Tartan Racing Takes First Place in Urban Challenge
Traveling an average of 14 miles an hour, the autonomous ground vehicle designed by the Tartan Racing team from Carnegie Mellon University won the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s first Urban Challenge, earning it the $2 million prize. Competing against 10 other autonomous ground vehicles, the team’s self-driving SUV “Boss” maneuvered through 55 miles of urban environment while sharing the road with human drivers and other robotic vehicles, all the time following California driving laws. Stanford Racing’s vehicle dubbed “Junior” took second place, winning $1 million, and Victor Tango’s “Odin” captured third and was awarded $500,000. The event took place at the former George Air Force Base, Victorville, California, where a network of roads was set up to simulate the terrain U.S. forces operate in while overseas.

Littoral Combat Ship 4 Contract Canceled
The U.S. Navy is terminating construction of the fourth littoral combat ship (LCS). After a series of cost overruns on the LCS 2, the service and contractor General Dynamics attempted to reach an amicable agreement on a modified contract that included terms for a fixed-price incentive approach. The two organizations worked to restructure the agreement for the LCS 4 and balance cost and risk more equitably but could not agree on terms that were acceptable to both parties. According to Adm. Gary Roughead, USN, chief of naval operations, the service remains committed to the LCS program but recognizes that active oversight and strict cost controls in the early years are necessary to ensure delivery of the ships over the long term.

Army Releases Report on Contracting
The U.S. Army has released the findings of the “Special Commission on Army Acquisition and Program Management in Expeditionary Operations.” The commission determined the major problems with the contracting system in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan are a lack of people, too little training and an antiquated system. Dr. Jacques Gansler, former undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, headed the commission and says the first steps for improving the process are to hire more contracting officers and to train them properly. He also recommended establishing an Army Contracting Agency as well as adding five generals to the Army’s contracting force. More findings and recommendations are available online.

Autonomous Aircraft Sees Action
The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) has successfully deployed a fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over Afghanistan. The HERTI UAV can take off, complete a full mission and land with the click of a computer mouse. The aircraft was designed to meet a range of operational needs with high reliability while eliminating the need for an operator or pilot to control it from the ground. The operational tests took place this summer as part of Project Morrigan, a joint initiative between the RAF Air Warfare Centre and BAE Systems. Launched in 2006, the program integrates the HERTI UAV into British force structure for a short period to develop potential tactics, techniques and procedures to integrate the platform into existing force structures.

Air Force Promotions Go Virtual
Enlisted members of the U.S Air Force now have the ability to access their promotion consideration results from anywhere in the world. The service’s new virtual enlisted promotion release system will post promotion lists on the Air Force Personnel Center’s Web site on the public release date. All airmen can access the information. Air Force leaders say the virtual promotion release will improve on-time notification and eliminate unnecessary work at deployed locations. Under the traditional system, deployed commanders and personnel support officials have to identify promotion selectees assigned to their locations and then attempt to ensure the selectees received proper notification of their promotions from home station commanders.

Double Missile Intercept Successful
The U.S. Navy successfully intercepted and destroyed two nonseparating, short-range ballistic missile targets nearly simultaneously in a test earlier this month. The test is the first successful attempt by any U.S. ballistic missile defense system at dual exo-atmospheric intercepts. The intercepts were conducted by the guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie, an Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) vessel equipped with the latest Navy-certified version of the Aegis BMD weapon system. The cruiser successfully guided two SM-3 Block IA missiles to intercept the two targets outside the Earth’s atmosphere. The test is the Aegis BMD system’s 10th and 11th successful intercept in 13 attempts.

New Guided Missile Destroyer for Navy
The U.S. Navy recently commissioned the USS Sampson, a new Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, in Boston. Designated as DDG 102, this is the fourth destroyer to be named for William Thomas Sampson, who graduated first in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1861 and later became a Spanish-American War naval hero. The destroyer is the 52nd of 62 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and is capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously. It is designed to be used for a variety of military operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection.

Recovery Coordinators to Aid Wounded Veterans and Families
The U.S. Defense Department and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have agreed to jointly commission federal recovery coordinators to ensure proper medical and rehabilitative care for soldiers and their families. The coordinators will work with the Defense Department, the VA and case management teams along with state, private and voluntary organizations to manage treatment for wounded, injured and ill service members, veterans and their families. The first 10 coordinators will be located at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland; the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas; and the Naval Medical Center Balboa in San Diego.


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