June 8, 1998

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HEADLINE NEWS

Subcontinent’s Nuclear Duel Raises Miscalculation Risk

WASHINGTON India and Pakistan have taken up nuclear positions rife with the potential for military and political miscalculation, Asian and Western experts say. First, the stability that mutual nuclear deterrence might bring to the subcontinent is hostage to the volatility of Kashmir.

By PAUL MANN6 min

HEADLINE NEWS

France Softens Consolidation Stance

LE BOURGET, FRANCE After months of foot-dragging, the French government now appears ready to take meaningful steps to help remove some of the obstacles that have been hindering the long-awaited restructuring of the European defense industry.

By PIERRE SPARACO,MICHAEL A. TAVERNA5 min

HEADLINE NEWS

China-Pakistan Link Seen Rejuvenated

WASHINGTON Awaning strategic relationship between China and Pakistan has come back to life as a result of India’s resumption of nuclear tests, Western analysts say. Although India has long complained of a China/Pakistan “axis,” some observers believed distance had been growing between Beijing and Islamabad for several years, said Michael Krepon of the Henry L. Stimson Center.

By PAUL MANN4 min

HEADLINE NEWS

ISS Beckons As Discovery Departs Mir

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER The shuttle Discovery astronauts were to undock from Mir on June 8 and prepare for landing on June 12, completing U.S./Russian joint operations on the aging outpost and setting the stage for more ambitious flights to assemble the new International Space Station (ISS) starting late this year.

By CRAIG COVAULT4 min

HEADLINE NEWS

Commercial Titan Revived To Face Delta 4

CAPE CANAVERAL Lockheed Martin is formulating a plan to initiate commercial Titan 4B launch operations to orbit heavy communications spacecraft and multiple satellite constellations. The company’s objective is to use the existing 3.4-million-lb.-thrust heavy booster—instead of its evolved expendable launch vehicle (EELV) concept—to compete against Boeing’s Delta 4 EELV and the European Ariane 5.

By CRAIG COVAULT3 min

HEADLINE NEWS

Eurocopter Shows EC 635

Le Bourget, France Eurocopter unveiled here a full-scale mockup of the EC 635, a proposed multipurpose military variant of the new EC 135 light twin helicopter. First presented last month at the Aerospace Africa 98 defense show in Pretoria, South Africa, the EC 635 mockup was shown in Paris with a full panoply of weapons—air-to-air missiles, rocket launcher, external gun pod, swivel-mounted guns—and EW suite, which were absent from the African display.

HEADLINE NEWS

Upgrades Enhance FlOO

Pratt & Whitney has added a variety of upgrades to production F100-229s to eliminate durability problems with engines powering U.S. Air Force F-15Es based at Lakenheath, England. USAF officials said many of the problems have been prompted by insufficient resistance to high temperatures, so that many of the upgrades— which were made production features in powerplants built after February 1997—are focused on improving the F100-229’s temperature capabilities.

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June 8, 1998

USAF Weighs Alternatives In Wake of F100 Problems

By STANLEY W. KANDEBO6 min