Communications is another field where "space based" thinking has liberated SDI from old approaches that demanded incredible volumes of data transfer. That orbital mechanics imposes a unique set of strains on accomplishing this, magnified the problem. 
The catch is not communications per se, but the coordination of same between objects traversing vast volumes of space (The SDI battlefield is a trillion cubic kilometers in extent.) For effective Inter-Process Communications (IPC) of a bidirectional nature, a platform must not only know it's spatial/temporal coordinates but those of the other platforms it is netted with, to "real time" it's operations and to determine the age of the messages it receives. Since in the time it takes a signal to go from a low orbit to a geosynchronous one and return, a warhead will have travelled two kilometers, the importance of this will be appreciated.
SDI's answer to the problem is simply not to communicate so much. In contrast to earlier, phase one SDI architecture models which concentrated intelligence (or computational power) in the roots and trunk, present thinking moves the intelligence out to the branches and leaves, distributing it. Two paradoxical but beneficial results accrue from this. First IPC is cut way down because intelligent platforms need to communicate less than dumb ones. Secondly, Command and Control is actually enhanced, since human decision makers have less chance of suffering "data glut" and can concentrate on information based choices. (They will still have to be quick. For a system that involves boost phase interception, a GO/NO GO decision must be made in the first sixty seconds after launch detection.)

SHORT RANGE NUCLEAR WEAPONS  CONTENTIOUS FOR NATO
In a few weeks, NATO's Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) will meet to discuss a variety of contentious issues including the future of short range missiles based on West German soil. U.S. officials, noting that the Soviets have done nothing to diminish their stockpile of short range tactical nuclear weapons, are pushing to remodel the current Lance system which, like its Soviet counterparts, has not been included in arms reduction talks or agreements. There are 88 Lance missile launchers in Europe, each with a range of less than 175 kilometers. A modernized variant of the Lance would be capable of reaching targets up to 450 kilometers away. Most of the 88 launchers and their 700 warheads are based on West German soil. 
During a NATO meeting in the spring of 1989, when British and American negotiators pressed for modernizing the Lance, the ensuing arguments nearly brought the meeting to a grinding, screeching, halt. Leading the opposition to the proposal were West German officials who by then were courting the notion of a reunified Germany. The impasse was broken only by agreeing not to deploy the missiles until 1992. 
But the matter has been reopened in Washington with the introduction of a request by Defence Secretary Dick Cheney in his 1991 budget proposal asking Congress for $112.2 million (U.S.) to develop a new short-range missile to replace the aging, ground-based Lance. According to sources in Brussels, the latest budget proposal on the Lance has created a rash of "to and froing" of cablegrams across the Atlantic and much speculation as to how the issue will be resolved in the face of collapsing Soviet strength in eastern Europe and what appears to be the inevitable amalgamation of the two Germanies. One proposal calls for the storage of the weapons in the United Kingdom. But, whatever the solution, the topic is sure to earn heated debate during this spring's NPG talks.

THE THIRD ZERO
The Soviet Union and the U.S. are destroying their medium and shorter-range missiles under the INF Treaty and sixteen states are in Vienna discussing conventional arms reductions in Europe trying to bring down military confrontation and stabilize the region.
But Europe still has thousands of land, air and sea-based tactical nuclear weapons with a range of up to 500 kilometers which can initiate a deadly armed conflict. Even a layman understands that stability will not be attained as long as there are nuclear weapons in Europe.
The destabilizing effect of tactical nuclear weapons is growing while other classes of weapons are being reduced. This calls for discussions, the sooner the better. Military plans and research sometimes proceed quicker than negotiations.
Guided by security considerations, the Soviet Union unilaterally pulled out 500 tactical nuclear charges from allied territories in Europe in 1989. It is prepared to move further, if discussions on tactical nuclear weapons get underway. The Soviet Union is not modernizing its tactical missiles or replacing them with more sophisticated weapons.
But NATO's plans to modernize Europe-based tactical weapons are proof that procrastination in this issue leads to attempts to make up for the elimination of medium and short-range missiles. This is alarming -- we are losing time and undermining major values.
Why is NATO doing this? It is reasonable to plan the deployment of U.S. Lance-2 missiles with a range of about 250 kilometers in Europe while major changes are going on in east European countries and the Soviet Union has destroyed its Lance-class missiles, SS-23s, under the INF Treaty? We have favourable conditions now for moving towards the third zero, which is the elimination of all tactical nuclear weapons.
Of course, it is difficult to stop believing in "nuclear deterrence". Clearly this belief still lives in the minds of NATO leaders. But the problem can be settled at talks on tactical nuclear weapons that would lead to their gradual reduction. A mandate for such talks could be produced at consultations of Warsaw Treaty and NATO experts. In such a situation neither side would harm its positions: the Soviet Union would remain loyal to its nonnuclear ideas, while the west would retain its concept of minimal deterrence.
General Yuri Labedev
Editor's note: General Yuri Labedev is a popular defence and foreign affairs writer for Novosti.
 
