Aerospace & Defense News - Defense

AirGuide Business, March 31, 2008

Mar 31, 2008

Coast Guard considers options for UAVs. The Coast Guard is in a pre-acquisition phase for unmanned aerial vehicles and is evaluating basing options. Flight tests with Customs and Border Patrol using a Predator B concluded this week. Officials note that the Coast Guard requires maritime surveillance and said shipboard UAV may be able to provide such capability. Mar 28, 2008

A practical four-engine rocket ship that will take people on Mach 2 thrill rides up to 200,000 feet and which also has the interest of the Air Force. The design of the Lynx rocket was shown off Wednesday by Xcor Aerospace, a Mojave, Calif.-based company that has spent nine years developing rocket engines.Fueled by liquid oxygen and kerosene, the two-seat ship - a bit more slender than a small executive jet - is intended to operate like an airliner, making up to four flights a day while using runways for takeoffs and landings like a normal airplane.CEO Jeff Greason withheld specifics of costs and technical details at a news conference but said he was certain investors will finance construction of the Lynx, which he estimated from will cost "south of $10 million," not including previous development costs. Xcor has been in talks with companies that may operate Lynx spacecraft for space tourism, Greason said without naming them. Mar 26, 2008

DCK Pacific

DCK Pacific in Honolulu has won a $24.5 million contract from the U.S. Navy for work on Guam.The contract is for the replacement of existing water lines and pumps, installation of a new emergency generator and water meters, construction of an air-conditioned addition to the pump station building and several other projects at Naval Base Guam, the Department of Defense said Tuesday. Work is expected to be completed by April 2010. Mar 25, 2008

Mercury Computer

Mercury Computer Systems, a leading provider of specialized, high- performance computing solutions for HPC and embedded computing markets, was recently awarded a number of design wins for defense and commercial applications. These engagements, two of which are described below, represent the growing need for high-speed computation, in both passive and hazardous environments, and demonstrate why leading primes and OEMs continue to turn to Mercury to solve their most complex computing challenges."Mercury is uniquely qualified to address the demands of today's computationally intensive applications, as our breadth and depth of expertise in designing and building sensor computing systems is unmatched in the industry," said Didier Thibaud, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Advanced Computing Solutions for Mercury Computer Systems. "As we continue to refine and accelerate our product development and professional services in this area, we're expanding our served market base with new business opportunities that tap into our new VXS and VPX platforms, as well as our mainstay RACE (R) technology, robust SBC portfolio, RF and mixed-signal technologies, and commercial network-ready AdvancedTCA and MicroTCA offerings -- all of which provide an open platform for technology insertion and migration." Mar 26, 2008

Raytheon

Raytheon has completed the System Requirements Review (SRR) for the U.S. Air Force on the next-generation Global Positioning System (GPS) Control Segment (OCX). This is the first milestone for the OCX program, satisfying the Air Force's system engineering standard acceptance criteria. Raytheon's successful completion of this milestone establishes a solid foundation and roadmap for the achievement of remaining milestones.The new control segment will have four development phases: The first phase is for the operation of full capabilities of the current GPS Block II satellites; the subsequent OCX phases will provide additional net-centric and navigation warfare capabilities in addition to flying the next-generation GPS Block III space satellites. Mar 28, 2008

SAIC

Defense contractor SAIC Inc. on Tuesday posted an 18 percent increase in fourth-quarter profits, beating Wall Street's expectations at the end of its first year as a publicly traded company. But its stock slipped in after-hours trading as investors digested the results that also showed a drop in fourth-quarter cash generation and the company forecast a decline in income from interest payments. San Diego-based SAIC earned $99 million, or 24 cents a share, during the three-month period that ended Jan. 31, compared to a profit of $84 million, or 20 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier. Excluding a small loss from discontinued operations, SAIC earned 25 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected the company to earn 22 cents a share.Revenue grew 12 percent to $2.34 billion from $2.09 billion. Analysts projected revenue of $2.27 billion. The results included some disappointing news. The company said it generated $122 million cash from operations during the fourth quarter, down 39 percent from $199 million last year. Mar 25, 2008

Unitech

Unitech has leased a 55,215-square-foot building near the University of Central Florida. Based in Centreville, Va., Unitech is a defense contractor that provides training, performance improvement, as well as simulation and security solutions.The office is located at the Concourse at Quadrangle, a 45-acre office park being developed by the Alter Group. John Gilbert of CB Richard Ellis Group represented the Alter Group in the transaction. Rick Solik and Ann Rosenau of Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc. represented Unitech. Mar 25, 2008