European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 24, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                H Friday february 24, 1989 the stars and stripes remains a b Page 5 my Brooks . Must not be lulled into complacency re no plot am it ar1/ u a  �. By Norman Black a military writer Washington the soviet Union appears intent on modernizing its naval forces and using arms control talks to seek advantages Over the United states the Navy s intelligence chief testified wednesday. The Effort is unfolding despite soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev s Effort to restructure the soviet Economy rear adm. Thomas a. Brooks the director of naval intelligence said. The Point Here is that we must be careful not to be lulled into complacency by a soviet politician of some cunning who spends As much time posturing for Western audiences As he does for his own at Home Brooks said. The Bear has not become a pussycat he remains a  Brooks appearing before a  of the House armed serv ices committee said it appeared Gorba Chev s internal Reform Campaign of perestroika would Cut defense spending in Hopes of bolstering Russia s civilian Economy. In making those cuts however the so Viets Are unlikely to harm their naval buildup Brooks continued. The soviets respect America s naval might and want to Blunt it he said. Indeed evidence suggests the production of modern soviet warships is not being slowed. Rather the soviets appear intent on saving Money by retiring older ships ear Lier and reducing the number of open Ocean exercises Brooks said. The question which must be asked snot How Many ships have they but rather How capable is their Navy to achieve its missions " Brooks said. With this As a measure any analysis of the soviet Navy today yields the conclusion that they Are More capable no than when Gorbachev came to Power even if some obsolescent units have Bee removed from the  Brooks said the soviets Are unable to locate or threaten american submarine carrying Long Range nuclear missiles. He said it is becoming More difficult to locate soviet submarines because they Are getting quieter thanks to espionage and technology theft. Brooks urged the subcommittee tallow expanded use of lie Detector machines in fighting espionage. I believe that background investigations alone cannot detect the greed and amorality which have characterized thespis of the 1980s," he said on other matters Brooks said the recent introduction by the Sovi ets of a More powerful compact nuclear Power module for use in space maybe the first critical step toward deploy ment of a space based anti satellite weapon by the mid-1990s." the russian work comes As con Gress has blocked Pentagon efforts to test an air Force developed anti satellite rocket. More and More developing coun tries appear intent on building or acquiring ballistic missiles chemical or biological weapons submarines and nuclear weapons. Besides the super Powers at least 13 countries Are trying to develop or have succeeded in devel Oping chemical weapons Iraq Iran China North Korea Taiwan Burma India Pakistan Syria Israel Egypt Ethiopia and Libya. Despite the cease fire in the Iran Iraq War both countries appear to be using the cease fire to improve their defences including construction of additional silkworm missile Sites by Iran. And there have been several recent and dangerous developments inthe International narcotics trafficking. West Africa is emerging As a transit Point for narcotics destined for Europe and the United states. And recent evidence suggests that traffickers in Mexico and Colombia Are upgrading their arsenals with military ordnance purchased on the Gray Market which May contribute to increased drug related violence and could pose a threat to . Personnel serving in those coun tries Brooks testified. Dod looking at Blimp of pro Fec Navy warships Bujea Mcnair Elizabeth City . A the defense department is looking to the Blimp As a possible pro Tector of warships at sea providing Early warning of enemy aircraft while remaining nearly invisible to radar. The Blimp played a similar role in world War ii but the Navy abandoned its airships in the Early 1960s, saying they were outdated. Now the Pentagon has ordered construction of a new Model 425 feet Long double the size of a conventional Blimp that will be the largest non rigid Airship Ever built. Equipped with powerful radar it will be capable of patrolling for Days without refuel ing. The Only Way anyone will really be Able to say whether or not a wide modern technology Airship would have benefits in the modern Navy is to actually have one that size that you go up and Fly on and try out your ideas with said Ron Hochstetler a technical support staffer for Airship industries. So Many of the ideas Are predicated on installing equipment that never existed before in the old Airship Days he said. British based Airship industries the world s larg est Blimp maker is making the $168 million Proto Type in a joint venture with Westinghouse electric corp. Hochstetler said it should be ready to Fly by Airship industries has built 13 blimps since it was formed about eight years ago including two sold to South Korea and Tokyo for police surveillance said Mary Lee Dickson Airship s assistant marketing manager in