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Kratos to Continue Support for
Air Force’s Attritable Aircraft
Program
San Diego based Kratos Defense and Security Solutions has secured a $17.8M contract modi- fication from the U.S. Air Force to continue helping its research laboratory arm develop low-cost, attritable unmanned aircraft systems that are reusable with minimal maintenance.
Kratos said Monday it will support various efforts, including the company’s own XQ-58A Valkyrie, to develop low-cost attritable air- craft technology.
The Air Force Research Laboratory demon- strated Valkyrie’s performance as an autono- mous attritable aircraft at Arizona-based Yuma Proving Ground earlier this month under the attritableONE program.
USAF seeks to implement the use of low-cost UAS for manned-unmanned aircraft teaming.
Aerojet Rocketdyne Sells for $4.4
Billion
Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Corp. is set to acquire El Segundo-based Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. in a deal worth $4.4 billion, according to Lockheed Martin.
The two companies announced the deal on Dec. 20.
The company said propulsion systems manu- factured by Aerojet Rocketdyne are already a part of the Lockheed Martin supply chain.
What remains to be seen is whether federal regulators will approve the deal, which would give Lockheed Martin control over production of propulsion systems used by competitors.
Aerojet Rocketdyne formed through the 2013 merger of veteran aerospace firms Aerojet and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (the latter a suc- cessor firm to Canoga Park-based Rocketdyne).
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s current headquarters is located less than 2 miles from Lockheed Martin’s El Segundo office, close to the Los Angeles Air Force Base. Lockheed Martin, which formed in 1995 with the merger of Lockheed and Martin Marietta, also has close ties to the Los Angeles area.
For most of the 20th century, Lockheed based its operations in Burbank though its manufacturing facility there closed in the early 1990s.
Under terms of the acquisition deal, Lock- heed Martin will pay $56 per share, which the
company says will be reduced to $51 per share following payment of a special dividend to Aerojet Rocketdyne shareholders. The transac- tion is expected to close in the second half of 2021.
NASA Awards Venture Class
Launch Services Demonstration
2 Contract
NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) has awarded multiple Venture Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 (VCLS Demo 2) contracts to launch small satellites (SmallSats) to space, including CubeSats, microsats or nanosatel- lites. The three companies selected to provide these commercial launch capabilities, and the value of their firm fixed-price contracts, are: Astra Space Inc. of Alameda, California: $3.9 million, Relativity Space Inc. of Long Beach, California: $3.0 million and Firefly Black LLC of Cedar Park, Texas: $9.8 million.
SmallSats, including CubeSats, are playing an increasingly larger role in exploration, technology demonstration, scientific research, and educational investigations at NASA. These miniature satellites provide a low-cost plat- form for NASA missions.
LSP supports the agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) by providing launch oppor- tunities to CubeSats that are awaiting launch. The VCLS Demo 2 contracts will launch CubeSats selected through the CSLI to demonstrate a launch capability for smaller payloads that NASA anticipates it will require on a recur- ring basis for future science missions.
Deal for 15 More Boeing KC-46 Tankers
The U.S. Air Force in January awarded Boeing a $2.1 billion contract for 15 KC-46A tankers, expanding its fleet of aircraft that will not only set the standard for aerial refueling but will also help enable the in- tegrated digital battlespace.
The KC-46 is a widebody, multirole tanker designed for state-of-the-art air refueling, cargo and medical transport. Boeing is now on contract for 94 KC-46A tankers.
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