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by Gail Helmer

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Wednesday, May 23, 2001

PC News

Aces High 1.07 Update
HiTech Creations has released more details on the upcoming Aces High version 1.07. 1.07 is expected to be released within the next week. Click here for the "incomplete" list of new features.

WWII Online Goes Gold
Strategy First Inc., Cornered Rat Software and Playnet.com have announced that their massively multiplayer online game, "World War II Online™- Blitzkrieg", has gone gold. Set in World War II with combat fought on land, air, and sea on a massively multiplayer scale. Thousands of Players can captain ships, command tanks, pilot aircraft, or fight on the front lines. After two years in development "World War II Online" is scheduled for release in June 2001.

With each retail purchase of the game, Playnet.com is offering players a 30 day trial period of online play. In order to make use of this free trial, players will need to get a free subscription to Playnet.com. The Playnet.com site provides personalized, dynamic information and services to each player. The site ensures that each player is properly subscribed, checks to be sure that the player has the proper software installed, and tracks each player's information. Click here to subscribe.

Steel Beasts In Retail Stores
Strategy First Inc.and eSimGames have announced that their real-time tank sim, "Steel Beasts", has shipped and will be available in retail stores nationwide. Originally available online only, Strategy First and eSimGames joines forces to bring this award-winning title to the masses through the retail channel for the very first time. "Steel Beasts" will be distributed by Infogrames throughout North America and in Europe by Strategy First's other distribution partners.

"Steel Beasts" is a detailed PC-based simulator of modern mechanized warfare, centered around two of the world's most awesome main battle tanks: the US's M1A1 Abrams, and Germany's Leopard 2A4. Players can experience all the sights and sounds of modern armored combat from the gunner's or tank commander's position, as well as the challenges of tactical planning and decision making from a powerful map view. In addition, multiplayer support allows any mission to be played over a network with any cooperative or competitive style of play, including multiple players in a single tank.

USB Pro Throttle Available Next Week
CH Products has announced that their "USB Pro Throttle" has started production and will start shipping the week of May 28th. Pre-orders are being taken at Flight Sim Central and the CH Online Store. Click here for more information.

NVIDIA Game Spotlight
Check out NVIDIA's latest Game Spotlight featuring X-Isle: Dinosaur Island, an educational demo that leverages the technology and art of the upcoming title X-Isle published by Ubisoft. X-Isle: Dinosaur Island educates the player about the wonderful world of dinosaurs. Using the OpenGL-driven CryENGINE and the GeForce3 nfiniteFX engine to create a Jurassic Park-like environment rendered in real-time, X-Isle: Dinosaur Island utilizes the power of the GeForce3 to highlight the most advanced 3D, real-time graphics ever seen in educational software. Click here for more.

Post E3 Coverage - Over 150 New Screenshots
Back from Los Angeles, we have posted over 150 screenshots of some of the hottest new titles from E3 2001. The following list are links to the screenshot pages, below the list you'll find the complete game descriptions for each title.

Commandos 2: Men of Courage Screenshots
Commandos 2: Men of Courage is the sequel to Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, which was released on PC CD-ROM in June 1998 and has since sold over 1 million copies worldwide. The game is being developed by Pyro Studios, Spain, and is due for release in July on PC. Click here for screenshots

Commandos 2 is a tactical action/strategy game set against the backdrop of World War II. The player takes control of an elite group of commandos who must venture deep into enemy territory to complete a series of mission-based objectives in an attempt to change the course of the war. The game incorporates several new features and utilises a completely new 3D game engine, enabling indoor and outdoor locations as well as the ability to rotate the environment. The player is given a huge new playing field and total freedom to explore as no corner is out of reach. Commandos 2 features three new characters, and new geographical environments including Asia, the Arctic, North Africa as well as Europe.

