July 20, 1998

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HEADLINE NEWS

Panel Sees Accelerated Missile Threat to U.S.

WASHINGTON An independent panel is warning that the U.S. is more vulnerable to a ballistic missile attack than intelligence estimates have suggested, and concludes the nation could have little warning before operational deployment of threatening missiles.

HEADLINE NEWS

EJA Falcon Deal Set For Europe, Mideast

MEGEVE, FRANCE Dassault Falcon Jet and Executive Jet Aviation intend to expand the use of Dassault Falcon 2000 twinjets in EJA’s Netjets fractional ownership program. John Rosanvallon, chief executive of Dassault Falcon Jet, a fully owned subsidiary of Dassault Aviation responsible for customizing the Falcon line, said that EJA would agree before the end of the year to place a follow-on order for Falcon 2000s for new Netjets operations in Europe and the Middle East.

By MICHAEL A. TAVERNA

HEADLINE NEWS

NRO To Test Advanced Laser Communications

WASHINGTON The National Reconnaissance Office has tapped a TRW-led team to build a technology demonstration satellite to test high-data-rate laser communications between geosynchronous orbit and the ground. The primary aim of the Geosynchronous Lightweight Technology Experiment (GeoLITE) spacecraft will be to learn more about how atmospheric conditions such as clouds interfere with laser pulses.

By JOSEPH C. ANSELMO

HEADLINE NEWS

Brisk Sales Buoy European Outlook

Paris The European aerospace industry’s profitability is being restored, in the wake of strong commercial sales, solid exports and enhanced competitiveness. “After significantly downsizing in the early 1990s, the European industry returned to its ‘peak performance’ level in 1997,” according to Peter Fichtmueller.

By Pierre Sparaco

MISSILE ENGINEERING

Army Leverages Technology To Improve Tactical Missiles

HUNTSVILLE, ALA. The U.S. Army is developing and testing a combination of highand low-technology improvements to its tactical missile inventory to increase performance while stretching scarce development dollars. Emphasis is on increasing hardware and system deployability, lethality and survivability.

By PAUL PROCTOR

EELV: A NEW LAUNCHER FAMILY

Boeing Plans EELV/Delta 4 Horizontal Launch Processing

LOS ANGELES Boeing’s entry in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program will include a reengineered first stage, new cryogenic first-stage engine, a dedicated factory in Alabama with water access to launch sites and a horizontal processing system for its proposed family of vehicles.

By BRUCE SMITH

EELV: A NEW LAUNCHER FAMILY

Lockheed Martin EELV Designed for Flexibility

DENVER Lockheed Martin Astronautics is proposing to develop a family of three or four boosters that features a common core, an engine derived from a Russian powerplant and a new type of fuel and oxidizer tank for the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.

By WILLIAM B. SCOTT

July 131998

July 271998

July 20, 1998

July 20, 1998

Pessimism Deepens Over Russia’s Fate

By PAUL MANN