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Lockheed Martin Patriot PAC-3 2003/9/19

The PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability 3) missile is the ATBM (Anti Theater Ballistic Missile) component of the U.S. Army's Patriot air defense system, and will complement the existing MIM-104 Patriot missiles. 

Theater Ballistic Missile : 戦域弾道ミサイルcomplement[動詞] 補う;[名詞] 補足するもの; 補語; 全数; 定員数; 余数; 余角;

The PAC (Patriot Advanced Capability) program was begun in 1986 to develop a series of significant upgrades to the Patriot system (see the MIM-104 Patriot page for general information on Patriot and more details about the PAC program). The ultimate step is PAC-3/Configuration 3, which introduces an upgraded AN/MPQ-65 radar to increase detection in high-clutter environments, and to improve discrimination of closely spaced objects (better decoy recognition). The most important feature of this new Patriot system, however, will be a completely new missile, a variant of the Lockheed Martin ERINT (Extended Range Interceptor) commonly called PAC-3 (which is a bit confusing because the earlier PAC-3 configurations systems don't use this missile). The PAC-3 missile is highly optimized for the anti-missile role (employing a hit-to-kill capability enhanced by a fragmentation warhead), so that operational PAC-3 Patriot units will be equipped eventually with both MIM-104 and PAC-3 missiles. The latter is significantly smaller than an MIM-104, so that 16 missiles instead of four can be carried in a single launch station. ERINT was first flight-tested in 1992, and selected as the ultimate PAC-3 missile in 1994. The PAC-3/ERINT integration tests took place from 1995 to 1997, and the missile is currently in LRIP (Low Rate Initial Production) status. The PAC-3 missile was also selected as the missile component of the joint US/European MEADS (Medium Extended Air Defense System). 

clutter[名詞] 散乱;[動詞] 取り散らかす;optimized for : のためにoptimize[動詞] 最適化する; 有効に利用する; 楽観する;upgrade[動詞] 昇格させる; 更新する; アップグレードする;[名詞] 増加; 更新; アップグレード;decoy[名詞] おとり;[動詞] 罠に掛ける; おびき寄せる; 罠に掛かる;hit to kill衝突破壊型システム命中撃墜技術

The PAC-3 is a solid-propellant rocket-powered missile controlled by both aerodynamic fins and small forebody-mounted ACM (Attitude Control Motor) rockets for increased terminal agility. For mid-course guidance it uses essentially the same TVM (Track Via Missile) guidance as the MIM-104 Patriot, but for more accurate terminal homing, it is equipped with a Ka-Band active radar seeker. The PAC-3 missile is primarily a hit-to-kill vehicle designed to knock down incoming ballistic missiles with its kinetic energy, but it is also equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead to enhance the kill probability against "conventional" targets like aircraft or cruise missiles. 

agility[名詞] 機敏; 軽快さ; アジリティ;homing[形容詞] 家に帰る; 巣に戻る; 誘導装置を持つ;[名詞] 帰ること; 帰還; 帰巣性; 目標追尾;home[動詞] 家へ帰す; 家に帰る; 誘導する;

fragmentation[名詞] 崩壊; 分裂状態; ばらばらになること; 破砕; 分裂; 断片化; フラグメンテーション;

The operational testing phase of the PAC-3 missile began in late 2001, and Initial Operational Capability is currently planned for 2003 (four years after the originally planned date). Although the operational tests in the first half of 2002 were only partially successful, the PAC-3 missile was declared combat-ready in August 2002. About 40 missiles have been delivered to the Army by October, and current contracts cover the production of about 120 more. In March 2003, the PAC-3 was used in combat for the first time when it intercepted Iraqi short-range SSMs during the war in the Gulf. 

Designation Note: For unknown reasons, the PAC-3 has not yet received a standard missile designation (MIM-nnn) by April 2003, although it is now in operational service. 

Specifications
Note: Data given by several sources show slight variations. Figures given below may therefore be inaccurate!

Data for PAC-3:

Length 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) 
Finspan 51 cm (20 in) 
Diameter 25 cm (10 in) 
Weight 320 kg (700 lb) 
Speed Mach 5+ 
Ceiling 15000 m (50000 ft) 
Range 20 km (12 miles) 
Propulsion Solid-fueled rocket 
Warhead "Hit-to-kill" + blast-fragmentation 

Main Sources
[1] Hajime Ozu: "Missile 2000 - Reference Guide to World Missile Systems", Shinkigensha, 2000
[2] Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Website 

Rebuilt Enola Gay Unveiled in Washington 2003/8/19

It carried the most destructive weapon of World War II and now the Enola Gay, the aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, is going on display at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. 