Features:

  • Completely new 3D game engine enabling rotatable environments and playable interiors.
  • Commandos now share abilities, however each individual enjoys an unequalled skill.
    • New characters - Lupin, the 'Thief', Natasha, the 'Seductress', and 'Whiskey', the dog have joined the Commandos team.
  • Team members are also now able to carry and exchange objects and weapons.
  • Drive a variety of new vehicles, including jeeps, tanks, trucks, ships, boats and cars. All of the vehicles are based on real models from WWII: a "Willys" jeep, a "Panzer III" tank, a "Mercedes L3000" truck to name a few.
  • New enemy AI behaviour that provides deeper and more engaging gameplay.
  • More Action! Faster paced gameplay, but still requiring careful planning and execution of every mission.
  • Multiplayer modes
Conflict Zone Screenshots
Red Storm Entertainment and Ubi Soft® Entertainment introduce Conflict Zone, a modern-day warfare game, with a taste of reality: public opinion of military actions affect the outcome of every maneuver! Developed in France by M.A.S.A. Release Date: Q3 2001. Click here for screenshots.

Conflict Zone (formerly known as Peacemakers), is a classic 3-D real-time military strategy game with real-life consequences. Players choose to portray the softhearted ICP or the power-hungry GHOSTS. Players will still gather resources, build bases and fight battles, but the use of these resources must be carefully strategize, as the public eye is watching. Television cameras record every move, and if citizens become outraged at a squad's actions, the military's funding will go down and soon, players can lose their command. Engage in either single player or multiplayer campaigns, but plan strategy carefully…they're watching!

By implementing MASA's DirectIA® technology, units in Conflict Zone have very autonomous behavior, reacting intuitively to threats. Additionally, a feature unique to Conflict Zone is the commanders - up to 4 individual commanders can join a players staff, each specializing in a different field. They can be assigned funds for construction, defense, assault, and more, and will act completely independently until their orders change.

Within the 32 missions, players control their environment, ranging from a fully controllable 3D Camera angle, to selecting the type of terrain to patrol. Select stealth mode, where troops will go out of their way to avoid the enemy, aggressive mode, where the slightest hint of enemy involvement is met with all out attack, or can leave troops to move from point to point as quick as possible, and see how opinion develops.

Destroyer Command Screenshots
Enlist in the US Navy to combat the Axis forces! Players take command of Naval Destroyers, patrolling the Atlantic or Pacific Theaters. Based on actual historical missions from WWII, stalk U-boats, swat Kamikaze planes, escort convoys, blast enemy ships, or pound the beaches in support of infantry landings. Scan the treacherous waters, accessing all of the ship's authentic systems. Engage the enemy with an arsenal of weapons, from torpedoes, 40mm cannons, depth charges or 5 inch guns. Release Date: Q3, 2001. Click here for screenshots.

Destroyer Command along with SSI's Silent Hunter II ship simultaneously and are the first 2 separate games to play against each other via the internet. Destroyer Command owners can go on line with friends who are piloting the cunning U-boats of Silent Hunter II and attempt to crush them with the power of their destroyer ship. Whether it's pursing the ultra-realistic historical missions or pounding friends on line, Destroyer Command promises to be the ultimate naval combat experience.

Flight Simulator 2002 Screenshots
"Flight Simulator 2002"Professional Edition is the new version of Microsoft's realistic aviation simulation. Release Date: Fall 2001. Click here for screenshots.

"Flight Simulator 2002" introduces the following new features:

