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Daily News
By Gail Helmer

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Tuesday November 13, 2001

PC News
New Saitek Cyborg 3D Force Stick
With the newest TouchSense technology from Immersion Corporation packed into a powerful processor, Saitek's Cyborg 3D Force Stick delivers 100 percent force feedback to PC gamers. The new processor delivers up to ten force experiences simultaneously. Like the original,Cyborg joystick, the Cyborg 3D Force Stick is equally comfortable for left- or right-handers, with dual left/right hand throttle.



The 3D Rudder Twist on the handle increases the realism in flight sim games but the stick is also great for racing games where force effects are prominent. The new stick comes with multi-features including: four thumb buttons, four base buttons, Rapid Response Trigger, 8-way POV Hat Switch, lever throttle, and 3-D twist. A USB connector allows for simple "plug and play" on Windows or Macintosh. The Cyborg 3D Force Stick will be available in time for the holidays with a suggested retail price of only $60.

Panzer Elite To Be Re-released
Wings Simulations has anounced that their parent company JoWooD have bought back the rights to Panzer Elite and are re-releasing Panzer Elite, now called Panzer Elite-Special Edition, this December 2001. The new release will have the latest version 1.1 on the CD, and a free bonus CD containing the wonderful work of our mod community. This means over 100 new tanks, winter and night battles, the British forces, Italians and much much more. We also included all tools on the CD along with all original project files.

OpFlash Ultimate Upgrade 3
Ultimate Upgrade 3 is released. This is a major update to the game containing many new vehicles, weapons and enhanced multiplayer capabilities. It's highly recommended to download this upgrade. This pack contains all files from Patch 1.30 and Addon Pack 3. Download

AMD Introduces New Mobile Chips
AMD has introduced the 1.2GHz mobile AMD Athlon(tm) 4 and 950MHz mobile AMD Duron(tm) processors with AMD PowerNow!(tm) technology, the industry's most sophisticated power management solution. Since their introduction earlier this year, AMD mobile processors have achieved significant market acceptance in the U.S. retail notebook market.

Real War Update
The Real War Team have announced that the development of the Enhancement Kit is progressing nicely. The Enhancement Kit is expected to be released by Thanksgiving.

NVIDIA Announces New Mobile GPU
NVIDIA today introduced their new mobile graphics processing unit, code-named NV17M. The GPU will contain several power management features, including NVIDIA’s PowerMizer technology; an integrated video processing engine; antialiasing technology; and new memory architecture. NVIDIA’s new mobile GPU is the first to feature custom antialiasing hardware designed specifically for notebook computers. PowerMizer technology is meant to extend battery life in mobile computers by way of a power management system integrated in both the hardware and software.

Military News
Northrop Grumman To Develop New Sonar System
Northrop Grumman Corporation has received an $8.9 million contract from the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to develop an all-optical fixed undersea surveillance system that uses light rather than electrical current.

The 24-month development program will culminate in an at-sea demonstration and validation of Northrop Grumman's deep water, all-optical, acoustic system.

"This competitive award solidifies Northrop Grumman's position as the industry leader in the emerging all-optical acoustic sensor technology field," said William J. Allison, vice president and general manager of the company's Navigation Systems Division. "Successful completion of this development program will place Northrop Grumman in an excellent competitive position for subsequent production programs."

The Navy and Northrop Grumman began developing this technology in the early 1980's as a potential replacement for the decades-old electromechanical/copper wire-based technology systems. According to SPAWAR, this new all-optical technology offers the potential for lower cost and higher reliability.

Eurofighter Offer Partnership To Netherlands Industry
Rainer Hertrich CEO EADS, and Steve Mogford, COO BAE SYSTEMS have unveiled details of a Euro 7 billion (Gld15 billion approx.) industrial partnership programme that could benefit Netherlands industry.

The package was presented on behalf of the Eurofighter Partner Companies (Alenia Aerospazio, BAE SYSTEMS, EADS-Deutschland, EADS-CASA) in support of the Eurofighter bid as candidate in the programme for a replacement of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-16 fleet. The industrial package is geared to both short term participation in production programmes, and long term, high-value defence and aerospace partnerships across the defence and aerospace activities of the Eurofighter partner companies.



Highlights of the proposed industrial partnership cover two phases of activity.

In a first phase Netherlands industry participates directly in the Eurofighter Enhancement Programme to compliment participation by the RNLAF. As such, RNLAF would be working with the existing four nation Eurofighter customers in defining future operational requirements and capabilities of the weapon system. Other industrial activity may also cover production for the initial batch of Eurofighter aircraft now in progress. This initial package provides a guaranteed return of Euro 400 million to Netherlands industry.

A second phase will see Netherlands industry participate in production and further development of the Eurofighter Weapon System to meet the requirements of all partner air forces and the RNLAF.

An additional and significant benefit from the Eurofighter offer of industrial partnership is potential or additional participation by Netherlands industry in programmes such as AIRBUS, A400M, helicopters, MAKO, Space programmes and other defence and civil activities.

The total package is valued in excess of Euro 7 billion.

The Eurofighter consortium said that they were in a position to provide Netherlands industry with a 1-1 return on any investment by Government or industry made in to the Eurofighter programme. This return on investment will be wholly directed at Netherlands industries.

Hertrich said "We understand that the Netherlands Government has set out a requirement for a financial contribution by industry if it is to participate in a US programme. I believe this is a unique situation.

