-seeking air-to-air missile has scored a direct hit on a target aircraft. The AIM-9X missile, fired on its fourth test shot from an F/A-18D Hornet, destroyed a QF-4 Phantom II target over a test range at the Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, Calif.

The AIM-9X, designed to be highly maneuverable, boasts a high off-boresight capability and is compatible as well with the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) being developed by the Air Force. The JHMCS will allow the pilot of a launch aircraft to lock a missile onto the intended target simply by looking at that target. The AIM-9X has smaller fins than its predecessors have, a characteristic that reduces drag and allows for increased speed.

"Tests of the AIM-9X show that this missile can meet the warfighter's needs well into the next century," said Capt. David J. Venlet, the Navy's program manager for air-to-air missiles.

The first test shot of the AIM-9X was in April 1999 when the missile was launched from an F/A-18C at China Lake. That missile, which had no seeker installed, was used to test the structural integrity of the missile's airframe and aircraft-separation characteristics.

The second shot also was fired from an F/A-18. The third was launched in June from an Air Force F-15C Eagle over the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

"I am extremely proud of the men and women of the joint Navy, Air Force, and Raytheon team that made this happen," said Air Force Lt. Col. James McClendon, AIM-9X program manager, commenting on the third test shot. "There is a real need for AIM-9X, and every test we get under our belt increases confidence in our product."

"This [third] test clearly demonstrated the AIM-9X Sidewinder's versatility from a second launch platform and confirms Sidewinder's role as the world's best short-range air-to-air missile," said Chuck Anderson, vice president for air-to-air missiles at Raytheon Systems Company in Tucson, Ariz.

The Sidewinder missile--which was first fired successfully in September 1953--has been the standard U.S. heat-seeking air-to-air missile for more than four decades. Raytheon expects to deliver a minimum of 10,080 AIM-9X missiles (5,080 to the Air Force and 5,000 to the Navy and Marine Corps). Total program cost is expected to reach $3 billion, program officials said. The missile is scheduled to be deployed on board the F/A-18C/D Hornet, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F-15C/D/E Eagle, F-22 Raptor, and the Joint Strike Fighter.

Textron Receives Order For Coast Guard MLBs

The Coast Guard has exercised a contract option to order an additional 23 47-foot motor lifeboats (MLBs) from Litton's Textron Marine & Land Systems (TM&LS) in New Orleans, La. The $20 million contract--which includes funds for training, spare parts, and other support services--brings to 93 the total number of MLBs ordered from Textron.

Textron designed and built a prototype 47-foot MLB in 1990, and also built five preproduction boats. The newest order picks up the option in a 1995 contract under which Textron initially delivered 20 MLBs; earlier options were exercised in 1996 and 1997 for 20 and 30 boats, respectively. Deliveries to the Coast Guard began in 1997; 37 MLBs had been delivered to the Coast Guard by the end of June 1999. Total value of the contract, with all options included, is estimated to be $165 million.

The 47-foot MLB--at 25 knots twice as fast as its predecessor, the 44-foot MLB--is built with an aluminum hull that can withstand 20-foot breaking waves, and has a self-righting capability that enables it to "pitch-pole" or roll into swells and self-right in less than 10 seconds. The MLBs are designed to perform search-and-rescue missions in heavy weather.

Raytheon To Rebuild Tomahawks to Block III

The Navy's Program Executive Office for Cruise Missiles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles has awarded a contract modification to Raytheon Systems Company for the remanufacture and support of up to 624 Tomahawk cruise missiles to the Block III configuration.

The $414 million contract calls for Raytheon to rebuild 200 Tomahawk antiship missiles (TASMs) and 424 Tomahawk Block II land-attack missiles to the Block III land-attack version. The Block III--which entered service in May 1993--has a longer range than the Block II and superior terrain-contour matching capability; it is equipped with a new engine, a global positioning system, and a time-of-arrival control unit.

The Navy has fired hundreds of Tomahawks during the 1990s against targets in Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, Bosnia, and Yugoslavia. A new version of the versatile missile--the Block IV Tactical Tomahawk--is now under development.

Deliveries of the Block IIIs--which require 120 days to convert--are required under the contract to begin no later than May 2001.

Bell Boeing Begins Modifications for CV-22B

An MV-22B Osprey has been inducted into Bell Helicopter Textron's Flight Research Center in Arlington, Texas, for modification into a CV-22B special operations version of the versatile new tiltrotor aircraft.

The aircraft, Osprey No. 9--the third EMD (engineering and manufacturing development) aircraft--was released in June from the MV-22B EMD program and flown from the test site (the Naval Air Warfare Center at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.) to the company's Arlington facility, where it will be remanufactured into a production-representative CV-22B. After remanufacture it will be used to validate equipment unique to the CV-22 and will be available for operational evaluation by the multiservice operational test team.

