Page 1

Daily News
By Gail Helmer

| Send Us News | Archives | Main |

Thursday November 01, 2001

PC News
Rogue Spear: Black Thorn In Stores
Ubi Soft Entertainment has announced that the stand-alone mission pack Tom Clancy's Rogue Spear: Black Thorn arrives in stores today. Team Rainbow faces nine new single-player missions using more than 10 new weapons including the M60 machine gun and the futuristic P90. Six new multiplayer maps are on hand along with an all-new Lone Wolf multiplayer mode in which one heavily armed operative takes on all the rest.

Europa Universalis II Goes Gold
Strategy First Inc and Paradox Entertainment announced that Europa Universalis II has gone gold. Europa Universalis II features more than 180 countries; all of them are playable and annexable. The map has been expanded to include 120 new provinces. It also includes many non-European countries such as China, Great Zimbabwe and the Cherokees.

IGI 2 Announced
Codemasters today confirms it has secured the global publishing rights to stealth-based first-person shooter IGI 2, the sequel to last years Project IGI. Innerloop Studios AS, the Oslo-based team that created the original, is developing the game and for the first time will include support for intense team-based multiplayer action.

IGI2 continues the modern warfare and espionage theme of the original. The covert missions continue the career of David Jones, a former SAS soldier, now working freelance for the secret organisation, codenamed 'IGI'. IGI2 takes place soon after the events in the previous title, bringing back key characters in a brand new story and new locations across the globe. New Screenshots

Military News
Northrop Grumman Accused of Fraud
Northrop Grumman Corp. has been accused by the federal government of tens of millions of dollars of fraud in defense contracts, including one to produce top secret parts for the B-2 "Stealth" bomber. The government said in civil court papers filed last week that the defense contractor produced bogus inventory records and other documents to hide the fact that it had inflated costs on contracts for producing radar jammers and other sophisticated electronic equipment. [More...]

South Korea Rolls Out First T-50
The first T-50 Golden Eagle aircraft, an advanced, supersonic trainer being developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with the assistance of Lockheed Martin, was rolled out in a ceremony in Korea on October 31. The T-50 is a major stepping stone in South Korea's development as an aircraft manufacturing country and is aimed at capturing a third of the world's supersonic trainer market over the next thirty years.

"The T-50 is the first supersonic jet aircraft developed by our rapidly growing aerospace industry," said President Kim, Dae-jung who served as the principal speaker at the unveiling ceremony. "This aircraft is expected to not only serve the advanced training needs of the Korean Air Force, but also a number of other major air forces around the world. We fully expect to be an exporter of advanced aerospace products."



KAI is the prime contractor for the T-50 with overall design responsibility with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company as the principal subcontractor responsible for general technical consulting, the wing, avionics and the electronic flight control system. Assembly of the first T-50 was completed in mid-September, 100 days ahead of the original schedule. Commercial production is expected to begin in 2003, with the first production T-50 expected in late 2005.

"The T- 50 is expected to be the mainstay of our production operations at KAI for the next 10 years or more," said Kil, Hyoung-Bo, president of KAI and master of ceremonies at the rollout.

The Korean Air Force (ROKAF) intends to acquire 94 T-50 advanced trainers and the derivative A-50 fighter lead-in trainer/light combat aircraft. The trainers will be used by ROKAF to prepare its pilots to fly the next generation fighter for which the South Korean Government is currently conducting a tender. The competition for the $3.2 billion contract is between Dassault's Rafale; Boeing's F-15K, the Eurofighter team's Typhoon 200, and the Russian Su-32. However, the recent failure of Boeing, who were favourites to secure the contract, to win the JSF production rights in the US may have prompted the Korean's to reassess the relative merits of the bids and delay the programme.

The supersonic T-50 will have the manoeuvrability, endurance and systems to prepare future pilots to fly current and next-generation fighters like advanced F-16s, the F-22 and the Joint Strike Fighter. It will replace ROKAF's current trainers the T-37 and T-38. The T-50 is currently the only craft of its type under development or production and can reach 1.4 mach. The Government will now explore exportation possibilities with nations in Europe and the Middle East favoured targets.