   

The reassembled B-29 Superfortress was unveiled to the media on Monday in a hangar near Dulles International Airport at the museum's new annex which opens on Dec. 15. 

hangar[名詞] 格納庫;annex[動詞] 付加する; 添付する; 併合する; 着服する; 添加する;[名詞] 別館; 付加物; 付加;

"This airplane is a part of our history and it is a part of who we are," said Dik Daso, curator of the aeronautics division of the museum. 

curator[名詞] 館長; キュレーター; 博物館長;aeronautics[名詞] 航空学; 飛行術;

"First Atomic Bomb, Hiroshima, Aug. 6, 1945," are written on the side of the shiny aircraft, with its transparent cockpit nose and defensive machine guns strutting out of the tail. 

strut[動詞] 誇示する; 気取って歩く; そり返って歩く; 支柱で支える;

The Enola Gay unleashed an atomic bomb nicknamed "Little Boy," on the Japanese port city of Hiroshima, killing more than 140,000 people and leaving tens of thousands disfigured and suffering from lingering radiation illness. 

unleash[動詞] 発散させる; 爆発させる; ぶちまける; 皮ひもを外す;

The pneumatic doors to the "bomb bay" that once held the atomic weapon were swung open for television cameras but Daso said a decision had not been made on whether to leave them open when the plane goes on public view. 

pneumatic[形容詞] 空気の; 気体の; 圧縮空気で動く;

The bombing was carried out on a sunny day at 8:15 a.m. from an altitude of 31,600 feet. The Enola Gay was then used as the advance weather reconnaissance aircraft for the follow-up attack on Nagasaki that killed 70,000 people. Six days after that, Japan surrendered. 


Nearly a decade ago, an exhibit in Washington about the atomic bomb and the Enola Gay -- named after the pilot's mother -- was met with a storm of controversy because many U.S. veterans felt the Japanese were cast as victims of U.S. aggression. A smaller, less interpretive exhibit finally opened several months later. 

cast as : としてキャストされた

[動詞] 役を割り当てる; 向ける; 鋳造される; 投げる; 鋳造する; キャスティングする;

[名詞] 配役; 投げ込み; 抜け殻; 斜視; 鋳型; ギプス; キャスト;

interpretive[形容詞] 説明的な;

NO DETAILS OF CASUALTIES 

The current text for the Enola Gay exhibit does not include casualty figures from Hiroshima or show any photographs of the devastation the bomb caused. 

casualty figures : 死傷者数

[動詞] 考える; 計算する; 表す; 飾る; 理解する; 現れる; 目立つ; 考慮に入れる;

[名詞] 形; 姿; 人物; 図; 数字; 計算; フィギュア;

Daso told Reuters that death toll estimates varied widely and the exhibition space did not lend itself to a complicated display including details of the human cost. 


"Our role is to provide, artifact and restore it (the Enola Gay) as best we can and allow people to come to see it and let it speak to them. They can come up with what it means to them. I don't need to tell them," said Daso. 

The Air Force Association, which took up the cause a decade ago for veterans, said it approved of the new exhibit. 

veterans : 退役軍人veteran

[名詞] ベテラン; 老練家; 古兵; 古つわもの; 退役軍人;

"We believe that it is historically accurate this time and we congratulate the Air and Space Museum," said Napoleon Byars of the association. 


However, Japanese-American researcher Aiko Herzig said she had hoped scenes of the human impact could have been included. 


"I have no objections to the Enola Gay being reassembled but to see an aircraft without the story behind it is a waste of time. We need to remind ourselves about how terrible nuclear weapons are," said Herzig. 


With a wingspan of 141 feet and a gross weight of 137,500 pounds, the Enola Gay was too large and heavy to be housed at the museum's flagship building on the National Mall. 

The museum has spent more than 300,000 staff hours restoring the Enola Gay, which was one of 15 B-29s modified specifically for the secret atomic bomb missions. 

The planes were fitted with special engines, propellers and faster-acting bomb bay doors. They were also the first successful large-scale use of pressurized crew compartments. 

The plane was donated to the Smithsonian in 1949 and was stored at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland for a while before being disassembled in 1960 and its components taken to the Smithsonian's giant storage facility in nearby Suitland. 

 Arrests Foil Missile-Smuggling Plot 

Federal authorities said Tuesday they arrested three people and foiled an international plot to smuggle into the United States a shoulder-fired missile that could shoot down a commercial airliner. 

foil[動詞] 裏をかく; 未然に防ぐ; 箔を敷く;

A British man was arrested in Newark, N.J., after agreeing to sell a sophisticated Russian SA-18 Igla missile to an undercover FBI  agent posing as a Muslim extremist, according to a federal law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

N.J.[名詞] ニュージャージー;federal law enforcement official : 連邦法執行当局extremist[形容詞] 過激派の; 過激主義者の;[名詞] 過激派; 過激主義者; 極端論者;posing as : ふりをしている

undercover[形容詞] 秘密に行う; 秘密調査に携わる;agreeing to : ことに同意した

The arrest occurred Tuesday afternoon at a hotel near Newark International Airport, according to a second federal official. The man had just flown to Newark from London to close the deal, another U.S. official said. 

close the deal : 取引きをとりまとめる

Two other men, believed to be involved in money laundering, were apprehended about the same time at a gem dealership on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, the second official said. 

apprehend[動詞] 捕まえる; 理解する; 気づかう;gem[名詞] 宝石; 逸品; 珠玉; 玉;dealership[名詞] 商品販売権; 特約店;


The arrests were the result of a cooperative investigation involving U.S., British and Russian authorities. More arrests were possible, authorities said. 


