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Daily News
By Gail Helmer

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Wednesday, June 06, 2001

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Website Launched
"Medal of Honor: Allied Assault" website has been launched in commemoration of the Allied landings at Omaha Beach, which is one of the missions that will be featured in the game. The website includes screenshots, feature stories, movies and the trailer first shown at E3. Players will assume the role of Lt. Mike Powell, member of the famed 1st Ranger Battalion who gets recruited by the OSS and battles through over 20 levels that are based on historical military campaigns of World War II. The missions will range from silencing the gun batteries at Port Arzew, to sabotaging U-boats at the sub pens of Trondheim, to surviving the landing at Omaha Beach, to holding the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. Release Date: Fall 2001. Click here to check out the new website.

New Team Factor Screens
7FX has posted new screns from Team Factor. Team Factor is a stand-alone multi-player action game designed with team play in mind. The games mission, environment and objective is inspired by the "shadow" military operations - whether real or fiction style. Screens...

Official Space Empires IV PBEM Site
Shrapnel Games has announced that the SE:IV PBEM Site is hereby recognized as the official PBEM multiplayer site for it's popular space based 4X game, Space Empires IV. Click here for details on using the site for multiplayer PBEM.

Military News

D-Day June 6, 1944
Today marks the 57th Anniversary that the Allied air forces put forth a massive, unprecedented effort in support of amphibious landings on the French beaches of Normandy. The following is from the archives of the Detroit News from June 6, 1944.

Hitler's Wall Broken as Allies Move Inland
(SUPREME HEADQUARTERS, (AP) -- Allied Expeditionary Force, June 6 -- Detroit News) Allied troops landed on the Normandy coast of France in tremendous strength by cloudy daylight today and stormed several miles inland with tanks and infantry in the grand assault which Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called a crusade in which "we will accept nothing less than full victory."

German broadcasts said the Allies penetrated several kilometers in between Caen and Isigny, which are 35 miles apart and respectively nine and two miles from the sea.

German opposition apparently was less effective than expected, although fierce in many respects, and the Germans said they were bringing reinforcements continuously up to the coast, where "a battle for life or death is in progress."

The seaborne troops, led by Gen. Sir Bernard Montgomery, surged across the channel from England in 4,000 regular ships and additional thousands of smaller craft.

They were preceded by massed flights of parachute and glider forces who landed inland during the darkness.

Eleven thousand planes supported the attack.

The Germans radio said the landings were made from Cherbourg to Le Harve, a strip of coast roughly 100 miles, and later said additional landings were being made "west of Cherbourg," indicating that the Allies intended to seize the Normandy peninsula with its ports and airdomes as the first base of their campaign to destroy the power of Nazi Germany.

One German broadcast said the Allied landing barges penetrated the Orne and Vire estuaries under artificial fog and "tried to carry out landing operations on a major scale in the rear of the Atlantic wall."

The initial landings were made from 6:00 to 8:25 am, British time (midnight to 2:25 am, Detroit time). The Germans said subsequent landings were made on the English Channel isles of Jersey and Guernsey and that invasion at new points on the continent was expected hourly.

Aside from confirming that Normandy was the general area of the assault, supreme headquarters of the Allied expeditionary force was silent concerning the location.

From Moscow came word that the Russian army was massing in preparation for another great attack from the east as its part in defeating Germany.

All reports from the beachhead, meager though they were in specific detail, agreed that the Allies had made good the great gamble of amphibious landing against possibly the strongest fortified section of coast in the world.

The airborne troops' principal scenes of operations were placed by the Germans at Caen and Berfleur. The Germans said the American 82nd and 101st Parachute Divisions had landed on the Normandy peninsula, along with the American 28th and 100th Airborne Divisions.

They said the British 1st and 6th airborne divisions were operating in the Seine Bay area. The Germans complained that at some points dummy parachutes were dropped, exploding on touch.

The parachutists and glider men went in after a personal farewell from Gen. Eisenhower. The Germans said they landed at Caen and made deep penetrations at many points with at least four British parachute divisions employed besides the Americans and Canadians.

The channel was rough and there were showers at dawn, but later the sun broke through the clouds. At supreme headquarters it was stated that the condition of the sea had caused some great anxiety, but that the troops had gone ashore, even though many were seasick.

Allied headquarters kept silent until 9:32 am British time (3:32 am Detroit time), when the following communiqué was issued:

"Under the command of Gen. Eisenhower, Allied naval forces supported by strong air forces began landing Allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France."

This was referred to as Communiqué No.1.

It was made known that the supreme command felt it necessary to yield the initiative in the war of words to the Germans in order to retain the initiative on land and keep the German high command in the dark as long as possible.

Spielberg D-Day epic unveiled
(BBC, June 6) Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are previewing their latest World War II epic Band of Brothers on a beach in Normandy, France. The pair - who brought worked together on Oscar-winning movie Saving Private Ryan - co-produced this new 10-part TV series. More...

