http://www.military.com/News/Home/0,13324,,00.html?ESRC=dodnews.RSS Military News Center Sunday, 22 November 2009 10:13:12 AM http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,206097,00.html?ESRC=dodnews.RSS Aetna Government Health Plans of Hartford, Conn., appears to have gained an unfair advantage in competing for TRICARE?s North Region support contract, valued at $16.7 billion, by hiring a former chief of staff at TRICARE headquarters to help the company draft its winning proposal. 2009-11-19 http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,206073,00.html?ESRC=dodnews.RSS Manufacturer BAE Systems is formulating its marketing of the Mantis medium-altitude long-endurance UAV demonstrator air vehicle in the U.S., following the recent kickoff of test flights of the U.K. version. 2009-11-18 http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,205689,00.html?ESRC=dodnews.RSS The three contestants for Switzerland's F-5 replacement program handed in updated bids to the Swiss government. 2009-11-18 http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,206036,00.html?ESRC=dodnews.RSS Rather than waiting for the U.S. Army to flight-test the Fire Scout vertical-takeoff unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV), Northrop Grumman is investing heavily in a test program of its own. The company's impatience may well pay off -- when the Army finally makes a decision about air vehicles for its new Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) program, Fire Scout will be ready to go. 2009-11-17 http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,205795,00.html?ESRC=dodnews.RSS The U.K.'s Mantis medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrator completed a series of test flights using the range at Woomera in Australia. 2009-11-17 http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,205756,00.html?ESRC=dodnews.RSS The Defense Department is kicking off a program to design, build and demonstrate prototypes of the Joint and Allied Threat Awareness System (JATAS) to protect U.S. Navy and Marine Corps helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft from dumb and smart weapons. 2009-11-12 http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,205560,00.html?ESRC=dodnews.RSS Three companies are vying to secure an unmanned air vehicle demonstrator contract at the heart of the British Defense Ministry?s so-called Novel Air Capability Vision, but details of their respective proposals for the program are being treated as classified. 2009-11-09 http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,205408,00.html?ESRC=dodnews.RSS With two proposals in, the U.S. Air Force's source selection for the 250-lb. Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) moving-target killer is under way, and this will be the first of potentially many fixed-price competitions the Pentagon says will come for major development contracts. 2009-11-06 http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,205306,00.html?ESRC=dodnews.RSS A few years ago, when Inferno, an acoustic device developed in Sweden, was being presented in Johannesburg, the potential customer asked if the company had any documented proof that it worked as a "sound barrier." The answer from the makers of Inferno was no, they didn't have any studies, but they offered to demonstrate it to the customer's satisfaction. 2009-11-06 http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,205245,00.html?ESRC=dodnews.RSS The first Space Based Infrared System (Sbirs) missile warning satellite bound for geosynchronous (GEO) orbit is on track for delivery to the U.S. Air Force by the fourth quarter of calendar year 2010, according to its manufacturer. 2009-11-04