November 20, 2000

November 20, 2000

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WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

U.S. Satellite Intelligence Overlooked and Overtaxed

By ROBERT WALL

WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

Upgrades Emerge To Keep F-l17 Flying

By ROBERT WALL

WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

USAF Readies Strategy For Increased F-22 Buy

By ROBERT WALL

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WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

U.S. Satellite Intelligence Overlooked and Overtaxed

Panel urges next President to fix how intel satellites are developed and used—or risk endangering U.S. security

By ROBERT WALL

2627
WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

Upgrades Emerge To Keep F-l17 Flying

WASHINGTON Faced with the obsolescence of key components on its F-117As, the U.S. Air Force is trying to initiate an upgrade program to keep the small fleet of stealth attack aircraft operational past 2009. The problem is that many of the components used on the F-l17 are not produced anymore and, therefore, replacing them will not be possible.

By ROBERT WALL

3031
WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

USAF Readies Strategy For Increased F-22 Buy

WASHINGTON Having seen the number of F-22s the Pentagon plans to buy whittled away, U.S. Air Force officials are planning to mount a major offensive to reverse that slide and boost the procurement numbers for the stealth fighter. Current Defense Dept, plans call for the Air Force to buy 333 F-22s, with a few more operationally capable ones labeled preproduction aircraft.

By ROBERT WALL

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WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

Lockheed Martin JSF Management Changes

WASHINGTON After some preliminary rearrangement of its Joint Strike Fighter management last month, Lockheed Martin has now named an executive vice president as the program’s new manager. Tom Burbage, who successfully directed the F-22’s stealth fighter’s development phase, took over total responsibility for JSF last week.

By DAVID A. FULGHUM

3031
WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

Russia To Undertake Deep Force Cuts

Moscow Russia’s Security Council has approved a long-stalled decision to eliminate some 600,000 positions from the defense payroll, clearing the way for modernization of the armed forces. The cuts concern 470,000 military positions and 130,000 civilian jobs at 12 federal ministries and agencies that field armed units.

By Alexey Komarov

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WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

Proteus Sets Records After Flying NASA Missions

LOS ANGELES Scaled Composites’ Proteus has tentatively set three world altitude records, with pilots wearing pressure suits for safety backup in the experimental aircraft’s pressurized cabin. The Proteus has also successfully completed several science missions for NASA, testing the next generation of atmospheric sensors for spacecraft.

By MICHAEL A. DORNHEIM

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WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

SITA, SAP Target Small Airlines, MROs

By MICHAEL A. TAVERNA

SIED1235
WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

Chinese Launch Signals Entry Into Satnav Arena

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INSIDE NORTHROP GRUMMAN

New Missions, Designs Eyed for Global Hawk

RANCHO BERNARDO, CALIF. Global Hawk—the U.S. Air Force’s high-altitude, 34-hr.-endurance unmanned reconnaissance aircraft—may spawn “Eurohawk” and “Gulfhawk,” versions of the long-range vehicle tailored for foreign customers with specialized regional missions.

By DAVID A. FULGHUM,ROBERT WALL

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INSIDE NORTHROP GRUMMAN

Unmanned-Systems Group Targets Derivatives, New Products

SAN DIEGO In an effort to expand the base of its unmanned systems offerings, Northrop Grumman is turning to new aircraft designs and tailored modifications of existing unmanned products to capture new markets. “It is logical to suppose that in the unmanned combat side of the business we’ll have a whole range of aircraft,” says Bob Mitchell, who runs Northrop Grumman’s Ryan Aeronautical Center.

By ROBERT WALL,DAVID A. FULGHUM

November 132000 November 272000