From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #563 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Monday, 11 December 1995 Volume 05 : Number 563 In this issue: Re: Mig 25 and Skunk Works Re: Mig 25 and Skunk Works AUVSI San Diego Chapter Quarterly Meeting AW&ST Dec. 11, 1995 (preview) NORAD and Santa Hughes demonstrates new compact ASARS-2 processor Re: NORAD and Santa Re: NORAD and Santa See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-works or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mary Shafer Date: Sun, 10 Dec 1995 14:18:35 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: Mig 25 and Skunk Works No, the Skunk Works didn't have anything to do with either the F-22 or JAST--those are both Lockheed-Martin now. Lockheed is a great big company and they don't cross organizational lines very well at all. This is the same thing I was commenting about regarding having the Skunk Works consult on that MiG 25 that Belenko defected with. They're not omnipotent or omniscient, just good at what they do. This is probably heresy on this mailing list, but the same is true of the aircraft they build. I should also point out that one advantage of working on classified projects is that nobody knows about your failures.... Regards, Mary Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com URL http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/People/Shafer/mary.html Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... On Fri, 8 Dec 1995, Wei-Jen Su wrote: > > > On Fri, 8 Dec 1995, Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl wrote: > > > > > And didn't they design the F-22 fighter only just recently? ;) > > > > Plus they are doing design for the Join Advance Tactical Fighter > (JATF) ??? The one that is going to substitute the F-16, F-18, AV-8, etc. > > May the Force be with you > > Su Wei-Jen > E-mail: wsu02@barney.poly.edu ------------------------------ From: Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl Date: Sun, 10 Dec 1995 15:43:51 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: Mig 25 and Skunk Works Mary, I don't want to glorify the Skunk Works, but one must give credit where credit is due. Just because the 'Skunk Works' is now officially called Lockheed Martin Skunk Works (LMSW), does not change the fact that Skunk Works people at Palmdale designed and built the first two YF-22A prototypes for the ATF (Advanced Tactical Fighter) or 'Senior Sky' program, which dates back to 1981 (when Lockheed was still just Lockheed). They also designed and built the X-32 JAST mock-up, which may develop into the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter). Of course, the F-22 will not be manufactured at the Skunk Works, but at another Lockheed facility (in this case Lockheed Martin in Marietta, GA), as were other Skunk Works designs, like the P-80, F-104, C-130 and JetStar, which were all designed and prototyped at the Skunk Works, but manufactured elsewhere. I admit the JSF is, like the F-117 and the F-111, a falsely designated attack aircraft, but I only mentioned the F-22. Even though Lockheed acquired the Fort Worth division of General Dynamics and later merged with Martin Marietta, I consider, for example, the F-16 a General Dynamics-designed aircraft, not a Lockheed Martin design. - -- Andreas - --- --- Andreas & Kathryn Gehrs-Pahl E-Mail: schnars@ais.org 313 West Court St. #305 or: gpahl@raptor.csc.flint.umich.edu Flint, MI 48502-1239 Tel: (810) 238-8469 WWW URL: http://www.umcc.umich.edu/~schnars/ - --- --- ------------------------------ From: Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl Date: Sun, 10 Dec 1995 16:07:38 -0500 (EST) Subject: AUVSI San Diego Chapter Quarterly Meeting Ed McCowan posted the following to rec.aviation.announce and rec.aviation.misc: >The San Diego Chapter of the Assosication of Unmanned Vehicle Systems >International invites all interested parties to attend our quarterly >meeting at Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical this coming Monday, December 11, >from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The featured guest speaker is Lt. Col. Steve >Hampton, Commander of the 11th Reconnaisance Squadron. There will also >be a Tier II+ program update and multimedia presentation by Martin >Winkler, Vice President & General Manager of the Tier II+ Business Unit >of Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical. For more information, please contact >Mark Day of Teledyne Ryan at (619) 260-4355. Maybe someone from the San Diego area could attend and brief us -- or at least me :) -- later about the meeting. - -- Andreas - --- --- Andreas & Kathryn Gehrs-Pahl E-Mail: schnars@ais.org 313 West Court St. #305 or: gpahl@raptor.csc.flint.umich.edu Flint, MI 48502-1239 Tel: (810) 238-8469 WWW URL: http://www.umcc.umich.edu/~schnars/ - --- --- ------------------------------ From: Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl Date: Sun, 10 Dec 1995 16:29:40 -0500 (EST) Subject: AW&ST Dec. 11, 1995 (preview) I am a little bit behind with the AW&ST (Aviation Week & Space Technology) summaries, but they will follow soon. Here is a little interesting preview of this week's AW&ST: WASHINGTON OUTLOOK, page 23: ============================ "A Snazzier, Stealthier F-117: Look for the Air Force to make a pitch for an F-117 that is more lethal and even harder for radars to see. A study due to be released Dec. 18 examines more than 100 technologies for possible improvements to the stealth aircraft. The final, "relatively modest" F-117 wish list was compiled after pitting the current F-117 against the hypothetical threats that Syria could offer in 2010 -- SA-10 surface-to-air missiles and a mix of Mirage 2000, Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters." - -- Andreas - --- --- Andreas & Kathryn Gehrs-Pahl E-Mail: schnars@ais.org 313 West Court St. #305 or: gpahl@raptor.csc.flint.umich.edu Flint, MI 48502-1239 Tel: (810) 238-8469 WWW URL: http://www.umcc.umich.edu/~schnars/ - --- --- ------------------------------ From: jstone@iglou.com (John Stone) Date: Sun, 10 Dec 95 16:31 EST Subject: NORAD and Santa >From: "JOHN F. REGUS" Date: Tue, 5 Dec 1995 >>16:07:04 -0600 >Subject: NORAD and Christmas >Maybe 20 years ago, NORAD used to post "SANTA ALERTS" on TV from >Colorado...all >very official looking and serious, on Christmas Eve. The >kids loved it. They >haven't done it in a long time and I wish they would >start over. In response to your asking, I saw this on Air Force News Service the other day: 1354. NORAD to track Santa Claus COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AFNS) -- For 39 years, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and its predecessors have conducted an annual Christmas Eve watch for Santa Claus as he delivered gifts to the children of North America and the world. This year will be no exception, and for the 40th year in a row, this important mission will be carried out by American and Canadian personnel. The children of Canada and the United States of America will once again be able to get progress reports telling them of Santa's flight path from the North Pole to their countries. Using ground-based radars and satellites in space, the men and women of NORAD, and the military services that provide support to NORAD, will electronically scan the skies of northern Canada and Alaska to detect Santa when he takes off from his North Pole workshop. When he is detected, the data will be passed to the combined NORAD/U.S. Space Command operations center in Cheyenne Mountain, near Colorado Springs. To receive reports on Santa's progress on Christmas Eve, children can call the following number starting at 4 p.m. in each applicable time zone: (719) 474-1110. The tradition of tracking Santa Claus started in 1955 with continental Air Defense Command, headquartered in Colorado Springs. A misprint in a local store's newspaper advertisement resulted in children calling in to the commander in chief's "Hot Line." The line was flooded with calls so the director of operations, Col. Harry Shoup, decided to respond to the children's queries. The staff jumped in and handled all the calls as they came in. The duty crew drew a picture of Santa and his reindeer-drawn sleigh on its display of North America, and a tradition was born.The calls are answered by volunteers who work in various work centers in Cheyenne Mountain and NORAD headquarters. These civilian and military people answer all calls with a personalized report, thus adding a human dimension to the program. Later, | / ^ \ ___|___ -(.)==<.>==(.)- --------o---((.))---o-------- SR-71 Blackbird U-2 Dragon Lady John Stone jstone@iglou.com U-2 and SR-71 Web Page http://wl.iglou.com/blackbird/ ------------------------------ From: Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl Date: Sun, 10 Dec 1995 16:38:59 -0500 (EST) Subject: Hughes demonstrates new compact ASARS-2 processor The following Hughes press release may be of interest to the group: Hughes Aircraft Co. has successfully completed flight testing of a new, compact prototype multi-mode radar processor for the ASARS-2 (Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System 2), after delivering it to the USAF earlier this year. The processor was built almost entirely with COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) parts, and was developed by the Radar and Communications Systems division of Hughes Aircraft under a 14-month program under the USAF Reconnaissance SPO (System Program Office) at Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, OH. "Advances in COTS hardware and Hughes' 25 years of experience in synthetic aperture radar technology enabled us to produce a 95-pound airborne unit that functionally replaces a system that previously required large, ground-based processors tethered to the aircraft by wide-bandwidth data links," said Calvin R. Boerman, manager of Reconnaissance System Programs for Hughes Radar & Communications. The unit is based on Intel's i860 and is common with the ground-based processor, which allows for a single software baseline for both the demonstration on-board processor and the operational ASARS-2 ground processor. The flight demonstration program was completed one week early because all modes and resolutions were successfully demonstrated over a narrowband data link channel during the first three flights. "A planned fourth flight was not needed," according to Alan Bailey, Hughes Aircraft's