  • Experience interactive Air Traffic Control (ATC) - For the first time, "Flight Simulator 2002" includes realistic, interactive air traffic control. Through pop-up menus and key commands, players ask for permission to taxi, take off and land, plus request en route clearances and vectors for instrument approaches. ATC responds with verbal instructions.
  • Marvel at auto-generated scenery - When flying above cities, towns, farmland, and dramatic landscapes, "Flight Simulator 2002" automatically adds buildings and vegetation appropriate to the terrain below. Office buildings, factories, homes, farmhouses, and trees smoothly blend in at the horizon and fill the areas with detail that adds unprecedented depth and reality to "Flight Simulator 2002."
  • Fly in crowded skies - While the auto-generated 3-D objects fill in details below, a new artificial intelligence system generates air traffic around and between airports.
  • Experience stunning aircraft models and special effects - The new aircraft lineup in "Flight Simulator 2002" includes amazing visual details and subtle shading and lighting effects. Many special effects that made "Combat Flight Simulator 2" so exciting are now in "Flight Simulator 2002." Players will see contrails from high-altitude jets, dramatic lighting effects and puffs of smoke from tires at touchdown.
  • Fly new aircraft - "Flight Simulator 2002" includes the aircraft users have requested most. Climb into the cockpit of a Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet and fly in real time across the ocean or fly a bush pilot adventure in the Cessna Caravan on amphibious floats. New players can begin flying careers in the world's most popular trainer, the Cessna 172S Skyhawk.
  • Enhanced virtual cockpits - With a 3-D graphics card, players can fly many "Flight Simulator 2002" aircraft from a new perspective - 3-D cockpits with working instruments.
  • Flight analysis - Pilots work to improve their skills and enthusiasts looking for new challenges and bragging rights can check the precision of their flying. Maps and graphs show how well virtual pilots maintained their course, altitude and speed. "Flight Simulator 2002" Professional Edition also includes a multiplayer "instructor's station" for pilots who want to take on anything that a wily instructor can throw at them.
  • New lessons and challenging flights - The addition of a floatplane and other aircraft opens many possibilities for engaging activities. Players can be a bush pilot over Alaska, fly a 747 or earn an instrument rating in the Cessna Skyhawk. New and expanded lessons and flights help new players get into "Flight Simulator 2002" for the first time while challenging experienced "Flight Simulator" pilots.
  • Included tools for add-on developers - "Flight Simulator 2002" features gMax, a 3-D modeling tool from Discreet. Add-on developers can create scenery objects using an industry standard format. Also included is a vastly improved Flight Dynamics Editor that makes modifying and creating "Flight Simulator" aircraft much easier.
Global Operations Screenshots
Global Operations is an action game with realistic weapons and backdrops built from the ground up for the multiplayer experience. With a wide variety of mission styles, including hostage rescue, bomb defusing, territory control, VIP escort, base destruction, assassination, and assault/defend. Developed by Barking Dog Studios and published by Crave Entertainment. Release Date: Q3, 2001. Click here for screenshots

Key Features:

  • Expansive, Immersive World
  • 16 diverse real world locations spanning the globe
  • 32 elite fighting forces based on special forces, peace keepers, rebel groups, guerilla forces, terrorist groups
  • 36 real weapons from handguns to sniper rifles and all the tools of trade including grenades, night vision goggles, and explosives
  • Team Based Action
  • Unique commander mode acts as the eyes and ears of the team and directs troops to hot spots
  • Morale meter gives damage, accuracy, and defense bonus to teams in close proximity
  • 6 customizable specialties to reinforce team roles, including snipers, commandos, and heavy gunners
  • Integrated voice communication and powerful radio command system
  • Leading Edge Technology
  • Smart adaptive bots to round out squads
  • Changing weather effects including wind, rain, snow, hail, fog etc.
  • Parametric skeletal animation featuring animation blending and sequence layering, resulting in hundreds of thousands of potential animation frames
IL-2 Sturmovik Screenshots
IL2 Sturmovik provides gamers with a fantastic backdrop for flying - either in the pilot's seat or as a rear gunner (IL-2 plane types only) - in 23 different types of plane, some of which are being simulated for the first time ever. Choose from the what the Soviets referred to as their "black death" or "flying tank," the IL-2 Sturmovik; the high altitude fighter and interceptor, MiG-3, the rear gunner, IL-2M Type-2; P-39s, and Bf-109s. Each aircraft is an accurate model of their respective plane and their flying behavior. Release Date: Q3, 2001. Click here for screenshots.