 

SOVIET PARLIAMENT QUESTIONS NUCLEAR TESTS 
Nuclear tests were a topic of concern in the Supreme Soviet first question period on March 28. Igor Belousov, Vice-Chairman of the U.S.S.R. Council of Ministers, gave lengthy replies to questions about nuclear detonations for 'peaceful purposes' in the Soviet Union.
He claimed that since 1989 no nuclear devices had been detonated for civilian purposes. Until 1988 the U.S.S.R. has conducted 126 'peaceful blasts' for industrial purposes. Such tests were 'almost harmless', since they were carried out below ground level at a depth of 1,500 metres and were low in yields. They had nothing to do with the Ministry of Defence claims Council of Ministers' Vice-Chairman. Nevertheless, he says, the Soviet Union has stopped them for the rest of this year. Belousov also said that the total number of nuclear tests carried out by the Soviet Union was just over 700, including 126 for peaceful purposes. In 1986-1987 the Soviet Union observed a moratorium on all nuclear tests for eighteen months, while the United States, he charges, during that same time, carried out twenty-six nuclear tests allegedly aimed mainly at testing and developing new types of nuclear weapons including eighteen nuclear devices to develop an x-ray laser; five to produce enhanced electromagnetic radiation; and about ten to valuate kinetic energy.

SOVIET ARMY STAGES 'FLEA MARKET'
Soviet troops are having difficulty adapting to Mikhail Gorbachev's 'new order'. Hundreds of former soldiers recently released from the Soviet Army as a result of withdrawals from eastern Europe have poured into the civilian population of the U.S.S.R. causing unpredicted havoc. Having left relatively lavish homes and lifestyles in eastern Europe, many soldiers must now contend with yearlong waiting lists for an apartment suite in their economically unhealthy homeland and must endure a pursuit for employment that could also lead to months of waiting. 
Troops remaining with regular Soviet units at home are having to deal with detente in their own way. A military fair in Kiev -- the first ever held in Kiev military district -- is featuring sheepskin coats, speed boats, and portable medical labs on an auction block along with about 1,000 other military items being disposed. Excited buyers are calling out their bids for rubber boots, pile drivers, mobile radio stations and bridge-laying equipment. Someone from a fishing cooperative in the Kurile Island bought a power station and will send it home via Vladivostok as soon as the navigation season opens. Uniformed men and officers from all three Soviet armed services are wandering about describing the technical details of military hardware to civilian customers.
"Reductions in the armed forces make us military men save resources and produce more civilian goods," said Major-General Gennady Kurdakov, deputy commander of the military district. "The public sale of military hardware is one way to meet conversion in the armaments industry half way. Last year our military district sold 27 million roubles' worth of military items to industrial and agricultural enterprises. But this is the first fair we have held." Kurdakov admitted, "We are replacing obsolete technologies with new systems. But this does not mean we are offering shoddy goods. They can be put to good use in the national economy for a long time."
Other participants in the fair are the Odessa and the Byelorussian military districts, the Black Sea Fleet, and many defence plants. The fair attracted customers from all over the U.S.S.R. --as far away as the Kurile Islands, north of Japan, and as close as the Cherkassy Region of the Ukraine. Delegates from a collective farm there bought a mobile radio station. According to fair director Alexander Diodorov, deals worth more than 50 million roubles were concluded. "This 700 horsepower tank engine can be used in a stationary or mobile system for powering different machinery, for example in drilling and compressor systems. It costs 2,880 roubles. One, two... sold!" An entire water-purification filtering station was sold. Other popular items were radio relay stations mounted on lorries and desalination systems. 

SOVIETs TO USE WEST'S MODERN AIRCRAFT ENGINES
Aeroflot, the Soviet national airline, has selected GE Aircraft Engines' CF6-80C2 to power five firm and five option Airbus Industrie A310-300 aircraft in an engine order potentially worth more than $150 million (U.S.). The CF6-80C2 will be the first western manufactured aircraft engine in Aeroflot's fleet of more than 3,000 aircraft, and GE the only western aircraft engine manufacturer to have received engine orders from eastern European airlines.
Donald R. Morrison, director of European sales for GE Aircraft Engines expressed his excitement about the order. "We have built a strong presence in eastern Europe over the past several years and adding Aeroflot to our customer list really solidifies our position. This order opens a market of great potential."
Aeroflot selected the CF6-80C2 after extensive engine evaluations which included briefings by a GE delegation in Moscow last November. In February, GE Aircraft Engines also hosted a 13-man Soviet team for five days at its Evendale, Ohio, manufacturing facility. Delivery of the five A310s is scheduled to begin in late 1991 and continue through mid-1992. Aeroflot plans to use the GE-powered aircraft to improve the standard of its service on international routes between western Europe and southeast Asia through Moscow. Aeroflot will have all CF6-80C2 engines serviced by one of the CF6 maintenance centres located in western Europe, most likely Lufthansa.
Although the Soviet market is new to GE Aircraft Engines, its parent company, General Electric, has enjoyed a successful working relationship with the Soviets since the 1920s in areas such as power generation, transportation, medical equipment, and other industries. General Electric, which opened its Moscow office in 1973 has earned more business and gained more experience in the U.S.S.R. than any other U.S. manufacturer over the last two decades with sales nearly doubling in recent years.