program manager for the processor development effort. "This new processor enables worldwide access to high-resolution imagery and moving target indication from the Hughes-built ASARS-2, day or night regardless of weather conditions," he continued. "And is proposed as the basis for an Air Force radar improvement program." "The improvement program was undertaken to provide warfighters target locations with increased accuracy," Boerman said. "It will take advantage of the aircraft's commanding altitude and ASARS-2's powerful transmitter and antenna to reach targets much deeper in enemy territory than lower-flying surveillance aircraft." Boerman said major elements of the improvement program also include increasing resolution and coverage of the existing imagery modes, the ability to provide ASARS-2-derived digital terrain maps to the warfighter, and adding a very robust enhanced MTI (Moving Target Indication) capability. Hughes has successfully demonstrated the enhanced MTI capability both in Europe and in Korea. The ASARS-2 has been selected to replace the Army's Mohawk radar in Korea. Full capability operational systems could be delivered to the field under the improvement program soon enough to retrofit the entire fleet soon after the turn of the century. However, Boerman said, the new processor could be integrated into the fleet even sooner and the first unit could be deployed in as little as 30 days, if needed. This processor technology is the basis for other Hughes reconnaissance products, including an Air Force radar improvement program and the integrated synthetic aperture radar being developed for the Tier II Plus HE-UAV (High Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). Hughes Aircraft is a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp. and part of General Motors Hughes. - -- Andreas - --- --- Andreas & Kathryn Gehrs-Pahl E-Mail: schnars@ais.org 313 West Court St. #305 or: gpahl@raptor.csc.flint.umich.edu Flint, MI 48502-1239 Tel: (810) 238-8469 WWW URL: http://www.umcc.umich.edu/~schnars/ - --- --- ------------------------------ From: freeman@netcom.com (Jay Reynolds Freeman) Date: Sun, 10 Dec 1995 14:18:04 -0800 Subject: Re: NORAD and Santa Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the skys, Air defenses were up, with electronic eyes. Combat pilots were nestled in ready-room beds, As enemy silhouettes danced in their heads. Every jet on the apron, each SAM in its tube, Was triply-redundant linked to the Blue Cube, And ElInt and AWACS gave coverage so dense That nothing that flew could slip through our defense. When out of the klaxon arose such a clatter I dashed to the screen to see what was the matter; I dialed up the gain and then quick as a flash Fine-adjusted the filters to damp out the hash. And there found the source of the warning we'd heeded: An incoming blip, by eight escorts preceded. "Alert status red!" went the word down the wire, As we gave every system the codes that meant "FIRE"! On Aegis! Up Patriot, Phalanx and Hawk! And scramble our fighters -- let's send the whole flock! Launch decoys and missiles! Use chaff by the yard! Get the kitchen sink up! Call the National Guard! They turned toward the target, moved toward it, converged. Till the tracks on the radar all finally merged, And the sky was lit up with a demonic light, As the foe met his fate in the high arctic night. So we sent out some recon to look for debris, Yet all that they found, both on land and on sea Were some toys, a red hat, a charred left leather boot, Broken sleighbells, white hair, and a deer's parachute. Now it isn't quite Christmas, with Saint Nick shot down. There are unhappy kids in each village and town. For the Spirit of Christmas can't hope to evade All the web of defenses we've carefully made. Just look how the gadgets we use to protect us In other ways alter, transform, and affect us. They keep us from things that make life more worth living, Like love for each other, and thoughts of just giving. But a crash program's on: Working hard, night and day, All the elves are constructing a radar-proof sleigh. So let's wait for next Christmas, in cheer and in health, For the future has hope: Santa's coming by stealth! ------------------------------ From: "JOHN F. REGUS" Date: Sun, 10 Dec 1995 17:15:50 -0600 Subject: Re: NORAD and Santa On 10 Dec 95 Jay Reynolds Freeman sent us his version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas - and Jay, that was great, after all who has the best stealth aircraft in the world...why Santa of course! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + John F. Regus + SYS/370/390 SYSTEMS SOFTWARE, DATA AND + TELECOMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + internet: wizard@sccsi.com + internet: jregus@aol.com + voice : (713) 960 0045 + data : (713) 960 0015 (SECURED) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #563 ********************************* To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@mail.orst.edu". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-skunk-works": subscribe skunk-works-digest local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe skunk-works-digest in the body. 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