Sunday, April 15, 2007
US Army sees $1.5 bln budget to start spy plane development
The U.S. Army expects its new plan for the Aerial Common Sensor will need about $1.5 billion in development money.
And it hopes to start system design and development around 2009, with prototypes available by 2013 or 2014.
Labels: ACS
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Saturday, April 07, 2007
U.S. Army, Navy to Develop Separate ISR Aircraft
The U.S. Navy and Army have agreed to develop their own signals intelligence aircraft seperately.
The Aerial Common Sensor program was expected to meet both services' needs but the ACS was canceled in 2006.
A recent study concluded that both had different mission-radius and on-station time requirements.
Labels: ACS
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Friday, March 30, 2007
Aerial Common Sensor Gets Green Light from Army Leadership
The U.S. Army said Thursday it will restart the Aerial Common Sensor program. The program will take new shape over the next 60 days.
The ACS was canceled in early 2006 due to weight problems on the aircraft.
Labels: ACS
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Friday, November 03, 2006
U.S. Army revives planned spy plane, to upgrade 2 others
The U.S. Army is resurrecting the Aerial Common Sensor program and upgrade two older spy plane programs.
The Guardrail Common Sensor program will undergo upgrading next year at the tune of between $200 million and $460 million. No information is available the on Airborne Reconnaissance Low.
Labels: ACS
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Sunday, October 08, 2006
Army revives ACS program
Defense contractors have been invited for a briefing on Oct. 31 at Fort Monmouth as the U.S. Army revives the Aerial Common Sensor program.
Labels: ACS
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Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Brazil Embraer eyes new crack at US defense market
Embraer expects the United States to resurrect the Common Aerial Sensor program next year and is gearing up to take part in the bidding.
The program was cancelled in January after the Pentagon found that Embraer's jet was too small to fit all the sensors.
Labels: ACS
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Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Boeing signals intent to offer SIGINT development of 737
The U.S. Army will take a close look at Boeing's new 737 SIGINT in a six-month study following the failure of the US Army/Navy Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) program.
Labels: ACS
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Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Cancellation is blow to Embraer's ambitions
The loss of the Aerial Common Sensor contract was a heavy blow to Brazilian aircraft maker, Embraer.
The company had wanted to expand its military aviation portfolio and the deal was expected to help it break into the North American market.
Labels: ACS
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Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Lockheed to get U.S. spy-plane scrapping fees
Lockheed Martin is expected to receive contract termination fees for the cancellation of the Aerial Common Sensor program.
The U.S. Army said the aerospace company was not at fault in the scrapping of the initial, $879 million contract and the problems were too pricey to fix.
Labels: ACS
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Sunday, January 15, 2006
Aerial Common Sensor still to fly though contract terminates
The U.S. Army will continue its efforts to develop the Aerial Common Sensor and it intends to recompete the contract as early as 2009.
Labels: ACS
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Friday, January 13, 2006
Army May End Lockheed Spy Plane Contract
The U.S. Army has cancelled Lockheed Martin's contract to build a new plane under the Aerial Common Sensor program.
The Army said it plans to continue the Aerial Common Sensor program but the Army's assistant secretary for acquisition and logistics, Claude Bolton, hinted that the Army and Navy may split and seek to build their own spy plane.
Labels: ACS
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Thursday, January 12, 2006
Army ready to cancel ACS, affecting Navy program as well
The U.S. Army is expected to announce on Jan. 12 that it is canceling its troubled Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) program.
The decision is outlined in a Dec. 20, 2005, budget memo signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, Bloomberg News reported.
Labels: ACS
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Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Army extends review of Lockheed spy plane (Free Registration)
The U.S. Army extended a stop-work order by 30 days for the Aerial Common Sensor program.
This is to give the Army more time to review Lockheed Martin's four detailed proposals.
Labels: ACS
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Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Embraer's spy plane plans on hold
Embraer may have to wait until Dec. 14 to find out if its still in the Aerial Common Sensor program.
Lockheed Martin presented three plans to the U.S. Army and one of the option is to replace the aircraft with Bombardier's Global Express.
Labels: ACS
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Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Lockheed Martin said to recommend switch to Bombardier for Aerial Common Sensor
Lockheed Martin will recommend to the U.S. Army that it switch to Bombardier's Global Express as the platform for the troubled Aerial Common Sensor program.
The U.S. Army had earlier requested information on the Sentinel R1 from U.K. Ministry of Defence and Raytheon.
Labels: ACS
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Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Navy May Scrap Ties With Lockheed Spy-Plane Project, Young Says
The U.S. Navy may pull out of the Aerial Common Sensor program if Lockheed Martin cannot prove that its solution will meet naval reconnaissance needs.
