Hard.Copy - 09 January 199
ARTICLE CITATIONS GATHERED FROM COMMERCIALLY PUBLISHED JOURNALS AND NEWSLETTERS.TRW Beats Alliant For $3.4 Billion ICBM Sustainment Contract. Aerospace Daily, Dec 23, 1997, pp 447, 450 The US Air Force picked TRW over Alliant Techsystems to maintain and support its arsenal of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles over the next 15 years. ABL Management Must Stay Within USAF, Hamre Tells Congress. Aerospace Daily, Jan 09, 1998, p 41 The Pentagon will keep the management of the ABL program under the USAF after discussions of possibly shifting management back to BMDO. Adequate funding for the program will be provided by the future years defense plan, according to Pentagon Comptroller John Hamre. Missile Defense Programs Under Pressure To Perform In '98. Aerospace Daily, Jan 05, 1998, pp 6-9 According to this outlook on the new year, 1998, BMDO is under pressure to score some hits on Scud-like targets, keep contractors on track, and satisfy Congress that the overall program is headed in the right direction. This year could tell the difference between survival and cancellation for some of the systems designed to protect US troops and allies in-theater as BMDO and the Army embark on extremely rigorous schedules to test weapons like the THAAD missile and PAC-3 interceptor. US Army Buying More EKVs To Expand NMD Test Plan. Aerospace Daily, Jan 06, 1998, p 12 The US Army Space and Missile Defense Command is moving ahead with plans to boost the number of exoatmospheric kill vehicles (EKV) in support of the NMD Program. Topaz Failed In Defense Conversion And Tech Transfer, GAO Says. Aerospace Daily, Jan 09, 1998, pp 41-42 The terminated Topaz II Space Nuclear Power Program involving US and Russia was unable to achieve its original goal of technology transfer or its goal of defense conversion, according to a GAO investigation. Russia Inaugurates First Topol-M ICBM In Refurbished Silo. Aerospace Daily, Jan 07, 1998, pp 25-26 Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces (SRF) have put the first Topol-M ICBM on experimental combat duty. The experimental combat duty is planned to last one year and will be used to evaluate operational performance of the new missile complex, including the missile itself, its command and control equipment and all support equipment. US, Russian Missile Commanders Agree To New Transparency Measures. Arms Control Today. Craig Cerniello, Oct 01, 1997, p 32 Gen Habiger, commander-in-chief of US Strategic Command, and ColGen Yakovlev, head of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces, have agreed to an exchange of officers for the purpose of observing each other's command and control procedures. The Issues Behind The CTB Ratification Debate. Arms Control Today, Oct 01, 1997, pp 6-13 This article is an edited version of the press conference about CTB Treaty Ratification which took place prior to the CIA announcement that the Novaya Zemlya seismic event was not a nuclear explosion. The panel which consisted of the country's largest and most active arms control organizations, discussed the key issues which would arise during the debate over ratification. Nunn-Lugar's Unfinished Agenda. Arms Control Today. Jason D. Ellis; Todd Perry, Oct 01, 1997, pp 14-22 This article discusses the need for the US to continue to devote funds to the Nunn-Lugar program in the face of ongoing risks associated with the post-Soviet transition. The three major program areas: destruction and dismantlement; safety, security, and non-proliferation; and demilitarization and defense conversion are also examined. The authors also make several recommendations which would strengthen each major Nunn-Lugar program and improve the ability of officials to integrate their programs within political and structural constraints US Test-Fires 'MIRACL' At Satellite Reigniting ASAT Weapons Debate. Arms Control Today. Sami Fournier, Oct 01, 1997, p 30 The Army tested its ground-based Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser (MIRACL) against an orbiting US satellite, yielding data which may have applications for anti-satellite (ASAT) warfare. There have been concerns that this will encourage an international race to develop anti-satellite systems and undermine US efforts to establish space as a sanctuary for most scientific, commercial and military activities. US And Soviet/Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Arms Control Today. Craig Cerniello, Oct 01, 1997, p 34 This factfile compares the number of START-accountable deployed warheads declared in the initial September 1990 MOU with data from the July 1997 MOU. The information demonstrates the progress the parties have made in nuclear force reductions. WEU Promotes Missile Cooperation. Aviation Week & Space Technology. John D. Morrocco, Jan 05, 1998, pp 54-55 A report from the Technological and Aerospace Committee, which was adopted by the Western European Union (WEU) Assembly in early December, urged France to rejoin the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS). It called upon the UK to consider joining the German, Italian and US project to develop a mobile, anti-tactical ballistic missile (ATBM) as part of its strategic review. The assembly also approved an amendment inviting more European states to become involved in the Franco-Italian Aster missile program, which