new York. The company sees a new generation of blimps being used not just for military surveillance but also for spotting drug smuggling planes monitoring Ocean pollution and taking tourists on sightseeing flights. The Airship can do things no other aircraft can Hochstetler said. We be just scratched the  while capable of flying As High As 10,000 feet it can evade radar by hovering close to the terrain. But it won t win Many races. Top Speed will be about 80knots 92 Mph. A Model of the prototype s three deck Gondola is under construction in a former Navy Blimp hangar built during world War ii outside Elizabeth City. It will contain sleeping berths for a Crew of 12 to 15, an exercise room refuelling gear and other equipment. Despite computerized flight controls and vectored thrust engines equipped with propellers that can be swivelled Airship pilots said the Blimp is harder to handle than other aircraft. To make it do what you want it to you really do have to work very hard said John Helliwell a for Mer helicopter Pilot. The plastic lined fabric Hull will be filled with non flammable helium. The rigid dirigible of the 1930s, such As the ill fated Hindenburg were filled with Hydrogen an explosive Gas. If the Blimp is fired upon it would remain afloat because it has Low internal pressure and the Gas would escape slowly. Even with a severe helium loss it would descend slowly rather than crash like an air plane or helicopter Airship said. More veterans health funds sought Washington a the House veterans affairs committee on wednes Day called for a $1.3 billion increase in the Bush administration s recommended budget for the new department of Veter ans affairs. The committee s recommendation tothe House budget committee 4.3 per cent More than what Bush submitted was approved 27-0. The bulk of the increase $1.1 billion would be devoted to medical care for which the president had sought $10.7billion. Officials of the veterans administration which gets upgraded to department status next month have said they will be $600 million Short for medical care in the current fiscal year but the administration has not sought a supplemental appropriation. The committee recommended a $520 million supplemental appropriation of which $432 million would be devoted to medical care for the current fiscal year ending sept. 30. Rep. . Sonny Montgomery d-miss., told the committee before the vote the budget committee must de cide whether to add $2.1 billion to Nasa s budget. Should we proceed to build a space Laboratory when so Many veterans health care facilities Are in Dir need of repair pan am to offer $99 special for Europe Etc of of to is / a to a a a new York a pan american has announced it is offering a $99 one Way fare $198 round trip from . East coast Points to some other cities in the United states Western. Europe an Central America. The airline said that passengers Raveling on pan am Between feb. 21 and March 3, on a ticket costing a least $ 160 for a round trip qualify to Purchase the special fares. To obtain these Cut rate tickets for use at a later Date they must submit their boarding pass and the ticket from their qualify ing flight to a pan am ticket office or travel agent. The $99 one Way fare is based on the Purchase of a $198 round trip ticket. Customers can use the special fares for travel starting Between april 4 and May 17. All Cut rate tickets must be Pur chased by March 3. On International flights a seven Day minimum 30-Day maximum stay applies. For Domestic flights a saturday night stay Over is required. The $99 fare to Europe is available on eastbound flights on sunday through wednesday and on westbound flight son monday through thursday. Week end travel is permitted for a $50 sur charge each Way. Pan am said it introduced the fares to stimulate passenger traffic during a period when travel is relatively Light. Competitor Eastern airlines threat ened with a possible strike March 4 by its machinists Union recently introduced super coupons offering passengers sizable discounts if they Fly after that Date. The coupons distributed to Passen Gers on Eastern s Domestic flights entitle passengers to one third discounts off any round trip fare of $200 or More for travel Between March 4 and March 22. Be tween april 5 and april 30, the coupons Are Good for a 20 percent discount. In the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. Feb. 24, 1949 British officials told the economic and social Council at the United nations that British Industry under the guidance of the european re covery program had raised production Levels to 20 percent above prewar figures. 30 years ago foe a. Feb. 24, 1959 meeting in Moscow British prime minister Harold Macmil Lan and soviet Premier Nikita s. Khrushchev approved working on a new cultural affairs treaty linking the two nations. 20 years ago today. Feb. 24, 1969 president Nixon was greeted by King Baudouin and other prominent belgian officials plus a few hecklers chanting Nixon go Home As he arrived in Brussels to begin a five nation european tour. 10 years ago today. Feb. 24, 1979 . Naval vessel Sand private ships carried out a seaborne evacuation of american citizens from Iran As the 12-Day-old revolutionary government announced its ninth execution of political criminals by firing squad