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Daily News
By Gail Helmer

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Wednesday December 05, 2001

PC News
IL-2 Sturmovik Add-On Released
Ubi Soft has announced that the latest IL-2 Add-On patch is finally available for download. Once your copy of IL-2 has been updated, it will not be compatible with non-patched versions for online play. Multiplayer hosts should also create new sessions of IL-2 inside the correct game rooms for their version. This patch is compatible with all UK, FR, and GER versions of the game. Download here

GMAX Takes Flight With FS2002 Pro
The first game to include a gmax game pack is available on store shelves across the U.S. Flight Simulator 2002 Professional Edition from Microsoft is the first title to ship with Discreet’s integrated gmax game pack and the free consumer version of the gmax application. Players are now able to import Flight Simulator 2002 content, such as aircraft, buildings, and other 3D objects, into this gmax software, and customize the content with new features and artwork. Users can also build new objects for use with Flight Simulator 2002. The consumer version of gmax software is available as a free download from the Discreet website.

Flight Sim Sky Ranch Announced
Abacus Software has announced that its latest add-on to Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2002, "Flight Sim Sky Ranch", is on its way to stores. The new expansion adds a number of features to the popular civilian flight sim, including the Sky Ranch airport, five new light planes with virtual cockpits and custom panels, and new charts and maps. The planes featured in the add-on include the Piper Aztec, the Piper Arrow II, the Cessna 310, the Twin Bonanza, and the Eclipse 500. The Sky Ranch airport is located close to a variety of national parks and other points of interest, including the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, Lake Powell, Las Vegas, and more.

New Screens: Project 1
Thirdwire has sent us the latest screenshots from their flight sim, "Project 1". We have also learned that Thirdwire is closer to announcing a publisher. "Project 1" is based on a hypothetical conflict between forces of the Soviet Union and the USA, set in a fictional location during the decade from 1960 – 1969. Players will start flying the F-100 against MiG-17s, and by the end of the conflict will be flying an F-4 against MiG-21s and a fully integrated ground defense system. Click here for our previous coverage.

Silent Hunter 2 Project V1.0
Naval Warfare Simulations has announced the release of Silent Hunter 2 Project V1.0. This is a unofficial enhancement package for Silent Hunter II. Over 700 data enhancements covering the combat mechanics, weapons, and platforms in the simulation are included so far. All sound effects have been updated to full 16 bit stereo and many have been dramatically improved. Several special effects graphics have also been enhanced. Click here for further details.

Military News
Lockheed Martin Delivers First US Army TACMS Block II Missile
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control delivered the first Army Tactical Missile System (Army TACMS) Block II Missile to the US Army on November 26. This marks the first low-rate initial production missiles delivered to the US Army.



"The Block II Missile is a responsive autonomous system developed to attack moving armoured combat vehicles," said Ron Abbott, vice president - Fire Support programmes for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "The Army TACMS Block II provides a much needed deep-strike capability to the Army battlefield commander."

The Block II missile has a range of more than 80 miles (128 km). The missile is being developed under a manufacturing development contract for the US Army TACMS/BAT Project Office. The contract was originally awarded to Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in July 1995. A Low-Rate Initial Production contract was awarded in June 1999.

Raytheon Awarded LADAR Technology Contract For BMDO
Raytheon Company has been awarded a $38.6 million U.S. Army contract to develop the laser radar (LADAR) technology base for the next generation of interceptors for the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO).

Under the Army's Advanced Discriminating LADAR Technology (ADLT) program, Raytheon is developing a range-resolved, Doppler imaging LADAR sensor to enhance the Ground-based Midcourse Defense Segment's exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) with additional discrimination capability.

The ADLT LADAR system uses an ultrastable laser transmitter to interrogate targets much like a radar system. The reflected energy from targets is received and Doppler-processed to first gather range and velocity data and then create a Range-Resolved, Doppler Image (RRDI) which yields the target's micromotions. This RRDI imagery can be made at very long ranges, much before camera-based systems can resolve the target.

The ADLT sensor is the world's first compact, transportable, solid-state RRDI LADAR system. Raytheon's prior work on ADLT at the Army Missile Optical Range, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., resulted in the successful testing of an initial prototype. That testing then paved the way for current technology development and the design, fabrication and demonstration of a more advanced, near tactically packaged, "brassboard" sensor.

ADLT will provide an increased level of discrimination capability for ground and/or sea-based midcourse interceptors in the future against the most difficult threat countermeasures. Although it was designed with EKV in mind, it could be integrated into other missile defense systems that need enhanced capability against evolving, sophisticated ballistic missile threats.

Air Force Releases T-37 Crash Report
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- Air Force investigators determined human and physiological factors caused the Sept. 5 crash of a T-37B Tweet pilot training aircraft near Pine Bluff, Miss.

The mishap occurred about 30 miles west of Columbus Air Force Base, Miss. A student pilot was flying the aircraft on a solo training mission.

Col. Walter Givhan, commander of the 71st Operations Group at Vance Air Force Base, Okla., served as the accident investigation board president.



The investigation determined the student pilot incorrectly performed a G-awareness exercise and an associated anti-G straining maneuver, which subsequently caused the student pilot to lose consciousness, Givhan said. The student pilot's less than optimal physical condition made him more susceptible to a G-induced loss of consciousness during his intended flight maneuver.

The student pilot regained consciousness after several seconds in a nose-low, left-turn attitude, when he applied right rudder and entered a spin at which point he was incapable of recovering the aircraft, Givhan said. The student pilot then ejected safely out of the T-37B.

The pilot landed in an open field near the aircraft's impact site. The T-37B was destroyed upon impact.

Givhan said the mishap could have been prevented on two occasions. Had the mishap student pilot performed the G-awareness exercise correctly, he would not have found himself in a nose-low, high-airspeed situation that ultimately led to his G-induced loss of consciousness. The second opportunity to avoid the mishap occurred when the student pilot failed to perform a nose-low recovery and continue his anti-G straining maneuver. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service)


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