May 3, 1999

May 3, 1999

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HEADLINE NEWS

Joint-stars Changes Operational Scheme

By ROBERT WALL8 min

HEADLINE NEWS

Launch Failures Cripple U.S. Space Prowess

By WILLIAM B. SCOTT6 min

HEADLINE NEWS

NATO Arraigned for ‘Strategic Miscalculation'

By PAUL MANN6 min

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2425
HEADLINE NEWS

Joint-stars Changes Operational Scheme

There’s a fundamental change underway in U.S. operations of its small force of E-8C Joint-STARS airborne radar aircraft that direct strikes against Yugoslavia. Military planners are broadening operational schemes for Operation Allied Force from supporting only the air campaign to also aiding Army ground and helicopter units now forming in Albania.

By ROBERT WALL8 min

3031
HEADLINE NEWS

Launch Failures Cripple U.S. Space Prowess

Can a rash of U.S. mission failures be linked to downsizing and 'faster-better-cheaper' dogma?

By WILLIAM B. SCOTT6 min

2223
HEADLINE NEWS

NATO Arraigned for ‘Strategic Miscalculation'

WASHINGTON NATO Supreme Commander Wesley K. Clark’s admission that the air war against Yugoslavia has not broken Belgrade’s lock on Kosovo has quickened the censure of NATO’s 50th anniversary summit for not authorizing the deployment of ground forces, poised to invade Yugoslavia.

By PAUL MANN6 min

2425
HEADLINE NEWS

Reservists Get the Call for Kosovo Duty

WASHINGTON Tanker aircrews and technicians are the majority of 2,100 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve personnel placed on active duty for up to 270 days. They are part of a presidential select reserve call-up to allow acceleration of operations in the Kosovo conflict.

By DAVID A. FULGHUM4 min

4647
HEADLINE NEWS

Trinational Air Defense System to Boost Missile Consolidation

LONDON The U.K., France and Italy pledged to move ahead quickly on developing a new naval air defense system—which could act to spur further mergers among European missile makers—despite London’s decision to pull out of a cooperative program to build Horizon frigates.

By JOHN D. MORROCCO4 min

3031
HEADLINE NEWS

EC-130Hs Blanket Serb Communications

AVIANO, ITALY Three U.S. Air Force information warfare aircraft are flying missions daily to jam Yugoslav military communications, a task NATO planners consider so critical that the classified, closely guarded aircraft are expected to remain on patrol even if there is a ceasefire.

By ROBERT WALL4 min

4445
HEADLINE NEWS

Faulty Athena Shroud Ruins Ikonos 1 Launch

SAN FRANCISCO The failed separation of a payload shroud kept the commercial world’s first 1-meter-resolution Earth-imaging satellite from reaching orbit last week and raises questions about the business plan for Lockheed Martin Astronautics’ Athena small launcher program.

By MICHAEL MECHAM4 min

2223
HEADLINE NEWS

Bomb Shortage Crimps Air War

Air Force scrambles to boost JDAM production ten-fold and start building improved, all-new Calcms

By DAVID A. FUIGHUM4 min

4851
HEADLINE NEWS

Iridium Scrambles for Customers as Revenues Come Up Short

WASHINGTON Dismal subscriber levels revealed by the Iridium consortium last week are raising new questions about whether there is a significant market for the high-end satellite telephone service the pioneering venture is trying to sell.

By JOSEPH C. ANSELMO4 min

4647
HEADLINE NEWS

Titan Mission Probe Eyes Ius Separation Problem

U.S. Air Force investigators are beginning to narrow the inquiry into the $682-million failure of a Titan IVB Boeing Inertial Upper Stage to a possible separation malfunction between the IUS first and second stages during launch of a Defense Support Program missile warning satellite on Apr. 9.

By CRAIG COVAULT4 min

April 261999 May 101999