Daily News
by Gail Helmer
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New Screens: IGI 2
With IGI 2: Covert Strike set for a PC release in February 2003, Codemasters today reveals stunning new screens that show the game running under its enhanced graphics engine. Innerloop, the team developing the stealth-themed first-person shooter, has invested additional time and resources in advancing the game's visual quality and level of detail. The game's continued development is also benefiting the multiplayer mode, which will offer full team-oriented multiplayer gaming, with squads of up to eight players on both sides.
Raven Shield MP Demo
The Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield is now available for download. The multiplayer demo features two maps (including a new version of the original Rainbow Six all time favourite City Street Large multiplayer map), 15 weapons, many weapons gadgets and two multiplayer modes – survival and team survival. Download Now
Battlefield 1942 Expansion Coming Soon
Electronic Arts has announced the expansion pack, Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome for the PC. The multiplayer-focused expansion pack will give players more of what they have grown accustomed to with the original BattleField 1942 title, including more maps, more vehicles, and more fighting forces.
The Road to Rome will focus exclusively on the largely underpublicized Italian and Sicilian campaigns of WWII. Players can choose to fight on six new maps including Operation Husky (Sicily) and the battles for Anzio and Monte Cassino. Each map comes with highly detailed environments such as Italian houses, Mediterranean trees and even the Monte Cassino Monastery.
Controllable vehicles are the heart of the Battlefield 1942 experience and The Road To Rome will feature eight new vehicles in addition to the more than 30 in the original title. These include the German BF-110 and British Mosquito twin-engined fighter-bombers. Also debuting are Italian and new British and German tanks and anti-tank guns. New hand-held weapons include the Italian Breda assault rifle, British Sten SMG and bayonets on rifles.
Staying true to the Battlefield 1942 massive multiplayer legacy, The Road To Rome will support up to 64 players (on select maps) and give them the ability to fully experience World War II combat. Playing as several infantry classes, gamers can control many weapons available to the Axis and Allies and command numerous land vehicles, ships and aircraft. Two new fighting forces include the Free French Forces and Italian forces.
Currently under development by Swedish-based Digital Illusions. The Road to Rome is scheduled to be released in early 2003 under the EA GAMES brand. The original Battlefield 1942 is required to play The Road to Rome.
Military News
USS Oklahoma City Collides With Vessel
No Sailors were injured when the U.S. Navy submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723) came into brief contact with another vessel while transiting the western Mediterranean Sea east of the Strait of Gibraltar Nov. 13.
The accident occurred in international waters at approximately 1:30 p.m. (GMT). At the time of the incident, the submarine was proceeding to periscope depth.
Preliminary reports indicate the Oklahoma City's sail made brief contact with another vessel's hull. The submarine surfaced and located a merchant vessel in close proximity. Oklahoma City attempted to make radio contact with the other vessel. However, the other vessel did not respond and did not appear to need assistance, and departed the area. Oklahoma City continued to search the area for other vessels in the vicinity.
Oklahoma City will return to port for further inspection of damage and repairs. There were no injuries aboard Oklahoma City, and the damage appears to be limited to the submarine’s periscope and sail area.
An investigation is underway.
Raytheon Delivers Newest Patriot Missile
Raytheon Company has completed its initial delivery of Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missile Plus (GEM+) forebodies to the U.S. Army. GEM+ is a significant upgrade over the existing Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) missile and, when fielded in conjunction with the PAC-3 System, provides a robust capability against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and remotely piloted vehicles.