Lock On: Modern Air Combat Screenshots
Lock ON: Modern Air Combat combines a broad scope of game play that includes a dynamic battle generator, an immersive combat environment, robust multi-player options, and in-your-face action. Players will feel at home in the cockpit of these world-class fighters and they can easily jump into authentic combat action. Each aircraft is rendered in exceptional detail and performs just like its real world counterpart. Players can choose from eight U.S. and Russian jets that range from tank killing A-10 Warthogs and ground- pounding Su-25 Frogfoots to air superiority fighters like the F-15C Eagle and the Su-27 Flanker. Release Date: Q3, 2001. Click here for screenshots.

Intuitive and in-depth training missions will instruct players on the basics and advanced tactics of aerial engagements, navigation and weapons use. A large host of options will allow players to customize a rich single player campaign or take advantage of a powerful multi-player experience. Both offensive and defensive AI will indulge the player in heated dogfights and grueling maneuvers. In multi-player mode, players can take to the skies to go head-to-head or join up for cooperative play. Players will defend their airspace, secure new strategic positions, or "down-bogies" as they effectively accomplish each mission.

Players are immersed with realistic sights and sounds that make them feel a tangible sense of speed as their jet screams through the sky. While flying over lush landscapes and scenery, players will be jolted by concussion waves and turbulence. Meticulously detailed terrain mapping covers a gloriously 3D rendered landscape. Filled with intense action combat and flexible game options, Lock ON: Air Combat will provide unlimited gameplay to novice and veteran flight sim fans alike.

MechCommander 2 Screenshots
Players take command of an entire company of mercenary MechWarriors™ and wage a battle of supremacy against three warring noble houses. Packing the heat of up to 16 MechWarriors, each capable of wielding up to 100 tons of "Mechanized" death, the MechCommander rules the battlefield from above, imposing his strategic will and mastering all he surveys. "MechCommander 2" offers players a real-time game of power, combat and treachery set in the BattleTech® universe. Players must use their strategic knowledge and tactical skills to change the balance of power in a region of space known as the Chaos March. Release Date: July 2001. Click here for screenshots.

Key Features:

  • Command enormous BattleMechs™ - From an orbital dropship, players command up to 16 BattleMechs - from the nimble Raven, equipped with sensors and electronic countermeasures, to the massive Atlas, bristling with deadly firepower. Players can choose from some of the most popular 'Mechs™ in BattleTech history or opt for one of four new 'Mechs never seen before in the BattleTech universe.
  • Put the right MechWarrior in the right 'Mech for the mission - Leverage the unique strengths of each 'Mech and each MechWarrior to create tactical advantages. Players customize units and train pilots to create the ultimate pairing of man and machine. Players can also use sensor 'Mechs to uncover enemy locations, long range 'Mechs to weaken incoming assaults and jump 'Mechs to bypass enemy fortifications.
  • Players have the power to use and take what they want - By capturing weapons facilities and refitting 'Mechs with superior new technology, players can lay siege to turret control buildings, watch their enemy's 'Mechs get cut to pieces by their own defenses or grab a downed enemy's 'Mech for reverse retaliation in the same mission. Whether calling in an air strike to forestall defeat or pressing home for victory, "MechCommander 2" gives players the ultimate control.
  • Fully 3-D, state-of-the-art terrain determines player tactics and provides maximum impact - Sensors, probes and scouts become vital strategic elements when faced with varying geography. Players knock down trees, blow through walls, jump-jet onto cliffs and crush anything standing in their way. Players can move from epic scale to up close and personal with easy-to-use camera controls that provide the best battlefield views. Night missions add atmosphere and a new game-play dimension.
  • Players can launch extensive, persistent campaigns - Through each successive mission, 'Mech pilots increase their skills, graduating from fresh-faced metal jockeys to elite MechWarriors capable of taking on the most dangerous enemies. Players can also take full advantage of emerging weapons, armor and other custom upgrades to ensure their position on the cutting edge of destruction.
  • Expanded multiplayer capability - Multiplayer supports up to eight players over the Internet, the Zone.com or a local area network (LAN). Multiplayer functionality includes new mission types, cooperative play versus A.I. and a quick-start feature to rapidly jump into the action.
  • Put a personal stamp on BattleTech - Players create their own missions using the same tools employed by the "MechCommander 2" level designers. Players can create and trade missions with friends over the Internet and on fan Web sites.
Medal of Honor Allied Assault Screenshots
Set during the most trying years of the war, 1942-1945, Medal of Honor Allied Assault, from Electronic Arts, gives players a sense of the courage it took to survive the landings at Normandy, the assault at Arzew, a rendezvous with the Resistance outside the village of St. Lo, and the push through the heavily defended border of Germany itself to take the bridge at Remagen. Release Date: Fall 2001. Click here for screenshots.