OPPOSITION MOUNTING TO YELLOWKNIFE FOL
"Expect a delay in construction of the Forward Operating Location (FOL) at Yellowknife, North West Territories" warns Colonel Martin Sywyk, North American Air Defence Modernization (NAADM) Project Manager. Five FOLs are being completed under the NAADM programme to enable CF-18s to operate from the Arctic. Environmental assessments are proceeding on schedule and the Government of the North West Territories (GNWT) is said to be satisfied with the DND's environmental protection plans. On March 26, the City of Yellowknife issued a building permit enabling site preparation work to begin at the Yellowknife FOL.
There is a fourteen day period in which any party may appeal the issuing of that permit. The local Dene and Metis, convinced there is no need for armed forces in our present 'golden age of peace and enlightenment', angry that they were not consulted directly by DND and under the false impression that DND did not follow the proper environmental assessment procedure, are expected to launch an appeal on day 13.
Almost certainly the appeal will be thrown out as the NAADM PMO's construction plans are not in violation of any city bylaws nor of Yellowknife's long term development plan. But, the process is holding up construction. Colonel Sywyk cannot issue a contract for work at Yellowknife until he is certain the appeal will be quashed. Meanwhile the Dene and Metis are putting pressure on GNWT to deny approval of DND's environmental protection plan and have written to Defence Minister Bill McKnight. Sywyk notes that even if the current building permit appeal is quashed, permitted construction involves only site preparation and the construction of a gravel access road. A second city building permit is required for construction of buildings and hangar space which the Dene and Metis will also appeal.
CBC Yellowknife is generating negative feeling towards the nearby military presence. Sywyk has been condemned in CBC broadcasts and coverage has been limited to spurious Dene and Metis claims that DND is not following the proper planning process. Although he was interviewed by CBC, none of Colonel Sywyk's comments have been aired. Sywyk is frustrated. He has followed the proper planning process. DND is required to complete an initial environmental assessment and an environmental protection plan, which must be approved only by GNWT as the initiating department and by Transport Canada as eventual owner of the land. DND is only required to deal directly with GNWT; it is GNWT's responsibility to deal with the public and other interested parties. However out of good will, DND provided a copy of its environmental protection plan to the Dene and Metis and has attended public meetings at all five FOLs.
DND has taken steps to minimize any environmental impact of construction. All buildings will be constructed with either insulating gravel or under-the-floor cooling systems to ensure permafrost does not melt, and caribou herds will be tracked constantly so that pilots can avoid them. Socioeconomic benefits include construction of a new fire house at Rankin Inlet which will benefit the nearby civilian airfield while a new paved runway will increase tourism and business opportunities. Northern construction firms and labour are being utilized throughout the FOL building process thus aiding the local economy.
Sywyk points out that Air Command is merely constructing buildings and hangar space at existing Canadian Forces airfields to improve operational effectiveness. In fact, Air Command has already been deploying fighters out of Yellowknife, Inuvik and Iqualut for the past two years resulting in a total of one noise complaint.

CDC CONFIRMS NEW WESTERN PARTNER
Computing Devices Canada (CDC) of Nepean, Ontario has signed a teaming agreement with Westbridge Computer Corporation of Regina, Saskatchewan for the Integrated Radio and Intercommunications System (IRIS) competition. Westbridge will provide an Oracle-based project management system as well as internal management services and business systems support through the company's own mainframe computers. TRW Command Support Division of Fairfax, Virginia another CDC IRIS team member, will transfer some software development tools to Westbridge. Westbridge provides corporate computer solutions to the public and private sector. With nine offices in Canada and two in the U.S. Westbridge's 1988 revenue was $128 million.