These first forebodies, which were delivered two months early, are from the initial lot of 148 that are currently under contract to the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command in Huntsville, Ala. The Patriot GEM+ missiles are part of an upgrade program to the Patriot system that includes the fielded PAC-3 ground equipment upgrades and the new PAC-3 missile.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN SUPPORTS QUICK-REACT INTEGRATION OF LITENING ER SYSTEM ON U.S. AIR FORCE F-15E AIRCRAFT ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. -- Nov. 14, 2002 -- The U.S. Air Force has successfully integrated the LITENING Extended Range (ER) precision targeting system into its F-15E fighter aircraft in less than 90 days, due to the combined efforts of the Air Force, The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) Electronic Systems sector. After initial flight clearance tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., the first operational evaluation mission of this new combat capability for the Strike Eagle aircraft was successfully completed Oct. 22 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Air Combat Command aircrews continue to perform weapon system and tactics evaluation missions at Nellis. The Northrop Grumman LITENING ER is a self-contained, multisensor laser target designating and navigation system that enables fighter pilots to detect, acquire, track and identify ground targets for highly accurate delivery of both conventional and precision-guided weapons. LITENING ER features include a 640 x 512 pixel forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera; charge-coupled device television; laser spot tracker/range finder; infrared (IR) marker; and a laser designator. "Our LITENING ER team worked closely with the Air Force and Boeing's Strike Eagle team to make this rapid integration a success," said Mike Lennon, vice president of Targeting and Surveillance Programs at Northrop Grumman's Defensive Systems Division in Rolling Meadows. "LITENING ER provides the Air Force's primary long-range air interdiction fighter with the combat-proven capabilities, including day and night tracking of both surface and airborne targets, IR marking of targets for ground troops, and two-level maintenance on the flight line." The LITENING ER system's unique architecture and modular design enabled engineers at the Boeing Avionics Integration Center in St. Louis to verify LITENING ER and aircraft compatibility. No change to the F-15E's operational flight program software was required, thus minimizing time, cost and risk associated with the system integration. LITENING ER pods are currently fielded with Air National Guard (ANG) F-16s and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) AV-8Bs. LITENING ER's predecessor, the LITENING II system with a 256 FLIR, is also operational on ANG/Air Force Reserve Command F-16s, and on AV-8Bs owned and operated by the USMC, and the Italian and Spanish navies. Headquartered in Baltimore, Md., Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of defense electronics systems including airborne radar systems, navigation systems, electronic warfare systems, precision weapons, airspace management systems, air defense systems, communications systems, space systems, marine systems, oceanic and naval systems, logistics systems, and automation and information systems.[ Send Us News | Archives ]
by Gail Helmer
Friday November 15, 2002
- New Screens: IGI 2
- Raven Shield MP Demo
- Battlefield 1942 Expansion Coming Soon
- USS Oklahoma City Collides With Vessel
- Raytheon Delivers Newest Patriot Missile
New Screens: IGI 2
With IGI 2: Covert Strike set for a PC release in February 2003, Codemasters today reveals stunning new screens that show the game running under its enhanced graphics engine. Innerloop, the team developing the stealth-themed first-person shooter, has invested additional time and resources in advancing the game's visual quality and level of detail. The game's continued development is also benefiting the multiplayer mode, which will offer full team-oriented multiplayer gaming, with squads of up to eight players on both sides.
Raven Shield MP Demo
The Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield is now available for download. The multiplayer demo features two maps (including a new version of the original Rainbow Six all time favourite City Street Large multiplayer map), 15 weapons, many weapons gadgets and two multiplayer modes – survival and team survival. Download Now
Battlefield 1942 Expansion Coming Soon
Electronic Arts has announced the expansion pack, Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome for the PC. The multiplayer-focused expansion pack will give players more of what they have grown accustomed to with the original BattleField 1942 title, including more maps, more vehicles, and more fighting forces.
The Road to Rome will focus exclusively on the largely underpublicized Italian and Sicilian campaigns of WWII. Players can choose to fight on six new maps including Operation Husky (Sicily) and the battles for Anzio and Monte Cassino. Each map comes with highly detailed environments such as Italian houses, Mediterranean trees and even the Monte Cassino Monastery.
Controllable vehicles are the heart of the Battlefield 1942 experience and The Road To Rome will feature eight new vehicles in addition to the more than 30 in the original title. These include the German BF-110 and British Mosquito twin-engined fighter-bombers. Also debuting are Italian and new British and German tanks and anti-tank guns. New hand-held weapons include the Italian Breda assault rifle, British Sten SMG and bayonets on rifles.
Staying true to the Battlefield 1942 massive multiplayer legacy, The Road To Rome will support up to 64 players (on select maps) and give them the ability to fully experience World War II combat. Playing as several infantry classes, gamers can control many weapons available to the Axis and Allies and command numerous land vehicles, ships and aircraft. Two new fighting forces include the Free French Forces and Italian forces.