Staying true to all the gameplay features that made Medal of Honor™ one of the most acclaimed and best-selling games launched in 1999, Medal of Honor Allied Assault will build on the success of that game and add new player weapons, new interactive Allied vehicles such as Sherman tanks and M3 Half Tracks, smarter enemy AI, and the ability to call for artillery strikes. Medal of Honor Allied Assault is headquartered in Cabinet War Rooms at Whitehall, dispatching players on numerous campaigns, each with specific objectives to meet in terms of infiltration, execution and exfiltration. Missions will be based in the deserts of North Africa, on the bloody shores of France, across the tundra of Norway, and, ultimately, over the Rhine into Nazi Germany. These missions range from silencing the gun batteries at Port Arzew, to sabotaging U-boats at the sub pens of Trondheim, surviving the landing at Omaha Beach, and finally, holding the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen- the only battle where the Germans used their dreaded V2 rockets in a tactical capacity Key Features:

  • Over 20 levels that the player must accomplish specific objectives and goals in order to succeed and advance.
  • Fully realized 3-D worlds utilizing the powerful Quake® III engine.
  • Over 1000 unique character animations for unsurpassed level of realism.
  • Multiple online options including team combat and traditional last man standing modes.
  • Encounters with 22 different enemies including Wehrmacht Snipers, Kradschützen Motorcycle Troops, and Gestapo Officers.
  • Access to over 21 historically accurate World War II era weapons, including Thompson submachine guns, Mark II Frag Grenades, .50 al mounted machine guns, flame-throwers, and "sticky bombs".
  • Four different stationary weapons that the player can use against the enemy.
  • All new interactive vehicles including the M4 Sherman tank and the M3 Half Track.
  • More than 18 enemy vehicles including the Tiger Mark I Heavy Tank, Stuka Dive Bombers, and V2 Rockets.
  • Weather and time-of-day effects.
  • Assault enemy units alone and as part of a crack military squad.
  • Special 'disguise' mode that allows players to put on enemy uniforms to evade capture.
  • Highly destructible interactive environments.
  • Original orchestral score by Medal of Honor composer Michael Giacchino.
  • Sound effects by the award winning Medal of Honor sound design team at EALA.
Operations Flashpoint Screenshots
Gamers are caught in the grips of the Cold War, where a new Soviet regime led by Mikhail Gorbachev, polarizes the political and social ideologies of the country. Having seized control of an island community, underground resistance groups have mobilized in opposition to the new policies of perstroika and glasnost. The new Soviet government, unable to fight the resistance, calls upon NATO to act as a peacekeeping force and help restore order to the region. NATO responds with Operation Flashpoint. Players assume the role of an exiled Soviet turned NATO private who has returned to combat the forces that drove him out of his homeland. Operation Flashpoint presents players with one of the most unique, realistic and complete battle experiences to ever appear on the PC platform. Genre classifications are ignored as players transition from ground battles to commandeering vehicles to piloting airborne gun ships, all the while moving up through the ranks within their unit. As players advance in rank, they are able to issue orders to their squad mates via an easy-to-use keyboard command system. Release Date: August 2001. Click here for screenshots.

