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To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (17388)	9/11/2000 7:17:00 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Items of interest from current Defense News: >>LONDON — Averting what could have been a major obstacle to the removal of arms trade barriers, the United Kingdom and Australia have agreed to U.S. demands that bilateral arms exemption agreements be legally binding between governments, British and Australian diplomats say. But that means the agreement to exempt the United Kingdom and Australia from most unclassified arms export licensing likely would take the form of a treaty requiring parliamentary ratification, State Department and U.S. congressional sources told Defense News. Obtaining parliamentary approval of policy revisions to gain U.S. licensing exemption could prove a daunting challenge, and the legislative process is certain to be long and complex, parties to the talks agree. [Support Falters for SBIRS Low Air Force Secretary Questions Need for NMD Satellite System By GOPAL RATNAM AND JEREMY SINGER Defense News Staff Writers] WASHINGTON — The Pentagon may abandon plans to deploy a multibillion dollar satellite constellation for tracking missiles in midflight, according to a senior defense official. Whitten Peters, secretary of the U.S. Air Force, said defense officials are having second thoughts about buying the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Low satellite constellation. Some Pentagon officials are questioning whether the program is necessary, affordable and technically feasible, Peters told Defense News in an interview. "So the whole program is under review again." [U.S. Finds New Spy Satellites Too Expensive By JEREMY SINGER Special to Defense News] WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has dropped plans to develop a new generation of electronic eavesdropping satellites, opting instead to make incremental improvements to its existing constellation, a senior intelligence official said. Keith Hall, director of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the secretive agency that buys and operates the nation's spy satellites, said the projected capability of the new system did not justify its likely cost. "We recognize that we need to make improvements" to the current generation of signals intelligence satellites, Hall told reporters during a roundtable discussion at the Pentagon Sept. 6. But the NRO and its primary customer for signals intelligence, the U.S. National Security Agency, have elected to take an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary approach to making those improvements. [International Missile Programs Struggle Israel Doubts THEL Effectiveness; Seeks Better Laser Missile Defense By BARBARA OPALL-ROME AND GOPAL RATNAM Defense News Staff Writers] TEL AVIV — Israeli defense officials here doubt whether the U.S.-Israeli Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) can effectively defend against Katyusha rockets and other artillery. Yet they insist the program continue as a springboard for future versions of a laser system that ultimately could meet Israel's operational requirements. As the $202 million THEL enters its final phase of developmental testing at the U.S. Army's High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility in New Mexico, Israeli officials here say they no longer are in a hurry to deploy prototype batteries as currently designed. [U.S. Navy Looking for More Adaptable Aegis Radar By ROBERT HOLZER Defense News Staff Writer] WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy needs some $400 million in coming years to rework the Aegis radar system's software but does not have the money, service officials say. Navy officials want to break open the Aegis architecture so the system can more readily accommodate commercially available computers and associated information processing hardware. Capt. John Geary, deputy head of the Aegis program office, said his office spends about $65 million to $75 million every two years to create software linking new commercial equipment to the Aegis radar. [L-3 Eyes Emerging Market in Broadband Technology Rapid Advances in Digital Communications Create Need for New Test Instruments, Says Chairman By SAM SILVERSTEIN Special to Defense News] NEW YORK — L-3 Communications may move as early as next year into the growing market for equipment used to test high-bandwidth communications satellites and similar terrestrial systems. Such a venture would be in keeping with the company's long-term strategy to commercialize technologies developed for the military while maintaining defense as the company's core business. In an interview at the company's headquarters here, L-3 Chairman Frank Lanza said the company will decide by January whether to add communications instrumentation to L-3's line of commercial products, which currently includes equipment designed for the communications and transportation industries. U.S. Navy Will Select Intranet Supplier Soon U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Danzig is expected to announce by Sept. 14 the winner of the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet program, potentially worth billions of dollars, service sources said. Four industry teams are competing to launch the initial phase of the ambitious program. It will completely revamp how the Navy manages its information technology needs. Saudis Seek U.S. Arms Worth Almost $3 Billion Saudi Arabia is requesting more than $2.7 billion in U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) items, according to a Sept. 8 Pentagon news release. The purchases would fall into three separate FMS deals. The first one would be for $1.6 billion worth of missiles, tactical communications systems and light armored vehicles to modernize the Saudi Arabian National Guard. The second, for $690 million, would continue U.S. Air Force and contractor technical services, as well as spare parts and simulators to support the F-15 fighter. The third, for $416 million, is for contractor maintenance and training, spare parts and labor for depot maintenance of Saudi F-15 aircraft.<<