Market reform has been the most important factor in demilitarizing the former Soviet Union, according to a private U.S. think-tank publication. A new Brookings Institution book, The Price of the Past, argues that the introduction of a free market is undermining the special status of the Russian defense industry by making it obvious that Russia cannot afford to carry the old Soviet military establishment.
LOCKHEED MARTIN VICE CHAIRMAN and CEO Norman R. Augustine said information warfare is an area of considerable interest for the corporation and one the company is well positioned to address. The corporation has consolidated parts of Loral and Lockheed Martin in the command, control, communications and intelligence (C3I) and systems integration sector in a recent reorganization. Augustine said it will be possible to focus on opportunities such as information warfare by combining all of the related assets in one organization.
This shipping kit allows aircraft operators and maintenance facilities to safely dispose of used jet fuel filter cartridges. It can be used for sending absorbent, coalescer, paper filter, separator and clay cartridges to Facet International. The customer must only complete a bill of lading certifying that the cartridges shipped for disposal contain only used jet or diesel fuel. Facet retains certificates of destruction. The program meets requirements of U.S., state and local environmental regulations. Facet International Inc., P.O. 50096, Tulsa, Okla. 74150-0096.
Jean-Michel Jacob has become international sales manager for South Africa for the Dassault Falcon Jet Corp., Paramus, N.J. He was Southern European sales manager.
Air Inter Europe, the Air France group's domestic-regional subsidiary, is having another leadership crisis. Last week in a surprise initiative, Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pierre Courcol resigned, citing deep disagreement with worker unions protesting 950 job cuts. Courcol was the carrier's fifth CEO in five years. The Air France group recently abandoned a plan to form a new short-haul carrier comprising Air Inter Europe and Air France's European division. Ailing Air Inter Europe now is scheduled to be absorbed in the next few months by its parent company.
Codeline Fax is a fascimile encoder that permits confidential transfer of messages. The device can be connected to any Group-3 fax machine or personal computer that runs fax software. The recipient can read the incoming message or store it in encrypted form. Outgoing faxes can be sent in encrypted form or in the clear. The unit weighs 1.8 kg. Ericsson Microwave Systems AB, S-431 84, Molndal, Sweden.
THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES have narrowed its search for 80 new fighters to the Lockheed Martin F-16 and Dassault Aviation Rafale, eliminating the McDonnell Douglas F-15 as a candidate. The deal could be worth $6 billion, and may be the last major fighter buy of the century, industry officials believe.
U.S. OFFICIALS WERE DISAPPOINTED in recent efforts to convince their counterparts in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) alliance to embrace a call for lower tariffs on information-technology products. They hoped to persuade representatives of the other 18 APEC nations to unite in proposing such tariff cuts to the World Trade Organization, which is to meet this December in Singapore. Other APEC members turned away the efforts, calling the U.S. proposal too vague. APEC members export $72 billion worth of computer products to the U.S. every year, according to U.S.
Ronald R. Ross (see photo) has been promoted to president of the Systems Engineering Div. from vice president-secure systems of the Computer Sciences Corp., Falls Church, Va. He succeeds Thomas C. Robinson, who is now president of the Technology Management Group. Marshall Henderson (see photo) has been named director of outsourcing.
William A. Wulf has been named interim president of the National Academy of Engineering. He is a NAE councillor and professor of engineering and applied science at the University of Virginia.
Airbus Industrie has sent a team of instructor pilots and airline check pilots to India to help shore up the woeful utilization rates of Indian Airlines' fleet of A320s. Airbus hopes to add 30 new A320 captains by the end of the year, which would help the carrier to bolster the utilization rate to 75 hr. per week. For years, the carrier has needed a drastic improvement in A320 utilization rates, which have sunk to as low as 35 hr. a week. Indian Airlines has been experiencing a shortage of A320 captains, who have been lured to higher paying jobs with other carriers.
Sophisticated software packages developed as engineering and mission analysis tools are being pressed into service as training aids for satellite operators and military strike planners.
Illustration: Diagram: One demonstration will be the ``Kulbit'' (which means ``circle'' in Russian), a high angle-of-attack (AOA) ``Cobra'' pitch-up, followed by a low-airspeed, looplike vertical rotation (below). A variation on the Cobra maneuver first demonstrated by the Sukhoi Su-27, this ``somersault'' combines rapid deceleration with a full 360-deg., tight-diameter ``loop.'' From a horizontal attitude, a pilot rapidly pitches the nose up, using the integrated fly-by-wire flight control and TVC systems to command high pitch rates (positions 1-5).
Garnet Coone and Ronnie Shoemaker of Unisys Federal Systems' Information Management Services of Houston have won NASA's Space Act Award for devising a way to quickly produce graphical user interfaces for manned space software.
Dale Lauderback has been appointed director of airline marketing for Envirovac Inc., Rockford, Ill. He was European sales manager of Kaiser Electroprecision.
Russia led the world in conventional arms export agreements in 1995, but the success is probably a fluke in an otherwise ravaged military economy, U.S. analysts say. Russia recorded $9.l billion worth of agreements in 1995, nearly 32% of the $28.8-billion total worldwide with both developed and developing nations. The findings were reported recently by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a branch of the U.S. Library of Congress.
Tra-Bond F202 is a clear, low-viscosity epoxy designed for applications requiring high strength at 265C or higher. The epoxy cures in 30 min. at 175C and bonds well to metals, glass, ceramics and rigid plastics. It can be used in bonding, casting and laminating applications. It is available in package sizes of 2 gm. and larger in bi-packaged, pre-mixed and frozen syringes. Tra-Con, 45 Higgins Ave., Bedford, Mass. 01730.
Richard Lyon (see photo) has become Amsterdam-based director of sales for Europe and Africa for Garrett Aviation Services. He was director of European sales and marketing for Alliance Engines.
Japan's Ministry of Transport has endorsed an Airbus recommendation that carriers modify A300-600R flight control computers to ensure that substantial column force will deactivate the aircraft's autopilot at altitudes below 400 ft. (AW&ST July 29, p. 36). The ministry's action follows recommendations made by Japan's Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee after the 1995 crash of a China Airlines A300-600 at Nagoya that killed 249 people.
Cho-Fab electromagnetic shielding tape features a corrosion resistant, nickel-plated cloth and highly conductive, pressure-sensitive adhesive. The lightweight tape is flexible enough to be wrapped over cables and conforms well to underlying surfaces. Chomerics, 77 Dragon Court, Woburn, Mass. 01888-4014.
TWO KEY PIECES OF HARDWARE for the international space station, a connector node and the U.S. laboratory module, passed crucial pressure tests last week. In its first full test since reinforcing struts were installed, the Boeing-built ``Node 1''successfully withstood 22.8 lb. of pressure per sq. in. (psi.) on Aug. 28, 1.5 times its expected operating pressure. Node 1 and a structural test article that is to be converted into flight hardware had both failed to reach 22.8 psi.
Major airlines and unions are honing training programs to better prepare their pilots to head off safety problems and are tapping advanced instruction methods to pare the cost of achieving that goal. Carriers like Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Japan Air Lines and South Korea's Asiana are refining their crew resource management (CRM) programs to keep pilots motivated and the training focused on issues relevant to their operations.
Bob Bannister and Walter Nubel, 3rd, have been named directors of engineering and material, respectively, and Glen Webb manager of planning for International Aviation Services of Ft. Worth.