Currently under development by Swedish-based Digital Illusions. The Road to Rome is scheduled to be released in early 2003 under the EA GAMES brand. The original Battlefield 1942 is required to play The Road to Rome.
Military News
USS Oklahoma City Collides With Vessel
No Sailors were injured when the U.S. Navy submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723) came into brief contact with another vessel while transiting the western Mediterranean Sea east of the Strait of Gibraltar Nov. 13.
The accident occurred in international waters at approximately 1:30 p.m. (GMT). At the time of the incident, the submarine was proceeding to periscope depth.
Preliminary reports indicate the Oklahoma City's sail made brief contact with another vessel's hull. The submarine surfaced and located a merchant vessel in close proximity. Oklahoma City attempted to make radio contact with the other vessel. However, the other vessel did not respond and did not appear to need assistance, and departed the area. Oklahoma City continued to search the area for other vessels in the vicinity.
Oklahoma City will return to port for further inspection of damage and repairs. There were no injuries aboard Oklahoma City, and the damage appears to be limited to the submarine’s periscope and sail area.
An investigation is underway.
Raytheon Delivers Newest Patriot Missile
Raytheon Company has completed its initial delivery of Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missile Plus (GEM+) forebodies to the U.S. Army. GEM+ is a significant upgrade over the existing Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) missile and, when fielded in conjunction with the PAC-3 System, provides a robust capability against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and remotely piloted vehicles.
These first forebodies, which were delivered two months early, are from the initial lot of 148 that are currently under contract to the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command in Huntsville, Ala. The Patriot GEM+ missiles are part of an upgrade program to the Patriot system that includes the fielded PAC-3 ground equipment upgrades and the new PAC-3 missile.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN SUPPORTS QUICK-REACT INTEGRATION OF LITENING ER SYSTEM ON U.S. AIR FORCE F-15E AIRCRAFT ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. -- Nov. 14, 2002 -- The U.S. Air Force has successfully integrated the LITENING Extended Range (ER) precision targeting system into its F-15E fighter aircraft in less than 90 days, due to the combined efforts of the Air Force, The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) Electronic Systems sector. After initial flight clearance tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., the first operational evaluation mission of this new combat capability for the Strike Eagle aircraft was successfully completed Oct. 22 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Air Combat Command aircrews continue to perform weapon system and tactics evaluation missions at Nellis. The Northrop Grumman LITENING ER is a self-contained, multisensor laser target designating and navigation system that enables fighter pilots to detect, acquire, track and identify ground targets for highly accurate delivery of both conventional and precision-guided weapons. LITENING ER features include a 640 x 512 pixel forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera; charge-coupled device television; laser spot tracker/range finder; infrared (IR) marker; and a laser designator. "Our LITENING ER team worked closely with the Air Force and Boeing's Strike Eagle team to make this rapid integration a success," said Mike Lennon, vice president of Targeting and Surveillance Programs at Northrop Grumman's Defensive Systems Division in Rolling Meadows. "LITENING ER provides the Air Force's primary long-range air interdiction fighter with the combat-proven capabilities, including day and night tracking of both surface and airborne targets, IR marking of targets for ground troops, and two-level maintenance on the flight line." The LITENING ER system's unique architecture and modular design enabled engineers at the Boeing Avionics Integration Center in St. Louis to verify LITENING ER and aircraft compatibility. No change to the F-15E's operational flight program software was required, thus minimizing time, cost and risk associated with the system integration. LITENING ER pods are currently fielded with Air National Guard (ANG) F-16s and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) AV-8Bs. LITENING ER's predecessor, the LITENING II system with a 256 FLIR, is also operational on ANG/Air Force Reserve Command F-16s, and on AV-8Bs owned and operated by the USMC, and the Italian and Spanish navies. Headquartered in Baltimore, Md., Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of defense electronics systems including airborne radar systems, navigation systems, electronic warfare systems, precision weapons, airspace management systems, air defense systems, communications systems, space systems, marine systems, oceanic and naval systems, logistics systems, and automation and information systems.