European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 9, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 9 George lev Oil a Carpenter holds a dec online oversize Racquet he has just re for those who would love a big serve. Paired for the Parks and recreation do vandals damaged the three Yard Lonn club Lum Winter but thanks to part mint of Winnipeg Manitoba Racquet during a break in at a dry Tennis the Racquet is Back in service. Soviet tank upgrading called blow to nato by Norman Slacka military writer Washington the soviet Union has upgraded its tanks facing Europe with a defensive technology annl strips is a to of much of its ability to Slop conventional invasion a Pentagon consultant said wednesday. The technology itself so called re Active Armor is not new and has been studied for years. Likewise the appear Ance of such Armor on soviet tanks also has been reported in the past. What is Only now becoming apparent however is that the russians have embraced the technology in a sweeping fashion equipping an estimated 6,000 main Battle tanks in just the past i months according to Phillip a. Karbor i can t think of a soviet conventional technology in the last 20 years that has come on so fast with such profound implications for the military balance Tarter said. While reactive Armor cannot protect a Lank from a High velocity round fined by another Lank it can provide Protection against the Mobile anti tank missiles Suchias the Tow and dragon Karbor said. In the Case of the Western farces arrayed opposite the soviet Union and its allies such Ami tank missiles have been embraced for the past decade As the Best Way to make up for the soviets huge turn circa sup Norijo in. Tanks a Al most 3-10-1 advantage. Essentially it nullifies a decade Osnato investment in infantry anti tank capability an investment that was not cheap to procure and will be even More costly to replace Karber said. Conservatively 95 percent Osnato s infantry anti tank capability is Hurt by soviet reactive  Karbor is a vice president and Genera manager for National Security programs at the bpm corp., a Large Pentagon consulting firm based in Mclean a. A for Mer Marine and congressional aide Karbor has served on the army science Board and is considered an Eippert on nato and Warsaw pact conventional farces. His review of soviet tank developments is contained in a Long interview published wednesday by the Trade mag Azine armed forces journal. The 10 Page transcript was published just a Little More than a month after the Pentagon released its latest annual assessment of soviet military Power including the firs picture of a tank equipped with reactive Armor. That Pentagon review contains a sin Etc Sirius ice Slat ing that extensive deployment of reactive Armor threatens to shift fundamentally the conventional Force  soviet deployment of reactive Armor does not threaten a fundamental shift it is a fundamental shift Karbor said adding the unclassified Pentagon review was understating the problem. In outward appearance a uni equipped with reactive Armor looks nor Mal except fora series Small rectangular Bones ringing its Hull. Each Box is filled with an explosive. When a missile such As the Tow strikes a tank it ignite the reactive Armor which in turn explodes Back at the warhead deflecting its Impact. The newest tanks built by the West such As the american my the British challenger and the German Leopard 2 employ n different defense against Soldier fired anti tank missiles Karbe noted. The " Are made from scratch wit Harmor fashioned from a combination of steel and various composite materials the importance of the soviet move is not in the Type of Armor technology he have selected Karbor said but in the fact they have decided to employ one Al All. Given their numerical advantage in tanks. The significance of soviet reactive Armor is that it is Here today in the Field and our countermeasures Arent Barbei said. People Are bothered because re Active Armor has been deployed in such Large numbers so  the soviet Union and its Warsaw pact allies have about 17,000 Battle tanks deployed to Forward lines in Cen trial Europe of which about 9,500 Are russian Karbor said. While not detail ing his sources he said it appears that about 6.000 of those russian tanks have been equipped with reactive Armor in the past in months. The soviets pulled off a qualitative transformation of one third of the War saw pact Lank Fleet within months rather than the years which previous patterns would have  the Pentagon declined any immediate reaction wednesday to Karbor s statements. Spain s airline workers plan 5 Days of strikes Madrid Spain up employees at Sale run Iberia and Avico airlines thursday announced five Days of strikes starting May 20, but railway workers called off stoppages after reaching wage agreements. Airline Union spokesman said All night wage talks ended in an impasse Early thursday with officials of Fering a s.8 percent increase. The 22,000 ground workers and flight attendants at the two airlines have staged four walkouts since March 27 and Are demanding a 6 percent increase. Airline unions said strike Calls for May 20, 21 and 22 and june 4 and 5 would go ahead As planned unless an agreement is reached. Workers at stale controlled airlines railways ferries and Sii ways have been staging sporadic 24-hour strikes since March Over demands for wage increases beyond the socialist government s 5 percent guide lines the Fittl on wages is aimed at curbing last year s s percent inflation. Workers at the slate controlled Renee railway com Pany called off three Days of regional strikes due to begin Friday after accepting a 5.7 percent wage increase. A wort to Rule strike at Iberia and Avico which began april 23. Has forced the cancellation of mar than 40 flights and caused delays of up to two hours in departures