PARAMAX HAS NEW "COORDINATED APPROACH" TO NSA
Paramax Electronics Inc. of Montreal has overall control of software management and mission system integration for the Mission System Data Handling System (MSDHS), one of eleven subsystems of the New Shipborne Aircraft (NSA). The MSDHS will function as the mission system's command and control element displaying tactical information from air, sea and undersea sensors for the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) operator aboard the EH101 ASW helicopter. 
Last December, a competition was expected to determine which of two systems would be used as the NSA MSDHS. Computing Devices Canada (CDC) had offered the Helicopter Integrated Processing and Display Subsystem (HINPADS) against Unisys Canada's Information Processing and Display Subsystem (IPDS) (See The Wednesday Report, December 20, 1989 page 5, "New Shipborne Aircraft Data System Competition"). In March, Paramax Electronics Inc. and NSA prime contractor European Helicopter Industries Canada (EHIC) decided to forgo the competition in favour of developing a coordinated or hybrid approach to the MSDHS.
According to Paul Flagg of EHIC, the coordinated approach will see the best elements of both HINPADS and IPDS combined into one MSDHS tailored specifically to the NSA programme. Thus neither CDC nor Unisys loses its sizable MSDHS development investment. Unisys will provide the more mature IPDS as MSDHS hardware. It is therefore likely that Unisys developed 'integrated rack technology' will be the hardware configuration used. Integrated rack technology involves the use of individual memory, bus, processor and display cards which can be easily repaired or replaced if a problem occurs.
CDC meanwhile will provide operator interface and associated software for the MSDHS. This is the area in which CDC had spent most of its HINPADS development money and work to date has been highly regarded. Paramax Electronics may write the other management software itself.
Richmond B.C.-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. is about to fulfill a $2.5 million contract to provide CDC with certain software configuration items for HINPADS development. These include tactical data handling software, mission system management software, and outside system simulation software. Because the MSDHS software requirements to be set out by Paramax may differ from those of HINPADS it remains to be seen whether MacDonald Dettwiler will contribute to MSDHS.
Paramax, CDC and Unisys are deciding on the appropriate split of software and work sharing responsibility. In the meantime Unisys will send its IPDS Advanced Development Model (ADM) from its St. Paul, Minnesota facility to Montreal this month for installation at the Paramax Avionics Simulation Lab. The ADM will remain at Paramax Electronics Inc. for software integration.
The future of coordinated development initiatives looks bright. With fewer defence contracts being issued, firms that were once bitter enemies are now agreeing to share what limited wealth is available.

OERLIKON AEROSPACE AWARDS LLAD RADIO CONTRACT
Oerlikon Aerospace Inc. has awarded Garrett Canada a contract of approximately $9 million to supply military communications radios for the Canadian Forces Low Level Air Defence (CF LLAD) system. As team leader Garrett will be responsible for programme management, engineering support, and total logistics support. The Very High Frequency (VHF) radios are based on Plessey Defence System's "System 4000" first sold last year to the Australian Army. The Oerlikon purchase includes some further development of the radio system to meet the special data handling, electronic countermeasures and installation requirements of the Canadian air defence systems. Garrett's plans for the "System 4000" include offering a similar combat net radio design in their bid for the upcoming Canadian Forces Tactical Command, Control and Communications System (TCCCS) programme in which the company intends to play a leading role in the development, manufacture and support of combat net radios.
 

PRIOR DATA SCIENCES JOINS INTEGRAL FOR TCCCS BID
Prior Data Sciences Ltd., of Kanata, Ontario, a specialist in software development and real-time systems engineering, has announced its affiliation with the Integral Defence Communications Group. The Integral Group now consisting of six high-technology Canadian companies led by Garrett Canada, is seeking to provide the Canadian Armed Forces with the first phase of a tactical command, control and communications system (TCCCS). Prior Data will be responsible for the development of significant portions of the system software and will integrate and test all software. Prior will establish a facility in Calgary where the majority of the work on the communications management system will be performed or managed. Prior forecasts annual revenues of $10 to $11 million will be generated by 1994 from the Calgary division and twice that amount if the Integral Group's TCCCS bid is successful.

BOMBARDIER TO ACQUIRE LEARJET CORP.
In a move that was first speculated in 1987, Bombardier Inc., owner of Montreal-based Canadair will acquire the assets and encumbrances of Learjet Corp. from Learjet's present owner, Integrated Resources Inc. of New York city. Rapidly becoming the 'United Technologies of Canada', Bombardier has issued only a spartan release stating its intentions to pursue the acquisition from Learjet's bankrupt owner. The deal will provide Bombardier with U.S. manufacturing space, three small business jets to add to its stable of larger Canadair Challengers -- a design that originated with Learjet Corp. -- and moreover, a significant worldwide marketing organization and a substantially improved thrust into the lucrative U.S. market. 