is further along than MEADS. Industry Outlook: Drones Tried As Patriot Surrogate. Aviation Week & Space Technology. Paul Proctor, Jan 05, 1998, p 17 The Boeing operated Airborne Surveillance Testbed last month was scheduled to view the launch of two AQM-37 drone missiles from F-4 fighters northeast of Hawaii. The drones were launched approximately one hour apart. Mission of the AST, a 767 transport carrying a 2-ton infrared telescope which supports BMDO research, was to gather raw and processed infrared data as the rocket powered drones flew a ballistic trajectory to nearly 300,000 ft. after air-launch at 50,000 ft. The exercise is to evaluate the effectiveness of the modified drone as a low-cost and readily deployable surrogate for TMD. Funding Fracas Imperils 'Nudet' Sensor. Aviation Week & Space Technology. William B. Scott, Jan 05, 1998, pp 29-30 Although there is consensus on the need for putting complete nuclear detonation (nudet) detection system (NDS) packages on next generation Block 2F GPS and SBIRS spacecraft, the issue of who pays for what remains partially unresolved. Specifically, for the last two years, the DoD has been unwilling to dip into already stretched budgets and underwrite fabrication, integration and operations cost for the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) sensor. Washington Outlook: Warning Shot. Aviation Week & Space Technology. James R. Asker, Jan 05, 1998, p 25 Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has joined the chorus warning the Clinton Administration of the high costs and painful choices that will come with NATO expansion. He added that the White House had better not raid theater or national missile defense programs: "Nothing would be more detrimental to NATO expansion than the idea that the US would consider abandoning these programs to pay for it." Air Force Seeks Prime Contractor For Space Based Laser Effort. Defense Daily, Jan 05, 1998, p 9 In concert with its Space-Based Laser Readiness Demonstrator (SBLRD) effort, the Air Force is interested in hearing from all organizations interested in acting as the program's prime contractor, according to a recent CBD notice. Over the past two decades, the military, BMDO and DARPA have been developing technology necessary for an SBL, which is being designed to conduct from space boost-phase intercepts of theater ballistic missiles. Provided there are changes to the ABM Treaty, the SBL could also be used in support of BMDO's NMD program. New US Nuclear Policy Maintains Ambiguity. Defense News. Jeff Erlich, Jan 05, 1998, pp 4, 19 The US president's new written nuclear policy does little to clear up the ambiguity as to whether the US would use nuclear weapons to retaliate against a chemical or biological attack. The policy does allow for cutting the nuclear arsenal to 2,000 deployable warheads and opens the door for another round of US-Russia strategic arms reductions. Alliant Loss In ICBM Bid Will Not Dim Earnings Goal. Defense News. Jeff Erlich, Jan 05, 1998, p 6 Although Alliant Techsystems lost the competition to maintain and upgrade US ICBMs, this will not affect their future earnings. Top DoD Panel Will Review Navy Missile Defense Program. Defense News. Robert Holzer, Jan 05, 1998, p 18 The Pentagon's Defense Acquisition Board is expected to meet to review and approve the Navy Theater Wide missile defense system. If the program is approved the Navy will charter more funding for the program which is currently underfunded. 'Star Wars' Laser Seeks New Life On Test Range. Defense Week. John Donnelly, Jan 05, 1998, p 5 The High Energy Laser Test Facility (HELSTF), located on the White Sands Missile Range in NM, may use Boeing's "free electron laser" in ground-based testing, according to the facility's director, Army Col Larry Anderson. The laser was originally developed as the "ground-based laser" by the Reagan/Bush-era Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. After An Eventful Year At The Pentagon, Cohen Due For More Tests In '98. Inside Washington's Outlook 98. Daniel Dupont; Richard Lardner, Jan 07, 1998, pp 4-5 This article discusses SecDef Cohen's dealings with several key events of 1997 and the work which must be accomplished in 1998. The first effort will be the 1999 defense budget that includes for the first time the spending policy priorities laid out in the QDR. Among other things the Defense Department and SecDef Cohen must also determine how it is going to fund the transformation strategy. N Korean Government 'Could Collapse By 2001'. Jane's Defence Weekly. Barbara Starr, Jan 07, 1998, p 14 The DIA has concluded that "it is a virtual certainty that the North Korean regime will not exist in its current guise in not too many years ahead." The CIA endorsed the DIA view in the Senate report. The CIA stressed that there is no evidence that the North Korean government is likely to collapse imminently. However, if that happened, the military would likely focus on internal problems rather than react by attacking the south. In the past, the US intelligence community has worried that implosion in the north could trigger an attack due to instability. Double-Interception Success For ASTERs. Jane's Defence Weekly, Jan 07, 1998, p 8 Aerospatiale Missiles has released details of two successful interceptions by its ASTER 15 and ASTER 30 missiles that took place late last