European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 24, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Ild Les Only for Eriety of areas to i tonal udis Are interested in buying a huge package of . Weapons including f-15s, Apache helicopters m1 tanks multiple launch rocket systems Patriot missiles and possibly Bradley fighting vehicles. Fish said he thinks the saudis need to increase the strength of their ground forces threefold Over the Long term. Quot they were not even Able to provide screening forces for our troops that went in Quot he said. The saudi government has relied on Quot Royal diplomacy Quot Over the years buying off the threat posed by aggressive neighbors fish said but recent events have proved that system no longer works. A the Middle East is More stable right now because of the Allied Victory Over Iraq. Fish said however that Quot the Region remains basically unstable and there s still a need to deter aggressors in the he predicted Quot a slow buildup at a fairly steady Pace Quot in the saudi Arsenal As opposed to huge purchases All at once the Speed with which saudi Arabia buys new. Military merchandise could be delayed by its commitment to pay off a portion of operation desert storm expenses for several countries a a Tab that runs into the billions he said. A a. The Ltd executive said president Bush s arms control proposal is Quot eminently sensible Quot although he added that it will be difficult to get an International consensus on All aspects of the . Fish s prediction is that restrictions will be agreed upon for surface to surface missiles and other weapons of mass destruction but the United states and other nations Quot will agree to disagree Quot on the most conventional a arms. A a. A. A. A a a one concern expressed by several defense contractors in Paris was that a list of prohibited weapons will be drawn a up that unfairly lumps strictly defensive weapons with More dangerous offensive ones. Raythelon for example is making the pitch that the Patriot missile is a defensive system that could bring greater stability to the Region if it were More widely 1 deployed. I l. A the Patriot is on the shopping list of at least seven Middle Eastern states the company a spokesman said Quot because it was deployed quickly and performed Well in a harsh environment Quot. V fish said the key thing to watch is whether the Bush. Administration Sticks to its guns and continues to support arms sales to Friendly nations in the Gulf. A. Recent indications Are that Bush in t wavering from that stand. Earlier this month defense Secretary Dick. A Cheney announced a plan to sell 20 Apache gunships to the United Arab emirates and eight to Bahrain a Deal Worth about $500 million a. Cheney said at the time that the United states can t fall into the trap of saying Quot arms control Means we done to provide any arms to the Middle East a Cheney said the Bush administration wants a to make certain our friends can defend a / despite such talk some defense companies Don t see the seeds of a sales Bonanza in the euphoria Over the Gulf War. They Point to the fact that peace has broken out in Europe troops and weapons will be needed to balance a diminished soviet threat. Quot the War was important but its effect will be limited Quot said Peter Oram president of the Grumman corp. Aircraft division in Bethpage n.y., which manufactures several aircraft that were used by air Force and Navy against Iraq. A. The . Defense budget is still the dominant Factor controlling the Fate of american defense firms and Quot it shows no signs of reversing trend a he said. A the War has t done anything to change the locked corp. Touts its f-117a stealth fighter As a High tech Star at the Paris air show. Marketing military merchandise Madison Avenue techniques at Paris air showy Randy Mcclain financial writer Jack Gordon co designer of the sr-71 spy plane and executive vice president of the Lockheed corp. Research group that designed the f-117a stealth fighter wants a show of who liked the music Quot Gordon asks. Quot who did t like it Quot v a h,.a, Gordon a questions Are directed to a room full of journalists who have just finished watching a Short film promoting the stealth aircraft and technology at the 1991 Paris air show. No words Are spoken on the movie s soundtrack As the angular Black fighter. Sweeps through Wispy Clouds and dives Low Over Stark terrain a jazz Rock score conjures up images of Grace and Power. Gordon s company which still can t talk very much about How it built the radar evading air plane is doing its Best to show off its design skill without giving away military secrets. The stealth fighter Veteran of 3,000 sorties during the persian Gulf War is being marketed to an admiring Public a s a High tech Star to rival the flesh and blood image of Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf the commander of operation desert a storm. Lockheed s promotional Campaign in t Bob Browning of Mcdonnell Douglas corp. To show up on National 7v, but the company s film illustrates How defense firms Are stumbling Over each other to grab postwar glory based on How their air planes and equipment performed against iraqi forces. Nowhere was the advertising Blitz More apparent than at the Paris air show which ended its 11-Day run sunday. British aerospace for example showed a Gulf War video at its corporate exhibition ionizing its Raf Tornado aircraft and the land Rover All terrain vehicle. The land Rover is referred to in the film As Quot the Unsung hero of the Gulf a. Two British aerospace spokesmen said the company simply wanted to illustrate that its vehicles performed Quot in an exemplary a athe . Army also dabbled in self promotion in Paris with its display of the Boeing ch-4.7d Chinook helicopter and other hardware. The Chinook was on View a few. Hundred feet from the stealth fighter in a Static display area where other air Force fighters and Navy electronics. Hamming planes were parked a Quot i am a Veteran of desert storm Quot a printed sign in front of the transport helicopter announced to passers-by.,"my. Primary Mission was transportation and disbursement of fuel in support of a battalion of ah-64 Apache attack helicopters. I flew 50 sorties and spent 175 hours in the air i was available for duty 100 percent of the time. I am the Gulf War theme dominated the Paris air show and aircraft manufacturers said there was a Good reason for it. Quot the positive effect of the War is that we be demonstrated to a very cynical . Population that we the hell we re doing and that taxpayers Money in t being wasted Quot said Peter Oram president of the Grumman corp s aircraft division. Quot for years defense contractors had the reputation of Gold plating everything and nothing works Quot Oram said. A Quot nov the message is we do exciting things and we do them Well Quot. That message was delivered in Paris not Only by defense. Continued on Page 16 monday june 24, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 15
