NEW DELHI - An Indian air force MiG-21 crashed April 7 in Ambala, less than a week after an air force MiG-23 crashed in a residential area near Ludhiana(DAILY, April 7). An air force official said Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) recently upgraded the MiG-21 to the MiG-21 bis configuration. The official also said the crash was similar to the April 4 MiG-23 crash, as both aircraft went down in flames shortly after takeoff.
B-1 crewmembers who staged a lightning raid April 8 on a suspected leadership target in Baghdad credited the aircraft's emerging flexibility as a close air support platform for the mission's apparent success. The bomber had completed its mission 12 minutes after receiving the target coordinates, unloading four 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) penetrators on a building near the center of the Iraqi capital.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The war in Iraq is showing "new and creative ways" of achieving U.S. operational objectives, Gen. Lance Lord, commander of Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), said April 8. In a keynote address to the National Space Symposium here, Lord said a prime example is the merger of Global Positioning System satellite guidance for munitions and stealthy platforms like the F-117.
PRAGUE - The Czech Republic will turn to the United States if talks with Britain over future Czech air defense fall through, according to a top Czech official. The Czech Republic recently opened discussions with Britain on bilateral cooperation to defend Czech airspace, one of several options defense officials here are considering. The country faces the prospect of having no supersonic aircraft cover after the first quarter of 2005, when its entire fleet of aging MiG-21s is due to be decommissioned.
The European Space Agency's Artemis satellite has achieved another successful inter-satellite link, transmitting data from the Japanese earth observation satellite Adeos II, ESA said April 7. ESA and the Japanese space agency NASDA performed a series of tests March 27-29 to demonstrate the system's performance and operational links between the Adeos II team in Tsukuba, Japan, and the Artemis Mission Control Facility in Redu, Belgium.
The U.S. Navy plans to triple research and development funding for strategic programs in the next fiscal year to develop future replacement systems and improve the performance of existing systems, a service official said April 8. The Navy's fiscal FY '04 budget request seeks $102 million for strategic R&D, up from $34 million in FY '03, said Rear Adm. Charles Young, director of strategic systems programs for the Navy, who testified before the Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee.
The Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) made its first appearance in combat only a week ago, but the Pentagon already plans to expand the capability of the anti-armor weapon's unique smart submunition, according to industry and government officials. A column of Iraqi vehicles moving south out of Baghdad was attacked April 2 by Air Force B-52s that dropped six CBU-97 SFWs.
Arianespace postponed the planned April 8 launch of its Ariane 5 booster after the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) requested "additional verifications on its satellite payload." Flight 160 is to carry India's INSAT-3A, provided by ISRO, and Galaxy XII, which Orbital Sciences Corp. built for PanAmSat. ISRO told Arianespace it needed additional verifications before the Ariane 5's cryogenic core stage was fueled. Details on the mission's rescheduling will be provided April 9, Arianespace said.
777-300ER: The second of two flight test Boeing 777-300ER (extended range) aircraft made its first flight April 6 from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., Boeing said. The airplane will be used for engine, systems, noise and stability and control testing. The first 777-300ER is scheduled to be delivered in April 2004.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) urged defense officials April 8 to work with their counterparts at domestic agencies to see if General Atomics Predator unmanned aerial vehicles and other military technology could be used for border security.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio is continuing radar signature testing of various sample items this week in an attempt to identify the mysterious fragment that separated from the shuttle Columbia while it still was in orbit.
Nearly five years after the Naval Air Systems Command began developing the weapon's current configuration, the Tactical Tomahawk has completed the first of four operational flight tests. The Block IV long-range cruise missile was fired by the USS Stethem, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, inside the Navy's sea test range off the coast of Southern California on April 5.
Germany's April 7 announcement that it has begun sea testing a new class of diesel-electric submarines probably will quicken the pace of research in sophisticated sensor technology, according to a leading naval analyst. However, the submarines cannot rival nuclear-powered submarines in capability or mobility, said naval analyst Stuart Slade of Forecast International/DMS. "The nukes still rule," Slade said in an April 7 interview with The DAILY.
On April 4, chairman Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Science Committee's space and aeronautics subcommittee, released a letter urging NASA to reverse its decision to terminate the Alternate Access to Station (AAS) program. AAS is a six-year effort to develop alternative, low-cost methods of sending supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). Budgeted at $310 million, the program was building to a demonstration flight in 2006.
A software problem with the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) encountered by F-16 pilots in missions against Iraqi forces was quickly solved in tests back in the U.S., the U.S. Air Force said. The service didn't describe the difficulty, saying only that there was "an intermittent problem ... when munitions were being dropped." An Air Force spokesman, citing operational security, said a full explanation was "not releasable." Instead of taking weeks, the Air Force said, the problem was solved in less than 30 hours.
The Missile Defense Agency has tapped Raytheon Co. to develop and build a mobile, forward-deployed, land-based X-band radar to track enemy missiles early in their flight.
LASER SATCOM: The Boeing Co. said it is teaming with Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. to develop laser technologies to speed satellite communications. The companies plan to market the technology to U.S. government agencies and suppliers, Boeing said April 7.
NEW DELHI - India announced it will test its long-range ballistic missile, the Agni-3, later this year. George Fernandes, the Indian defense minister, said the test launch for the 3,000-kilometer-range (1,864-mile) missile is overdue. He said India needs a long-range missile for nuclear deterrence. Sources in the defense ministry said the nuclear-capable Agni-3 largely is aimed at deterring China, and could strike deep inside that country.
U.S. Global Aerospace Inc., a maker of reinforced cockpit doors for El Al airlines, has begun field testing a lightweight turret for the Army's High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (Humvee), according to company officials. The testing, which is being conducted at a secure facility in Texas run by the company, involves firing conventional and armor-piercing variants of 9mm, 7.62mm, 5.65mm and 12.7mm/.50-caliber ammunition against the turret.
