December 5, 1988

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HEADLINE NEWS

USAF Selects Allied-Signal/Raytheon To Develop NATO-Compatible IFF

BOSTON The U. S. Air Force has selected Allied-Signal’s Communications Div. and Raytheon Co. as the team to develop the new NATO-compatible Mk. 15 Identification Friend or Foe system in a program with an estimated value of $4 billion. The Allied-Signal/Raytheon team was selected over a Texas Instruments/Hazeltine team that also built prototypes during the demonstration and validation phase.

By DAVID HUGHES

HEADLINE NEWS

Japan, U.S. Sign Pact To Develop FS-X Fighter

WASHINGTON Japan and the U. S. signed an agreement last week to jointly develop the FS-X close support fighter, but the distribution of work assignments remains undecided. The Japanese Self-Defense Agency formally selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the prime contractor for the program, with General Dynamics acting as a principal subcontractor.

By JOHN D. MORROCCO

HEADLINE NEWS

EFA Development Contracts Signed; Flight Test Work to Begin in 1991

LONDON First prototype European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) is scheduled to begin flight test work in 1991 in West Germany, and deliveries of production aircraft are planned for 1996 under terms of contracts signed late last month. Development contracts totaling approximately $10.5 billion for both the EFA airframe and its Eurojet EJ200 engine were signed Nov. 23 by a NATO management group and two consortiums of European airframe and engine manufacturers—Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, and Eurojet Turbo GmbH.

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

Airship Pushed for Early Warning, Mine Countermeasures Missions

LONDON Airship Industries, Britain’s lighterthan-air manufacturer, has launched a threeto four-year program to demonstrate to the U. S. Navy and Air Force the multimission capabilities of its advanced-technology nonrigid airship.

By DAVID A. BROWN

U. S. AEROSPACE/DEFENSE ENGINEERING MANPOWER

U.S. Suffers Shortage of Engineers Trained in Emerging Technologies

WASHINGTON Employers in the U. S. aerospace/defense industry vary widely in their views about supply and demand for engineers, but they agree that those trained in emerging technologies are hard to find. Some companies also believe the U. S. may be struck with a shortage of entry level as well as experienced engineers in the next decade.

U. S. AEROSPACE/DEFENSE ENGINEERING MANPOWER

U.S. Faces Potential Shortage of Engineers

NEW YORK The recent decline in engineering enrollment, impending retirement of many experienced engineers and potential shortages in many engineering disciplines are issues that could signal troubled times for the U. S. in the global aerospace market.

B-2 BOMBER DEVELOPMENT

New Design, Production Tools Will Play Key Role in B-2 Cost

LOS ANGELES New computer-based design and manufacturing processes developed for the B-2 bomber program may be as revolutionary as the aircraft itself, and could prove to be the critical factors that determine whether or not it is affordable.

By WILLIAM B. SCOTT

AEROSPACE FORUM

University-Industry Cooperation Is Key to Bolstering Technology Base

In his book The Technical Enterprise, Herbert Fusfeld points out that the university-industry relationship has become far more complex than might be inferred from Eisenhower’s statement. There are several hundred universities for which research has become a major undertaking.

November 281988

December 121988

December 5, 1988

December 5, 1988

Saudis Consider Rafale or EFA Partnership for F-5 Replacement