Investment by Netherlands industry is not a pre-requisite for joining the Eurofighter programme. If, however, the Netherlands Government policy is for industry to contribute to a future programme, then we certainly expect to be treated on an equal basis to ensure a fair competition."

In his presentation Steve Mogford emphasised the benefits of joining the Eurofighter programme at this time based on low risk, enhanced and unrestricted technology access combined with exceptional commercial conditions.

Mogford said "The Eurofighter Partner Companies have put together a strong industrial package that has the potential to provide a significant role for Netherlands industry in the future European and global aerospace industry. I have every confidence that a full understanding of our offer will encourage the Netherlands in making a balanced decision regarding the future fighter procurement."

Lockheed Martin, Boeing Discuss JSF Cooperation
Boeing and Lockheed Martin held discussions on Friday about possible cooperation in the construction of the Joint Strike Fighter, for which Lockheed Martin won an SDD contract last month against competition from Boeing.

Because of the size of the contract (the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force intend to buy some 3000, with the potential for a similar number in export orders) there are fears that the loser might be forced out of fighter production altogether. Boeing supporters in Congress have been pushing a joint production line to avert this. The Bush administration, which insisted that the contract was a 'winner take all' award, has said that any decision for the two companies to cooperate must be a commercial decision at the discretion of Lockheed Martin.

In a joint statement the two companies said they had had "....constructive initial discussion about ways in which Boeing could potentially add value to Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter team. Boeing presented an overview of its strengths and capabilities, and Lockheed Martin representatives agreed to consider them further, in relation to the government's cost and schedule constraints."

Both companies have committed to a further meeting, following internal evaluations of what they learned

Air Force Releases Cause Of Luke F-16 Accident
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- Air Force officials have determined fasteners that came loose in the engine of an F-16D Fighting Falcon caused the aircraft to crash July 23 about 57 miles southwest of Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.

At the time of the incident, the instructor pilot was leading a two-ship surface attack training sortie along a low-level route. Seven minutes into the low level, while flying at 500 feet above ground, the mishap pilot felt what he described as an explosion and the aircraft vibrated violently.



He initiated a climb to gain altitude and pulled the throttle to idle. During the climb, the aircraft continued to vibrate violently as engine revolutions decreased. Upon hearing a radio call from his wingman that his aircraft was on fire, the mishap pilot ejected at 7,500 feet.

The accident investigation found that two inner airseal retaining fasteners in the low-pressure turbine failed or came loose and allowed it to move outward and forward. A section of this airseal made contact with the third stage vane inner airseal, damaging all third stage and all following vanes and blades.

Damage progressed to the drive shaft and caused a titanium fire to erupt. Then the engine seized.

The pilot ejected safely and suffered only minor injuries. The two-seat F-16 aircraft was assigned to Luke AFB. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service)

Air Force Releases T-38 Accident Findings
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- Air Force officials have completed their investigation into the Aug. 24 T-38 Talon accident near Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, that resulted in the death of an Italian aviator.

In the incident, two T-38s collided in flight and crashed about 59 miles west of Sheppard AFB. A student pilot flying solo sustained fatal injuries during the midair collision. The other crew, a student pilot and instructor pilot, successfully ejected from their aircraft.

All three aviators were from the Italian air force and were assigned to Sheppard AFB as members of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program. They were flying a formation-training mission at the time of the crash. Sheppard AFB trains pilots from 13 countries in the Euro-NATO program.



During the training flight, the solo student pilot was leading a two-ship basic formation sortie to practice formation and rejoining maneuvers. During a maneuvering event, the two jets collided. The instructor pilot determined his aircraft was uncontrollable and ordered bailout. The solo pilot sustained injuries in the collision and could not attempt ejection.

The accident investigation board determined three factors contributed to the accident.

First, none of the three crewmembers were able to correctly assess their position and rate of closure in time to avoid the collision.

Second, the instructor did not anticipate the sequence of maneuvers that placed the lead aircraft in the sun, and he allowed the situation to continue.

Finally, the solo pilot was not aware his sequence of maneuvers resulted in a situation where he was in the sun relative to his wingman and was not monitoring his wingman during this phase of flight.

The board determined the accident could have been avoided if any one of these factors had been different.

Brig. Gen. Felix Dupre, executive officer for the supreme allied commander in Europe, led the accident investigation. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service)

Taliban Crumble in Afghanistan; U.N. Urged to Step In
KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The Taliban's hardline Islamic rule of Afghanistan appeared to be in tatters Tuesday after the opposition Northern Alliance took control of the capital Kabul and other key areas of the country. With the Northern Alliance defying international pressure to stay clear of the capital until a new broad-based government is agreed, world leaders called on the United Nations to step in. As the Taliban retreated in droves to their southern stronghold of Kandahar, witnesses arriving in Pakistan said thousands of anti-Taliban tribal fighters had seized an airport in the former royal capital and were advancing on Kandahar. [More...]

Voice Recorder Indicates Plane Crash Was Accident
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. investigators said on Tuesday initial information from the cockpit voice recorder found in the wreckage of an American Airlines plane indicated Monday's crash was an accident and not sabotage. "The cockpit voice recorder is the biggest information that we have and a quick listen to that last evening in Washington showed nothing that would imply any sort of unusual activity in the cockpit other than the accident sequence," said National Transportation Safety Board spokesman George Black. [More...]


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