Aerospace World
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Aerospace World By Suzann Chapman, Associate Editor JSF Competition Narrows The Department of Defense selected two industrial teams, led by Boeing Republican Tapped for Pentagon and Lockheed Martin, to develop Joint With the Republicans firmly in control of Capitol Hill, President Clinton has reached Strike Fighter (JSF) fly ing demonstra- out to a GOP veteran, Sen. William S. Cohen, to be his third Secretary of Defense in tors. The November 16 announcement a bid to forge Congressional acceptance of his policies in a second term. eliminated the Mc Donnell Douglas/ The President announced the nomination December 5, days before the Maine Northrop Grumman/British Aerospace lawmaker was to retire from the Senate. He said the nominee would help secure “bi- contractor team from the high-stakes partisan support” for defense. The Senator said his nomination sends “a very strong fighter competition. signal” that the President wants “a bipartisan approach” to defense. The JSF program is expected to If confirmed, Senator Cohen would replace Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, produce a family of aircraft that will who in 1994 stepped into the post vacated by Les Aspin, the Administration’s first Pen- replace, at a minimum, USAF’s F-16 tagon chief. (Secretary Perry tendered his resignation in November.) The 56-year-old nominee, a 24-year veteran of Congress, served three terms in the House and then and A-10, the Navy’s A-6E, the Marine three terms in the Senate, where he served on the armed services and intelligence Corps’s AV-8B and F/A-18C/D, and the committees. He chose not to seek reelection in 1996. British Royal Navy’s Sea Harrier. The Senator Cohen has left an extensive defense record. He generally is conservative new aircraft might also be chosen to on national security. He supported the Bush Administration’s prosecution of the Persian replace the Air Force’s F-111, F-117, Gulf War, opposed major cuts in the defense and intelligence budgets, and supported and F-15E fighters. the Peacekeeper missile and ballistic missile defense programs. However, he also This phase of the JSF program is has been a leading Congressional opponent of the B-2 stealth bomber, arguing that valued at $2.2 billion and includes pro- it is too costly and should be halted after production of 21 of the aircraft. pulsion efforts. Boeing received nearly $662 million and Lockheed Martin about $719 million. Each contractor team will build two concept demonstrators, expected to fly in 2001. After that, DoD Martin’s win of the F-22 contract. doing business, emphasizing that the will select a winner. “We saw . a lot of confidence [that Pentagon would not stage a repeat of The winner ultimately could reap as Boeing] could, indeed, provide all of the its last “common” aircraft program. The much as $170 billion from the next- services with the products we need to Tactical Fighter, Experimental, led to the generation fighter program. Plans now meet our operational requirements,” the Air Force F-111 but failed to produce an call for the contractor to build some 3,000 USAF official said. aircraft acceptable to the Navy. of the jets for the US Air Force, Navy, However, defense officials also en- “It’s nothing like the approach that and Marine Corps and Britain’s Royal couraged possible collaboration by we took on the old TFX program way Navy. With additional export sales, that McDonnell Douglas or other US and back in the 1960s,” he said. “We will be number could go even higher. UK firms who might want to work with building three different designs here, the two winners on what they termed an not a single design.” Teams Offer “Best Value” “extremely challenging” JSF program. Produced in common will be the In the wake of the long-awaited JSF key high-cost components—engines, decision, DoD officials declined to pro- Not Your Father’s Joint Aircraft avionics, and many high-cost structural vide specifics of the source selection The Joint Strike Fighter will trim nor- components. Advances in the require- process but did state that the Boeing mal aircraft development costs by about ments process—using modeling and and Lockheed Martin teams offered $18 billion and 20-year life-cycle costs simulation to conduct trade studies— “best value.” by about $60 billion, estimated DoD’s top and advances in design tools and manu- Best value, they said, included af- acquisition official, Dr. Paul G. Kaminski. facturing have facilitated considerable fordability, management, and technical He compared the cost savings on the progress in the way that the Pentagon approach. triservice program to separate-service now designs and builds aircraft. Although Boeing has not built a pro- stand-alone aircraft efforts. “Rather than force-fitting a common duction fighter aircraft since the 1930s, The savings will come