The investigation began about five months ago when the Russians passed on to the FBI a tip that the arms dealer was shopping for weapons in St. Petersburg, Russia, said one law enforcement official. British officials, including the MI5 domestic intelligence agency, helped track the man's whereabouts. 

tip[動詞] チップをあげる; 内報する; 予想する; 先を覆う; 毛先を染める;[名詞] チップ; 先端; 頂点; 頂上; 秘訣; ヒント;

help

The understanding between the Briton and the undercover FBI agent who agreed to purchase the weapon was that the missile needed to be capable of bringing down a commercial airliner, the first official said. 

Briton[名詞] 英国人; ブリトン人;

The missile, which was inoperable, was built in Russia specifically for the sting operation and brought to the United States aboard a ship to make the deal seem real, officials said. The investigation included the expertise of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Secret Service (news - web sites). 

inoperable[形容詞] 手術できない; 実施できない; 運用できない;sting operation : おとり捜査

The British suspect does not appear to be connected to a known terrorist group. 


Authorities stressed that no specific, credible threat was connected to the alleged plot. 


None of the arrested men's names or the charges against them were immediately disclosed. Officials said initial appearances for the three were expected Wednesday morning in Newark federal court. 

[動詞] 課する; 請求する; 非難する; 買う; 告発する; 詰め込む; 充電する; 突撃する; 充電させる;

[名詞] 料金; 告発; 負担; 非難; 委託; 装填; 充電; 保護; 突進; 罪; 義務;

[名詞] 外見; 出現; 外観; 出席; 出場;


Justice Department  officials had no immediate comment on the case, which was under court-ordered seal. 


Concerns about terrorists using shoulder-fired missiles to shoot down commercial airliners increased in November when two SA-7 missiles narrowly missed an Israeli passenger jet after it took off from Mombasa, Kenya. Officials concluded that al-Qaida probably was behind the attack, which coincided with a bomb blast at a nearby hotel. 

narrowly[副詞] かろうじて; 狭く; 精密に;

Hundreds and perhaps thousands of shoulder-fired missiles — heat-seeking rockets that can hit low-flying aircraft within three miles — are said to be available on the worldwide arms market. Older missile launchers can be bought for as little as several thousand dollars. 

as little as : たった


Chechen rebels have used Igla shoulder-fired missiles against Russian military aircraft. Last week they used a missile to shoot down a Russian helicopter, killing three of the crew. And last year the rebels shot down a Russian troop-carrying helicopter, killing more than 100 people. 


The Homeland Security Department has asked U.S. high-tech companies to look into developing anti-missile technology for commercial planes. Critics in Congress say the agency is not moving quickly enough or spending enough on the project. 


Sen. Charles Schumer , D-N.Y., is backing a bill introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer , D-Calif., that calls for outfitting all of the roughly 6,800 planes in the U.S. commercial fleet with anti-missile defenses. The cost is estimated at $10 billion. 

outfit[動詞] 供給する; 装備させる;

"The danger of an airliner being shot down by one of these missiles is now staring the Homeland Security Department in the face," Schumer said. "The fact that DHS is planning to take at least two years to develop a missile defense prototype to outfit the U.S. commercial fleet verges on the dangerous." 

Meantime, the United States has sent experts to domestic airports as well as to airports in Iraq  and major capitals in Europe and Asia to assess security. The investigators are trying to determine whether the airports can be defended against shoulder-fired missiles. 

World leaders meeting in Evian, France, in June acknowledged the threat posed by shoulder-fired missiles and adopted a plan to restrict sales of the weapons. 

Army Announces Name For Interim Armored Vehicle 2003/8/1

interim[形容詞] 中間の; 合い間の; 間の;[名詞] 中間; 合い間; 間;

当座の, 臨時の, 仮の, 暫定(ざんてい)的な
an 〜 certificate 仮証書
an 〜 dividend [report] 中間配当[報告]
an 〜 policy 暫定的な政策.
【ラテン語 `in the meantime' の意】


On February 27, 2002, The Army formally named its new Interim Armored Vehicle the “Stryker” in a ceremony at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Stryker, the combat vehicle of choice for the Army’s Interim Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs), is a highly deployable-wheeled armored vehicle that combines firepower, battlefield mobility, survivability and versatility, with reduced logistics requirements. 

versatility[名詞] 多才; 多芸; 用途の広さ; 万能;

The vehicle was named in honor of two Medal of Honor recipients: Pfc. Stuart S. Stryker, who served in World War II, and Spc. Robert F. Stryker, who served in Vietnam. The Stryker will be a primary weapons platform for the IBCTs. It will assist the IBCT in covering the near-term capabilities gap between our Legacy Force heavy and light units. The Stryker-equipped IBCT will provide the joint and multinational force commander increased operational and tactical flexibility to execute the fast-paced, distributed, non-contiguous operations envisioned across the full spectrum of conflict.

in honor of : に敬意を表してPFC, Pfc.《略》 Private First Class 〔米陸軍〕 上等兵.capability[名詞] 能力; 才能; 手腕; 機能;near-term[形容詞] 近々の;contiguous[形容詞] 境を接している; 隣接する; 前後している;

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