Lockheed Martin Begins Next Phase for JSF
On Friday, October 26, Lockheed Martin received a $18.9 billion contract for the Joint Strike Fighter to move the program into the next phase, System Development and Demonstration (SDD). "We've received our contract, we now have funding, our government customer has established an aggressive set of program milestones, and our team is off and running -- the SDD phase has begun," said Tom Burbage, executive vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin JSF program.

Since contract award, Lockheed Martin has also received its formal out-brief on Tuesday by Paul Schneider, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, and members of the JSF Source Selection Evaluation team. The government team included Major General Mike Hough, USMC, former JSF Program Director; Brig. Gen. Jack Hudson, USAF, JSF Program Director and senior JSF Program Office (JSFPO) management and Integrated Project Team (IPT) leads.



Details of the out-brief have been designated "Source Selection Sensitive" and therefore proprietary to the Source Selection Team.

"We were asked not to release the details of the out-brief," said Dain Hancock, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin and president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, "and we will certainly uphold this request from our customer. In summary, though, it was overwhelmingly clear that the Lockheed Martin Team solution was evaluated across the board as the best choice. The Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman-BAE SYSTEMS team can take great pride in the fact that this was a convincing win against a great competitor. It was obvious that this best total solution is what won the competition."

Hancock added that, "Notwithstanding the decisive conclusion by the government regarding the Lockheed Martin Team offering, we will be speaking with our competitor, Boeing, about capabilities from their proposal that they could possibly bring to the program to enhance the value of the JSF team. We take very seriously our responsibility to now deliver the total best-value solution. That's a commitment we've made to the U.S. and U.K. governments, as well as to the taxpayers."

The out-brief followed Friday's announcement by Dr. James Roche, secretary of the Air Force, that "on the basis of strengths, weaknesses and degrees of risk of the program it is our conclusion, joined in by our colleagues from the United Kingdom, that the Lockheed Martin team is the winner of the Joint Strike Fighter program on a best-value basis."

With the SDD phase firmly under way, Lockheed Martin will now be working closely with the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office to solidify plans that will take the company through this phase of the program, with first flight planned for 48 months, and first aircraft delivery planned for 2008.

"We have a lot of work to do between now and then, and our international team is pleased to have begun," said Burbage.

The Joint Strike Fighter program involves the production of an initial 22 aircraft in the program's $25 billion System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase formerly know as Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD).

The total program is valued at approximately $200 billion and will be a cornerstone of future defense capability for the United States, the United Kingdom and their allied partners. Plans call for more than 3,000 aircraft over the life of the program. The Joint Strike Fighter is designed to replace the A-10, the AV-8 Harrier, F-16 and the F/A-18.

EH101 Introduced To US Market
Lockheed Martin and AgustaWestland announced today they are initiating a joint effort focusing on the U.S. government medium-lift helicopter market with immediate attention toward combat search and rescue opportunities with the U.S. Air Force.

According to the agreement, AgustaWestland and Lockheed Martin will jointly bring the US101 aircraft -- an American version of AgustaWestland's extremely versatile and mission-proven EH101 helicopter -- to the U.S. market. The most technologically advanced helicopter of its class in production today, the three-engine EH101 has been ordered by United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Denmark and Japan.



"For us, the agreement supports our company's goal to become the world's leading helicopter systems supplier," said Giuseppe Orsi, AgustaWestland's Sales and Marketing director. "Teaming AgustaWestland, the second largest helicopter producer in the world, with Lockheed Martin, which has extensive experience in helicopter integration, will deliver low-risk, best-value solutions to U.S. customer requirements."