AIR FORCE RELINQUISHES CFB TORONTO 
On March 30, Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Toronto was converted from Air Command to Mobile Command (Army) administration. In the preparatory stages since last May, the change was carried out as part of the ongoing 'Total Force' plan called for in the 1987 defence white paper. The concept calls for the number of Reservists to increase in number and stature with Reserve and Regular Force units serving together under combined headquarters. CFB Toronto is to support all militia units in Toronto and southern Ontario for payroll, uniform and personal equipment issue as well as logistic and administrative requirements and will be home to Land Forces Central Area (LFCA) Headquarters.
CFB Toronto is currently home to two headquarters: Central Militia Area (CMA) Headquarters with jurisdiction over all Militia units in Ontario, and LFCA-HQ serving as a planning headquarters. Under the Total Force plan, CMA is to be dissolved by Order in Council and the 42 Militia units under its command transferred to LFCA. Eventually, LFCA-HQ will be responsible for all Canadian Central Region Operations and will have under its command the Ontario militia units as well as the Petawawa-based Special Service Force consisting of the Canadian Airborne Regiment, 1 Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment (currently quartered in London, Ontario), the Royal Canadian Dragoons equipped with Cougar light armoured vehicles, 2 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, 2 Combat Engineer Regiment and other headquarters and support elements. LFCA will also have jurisdiction over bases in Toronto, Petawawa and London (until its 1992 closing) as well as the Meaford Training Centre. CFB Borden will not come under LFCA's jurisdiction as it is a training command base. Absorption of CMA by LFCA was originally scheduled for February, postponed to April 1st and has since been postponed until later this year. Defence Ministry officials were unavailable for comment on the delay. Following the Ontario lead, Regular Force and Militia units will be amalgamated under area headquarters at other national locations in the future.

QUEBEC AERO INDUSTRY HELPS CREATE MASTERS PROGRAMME 
Thanks to the efforts of three universities -- Ecole Polytechnique, Concordia University and McGill University -- and twelve Montreal-based aerospace companies, a Master's Degree Programme in Aerospace Engineering will be available to students for the first time in Quebec. The graduate programme which includes specialized courses in avionics, aerospace technology, aeronautics, propulsion, and aerostructure materials will be offered at all three universities which until now have only been able to offer a mechanical engineering programme with a major in aeronautics.
Once drafted the curricular programme will be submitted to the Council of Universities for advice and then for approval to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science. Raymond Royer, president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Inc., and André Bazergui, director of the Ecole Polytechnique, industry and university spokesmen respectively explained that this was a unique initiative aimed at the growing needs for highly specialized resources in areas which have experienced tremendous growth in Quebec in the past few years.
The twelve participating companies -- the Canadian Space Agency, Air Canada, Bell Helicopter Textron, Bendix Avelex Inc., Canadair, CAE Electronics, CASO (Centre Aéronautique Canada Corporation), Heroux Inc., Oerlikon Aerospace Inc., Paramax, Pratt & Whitney Canada and Spar Aerospace Ltd. -- have committed to hiring student trainees and to freeing resource people to oversee students in "case study" type projects. It is estimated that the Quebec aerospace industry will require close to 600 engineers from now until the beginning of 1993. Some 250 engineers will be filling newly created positions. Quebec represents approximately fifty percent of the Canadian aerospace industry which employs 62,000 people and totalled $7.7 billion in sales in 1989, of which $5.1 billion was for export. Total sales are expected to reach $12.4 billion by 1993.

McDONNELL DOUGLAS SELLS EIGHT MORE MD-88s TO AVIACO
Spain's national domestic air carrier, Aviaco has confirmed their eight options for the McDonnell Douglas MD-88 bringing its total MD-88 orders to 13. The airline will use the aircraft for its domestic air routes throughout Spain. Aviaco's MD-88s -- the most advanced of the five MD-80 models in production -- will be the first of this MD-80 twin engined model to serve in Europe. The first five MD-88s are to be delivered to Aviaco in late 1991 while deliveries of the eight additional aircraft are to begin early the following year. The MD-88, with its advanced cockpit that includes Flight Management, Inertial Reference, and Electronic Flight Instrument Systems (EFIS), first entered revenue service on January 5, 1988. As of March 1 McDonnell Douglas had received 905 orders and other commitments for the MD-80s, 694 of which have been delivered.