Osprey No. 7--the second aircraft selected for conversion to the CV-22B configuration--is scheduled to arrive in Arlington this month; No. 7 is scheduled to be used for initial development and testing of the aircraft's supplemental fuel tanks and terrain-following/
terrain-avoidance radar.

The Air Force CV-22B--designed to carry a payload of 18 troops over a mission radius of 500 miles--is intended to meet U.S. Special Operations Command requirements for the long-range insertion and extraction of special operations teams. The CV-22B will be equipped with, in addition to its new radar and supplemental fuel tanks, an enhanced electronic warfare suite and additional communications and navigation equipment. Initial deliveries of the CV-22B are scheduled for 2003, with initial operational capability expected by 2004.

"Since its inception, the Osprey has been a leading example of a truly joint-service program," said John Buyers, V-22 program for Bell Boeing at Patuxent River. "This is an important next step," he said, "in executing an affordable program that meets multiservice needs."

Lockheed Martin Delivers New USW System to Navy

The first complete set of the new SQQ-89(V) Undersea Warfare Combat (USW) System has been delivered to the Navy by Lockheed Martin Ocean, Radar, and Sensor Systems (OR&SS) in Syracuse, N.Y. The system will be installed in the Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyer Howard, being built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine.

The SQQ-89(V) is one of 20 sets being built by Lockheed Martin under a $500 million engineering and production program that began in 1996. Deliveries are expected to be complete by 2004.

The SQQ-89(V)--which includes a hull-mounted sonar, a sonobuoy processing system, and a fire-control system (designed to launch torpedoes and other weapons against undersea targets)--will allow the Navy's surface combatants to detect, classify, localize, track, and attack undersea targets faster and with greater effectiveness than has ever before been possible.

"Lockheed Martin helped make integrated antisubmarine warfare a reality, and our delivery of the newest version of this product will help prepare the Navy for the 21st-century challenges," said William C. Carlson, OR&SS director of SQQ-89(V) programs for Lockheed Martin.

S-3B SLAP To Test Prototype SLEP Kit

An S-3B Viking sea-control aircraft has been shipped to the Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems (LMAS) plant in Marietta, Ga., for duty as a fatigue-test airframe for the S-3 Service-Life Assessment Program (S-3 SLAP).

LMAS will carry out a number of full-scale fatigue tests on the S-3B after all components of a proposed service-life extension program (SLEP) kit for the aircraft have been installed. The SLAP tests will be used to validate the design and effectiveness of the SLEP kit in extending the life of the S-3 fleet, now entering its second quarter century of service.

The SLAP S-3B is being rigged with a tailored static-test structure that will use hydraulic jacks to apply loads to the structure of the airframe to simulate the flying stresses encountered in typical fleet operations. The S-3's design fatigue life is rated at 13,000 flight hours, based on tests conducted during the aircraft's development phase in the early 1970s. The new tests planned, after the SLEP installations, are expected to demonstrate that the useful life of the aircraft can be extended to 17,750 hours or more. The tests are scheduled to begin in mid-2001 and continue through 2002.

The SLEP program calls for structural reinforcement or replacement of parts in approximately 16 locations in the aircraft. If the post-SLAP tests prove successful, the Navy is expected to order retrofit SLEP kits to strengthen the 115 S-3Bs now in service.

"The ultimate objective of the program is to increase the remaining service life of the S-3 fleet," said Rob Weiss, S-3 program manager at LMAS. "We believe this program will allow the Navy to fly the S-3 beyond 2015," he said.

Defense Industry Notes

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reversed the decision of a lower court that favored Boeing and General Dynamics in litigation over the canceled A-12 Avenger II attack aircraft. The Court of Appeals took no position on the outcome; it remanded the decision back to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to consider whether the U.S. government's decision to terminate the program for reason of default was justified.

Jerome E. Joseph, International President of The Propeller Club of the United States, and Maritime Administrator Clyde J. Hart Jr. have established an industry-government cooperative program to provide awareness of careers in the American maritime industry, as well as to foster interest in mathematics, science, geography, history, English, and transportation. The joint project will use "common transportation resources" to educate and motivate students, officials said.

General Electric Aircraft Engines has been awarded a $114 million contract modification to provide firm requirements for Phase III of the Joint Strike Fighter Alternate Engine Program.

Newport News Shipbuilding has been awarded an $88.5 million contract modification for maintenance, repairs, and the installation of various equipment on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise during the ship's yard period scheduled to begin this month.

Raytheon Aircraft Company has been awarded an $8.2 million Navy contract for 35 AQM-37 aerial drone targets; deliveries are expected to be complete by November 2001.

Boeing has been awarded a $27 million contract for low-rate initial production of 1,308 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) kits. The JDAM was used with great effectiveness during the U.S./NATO air campaign against targets in Kosovo and Serbia. 

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