December 10, 1990

December 10, 1990

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HEADLINE NEWS

A-12 Cost Overruns Misjudged; Navy Removes Top Program Officials

By DAVID F. BOND

HEADLINE NEWS

Navy, Pentagon A-12 Reports Indicate Classified Status Hindered Program Oversight

HEADLINE NEWS

China’s K-8 Trainer Makes First Flight; Formal Rollout Expected in January

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HEADLINE NEWS

A-12 Cost Overruns Misjudged; Navy Removes Top Program Officials

WASHINGTON Problems with the A-12 cost and development schedule have been consistently underestimated by the development contractors and the U. S. Navy, and the Defense Dept. ignored its own warning signs of an overrun last spring, Pentagon and Navy investigators reported.

By DAVID F. BOND

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HEADLINE NEWS

Navy, Pentagon A-12 Reports Indicate Classified Status Hindered Program Oversight

WASHINGTON The Navy and Pentagon A-12 reports cite instances in which the aircraft’s status as a highly classified, special access program hindered or blocked effective oversight by senior officers and civilians. Among them: ■ The Program Performance Oversight Data Report, normally sent by program offices to Navy headquarters, was omitted for the A-12 because the computer program for preparing it was in a mainframe in an uncleared, nongovernment facility.
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HEADLINE NEWS

China’s K-8 Trainer Makes First Flight; Formal Rollout Expected in January

HONG KONG The Nanchang K-8 light jet trainer made its first flight in late November at the factory’s airfield in Nanchang, China. The 16-min. flight on Nov. 21 consisted of two circuits in the landing pattern. The aircraft’s landing gear remained extended during the flight.
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HEADLINE NEWS

Lockheed Rejects Simmons' $1.6-Billion Buyout Proposal

NEW YORK Lockheed Corp.'s board of directors rejected Harold Simmons' proposal to take the company private for $1.6 billion or $40 a share. Calling the proposal "highly conditional," Lockheed's chairman and chief executive officer, Daniel M. Tellep, said the offer was "thoroughly considered" but rejected because Simmons' concept was not feasible and because of the major "business disruptions that pursuing it would have entailed."
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HEADLINE NEWS

Marine Harriers Getting Radar

WASHINGTON U. S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers will carry a radar, the result of a $20-million contract award to McDonnell Douglas to integrate, develop and flight test the APG-65 system. The award is the first increment of a contract that could total more than $300 million.
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HEADLINE NEWS

LoPresti Piper Halts Operations, Seeks Investors After Parent Pulls Funding

WASHINGTON LoPresti Piper Aircraft Engineering Co. has suspended operations and is searching for investors following permanent withdrawal of funding by parent company Piper Aircraft Corp. "There's nobody left except me and a secretary," LeRoy P. LoPresti, director and chief engineer of the Vero Beach, Fla.-based subsidiary, told AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY.
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HEADLINE NEWS

Pentagon Defends Ground Buildup in Gulf, Says Air Power Alone Cannot Achieve Goal

WASHINGTON Senior Defense Dept. officials, questioning the effectiveness of economic sanctions, pressed the case for going to war with Iraq sooner rather than later, but indicated air power alone is not sufficient to guarantee the withdrawal of Iraq troops from Kuwait.

By JOHN D. MORROCCO

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HEADLINE NEWS

Reserve Pilots Say Call-up Mishandled for Desert Shield

SAUDI ARABIA Reservists called up to support Military Airlift Command’s missions for Operation Desert Shield contend their involuntary active duty resulted from mismanagement by the Pentagon. “It was a fiasco in the beginning, and proved that there was a big gap” between Military Airlift Command’s planning for a major deployment and what MAC could actually do, a scheduling officer said.

By DAVID A. FULGHUM

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HEADLINE NEWS

ATF Prototypes Burn One-Third Less Fuel In Supercruise

BURBANK, CALIF. Lockheed’s advanced tactical fighter prototype cruises supersonically with about one-third less fuel flow than a similarly sized F-15, according to recent flight test results. Supersonic cruise without the use of engine afterburner (supercruise) is a key requirement for the ATF.
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First YF-23 Completes Dem/Val, Demonstrates 'Surge’ Capability

LANCASTER, CALIF. The No. 1 Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 (top) concluded its demonstration/validation program with six test flights on Nov. 30, accumulating a total of 4.5 hr. Mission duration was about 30 min. for each of the first five flights, while the last extended to 1.7 hr.
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