[Gucho]

Boeing Begins Major Upgrade Of U.S. AWACS Fleet


File photo of an AWACS aircraft

Jul 12, 2005

St Louis, MO - Boeing has started installing satellite communications and air traffic management upgrades on the first of 32 U.S. Air Force AWACS aircraft.

"Enhanced satellite communications will boost the fleet's capability by providing crews with multiple channels for voice and data," said Ed Froese, vice president of Boeing Airborne Warning Systems. "This improves the AWACS system's ability to communicate with other AWACS aircraft, platforms and ground stations."

The Global Air Traffic Management upgrade permits AWACS to efficiently operate in congested airspace worldwide, especially in Europe and the East coast corridor of the U.S., by allowing the AWACS to fly in closer proximity to other aircraft. Additional enhancements include a traffic collision avoidance system, which sounds an alert and provides a message – climb or descend – to the AWACS flight crew in order to prevent a collision.

Retrofit of the first AWACS is scheduled to be completed in January 2006. The entire fleet will be completed by the end of 2010.

[Gucho]

Rice welcomes Seoul's energy aid offer to North Korea

SEOUL (AFP) Jul 13, 2005 US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed Wednesday South Korea's ambitious offer of energy aid to North Korea to persuade the Stalinist state to dismantle its nuclear weapons drive.

"It gives an opportunity for North Korea to address questions of energy needs," Rice said at a press conference.

Her South Korean counterpart Ban Ki-Moon said at the same briefing that Rice had praised the aid offer as a "very creative and beneficial" move that would help resolve the nuclear issue.