Features:

  • Gameplay offers both a progressive mission-based campaign and a full mission editor
  • 8 player multiplayer combat over LAN and Internet
  • Advanced squad-management system enables players to efficiently issue orders to squad members
  • True-to-life models and physics provide the most realistic combat experience to date in a PC game
  • Built in featured mission editor allows gamers to create and share missions and campaigns
  • 1st and 3rd person views
  • Players control mobile, armored air and ground based military vehicles including the UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter, A-10 Thunderbolt Jet, UAZ 469b Jeep, M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank and SCUD Launcher
  • Real time lighting and weather, including accurate star constellations for navigation
Rogue Spear: Black Thorn Screenshots
Tom Clancy's Rogue Spear: Black Thorn is a new stand-alone mission pack that will be one of the greatest challenges the RAINBOW team has had to face. The world has seen copycat killers before, but for the first time copycat terrorists are recreating some of the most dangerous terrorist acts that have plagued our past. They may not take place in the same location, but the RAINBOW team will be face-to-face with the same tactical situations that made headlines in the past. The players must discover if the acts are random or if there is a single mastermind controlling this deadly operation. Pay close attention to the details received from intelligence and don't repeat the same mistakes that were made in the past. Click here for screenshots.

Silent Hunter II Screenshots
Set in the dangerous waters of WWII's Atlantic, Silent Hunter II plunges players into riveting historic campaigns. This highly detailed 3D world features exact replicas of WWII era ships, aircraft and submarines. Players experience an ultra-realistic naval combat environment with highly accurate ship motion, weapons systems and response to weather effects. Adjustable difficulty and realism settings make this game accessible to beginner and expert alike. Release Date: Q3, 2001. Click here for screenshots.

Silent Hunter II ships simultaneously with SSI's Destroyer Command and are the first 2 separate games to play against each other via the internet. Silent Hunter II owners can go on line with friends who are piloting the naval destroyers of Destroyer Command and attempt to crush them with the power of their submarine. Whether it's pursing the ultra-realistic historical missions or stalking friends on line, Silent Hunter II promises to be the ultimate naval combat experience.

Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix Screenshots
Although developed for the PS2, Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix, published by Eidos, now harnesses the power of next-generation console technology. Release Date: Winter 2001. Click here for screenshots.

The gunship is equipped with the latest in weapons technology (attack & defense) including a Gun-Ship Sniper, Night Vision and Guided Missiles. Simulated AWACS (airborne warning and control system) also feature, providing the player with realtime tactical updates. Levels of additional support include Infantry, Tank Battalions and Air Units, all of which add to a realistic and fast-paced battlefield experience.

With full 3D and logistical freedom, action is based on military manouevres ranging from full-scale war campaigns to self-contained missions. Bonus missions are available after success in a given campaign or key-mission. Options also exist to steal or salvage enemy weapons and/or technologies to upgrade the power and efficiency of the Phoenix and its support units. Available items include Electro Magnetic Pulse rockets, Shock-Wave bombs, Disruptors and Turbo boosts etc. Gameplay comprises single player 'Arcade' and 'Campaign' modes and multiplayer 'Cooperative' mode.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Screenshots
In Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon™ you are invited to lead this brand-new squad as they focus on covert military strikes and international peacekeeping missions that do not always go as planned. You and your team conduct extensive missions on foot, but you'll occasionally have assistance from troops in tanks, helicopters and close air support. Release Date: Q4, 2001. Click here for screenshots.

The Ghosts are also the guinea pig squad for testing the Army's latest and greatest equipment and weaponry while under fire. You'll have access to the latest weapons such as an M-16 assault rifle with a grenade launcher mounted underneath. Or, you could be responsible for the M-136 Anti-Tank Rocket that you'll carry on your back. Firepower this intense would knock a normal soldier off his feet in a second. Featuring brand new game and 3-D engines, Ghost Recon™ marks Red Storm's return to the 'Squad based tactical shooter' genre for the first time since 1999's Tom Clancy's Rogue Spear™.