The Navy wants to purchase 19 aircraft as part of a 57 aircraft joint program led by the U.S. Army.
The Navy's outgoing Assistant Secretary for Acquisition John Young said if the Army sticks with the Embraer 145 airframe and opts for a lesser capability, the Navy will reevaluate to see if it meet its needs.
Labels: ACS
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Tuesday, October 25, 2005
US forces make contingency plans for aerial sensor
A summary of Jane's report on the Aerial Common Sensor progress. Nothing much new since similar stuff has been covered
here and
here.
Labels: ACS
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Saturday, October 22, 2005
Army says spy plane needed despite troubles
U.S. Army acquisitions chief Claude Bolton said the Aerial Common Sensor is important to his service is anxiously awaiting suggestions from Lockheed Martin to save the program.
The Army is keeping all options open including, termination, losing some sensors to be able to stick with the ERJ-145, or moving to a larger aircraft.
U.S. Navy officials told the joint subcommittee hearing of the House intelligence and armed services committees that they are drafting contingency plans to use the P-8A instead.
Labels: ACS
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US Army seeks Northrop spy plane upgrade after ACS delay (Free Registration)
The U.S. Army wants to shift near-term funding into upgrading the Guardrail and Airborne Reconnaissance-Low spy plane systems.
The Army reached this decision after a Navy analysis found that the Aerial Common Sensor program could be at least three years behind schedule.
Labels: ACS
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Thursday, October 06, 2005
ERJ-145 still a candidate for Army’s ACS, Lockheed says
Lockheed will still consider keeping the ERJ-145 as the platform for the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) program.
Marshall Keith, the program manager, said LM have found ways to trade off the weight from the aircraft.
Labels: ACS
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Wednesday, October 05, 2005
US Army seeks to avert cost rise on Lockheed plane
U.S. Army Secretary Francis Harvey is trying hard to avert the increased costs of the Aerial Common Sensor program.
He had asked Army and Navy program officials to re-examine their requirements to ensure that all the avionics being put aboard the aircraft were truly necessary.
He is also confident that Lockheed would work hard to lower the weight of the electronic payloads.
Labels: ACS
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Friday, September 23, 2005
Northrop urges DoD to recompete troubled Army spy plane
Northrop Grumman wants the Pentagon to reopen bidding for the Aerial Common Sensor.
The company believes the recent stop-work order given to Lockheed is an indication that the Army is in a process to terminate the contract.
Northrop Grumman maintains that its proposal, using a different aircraft, wouldn't have encountered the weight, power and cooling problems that plagued Lockheed.
Program spokesman Henry Kearney countered that Northrop Grumman's proposal has a high risk of exceeding the maximum zero fuel weight of the aircraft.
Analysts said both the Army and the Navy feels that Lockheeds electronics are the best and will unlikely change contractor.
Labels: ACS
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Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Global Express could replace ERJ-145 as ACS airframe
Bombardier’s Global Express that is being used by Raytheon Systems’ Sentinel R1 could replace the Embraer ERJ-145 for the Lockheed Martin Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) programme.
The U.S. Army has requested information about the capabilities of the Sentinel R1 from U.K. Ministry of Defence and Raytheon.
Labels: ACS
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Saturday, September 17, 2005
Army Sees At Least $500 Million Spy Plane Cost Growth
The U.S. Army said Friday that changes to the Aerial Common Sensor program are likely to add 50% to the cost of the system-design phase.
The Army will decide whether to keep or terminate Lockheed Martin's within 30 days after receiving Lockheed's recommendations to fix overweight problems.
Edward Bair, program executive officer for electronic warfare, said the Army could choose another plane, buy sensors without a dedicated airplane, or join forces with an existing Air Force or Navy program.
Labels: ACS
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Thursday, September 15, 2005
US Army Gives Lockheed 60 Days To Make Spy Plane Case
The U.S. Army has given Lockheed Martin 60 days to find a bigger plane for the Aerial Common Sensor program.
The Army stop short of terminating the program. It was reported here that the Army wants to cancel the program.
Labels: ACS
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Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Lockheed looking to dump Embraer for spy plane-WSJ
Lockheed Martin may drop Embraer as the plane supplier for the Aerial Common Sensor after the U.S. Army is skeptical that the untested bigger model is suitable for military use.
Wall Street Journal said LM is talking to Raytheon as a supplier.
Labels: ACS
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Friday, September 02, 2005
Lockheed Spy Plane Deal May Be Rebid (Free Registration)
The U.S. Army may terminate Lockheed Martin's contract for the Aerial Common Sensor and reopen it for new bidding.
Edward Bair, the official in charge of electronic warfare, said he would rebid the program if Lockheed couldn't convince him that it could provide a plane at a cost and schedule that met the Army's requirements.