"We're extremely proud to be the prime U.S. contractor in this critical venture," said Frank C. Meyer, president of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration - Owego, the New York-based Lockheed Martin business segment working with AgustaWestland. "This helicopter is robust, proven and highly reliable. Bringing it to our military market is the right solution to replace aging aircraft, such as the U.S. Air Force's combat search and rescue fleets."

This U.S. agreement builds on more than 10 years of successful teamwork in the United Kingdom for Lockheed Martin and AgustaWestland on the Merlin HM Mk1, a maritime version of the EH101. During successful mission system trials in 2000, the system was described as "awesome" by its customer.

"Immediate plans include establishing core teams from both companies to launch joint marketing campaigns directed toward military markets such as the U.S. Air Force's Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) effort," Orsi said. "Other government agencies needing a helicopter with the range and payload capabilities of the US101 are being explored."

The Lockheed Martin effort with AgustaWestland will be led by Stephen D. Ramsey, vice president for Aerospace Systems. "By working with Lockheed Martin, this agreement opens new markets in the United States for AgustaWestland, but more importantly it gives our country a proven, state of the art, all-weather medium-lift helicopter that is manufactured in the United States," Ramsey emphasized. "This is as important for our country as it is for our companies."

Gripen Tightens Grip On East European Fighters
The Gripen team is tightening its grip on the replacement fighter market in ex-Warsaw Pact countries that are in NATO or keen to join the alliance.

Gripen said it was "...delighted to hear Czech government confirmation that its proposal for the sale of 24 or 36 Gripen new-generation, supersonic, multi-role fighters is fully compliant and meets all the conditions set in the tender document for modernisation of the Czech Air Force."



At the same time the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Hungarian state radio during his regular weekly interview yesterday, "We are in exclusive talks for the lease of the Gripens. We have good hopes to complete the talks in November."

Since early 1997, Gripen partners Saab and BAE Systems have had a team dedicated to meeting the stated requirement of successive governments in the Czech Republic to modernise the Air Force through purchase of new supersonic aircraft.

"It is through close and sustained attention to the specific military, economic and industrial needs of the Czech Republic, that the Gripen team has been able to offer a fully compliant response to the tender for new aircraft," said Simon Carr, sales and marketing director Gripen International. "We ... await the Czech government's announcement of the next stage in its air force modernisation programme."

The Hungarian Prime Minister's comments came after the US had made a new and apparently cheaper offer of F-16s for the Hungarian requirement for 14 modern fighters to replace its ageing MiG-29s. Swedish officials said earlier that the lease deal was a breakthrough for the Swedish industry as Hungary was the first NATO member to take the fighter.

Already in service with the Swedish Air Force, which has ordered 204 aircraft, the South African Air Force has also ordered 28 Gripen.

POGO Reveals Predator Anomaly
The Project on Government Oversight (POGO), a US non-profit governmental watchdog, has revealed an as yet undisclosed report by the Department of Defence's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, which describes significant limitations to the capabilities of the Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The Predator has been portrayed by the Pentagon and in some recent media reports as an unsung hero of the Kosovo air war and destined to be the "revolutionary" reconnaissance aircraft of the future. One major media outlet even suggested that the $20 million per copy Predator, which is being deployed in the war in Afghanistan, "may turn out to be Osama bin Laden's worst nightmare."

However, according to the report by Thomas Christie DoD's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation , "the system's limitations have a substantial negative impact on the Predator's ability to conduct its missions," and that "poor target location accuracy, ineffective communications, and limits imposed by relatively benign weather, including rain, negatively impact missions such as strike support, combat search and rescue, area search, and continuous coverage."



According to the Pentagon's report and inside sources, since 1995, an estimated 17 of the 50 Predator aircraft built for the US Air Force have crashed during testing and another 5 are believed to have been shot down on military missions. Meaning that at $20 million per vehicle, hundreds of millions of dollars have been lost during testing alone.