Military News

ATFLIR Entering Low Rate Production for Navy
Raytheon Company has received a $62.3 million contract from The Boeing Company for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of 15 Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) pods and spares. ATFLIR is a third generation electro-optical targeting pod that significantly outperforms both the LANTIRN pod and the AAS-38 NITE Hawk targeting pod currently deployed by the Navy and Marine Corps. ATFLIR combines the navigation and targeting FLIR capabilities into a single pod, freeing up one weapon station. Offering day or night capability, ATFLIR incorporates a staring mid-wave focal plane array, high-energy laser designator and improved FLIR-to-laser boresight.



The system also provides the capability to detect, classify and track both air-to-air and air-to-surface targets and supports the autonomous delivery of existing laser-guided weapons and emerging standoff weapons. Its visible band camera enhances long-range target recognition and weapons delivery in daylight conditions. Designed for platform flexibility, ATFLIR is planned for integration on both the F/A-18 C/D Hornet and the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft. Captain Jeffrey Wieringa, Navy program manager for the F/A-18, said, "ATFLIR brings to the F/A-18 yet another enhanced capability that makes it the most lethal strike fighter in the world."

"By awarding this LRIP contract, the Navy is demonstrating its continued commitment to the F/A-18 ATFLIR program," said Jim Hausle, ATFLIR program manager. "This pod provides a giant leap in technology and FLIR targeting accuracy. Raytheon is pleased to be part of the team that will deliver this capability for the F/A-18 C/D Hornet and for every deployment of the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet."

Raytheon will begin delivery of ATFLIR to the fleet to support the first deployment of the new F/A-18E by the U.S. Navy's Eagles of VFA-115 in June 2002 aboard the USS Lincoln (CVN 72). The pod will also support VFA-14 and VFA-41 on their first deployment in the F/A-18 E/F scheduled for 2003 aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN 68).

DRS Technologies Awarded Javelin Missile Production Contract
DRS Technologies, Inc. has announced that it has received an $18.3 million production contract for the Javelin Anti-Tank Weapon System program. Javelin is a man-portable, fire-and-forget, medium-range, anti-tank weapon system and is utilised by US Army and Marine Corps combat units. It also is approved through the US Army's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme for international procurement.



The award was received from Raytheon Missile Systems Company, a unit of Raytheon Company. For this award, which is the second order under a multi-year base contract initially received last year valued at $16.7 million, the company's DRS Infrared Technologies unit in Dallas, Texas will produce Second Generation Forward Looking Infrared (Gen II FLIR detectors, Dewar assemblies and coolers for the Javelin's Command Launch Unit (CLU).

Additional options on this programme are anticipated to be awarded, placing DRS-produced components and assemblies in service for approximately 3,000 CLUs over the next four years.

DRS has delivered more than 1,000 Gen II FLIR components and assemblies for the Javelin since the program's inception and is the sole supplier of the infrared detector arrays, vacuum Dewar assemblies and quiet coolers for the Javelin's CLU.

The Javelin missile system was developed by a joint venture formed by Raytheon Systems Company, a unit of Raytheon Company, and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation. It replaces the ageing, wire-guided Dragon missile in ranger and special operations units, infantry and engineer battalions, and armoured Scout platoons.

Javelin supports the Army's transformation efforts, including legacy interim and objective forces, by enabling a single soldier to defeat any armoured vehicle. It has more than twice the range of earlier anti-tank weapons and uses DRS's critical Gen II FLIR technology to target threats during the day or night. DRS's Standard Advanced Dewar Assembly IIIA (SADA IIIA) contains the highly sensitive infrared focal plane array detector. The company's patented, quieter, dual-opposed piston coolers eliminate the noise of earlier sights, thereby helping to conceal the user.

USS Eisenhower Arrives At NNS For Refueling And Overhaul Work
Newport News Shipbuilding announced today that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) arrived at the company for refueling and overhaul work. The work is scheduled to last approximately three years and will be the ship's one and only refueling in a 50-year life-span. Eisenhower is the second ship of the Nimitz class to undergo this major life-cycle milestone.