year. An ASTER 15 successfully intercepted an Aerospatiale C22 sea-skimming target flying at below 10m in a very high electronic countermeasures environment. In December, the ASTER 30 ground-launched medium range surface-to-air missile (SAM) carried out its first validation firing against a real target. The interception took place at a range of 30km from the launch point and at an altitude of 11,000m. Interview: US Air Force Major General Tom Neary. Jane's Defence Weekly. Barbara Starr, Jan 07, 1998, p 32 Gen Neary is determined to "bring more of a counterforce approach to the counterproliferation equation." To accomplish that goal, he has initiated a number of analytical studies assessing particular needs for meeting the counterforce mission. For example, development is under way to analyze whether new intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) technologies are required to conduct target location, identification, predictive analysis and battle damage assessment (BDA). Countdown To Decision On NMD Contract Leader. Jane's Defence Weekly. Barbara Starr, Jan 07, 1998, p 6 The booster options for the lead systems integrator for the NMD system are probably to be restricted to solid-fueled missiles because of the rapid-response requirements. Booster options which each team could offer were: a brand-new design; an off-the-shelf design or the use of the Minuteman III first stage. John Peeler, Boeing VP and program director, said that Boeing did not propose the Minuteman III option because of potential START talks implications. The cost differential between all three options was minimal, he said. He added that an off-the-shelf design is readily available. Latest Russian SS-X-28 Test Ends With A Bang. Jane's Intelligence Review, Jan 01, 1998, p 2 The test launch of a prototype SS-NX-28 (RSM-52V) SLBM on 19 November resulted in a catastrophic failure of the SLBM's booster. The missile exploded roughly 200m after take-off from its ground based launch station. The SS-NX-28, unlike previous Russian SLBMs, is the first to be totally developed and manufactured within Russia's borders by the Makeyev Machine-Building Design Bureau. Too Close For Comfort: Ballistic Ambitions In South Asia. Jane's Intelligence Review. Ben Sheppard, Jan 01, 1998, pp 32-35 Alarming developments in the ballistic missile programs of India and Pakistan threaten to undermine the region's volatile stability. Having already fought three wars since India's independence in 1947, both Islamabad and New Delhi still view each other with suspicion and at times hostility. The test by Pakistan of the Hatf-3 missile in July 1997, which reportedly achieved a range of 800km, was followed by Indian's assertion that it would place a high priority on the next phase of the 2,500km range Agni missile program. Missile proliferation is likely to undermine two main factors of the region's stability: the conventional 'balance-imbalance'; and the non-weaponized nuclear deterrence. Tritium Breakthrough Brings India Closer To An H-Bomb Arsenal. Jane's Intelligence Review. T S Gopi Rethinaraj, Jan 01, 1998, pp 29-31 While the USA had stopped producing tritium around 1988 due to safety reasons and aging facilities, an Indian break-through underscores the fact that tritium can now be produced at a fraction of the estimated US $7b needed to produce the isotope at current costs using the accelerator process, as was done in the USA. The Indian scientists have managed to extract highly enriched tritium from heavy water used in power reactors. The advantage of the technology developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Center is that it assumes heavy water as the moderator in power reactors when most of those in the West (including Russia) - with the exception of Canada - use light water. The other advantage is a short gestation period; the Indian tritium facility takes less than two years of completion. According to all available indications, Tritium is now being stockpiled putting India in a comfortable position in terms of nuclear deterrence. Putting The Lid Back On The Chemical Box. Jane's Intelligence Review. Eric Croddy, Jan 01, 1998, pp 41-45 "It is probably wise to expend more resources on known proliferators, and focus only on large amounts of trade in dual use chemical technologies, than try to track down every shipment of every chemical that might be used for sinister purposes. If terrorists were to begin wholesale production of CBWs, it would be very difficult to trace the relatively small quantities involved. In any case, the clandestine nature of the terrorist's milieu makes investigations that much more difficult. Rather than give up, nations should equip their emergency services for the inevitability of a massive explosion in an urban area, or even CBW agents used in a future terrorist attack." Is There Still A Role For Nuclear Deterrence? NATO Review. Walter Slocombe, Jan 01, 1998, pp 23-26 In this article, the author explains why nuclear weapons still play an important role in US and NATO strategy, even while significant reductions in stockpiles have been undertaken in recent years, and why their total abolition, if understood as a near-term policy, rather than, as President Clinton has stated, an ultimate goal, is not a wise and surely not a feasible focus of policy.
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