LASERFIRE  AIR DEFENCE SYSTEM is proven in tests
British Aerospace (Dynamics) Limited has successfully completed a series of demonstration firings of the Laserfire low level air defence system. Representatives from potential customer countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa were present and were themselves able to operate the system to track targets. Laserfire is a completely new design concept using state of the art technologies to provide a highly cost effective, self contained, and fully automatic weapon system. 
Laserfire demonstrated a 90 percent success rate during the firings in the United Kingdom in December and during the main demonstrations in the Middle East in early March. The Laserfire missiles incorporate a proximity fuze to optimize their capability particularly against small targets. During the demonstrations targets were initially acquired by Laserfire's surveillance radar close to maximum range and automatically handed over to the system's laser tracker. Some firings demonstrated warhead detonation initiated by the proximity fuze but an equal number of the small drone targets were destroyed by direct hits. On three separate days of varying weather conditions, the missile firings were carried out against small Banshee drone targets -- a remotely piloted aircraft of delta planform whose size is approximately one tenth that of a conventional fighter aircraft. A high rate of success during these tests implies exceedingly high lethality against conventional aircraft.

INFLUENTIAL U.K. MP EMBROILED IN LOBBYING CONFLICT
The Chairman of the U.K. House of Commons Defence Committee is at the centre of an altercation over his business interests. Former cavalry colonel Michael Mates (55) is generally regarded as a highly effective chairman of the all-party watchdog committee. However, he has for a number of years been a consultant to Good Relations, a public relations consultancy that was engaged by GKN Defence during the time that it was bidding for the lucrative production contract for the British Army's fleet of MCV80 Warrior armoured vehicles.
In February this year the influential London-based publications "PR Week" and "Defence Industry Digest" revealed that Mates had accepted a directorship of a newly-formed PR agency SGL Defence which was headed by another ex-cavalry officer and was offering to educate clients -- of which it had none -- in the ways of the MoD. There is no bar on MPs accepting such appointments, and indeed Mates did all that he was required to do in the way of registering his interests on the appropriate parliamentary register. At the time Mates told The Wednesday Report's John Reed that his advice was sought simply because of his wide experience in defence matters. He subsequently resigned his SGL directorship but remains as a consultant to the company, and it has since emerged that not only did he effect SGL's introduction to GKN Defence, but that he also has been engaged as a consultant by simulation specialist Link Miles.
In the meantime there was an upheaval within the committee when one of its most outspoken members, the widely-respected Labour MP Dick Douglas resigned in protest against Mates' connections. Last week the matter spilled over onto the floor of the House when concern was expressed that members of a committee which has access to sensitive material should be able to sell their expertise on the open market.
The matter will now go before the committee which deals with members' interests. There are strong pressures on Mates to resign from the committee, but the matter has been made ultra-sensitive by the fact that Mates, who tried to secure amendments to the government's highly-unpopular Community Charge, is a leading supporter of former Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine -- the Tory most fancied to succeed Mrs. Thatcher should she be forced to step down as Party Leader.

MDX PROGRESSES AS MCDONNELL DOUGLAS SELECTS PW206A 
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company has signed a contract for the development and production of the Pratt and Whitney Canada PW206A engine to be configured for the MDX helicopter. The initial production order is for 200 engines with deliveries beginning in June 1992. The first run of the final PW206A configuration is scheduled for June of this year and first flight of the MDX scheduled for June 1992. Helicopter deliveries will begin in December 1993. Pratt & Whitney Canada will be the exclusive MDX engine supplier for a period of two years from the first helicopter delivery.
Meanwhile, the McDonnell Douglas MDX twin-engine, eight-place helicopter has successfully completed wind tunnel tests to verify its design. A one-fifth scale model of the MDX was tested for 160 hours in a low-speed wind tunnel with particular emphasis placed on assessing the aerodynamic characteristics of sub-component designs and the stability characteristics of the empennage. Since the company first announced its commitment to produce the MDX in January 1989, the firm has taken orders for 201 of the advanced helicopters from private and commercial operators around the world. First flight is scheduled for mid-1992, with first delivery about 18 months later. Among the innovations planned for MDX is the company's NOTAR no tail rotor system. (See The Wednesday Report, February 14, page 5, "McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Sales Booming".)
The development of MDX includes participation by international partners. Hawker de Havilland of Australia will build the fuselage; Kawasaki Heavy Industry of Japan will manufacture the transmission; and operators will have the opportunities to select between engines made by Pratt & Whitney of Canada and Turbomeca of France.

GARRETT's TEMPEST AWARD RECOGNIZES TCCCS' IRIS CAPABILITY
Garrett Canada, a unit of Allied-Signal Aerospace Canada, has been recognized for its long association with the Canadian Industrial Tempest Programme (CITP). At the Third CITP Symposium at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, company representatives from Garrett Canada received the Certificate of Accreditation which noted their longstanding capabilities as a Tempest test facility. The certificates, the first ever issued, were awarded to a total of four firms.
For thirty years, Garrett Canada has designed and manufactured advanced electronic control systems and communications products, establishing a significant technology base including electromagnetic compatibility design. In the early 1980s, a Tempest-testing capacity was established enabling Garrett to expand the company's capabilities in the communications field. Tempest testing will form a significant portion of the Information Securities requirement for the Canadian TCCCS/IRIS programme for which Garrett is bidding as prime contractor of the Integral Defence Communications Group. Most of the IRIS subsystems and installations will have to meet stringent Tempest standards.

