KEEP ’EM FLYING

In the world of aircraft maintenance, the old maxim "if it's not broken, don't fix it" is about to go the way of the horse and cart, thanks to advances in system prognostics and autonomic logistics. Helping spearhead the move towards an active approach to aircraft maintenance is a major C-17 Globemaster III support program initiative called Integrated Fleet Management.

The initiative is designed to bolster C-17 maintainability and availability while lowering operating and support costs. The C-17 IFM program is part of the overall Integrated Defense Systems strategy to understand the enduring needs of customers and provide value-added solutions that meet their requirements and increase the effectiveness of military systems.

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A veteran lineup

Alaska, often called "The Last Frontier," is perhaps the newest frontier for ballistic missile defense. Home to brown bears, Mount McKinley and the Northern Lights, Alaska is now also home to the linchpin of the American ballistic missile defense system with the construction of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense launch complex at Ft. Greely.

Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, as prime contractor for GMD, manages the construction of the missile silo field and ultimately will be responsible for integrating all the components of the GMD system to form the initial defensive capability the current administration requires in 2004. Concurrently, Boeing IDS and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency are working aggressively to meet this deadline. Central to that initial capability is the Ft. Greely site.

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The legacy of Syncom

Every capability delivered by The Boeing Company's satellites over the last 40 years descended from a spacecraft launched July 26, 1963, that measured approximately two feet high by two feet wide.

"Revolutionary" might seem a grandiose description for such a modest cylinder, but all subsequent Boeing satellites, most notably those that support lifesaving defense, weather-monitoring and intelligence applications, bear the legacy of Syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous communications satellite.

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