Town that lost 21 troops hosts D-Day memorial
(CNN, June 6) Fifty-seven years ago, far across the sea, this small community in southwest Virginia lost 19 of its young men in 15 minutes. By the end of the day -- June 6, 1944 -- the death toll among Bedford's young men in the Allied invasion of Europe had risen to 21 of the 35 soldiers from the town of 3,200. More...

Bush to Dedicate D-Day Memorial
(Reuters, June 6) Bush travels to Bedford, Virginia for the dedication of the National D-Day Memorial to honor the servicemen and women who took part in the June 6, 1944 Normandy landings that dealt a decisive blow to Nazi rule in Europe 57 years ago through the largest air, land and sea invasion in history. More...

Related Links:

National D-Day Museum

Author Stephen Ambrose

Normandy Tourism

Ingalls To Build Future DDG 51 Class Aegis Destroyers
The U.S. Navy has awarded Ingalls Shipbuilding, a Northrop Grumman company, a $154.9 million contract to begin advance procurement of materials for the construction of future DDG 51 Class Aegis destroyers. The contract is to purchase a variety of DDG class equipment items for three additional Aegis destroyers authorized by Congress.



Actual ship construction contracts are to be awarded to Ingalls and Bath Iron Works in a single, multiyear procurement process to be conducted later this year. The multiyear procurement plan calls for a total of six ships --three to Bath, three to Ingalls -- with funding scheduled during a three-year period from the 2002 through 2004 fiscal years.

The advanced procurement plan, the Economic Order Quantities, allows both shipbuilders to place orders for equipment for all ships authorized during the three-year period. This process, which allows the shipbuilders and their suppliers to plan for multiship procurement, will save taxpayers millions of dollars.

Today's material procurement contract funds the advance purchase of long-lead time equipment such as engines, gears, generators, air conditioners and other major items.

Since 1987, Ingalls has been awarded contracts to construct 24 Aegis destroyers and has delivered 14 of the ships to the Navy a combined 61 weeks ahead of schedule.

"This procurement contract marks the continuation of a very efficient approach toward the construction of these vital ships for the Navy," said Jerry St. Pe, chief operating officer of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. "Efficiency in building these destroyers, an area in which Ingalls has excelled, provides the means to build these ships in the numbers necessary to fully support the Navy's missions."

Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems, headquartered in Pascagoula, Miss., includes Ingalls and the Ship Systems Full Service Center, both located in Pascagoula, as well as Litton Avondale Industries, located in New Orleans, La. Ship Systems, which currently employs more than 17,000 shipbuilding professionals, primarily in Mississippi and Louisiana, is one of the nation's leading full service systems companies for the design, engineering, construction, and life cycle support of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and international navies, and for commercial vessels of all types. Ship Systems has a firm business backlog exceeding $5.6 billion, in a variety of naval and commercial shipbuilding programs.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $15 billion, global aerospace and defense company with its worldwide headquarters in Los Angeles. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in defense and commercial electronics, systems integration, information technology and non-nuclear shipbuilding and systems. With 80,000 employees and operations in 44 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.

X-35B Begins Final Phase of Flight Test
The short-takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) version of the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter, the X-35B, has begun ground runs as the countdown begins to the aircraft's final phase of STOVL flight. The plane completed its conventional and STOVL wing-borne flight requirements last fall and will begin STOVL takeoff and landing operations, beginning with vertical takeoffs, in late June or early July. The Lockheed Martin JSF team completed installation of the JSF X-35B's flight-ready propulsion system -- including the shaft-driven lift fan and engine -- on May 12. Pilot Simon Hargreaves began operating the flight-ready system in the aircraft on May 24.



"The X-35B continues to be in excellent shape. All final evaluations and flight preparation are meeting all our expectations," said Rick Rezabek, Lockheed Martin X-35B product manager. "The STOVL portion of the flight-test program will prove to be an incredible finish to the JSF X-airplane test program."

Additionally, the government JSF Program Office completed a first-flight readiness review of the X-35B on May 22 and 23 in preparation for the beginning of STOVL flight testing. Engineering groups from the JSF Program Office, an independent review team and a Joint United States Air Force/U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps Safety Review Board met with the Lockheed Martin-led X-35 team to review engineering and test results of all X-35B STOVL development work, as well as plans for the STOVL flight-test program.

Flight test will begin with a series of vertical takeoffs at the Lockheed Martin plant in Palmdale, Calif. Follow-on flights will include transitions to and from conventional and STOVL modes. Hargreaves, a veteran Harrier pilot from BAE SYSTEMS, will be the X-35B's principal contractor test pilot.