Christie wrote in the report that the Predator is "not operationally effective or suitable" because the aircraft has several critical limitations. When flying in the rain, Predator missions are negatively impacted in a number of ways including poor target location accuracy and ineffective communications, according to the Pentagon's report. There is considerable concern that the Predator is highly vulnerable to being shot down because it flies at a slow speed and at low altitudes. It also cannot perform its mission while flying at night, according to the Pentagon's report.

Ultimately, the report concludes, "DOT&E finds the system to be not operationally suitable...because of the serious deficiencies in reliability, maintainability and human factors design." Current media coverage, which barely scratches the surface of such vitally important issues, is feeding the Pentagon's defence spending frenzy, and suggests to the American public that the Predator is a weapon that the nation's fighting men and women can rely on.

"When the national media fails in their investigative responsibilities, it is American service men and women, as well as American taxpayers, who suffer the consequences," said Danielle Brian, Executive Director of POGO.

New Bullet That Will Not Pierce Aircraft Fuselage
American Ammunition has applied for a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office for a bullet that will not pierce an aircraft fuselage but will penetrate human soft tissue. The product has been specifically designed for use inside the cabin of a commercial aircraft. It could also be used in nuclear power plants, hazardous materials storage facilities, and for home defence.

Two of the basic design criteria in ballistics are penetration and expansion of the projectile. These two factors have been controlled to meet the specific requirements of weapons fired inside an aircraft cabin, but maintaining fuselage integrity.

The design and material selection means that typical bullet expansion is inverted and the bullet collapses intrnally at the rear. On impact with the aircraft fuselage, the bullet collapses internally and does not transfer kinetic energy forward at speeds above that required for soft tissue penetration. Testing has been successful in Jetliner and Commuter fuselages as well as successful testing into ordinance gelatin and bovine raw meat.

The company says that the round maintains the standard velocity and accuracy of the calibre being used. This design is a new concept in close quarter ammunition: a bullet capable of incapacitating an assailant without terminally damaging surrounding structure.

Photo of the Day: Taliban Tank


ENDURING FREEDOM -- Air operations continue with an emphasis on striking front-line Taliban and Al Qaeda forces. Pictured is still photo of Taliban tank before its hit. (DOD Image)View Gun Camera Footage

Air Campaign Ratchets Up Against Front Line
About 80 percent of the air campaign on Oct. 29 was directed against front-line Taliban and Al Qaeda forces, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Oct. 30.

Air operations included targeting terrorist and Taliban command and control facilities, including bunkers and tunnels. Joint Staff spokesman Rear Adm. John D. Stufflebeem said the efforts included strikes in 13 planned target areas as well as against targets in several engagement zones.

U.S. forces used about 70 strike aircraft. This included 50 to 55 carrier-based strike aircraft, and six to eight each of land-based tactical aircraft and long-range bombers. The strike aircraft are only the tip of the sword, DoD officials noted. The number of aircraft sorties doubles if support aircraft such as aerial refuelers, surveillance and combat search and rescue aircraft are included.

Stufflebeem said the coordination between the pilots and U.S. ground controllers in Afghanistan has improved the bombing accuracy on front-line Taliban positions. The Northern Alliance asked for U.S. advisers.

"They've asked for support, they've asked for help, they've asked for liaison for the air strikes," he said. "Any time you have people on the ground you will improve the performance." The risk of putting U.S. service members in place in Afghanistan is a calculated one, he observed.

"We are always concerned about the safety of Americans anywhere in the world in a combat environment," Stufflebeem said. "We are taking an element of risk in putting combat forces on the ground, but it's a measured risk. It's a risk that's part of a plan.

"In any conflict, to assure an outcome, you have to take risk. Certainly our forces on the ground ... are going to be a concern to commanders who are responsible for them."

Stufflebeem said the Oct. 29 effort included leaflet drops in the north and east of the country and continued Commando Solo II broadcast missions. "Two C-17s delivered 34,000 humanitarian daily rations yesterday and brought total to date to 990,000," he said. "If drops go as scheduled today we should reach more than 1 million."


| Send Us News | Archives | Main |