The scope of work is valued at approximately $1.5 billion and includes the refueling of both the ship’s reactors, as well as significant modernization work. Work includes a major upgrade of the island house that will involve the shipyard removing the top two levels of the island house and replacing them. This action is driven by the installation of a new antenna mast that runs down along the island and will provide for better radar capabilities. The shipyard is also integrating a new radar tower aboard Eisenhower.

Maintenance and repair work will be performed below the ship’s waterline to include the application of a new paint system. In addition, the shipyard will be replacing nearly 3,000 valves and overhauling another 600 in various ship systems.

More than 3,500 Newport News Shipbuilding employees will be working aboard Eisenhower during peak periods of the overhaul and refueling project.

USS Eisenhower was built by Newport News Shipbuilding and christened on October 11, 1975 by Mrs. Mamie Doud Eisenhower, wife of the ship’s namesake, President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The ship was commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1977 and began its first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea in January 1979. Since then, Eisenhower has been a powerful and effective Naval presence for over 22 years.(Photo by Stu Gilman)

Singapore RSS Chieftan Launched
On Tuesday May 22, 2001, the former RSwN submarine Sjöhunden was launched and renamed at a ceremony held at Kockums' Karlskronavarvet. The submarine was renamed RSS Chieftain. Mrs Lim Nyun Peng, wife of David Lim Tik En, who is the Honourable Minister of State for Defence & Information & the Arts for the Republic of Singapore, presided at the ceremony.



RSS Chieftain is the fourth and last submarine to undergo a refit for service with the Republic of Singapore Navy.

"This has been a major and extremely interesting project. It has also been a complex project, and it is pleasing to note that we have completed it in the best possible manner, on schedule and within the parameters agreed," says Hans Hedman, president of Kockums. "This further consolidates our already excellent relations with the Singaporean Navy," he adds.

The project, named the Riken Project, has involved the refit and tropicalisation of four Swedish Sjöormen (Sea Serpent) class submarines for the Republic of Singapore Navy. An order for the first submarine was received in 1995 but, in 1997, this was extended to include the refit and delivery of a further three submarines. The Riken Project also comprises the supply of documentation, spares and the training of four crews.

Global Hawk Achieves 1,000 Flight Hour
The U.S. Air Force's Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system, developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) Integrated Systems Sector (ISS), passed the 1,000 cumulative flight hour mark over the coastal waters of eastern Australia during its 81st flight. The mission was the first in a series of flights conducted as part of Tandem Thrust, the annual joint Royal Australian Navy/U.S. Navy exercise.



During the May 10 flight, the vehicle flew for 25.2 hours and reached a maximum altitude of 63,400 feet, bringing its flight hour total to 1,071.1 hours. During its first flight on Feb. 28, 1998, Global Hawk flew for one hour over Edwards AFB, Calif., at an altitude of 32,000 feet. Since then, the system has set world records for altitude, endurance and distance for jet-powered unmanned aircraft.

Global Hawk, a high-altitude, long-endurance system under development to provide military field commanders with high-resolution, near real-time imagery of large geographic areas, is in Australia for a series of missions to demonstrate maritime surveillance and coastal watch capabilities to the Australian government. The UAV is scheduled to make its return flight to the U.S. in early June.

World War II Memorial On Fast Track
"All we need now is a presidential signature and we can get started on an overdue tribute to the 'greatest generation' and their sacrifices to keep the world free," said House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Chris Smith (NJ-4) Tuesday after the House approved its Senate-amended measure to expedite construction of the World War II Memorial on the Mall after years of delay.

"It's been nearly 56 years since VJ Day and eight years since the House first authorized this memorial," Smith said. "Since then more than three million World War II veterans have died and 1,100 more are dying every day. It's time to put an end to the dilatory tactics, crank up the backhoes, pick up the shovels, and break ground."

Pearl Harbor Opens Friday
Touchstone Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films prepare to debut their summer film spectacular with the epic drama, "Pearl Harbor." The film's reverence for one of the darkest days in American military history brings to light a lesson not to be forgotten. "Pearl Harbor" opens nationwide on May 25th.

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