A JOB WELL DONE BAE SYSTEMS' AIR TANKER PROGRAM ENDS IN MOJAVE.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer MOJAVE - BAE Systems BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. delivered its 278th modified KC-135 air tanker to the Air Force on Tuesday, ending a program that had employed as many 300 workers. BAE Systems delivered the last tanker in a luncheon ceremony honoring its employees and partners, inside the giant Mojave Airport hangar where the work was done. ``What is a big deal is we are ahead of schedule and under budget,'' said 1st Lt. Josh JOSH Joshua JOSH Job Scheduling Hierarchically Fagan, the Air Force's program manager for the work. ``We have more reliability and more mission capability.'' Done under a $58 million contract, the modifications included installing a new navigation system A GPS-based electronic system in a car or truck that provides a real time map of the vehicle's current location as well as step-by-step directions to a programmed destination. See GPS and vehicle tracking. that replaced 1950s-era gauges and uses global positioning satellite system signals, eliminating the need for a navigator See Netscape Navigator, Netscape and Norton Navigator. Navigator - Netscape Navigator . That is called Pacer CRAG, for Compass, Radar and Global positioning satellite. By reducing the tanker's flight crew from three to two, the Air Force expects to save about $2.5 million a year in manpower costs. The Air Force also expects to see savings totaling millions of dollars resulting from reduced maintenance times. The new cockpit This article is about the flight deck of an aircraft. For other uses, see Cockpit (disambiguation). A cockpit is the area usually nearer the front of a piloted aircraft from which a pilot controls the aircraft. instrumentation instrumentation, in music: see orchestra and orchestration. instrumentation In technology, the development and use of precise measuring, analysis, and control equipment. will allow pilots to view several functions through multifunction glass displays rather than having to look at a number of instruments to get the same information, Fagan said. With the global positioning satellite system, pilots can identify their position anywhere in the world within a few yards. The precision will allow aircrews to perform their missions more efficiently, saving fuel. The radar system will also provide improved weather information, alerting aircrews to possible weather hazards. Tuesday's ceremony was bittersweet bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. for the company and its workers. While it had performed well on the contract, awarded in February 1999, the company had to lay off workers as the program wound down this summer. At one point the company employed nearly 600 workers at its Mojave plant with about 300 of them working on Pacer CRAG. Employment is now around 250. Company officials indicated they hoped for follow-on work, but refused to discuss any prospects for future contracts. ``I hope to see the hangar filled up with airplanes rather than with luncheon guests,'' said Bob Swanson There are several well-known men named Bob or Robert Swanson:
In thanking the Mojave workers, Jim Modig, BAE Systems vice president and general manager, called the Pacer CRAG effort ``the most successful program we've ever had here.'' ``We hope we'll see a program like this again and touch these aircraft again,'' Modig said. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour AV edition only) Steve Anderson, program director at BAE Systems and other dignitaries view the 278th and last modified KC-135 air tanker delivered to the Air Force. (2 -- ran in AV edition only) Two of the employees who worked on the KC-135 air tanker program have their picture taken in front of the plane. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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