AGUSTA INCREASES ORDERS FOR SF 260D PROP TRAINER
Two major commercial contracts have recently been signed which will see sixty of Agusta's SF 260D primary pilot training aircraft heading to the United States and an additional forty to Turkey. In the United States, the first batch of seven aircraft will be delivered to the Doss Aviation Flying School for use in the pre-selection of pilot cadets for the United States Armed Forces. The forty new Turkish aircraft will be used to provide training for Turkish Air Force pilots. The contract, signed in Ankara March 21, calls for a co-production relationship with TAI, Turkey's most important aeronautical industry.
Turkish Defence Minister Safa Giray attending the signing ceremony stated, "This project, like others to be realized in the future, assures the continuation and development of the aeronautical sector in Turkey and offers the possibility of producing an aircraft with potential civil applications as well." This order, in combination with others, ensures a new production run of some 200 aircraft.

AEROSPATIALE AND MBB TO UNITE THEIR HELICOPTER ACTIVITIES
Aerospatiale and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm GmbH (MBB) who already cooperate in the Franco-German "Tiger" combat helicopter programme as well as in the NATO Helicopter project (NH90) have decided to proceed with the merging of their respective helicopter divisions. (See The Wednesday Report November 1, 1989, page 6, "MBB and Aerospatiale Plan Joint Helicopter Ventures".)
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been approved which dictates that the helicopter activities of both companies will be coordinated as of immediately with the aim of establishing a holding company, Eurocopter S.A., before the end of 1990. The holding company will coordinate and control two firms -- one French and one German -- which in turn will take over the helicopter activities of Aerospatiale and MBB. Both partners will retain their respective national identities. The new organization will facilitate an increase in competitiveness and greatly improved penetration of the world market.
The helicopter activities of Aerospatiale and MBB represent approximately one third of the accessible world market and a combined turnover of more than 4 billion Deutsche Mark. The current programmes of both companies as well as studies and projects leading to a future helicopter product line will be continued within the framework of Eurocopter S.A. who will be open to other European helicopter companies to strengthen and concentrate the performance of the European helicopter industry.
 

COST/TIME WORKSHOP TO DEAL WITH AN EMERGING PROBLEM
With increasing frequency, Canadian Government Requests For Proposals are demanding that contractors operate and maintain sophisticated cost/schedule control systems (C/SCS) as part of their contractual requirement. Because there is no Canadian standard, Government Project Management Offices (PMOs) occasionally impose a system based on the Cost/Schedule Control Systems Criteria (C/SCSC) of the U.S. Department of Defence. While C/SCSC has been in existence in the U.S. for over twenty years as a mandatory requirement on major contracts C/SCSC is relatively new to Canada and has only recently become a feature of Canadian Government projects.
Establishing the capabilities required to comply with C/SCSC requirements involves extensive and costly efforts by contractors and their major subcontractors. The absence of a Canadian standard has resulted in inconsistent requirements being imposed on Canadian firms which is of increasing concern to both industry and government. The problem is further compounded by application of the criteria to contracts where the cost risk is insufficient to justify its use. Furthermore, portions of C/SCSC simply do not suit the Canadian environment.
Quadrum Consultants Inc. is an Ottawa-based consulting firm which specializes in the application of advanced project management techniques. They have been a major contributor of project management expertise to Canadian Government projects. In 1987, Quadrum established a joint venture with Decision Planning Corporation (DPC) of Costa Mesa, California -- leaders in the application of C/SCSC in the U.S. -- to establish a Canada-based centre of excellence in C/SCSC. Quadrum and DPC have recognized the mounting problems associated with C/SCSC applications in Canada and are joint sponsors of a workshop entitled Cost/Schedule Control in Government Contracting to be held April 30 - May 2 in Ottawa.
The primary objective of the workshop will be to provide a forum to create awareness and air the views of industry and government on the appropriateness of a standard in Canada, and to formulate recommendations on C/SCSC for issue to Treasury Board, DND, DOT, and DSS policy directorates. All of these departments have agreed to address the closing session of the workshop. While it is recognized that a Canadian standard, when one is developed, must be compatible with the U.S. Criteria as many Canadian contractors respond to both Canadian and U.S. requirements, Mr. Robin de Schelthess, president of Quadrum, has stated that it is not the intention to merely press for an adoption of the U.S. C/SCS Criteria.
This timely initiative corresponds with the efforts of the Canadian Maritime Industries Association (CMIA) who have been attempting to direct the attention of government decision makers to this problem for some time. Moreover, the department of Supply and Services has taken steps to coordinate working groups to include DND, DOT and industry, with the objective of addressing the problem. For further information regarding the workshop contact Quadrum Consultants Inc. at (613) 238-8371.