The X-35B, designed to meet U.S. Marine Corps and Royal Navy/Royal Air Force requirements, features a unique propulsion system in which a drive shaft from the engine turns a counterrotating lift fan that produces tremendous cool-air lifting force during STOVL operations. The front-mounted fan works in concert with a thrust-vectoring rear engine nozzle and under-wing lateral-control nozzles to produce nearly 40,000 pounds of lifting power. Rolls-Royce produces the fan and nozzles. The Pratt & Whitney engine is based on the F-22 power plant.

The shaft-driven lift fan system recently completed government-monitored durability mission tests, demonstrating complete reliability.

The Lockheed Martin approach to the flight-test program is based on fielding and flying a JSF design as close to the production model as possible.

"By flight-testing an aircraft that closely represents the one you intend to produce, and by validating that aircraft's performance, you greatly reduce the risk of encountering unexpected and costly surprises later in the program," said Harry Blot, a former Harrier test pilot who now serves as vice president and deputy program manager for the Lockheed Martin JSF.

Lockheed Martin, in partnership with Northrop Grumman and BAE SYSTEMS, is in competition to build the JSF for the United States and United Kingdom. Government selection of a single contractor for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase is set for fall 2001.

First Stretched C-130J-30s for USAF Head to Edwards
Lockheed Martin has ferried the first three US Air Force C-130J-30s to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., to begin airdrop testing. The testing will demonstrate and certify the aircraft is capable of performing the vitally important airdrop mission. Airdrop is the ability of a cargo aircraft to deploy paratroops and supplies from either the side doors or rear loading ramp of the aircraft from a range of altitudes.



"This is a joint test program developed by Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Army," said Ross Reynolds, vice president C-130J program. "A great deal of inter-organization coordination has gone into the planning to bring about a successful test program for the C-130J-30."

The C-130J-30's sophisticated navigation system allows the aircrew to drop with pinpoint accuracy. Once deployed, the C-130J-30 will bring a whole new operational airdrop capability to both the Air Force and the Army. Current analyses shows that a close formation of 30 C-130J-30s will be able to drop 2,800 troops in under five minutes.

From Edwards AFB, the aircraft will be flown to Pope AFB, N.C., for further paratroop testing with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division. Upon completion of that testing, the aircraft will return to Marietta to be prepared for delivery to the 143rd Airlift Wing, the Rhode Island Air National Guard unit based at Quonset State Airport near Providence, R.I., in late November.

Although designated a tactical airlifter, the C-130J-30 has demonstrated strategic capabilities with unrefueled non-stop flights of more than 4,000 miles. The C-130J-30 is based on the standard C-130J model, but features a fuselage that is 180 inches (457.2 centimeters) longer than the standard C-130J model, providing the greater airlift capability required by many operators. This version is the first stretched C-130J to be equipped with the Enhanced Cargo Handling System, which allows quick conversion from cargo floor tie-downs to rollers for palletized cargo.

When compared with the standard model, the J-30 can be used to carry 128 combat troops instead of 92, and 92 paratroops instead of 64. It can also carry eight 463L pallets rather than six, 97 medical liters instead of 74, and 24 container delivery system (CDS) bundles instead of 16.

Worldwide, 111 C-130Js and J-30s have been ordered. Current customers include the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve Command, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Italian Air Force, and the Royal Danish Air Force.

SMArt 155 100-Percent Reliable
ATK (Alliant Techsystems) said GIWS, Nuremberg, Germany, ATK's industry partner on the SMArt(R) 155 sensor-fuzed munition system program, achieved 100-percent reliability in a series of gun-fired tests conducted recently for the German government.

Of the 14 SMArt 155 submunitions delivered over the target array during the lot acceptance tests, the system achieved nine target hits, five near misses, and 100-percent reliability during challenging weather conditions that included high winds, low ceilings, and heavy precipitation. The firing tests, which were held at government-owned proving grounds in Meppen, Germany, were part of the SMArt 155 production program for the German Army. GIWS is under contract to produce 9,000 SMArt 155 projectiles over the next several years.

"These tests continue the unmatched success of the SMArt 155 program and confirm again our strong confidence in both the system and in GIWS as a partner in bringing it to the U.S.," said Michael McCann, president, ATK Ammunition Systems Company, New Brighton Minn.

In November 2000, ATK and GIWS entered into an exclusive agreement under which ATK will manufacture and offer for sale in the U.S. the SMArt 155 system. The agreement calls for GIWS to transfer the technology for SMArt 155 to ATK Ammunition Systems Company, which will be the prime contractor for the manufacture of the projectiles, submunitions, and other components, and will market the product in the U.S.

In production for the German Army by GIWS since 1998, SMArt 155 is an advanced "fire and forget" smart projectile for use in all 155mm artillery systems that employs a millimeter wave radar, radiometer, and an infrared sensor to defeat artillery and armored targets in all weather and environmental conditions.

