SBIRS program faces new 12- to 18-month delay

[unhappycamper]

SBIRS program faces new 12- to 18-month delay
By John T. Bennett - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Nov 3, 2009 14:40:46 EST

Omaha, Neb. — The Air Force’s embattled Space Based Infrared System program faces another delay — this time of 12 to 18 months, according to defense and industry officials.

The SBIRS initiative, being developed for the air service by Lockheed Martin, has been plagued by numerous cost overruns and schedule delays over the years. Technical problems have forced changes to the date Lockheed was slated to deliver the first SBIRS missile early warning satellite to the service. And now it will take Lockheed another year or 18 months to wrap up testing and deliver that first SBIRS orbiter, U.S. Strategic Command chief Gen. Kevin Chilton said Tuesday during a conference here.

The StratCom chief said the long-troubled satellite program is but one example of how the U.S. military’s space community has encountered turbulence managing major development programs.

Rick Ambrose, vice president and general manager of surveillance and navigation systems for Lockheed’s space systems directorate, confirmed the delay to Defense News.

The new plan is for Lockheed to deliver the first satellite by the end of September 2010, about one year later than the last planned delivery date. While Chilton had pointed to software problems as fueling the delivery slip, Ambrose said it was triggered by a collection of testing-related issues.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/11/defense_sbirs_lockheed_110309/



unhappycamper comment: Keep in mind this is built by the same guys that built a $5.3 billion dollar destroyer and a $704 million dollar LCS ship.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBIRS

Space-Based Infrared System

The Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) (pronounced "sibirs") is a consolidated system intended to meet United States infrared space surveillance needs through the first two to three decades of the 21st century. The SBIRS program addresses critical warfighter needs in the areas of missile warning, missile defense and battlespace characterization.

SBIRS is an integrated "system of systems" that will include satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO), sensors hosted on satellites in highly elliptical orbit (HEO) and ground data processing and control. SBIRS ground software integrates infrared sensor programs of the U.S. Air Force (DSP) with new IR sensors. SBIRS continues to struggle with cost overruns, with Nunn-McCurdy breaches occurring in 2003, 2005, 2006 and most recently 2007. It is now expected to cost over $10 billion.<1>

The original contract consisted of 2 HEO satellite sensors and 2-3 GEO sensors (and satellites) with an option to buy a total of 5 GEOs. In December 2005, following the third SBIRS Nunn-McCurdy violation, the government decided to compete GEO 4 and 5, with an option to buy GEO 3 contingent on the performance of the first two. Additionally, the government started a potential SBIRS High replacement program and proposals are currently being written (as of late June, 2006).

On June 2nd, 2009 Lockheed Martin announced it had been awarded a contract for the third HEO payload and the third GEO satellite, and for associated ground equipment modifications.<2>

On July 10th, 2009, Lockheed Martin was awarded $262.5 million as down payment by the U.S. Air Force towards the purchase of a fourth satellite. <3>