Labels: ACS
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Sunday, August 28, 2005
Northrop may protest spy plane program
Scroll down the page and its says that Northrop Grumman may protest to the U.S. Army that it could have avoided the plane weight problems of ACS by selecting it instead of Lockheed Martin.
The U.S. Navy also has launched a review of the Aerial Common Sensor program to make sure it's been properly handled.
Labels: ACS
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Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Lockheed uncertain over spy-plane airframes - WSJ
Wall Street Journal reported that Lockheed Martin was unsure the viability of its proposal for the U.S. Army Aerial Common Sensor before it secured the multibillion-dollar contract to build them.
The newspaper said a source close to the program said a Lockheed manager told him the company ultimately decided it was too late in the bid preparations to switch the plane, but that Lockheed would consider options if it won the contract.
Labels: ACS
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Saturday, August 13, 2005
Lockheed looking at Embraer, Boeing for spy plane
Lockheed Martin Corp. is favouring the Embraer 190 as its choice to replace Embraer 145 for the Aerial Common Sensor program.
Judith Gan, spokeswoman for Lockheed's integrated systems and solutions unit, could only say that Embraer 190, Boeing Co. 737, Gulfstream G550 and the Bombardier Global Express are in the running.
Defense analysts howver said the U.S. Army and Navy might choose different planes.
The USN could select the 737 since its using the plane for the MMA program.
Labels: ACS
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Thursday, August 11, 2005
Lockheed, Army To Pick New Plane For Sensor Program Soon
Lockheed Martin Corp. said Wednesday that it and the U.S. Army soon will pick a new aircraft to house the Aerial Common Sensor.
Embraer ERJ 145 was initially selected to be the platform.
Brazilian newspapers reported last month that Embraer is now out of the running for the program.
Labels: ACS
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Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Spy gear may not fit in Embraer planeEmbraer is waiting to learn whether it will be replaced as the airframe provider for the U.S. Army Aerial Common Sensor program..
Labels: ACS
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Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Brazil's Embraer reportedly out of running for U.S. spy-jet dealEmbraer's ERJ-145 jets had been dropped by Lockheed to be the platform for the Aerial Common Sensor programme.
Labels: ACS
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Friday, May 06, 2005
Argon ST, Inc. Receives Contract Award of $73.5M for Aerial Common Sensor Subsystem DevelopmentArgon ST, Inc. announced that its Reconnaissance Systems Group has received a contract award to design, develop and integrate a sensor subsystem for the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) platform.
Labels: ACS
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Thursday, March 17, 2005
Military Presence Lures Aerospace Companies to Jacksonville, FloridaEmbraer will assemble the U.S. Army�s Aerial Common Sensor aircrafts in a 71,000 square feet aircraft assembly facility at Cecil Commerce Center, Jacksonville, Florida.
Labels: ACS
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Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Rolls-Royce to power new U.S. Army Aircraft
Rolls-Royce announced today it will provide a derivative of its AE 3007 engine to power the five Embraer ERJ 145 regional jets recently selected for the U.S. Army�s next-generation Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) reconnaissance aircraft.
Labels: ACS
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Tuesday, August 17, 2004
LOCKHEED MARTIN ANNOUNCES DIVERSIFIED TEAM FOR AERIAL COMMON SENSOR PROGRAM
Lockheed Martin today announced that a broad base of companies will assist it in the development of Aerial Common Sensor (ACS), the U.S. Army�s next generation manned airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system.
Labels: ACS
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Rolls-Royce to Power New U.S. Army Aircraft
Rolls-Royce announced today it will provide a derivative of its AE 3007 engine to power the five Embraer ERJ 145 regional jets recently selected for the U.S. Army's next-generation Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) reconnaissance aircraft.
Labels: ACS
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Thursday, August 05, 2004
Lockheed Martin's ACS Win Good News For Embraer, Analysts Say
Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer will benefit greatly from its win as part of the Lockheed Martin-led consortium that beat out a Northrop Grumman team Aug. 2 for the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) program, according to industry analysts.
Labels: ACS
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Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Embraer ERJ 145 Platform Selected as Part of Winning Bid on U.S. Army Aerial Common Sensor Program
Embraer, part of the Lockheed Martin team, will provide its ERJ 145 platform for the U.S. Army's next-generation battlefield surveillance system called Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) under a Systems Development and Demonstration (SDD) contract awarded yesterday.
Labels: ACS
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LOCKHEED MARTIN TEAM AWARDED $879 MILLION AERIAL COMMON SENSOR PROGRAM
The U.S. Army has awarded a Lockheed Martin team an $879 million defense contract to develop the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS), a next generation airborne intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and target identification system.
Labels: ACS
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