NNS Board Recommends General Dynamics Offer
Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE: NNS) today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously reaffirmed its recommendation of the offer by General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) of $67.50 per share in cash for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Newport News Shipbuilding and that shareholders tender their shares to General Dynamics.

The Board of Directors of Newport News Shipbuilding also considered the exchange offer by Northrop Grumman Corporation for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Newport News Shipbuilding. The Board of Directors determined that it is unable to take a position with respect to the Northrop Grumman offer until it has obtained additional information regarding the position of the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice with respect to both the General Dynamics offer and the Northrop Grumman offer.

The Newport News Shipbuilding Board of Directors reaffirmed its recommendation of the General Dynamics offer because it believes that the General Dynamics offer provides an opportunity for Newport News Shipbuilding stockholders to receive better and more certain value than the value they would receive under the present terms of the Northrop Grumman offer. Northrop Grumman has asserted that its offer has a greater certainty of completion than the General Dynamics offer as a result of government regulatory issues. However, the NNS Board of Directors cannot conclude that the Northrop Grumman offer has a greater certainty of completion than the General Dynamics offer. based on information currently available to it.

Newport News Shipbuilding Chairman and CEO Bill Fricks said, "We will seek to determine the position of the U.S. government regarding these two offers as expeditiously as possible. The primary interest of the Board of Directors is for our stockholders to receive the best value for their shares in any acquisition of Newport News Shipbuilding."

Gripen Demonstrates Capabilities In Poland
Two single-seat SAAB-BAE SYSTEMS Gripen swing-role fighters are taking part in a dispersed operations defense exercise with the Polish Air Force, near Szcecin in Poland. Operating alongside Polish MiG-29, MiG-21, Su-22 and Iskra aircraft, the Swedish Air Force Gripen fighters will demonstrate their ability to operate from forward operating bases and road strips, an important element of Polish national defense requirements.



The demonstration id part of the ongoing drive by SAAB-BAE SYSTEMS to sell the fourth generation aircraft to Poland, which the SAAB-BAE SYSTEMS team says is the only one capable of operating effectively from both main operating bases and dispersed sites, including unprepared road strips.

"Gripen is ideally suited for out-of-area operations in support of NATO or other multi-national forces," states Simon Carr, sales and marketing director, SAAB-BAE SYSTEMS Gripen. "The high availability, reliability and low support requirements allows a Gripen force to generate more sorties than any other aircraft in its class.

The Gripen team says that the aircraft has a minimal requirement for ground support infrastructure and equipment at both a main operating base and deployed operations site and that the fighter's need for less spares, repair and maintenance, leads to more time in the air.

Typically, each Gripen can be turned around, mission to mission, by a team of just five personnel in less than 10 minutes, whether at the main operating base or on dispersed deployment. Even when carrying a heavy load of fuel and weapons, it requires less than 500 meters of narrow roadway for take-off or landing.

SAAB-BAE SYSTEMS Gripen is currently preparing its response to the first part of the Polish government's RFP for the modernisation of its air force to meet national, NATO and European defense needs. Gripen for Poland will be fully NATO compatible and interoperable. It will support all NATO priorities for the standardisation of doctrines and procedures, including NATO standard datalink communications and an air-to-air refueling system.

Swedish Air Force variants of Gripen, although currently different to those marketed internationally, have successfully demonstrated their ability to operate with NATO forces and other Partnership for Peace nations during exercises, including Baltic Link 200, last year.

World War II Airmen Recovered In Tunisia
Remains believed to be those of the six-man crew of a World War II bomber have been located in Tunisia and will be repatriated today in ceremonies in Tunis. The aircraft wreckage was discovered in November 2000 during a dredging operation of Lake Tunis, near the capital city of Tunis. The aircraft was under approximately six feet of silt and mud.

The government of Tunisia halted the dredging operation and contacted U.S. authorities. The U.S. Army's Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI), mounted underwater excavations in November and January, recovering remains, personal effects and aircraft debris. U.S. Navy specialists in underwater salvage operations and unexploded ordnance assisted the CILHI team. The teams received the full support of the Tunisian government during all phases of the recovery work.

The bomber, a Martin Marauder B-26, crashed in the water after having been struck by enemy anti-aircraft fire during a raid on El Aouina air base in December 1942. Based on serial numbers from the aircraft, the Army has made a tentative association with a specific aircraft, and has located most of the surviving family members of the crew.

Today's repatriation ceremony will include officials of the Tunisian government, U.S. Ambassador Rust Deming and other U.S. officials, including three members of the staff of the CILHI. The remains are to be flown to the CILHI laboratory in Hawaii, where the forensic identification process will begin. During the past 28 years, CILHI teams have recovered remains believed to be those of 389 World War II servicemen from areas throughout the world. More than 250 of these have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors.


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