CALENDAR
 April 17, 1990 -- The Canadian Defence Preparedness Association will hold a half-day conference in the Theatre and Crush Lobby of the Lester B. Pearson Building, 125 Sussex Drive in Ottawa commencing at 1:15 p.m. The event is cosponsored by the Department of External Affairs and International Trade and is scheduled to include discussion on the following topics: Trade Development Environment, The Global Economy, the Free Trade Agreement, and Defence Programmes. Members will pay a fee of $15 at the door while nonmembers should contact Mr. Bond at (613) 235-5337 prior to April 14.

April 28 -- The Toronto Branch of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute will hold its annual dinner meeting at the Carlton Place Hotel. Dr. Karl Doetsch, CASI President, will speak about the present and future of Canadian aerospace including programmes and developments and the use of Space Station 'Freedom' as a stepping stone to the establishment of lunar bases for a mission to Mars. For ticket information contact Wayne Rhodes at (416) 494-2816. 

April 30 - May 2 --  Quadrum Consultants Inc. and Decision Planning Corporation (DPC) of Costa Mesa, California are jointly sponsoring a workshop entitled "Cost/Schedule Control in Government Contracting" to be conducted in Ottawa. Canadian Government Requests For Proposals are often demanding that contractors operate and maintain sophisticated cost/schedule control systems (C/SCS) as part of the contractual requirement. The primary objective of the workshop will be to provide a forum to create awareness and air the views of industry and government on the appropriateness of a standard in Canada, and to formulate recommendations on C/SCSC for issue to Treasury Board, DND, DOT, and DSS policy directorates. All of these departments have agreed to address the closing session of the workshop. For further information regarding the workshop contact Quadrum Consultants Inc. at (613) 238-8371.

May 3 -- The Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies will hold its Spring Seminar at the Park Plaza Hotel in Toronto. Titled "International Security in a Changing Global Order" the seminar will discuss The Role of the United Nations; Implications for International Financial Institutions; Domestic Pressures and the International Environment; Europe and 1992; The China Situation; and Europe - Present and Future. For more information contact the CISS (416) 964-6632.

May 14-15 -- The "Thirty-Seventh Annual General Meeting" of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute will take place in Toronto at the Holiday Inn, Downtown - City Hall. Various conference rooms in the hotel will accommodate the number of sessions taking place including the Fifth Canadian Symposium on Aerospace Structures and Materials; The Eighth Canadian Symposium on Navigation; Sessions on aerospace propulsion; a session on astronautics; sessions on new aircraft; a session on Aerospace Operations; a session on simulation and training; and a Transport Canada Workshop, Future Navigation Systems. The Annual Awards Banquet will conclude the two-day event followed by a reception and dinner. For additional information contact the CASI conference co-ordinator at (613) 234-0191.

July 9-11 -- Defence and Foreign Affairs and the International Strategic Studies Association are sponsoring the seventh annual "Strategy'90" conference held at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in Washington. Senior officials, executives and Armed Forces officers involved in or concerned with national security policy in more than fifty countries will gather to discuss what global transformation means to the security of all states, and the regional balances of power around the world. The programme will address such significant topics as the true global impact of perestroika, the unification of Germany, the rise of such major regional powers as India, and the impact of new developments in chemical and biological weapons. Defence operational readiness as well as defence medicine will be impacted by the chemical and biological developments, but, worthy of consideration and evaluation by the strategic studies community, they will also be impacted by the massive rise of AIDS in some countries. "Strategy'90" is open to senior professionals involved in national security matters. For information contact the International Media Corporation (703) 684-8455.

August 14-15 -- The Maple Leaf Chapter of the Association of Old Crows (AOC) in cooperation with the Department of National Defence is co-hosting a "Back to Fundamentals" symposium (post glasnost and 'Open Skies'), in Ottawa. Topics include electronic reconnaissance and intelligence; ECM from chaff to decoys; communications; Electronic Warfare (EW) training; electro-optics; space EW; and signal processing. For additional information contact the symposium chairman, Mr. David Scribailo, AOC NE Symposium 1990, P.O. Box 41084, Ottawa, K1G 5K9.

September 16-19 -- The AIAC's "Twenty-ninth Annual General Meeting" is to be held in the resort area of Whistler Village, British Columbia. The four day event combines an extensive AIAC business agenda with rest and relaxation in the beautiful surroundings of the mountains and offers an enjoyable schedule of activities for members, invited guests, and their spouses. For more information contact Belva M. Neale, Convention Coordinator, (613) 232-4297.

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