January 11, 1999

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HEADLINE NEWS

Aggressive Iraq Violates No-fly Zones with Aircraft, Missiles

Pentagon officials continue to puzzle over the reason and antidote for Iraq’s renewed aggressiveness since Operation Desert Fox that so far has included the shift of antiaircraft missiles into the country’s no-fly zones and high-speed probing flights by warplanes to within 20 mi. of neighboring countries.

By ROBERT WALL arid DAVID A. FULGHUM9 min

434

HEADLINE NEWS

Mars Lander Liftoff Advances Bold New Exploration Strategy

The U.S. Mars Polar Lander and its twin Deep Space 2 penetrators are en route to the Red Planet this week on a mission that is helping inaugurate a new international Mars strategy second in scope only to global aerospace industry collaboration on the International Space Station.

By CRAIG COVAULT6 min

426

HEADLINE NEWS

Modernization Funds Grow, But Not Enough for Military

/WASHINGTON A recommended funding increase of $2.2-2.5 billion for modernization of the U.S. Air Force in Fiscal 2000 is about half of the $4-5 billion requested by chief of staff Gen. Michael E. Ryan, but it would repair some of the major cuts forced on the service in the last 2 years by flat defense budgets.

By DAVID A. FULGHUM6 min

430

HEADLINE NEWS

Lockheed Martin Faces Wall Street Firestorm

Wall Street is fuming at Lockheed Martin amid claims by some analysts that the company knowingly misled them on near-term sales and earnings expectations. And the disenchantment extends beyond just industry analysts affiliated with major investment banking firms with large brokerage networks.

By ANTHONY L. VELOCCI5 min

436

HEADLINE NEWS

Mig 1.42 Set for First Flight

The Russian government has revealed the configuration of the MiG Project 1.42 Fighter technology demonstrator after years of mystery, and MiG officials expect it will make its maiden flight by March. The ANPK MiG design bureau plans to present the MiG 1.42 officially to the Russian government at the Zhukovsky flight test facility on Jan. 12. The aircraft has been talked about for more than 5 years, and occasionally it has not been clear whether it has flown (AW&ST June 23, 1997, p. 22; May 31, 1993, p. 23).

By NICOLAY NOVICHKOV,MICHAEL A. DORNHEIM4 min

432

HEADLINE NEWS

Investment Gives Boost to Asian Satellite Venture

A mobile satellite venture that lost much of its financing due to the Asian economic crisis received a big boost last week when Lockheed Martin, which is building its spacecraft and ground facilities, agreed to take a 30% stake in the project.

By JOSEPH C. ANSELMO3 min

438

HEADLINE NEWS

Faa, Industry Agree to Data Link Road Map

The FAA has just released a plan for implementing the key missing element in the air traffic management systems of the future—controller to pilot data links for en route communication. Experts agree that using data link messages to replace voice communication for non time-critical messages will be more efficient, reducing congestion on the voice channels, which limits ATC effectiveness and can cause delays.

By BRUCE D. NORDWALL3 min

438

HEADLINE NEWS

FAA's Waas Slips a Year

FAA says it now expects to commission its GPS Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), designed to provide Category-1 precision approach service, in September 2000—a schedule slippage of about 1 year. WAAS is intended to enhance the accuracy of the basic GPS signal by providing users with a differential correction for ionospheric propagation errors as well as alerting users to any malfunctioning satellites in the GPS constellation.

438

HEADLINE NEWS

LC-130 Freed From Crevasse

The U.S. National Science Foundation’s LC-130 that was lodged in a snowcovered crevasse (right) at a remote site in Antarctica has been pulled out, repaired and flown to the main U.S. base, McMurdo Station. The job wasn’t simple. Bad weather hampered recovery efforts for weeks after the Nov. 16 mishap, when the left main ski slipped into a hidden crevasse as the aircraft was taxiing for takeoff.

By Bruce D. Nordwall2 min

January 41999

January 181999

January 11, 1999

January 11, 1999

Aggressive Iraq Violates No-fly Zones with Aircraft, Missiles

By ROBERT WALL arid DAVID A. FULGHUM9 min