RESCUE TOOL NEW DEVICE GUIDES SEARCHERS TO SURVIVORS.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - Senior Systems Technology, Boeing and the Air Force celebrated the delivery of the 500th combat survivor's evader-locator unit, designed to help retrieve pilots shot down behind enemy lines. The unit automatically transmits a downed pilot's exact location, provides a beacon for rescuers and allows for secure two-way communication Two-way communication is a form of transmission in which both parties involved transmit information. Common forms of two-way communication are:
``The survivor has a much better chance of being found,'' said Lt. Col. Thomas Kennedy Thomas Kennedy or Tom Kennedy could be:
Senior Systems Technology is under contract with Boeing to assemble the hand-held radio portion of the system. Program officials illustrated the problems of previous systems with statistics from the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars Persian Gulf Wars or Gulf Wars, two conflicts involving Iraq and U.S.-led coalitions in the late 20th and early 21st cent. The First Persian Gulf War, Jan.–Feb. . During the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. , the Air Force lost one member of a search crew for every 9.2 missions, while the Navy lost one crew member for every 1.8 missions. During the Persian Gulf War Persian Gulf War or Gulf War (1990–91) International conflict triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Though justified by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on grounds that Kuwait was historically part of Iraq, the invasion was presumed to be , five of the 10 downed U.S. pilots were unable to communicate with search teams and were captured. ``Now when a rescue team is dispatched Dispatched was a Swedish melodic death metal band formed in 1992 by Daniel Lundberg. Their sound is very similar to the older Gothenburg style of early In Flames. Biography Dispatched was formed just before New Year's Eve of 1991 by Daniel Lundberg and Krister Andersson. , they are armed not only with the precise location of the downed pilot; they also have the intelligence needed to perform the rescue with the proper planning and support ... to minimize the risk of harm to either the pilot or the rescue team,'' said Joseph Candella, Senior Systems Technology president. One of the most famous rescues of a downed pilot came in 1995 when Capt. Scott O'Grady Scott F. O'Grady (born October 12, 1965 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former United States Air Force captain who gained prominence after the Mrkonjić Grad incident, in which he ejected over Bosnia when his F-16C 89-2032/AV was shot down by a Bosnian Serb SA-6 on June 2, 1995 was retrieved from enemy territory during the Bosnian air war. What few people recall, program officials said, is that it took six days to pinpoint O'Grady's location. ``Six days is an eternity,'' Candella said. ``They need that information in six seconds.'' Pentagon Pentagon Huge five-sided building (1941–43) in Arlington, Va., that is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense. Designed by George Edwin Bergstrom, it was, on its completion, the world's largest office building, covering 34 acres (14 hectares) and offering officials want as many as 43,000 evader-locator handsets to be built for the Air Force, Navy and Army. The system is primarily for pilots and air crews, but could also be used by any personnel isolated behind enemy lines, such as special forces. Contractors are aiming at a target price of $5,000 per unit, putting the program at about $215 million. Candella said he expects the program to stay in production for a minimum of five years. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Lt. Col. Thomas Kennedy, right, holds the 500th hand-held radio portion of a new system to pinpoint pilots downed behind enemy lines. Joseph Candella, left, president of Senior Systems Technology, personally delivers it. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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