from a flexible aircraft designed to different require- a senior Air Force official cited the manufacturing approach and the use of ments, the JSF concept . is to build Washington aerospace giant’s expertise common subsystems to gain economies three highly common aircraft variants on in building the wings and rear fuselage of scale, as well as procurement of com- the same production line using flexible for USAF’s F-22 and the company’s mercial high-end parts. Dr. Kaminski manufacturing technology,” Dr. Kaminski significant contribution to Lockheed declared this to be a truly new way of told reporters on November 16. AIR FORCE Magazine / January 1997 9 Aerospace World Boeing Team Nets Laser Craft November 4 launched AGM-88C High- Secretary Perry asked for reports by The Air Force awarded a $1.1 billion Speed Antiradiation Mis siles at Iraqi the middle of this month on “how each contract on November 12 to Boeing, radar sites, the Pentagon said. service communicates the depart ment’s which is teamed with Lock heed Martin According to a statement issued by resolve not to tolerate sexual harass- and TRW to produce a prototype Air- the Pentagon on November 8, DoD’s ment or unprofessional relationships,” borne Laser (ABL) attack aircraft, now review of the two November HARM according to a Pentagon spokesman. designated the YAL-1A. launches confirmed that both F-16CJ The Air Force issued a statement on The ABL system, installed on a com- aircraft had been illuminated by the November 14 reminding military and mercial 747-400F airframe, will employ Iraqi radars. civilian members that it has established a high-energy laser to destroy theater “The [Joint Staff] assessment team a toll-free number for reporting sexual ballistic missiles while they are in their also found the performance of the pi- harassment or other improper behavior: boost phase, still over enemy territory. lots to be highly professional and that (800) 558-1404. This Air Force Person- The Boeing team has until the fall of they operated properly under the rules nel Center line at Randolph AFB, Tex., 2002 to deliver the ABL prototype and of engagement,” stated the Pentagon. is manned during normal duty hours in prove its capability by destroying a Pilots flying missions under Opera- the Central Standard Time zone. boosting theater ballistic missile. tion Southern Watch’s ROE may attack The service stressed its “zero toler- This award culminates a two-year any radar site illuminating their aircraft ance” standard for sexual harassment concept-definition phase, which in- in a threatening way. Both aircraft, and discrimination. The statement also cluded the Boeing team and a team assigned to the 4404th Composite suggested using local chains of com- led by Rockwell International. Despite Wing (Provisional) at Prince Sultan mand and social action offices to report earlier skepticism, DoD now classifies AB, Saudi Arabia, returned to base misconduct. the revolutionary laser weapon system safely following the incidents. as a major defense acquisition program. Pentagon officials stated on Novem- USAF Sets Up in Africa TRW, which built the world’s first ber 3 that early analysis of the first Even in the midst of daily planning high-energy chemical laser in 1973 incident “did not support initial indica- changes for multinational relief efforts for DoD, will develop the chemical tions of radar activity.” to Rwanda and Zaire, Air Mobility Com- oxygen-iodine laser. Lockheed Martin The next day, Defense Secretary Wil- mand forces were among the first on the is in charge of target acquisition and liam J. Perry ordered the Joint Staff to scene. Two C-17s, one C-5, one C-141, laser-beam adaptive optics. Boe ing will investigate both incidents to find out if and one KC-10 headed to Europe on manage systems integration, aircraft Iraqi radar did, in fact, target the USAF November 14 prior to heading for Africa. modifications, and the development of aircraft or if the F-16 on-board instru- The aircraft carried Tanker Airlift battle-management systems. ments gave a faulty reading. Control Elements (TALCEs) to set up Following successful completion of self-supporting airlift operations in Af- this phase, USAF plans to award a Sexual Harassment Stopping rica, as well as additional aircrews to follow-on contract for about $4.5 billion On November 14, the Air Force training sustain around-the-clock operations. for a fleet of seven ABL aircraft. The first commander at Lackland AFB, Tex., told In response to questions on Novem- three would be due by 2006. reporters that the service had disciplined ber 19, Secretary Perry stated that During a conflict, two ABL aircraft eight male instructors during the past current thinking put the US contribu- would circle at about 40,000 feet over three years in sexual harassment cases tion for the effort at fewer than 1,000 friendly territory around the clock.