Word: aircraft
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...prospector who stumbled out of the mountains that ring the Arizona desert might be forgiven for trying to blink away a mirage. Below, on the hot sands near Tucson, shimmers probably the largest collection of aircraft ever assembled in one place in the history of the world. Some of the 6,000 vehicles are arrayed in neat rows that seem to curve off to the horizon; others swarm and cluster like a plague of monstrous locusts. Spread over 2,500 acres is an air armada that seems big enough to start World War III or, judging by the vintage...
Ideally situated in the warm, dry climate of Arizona, the base opened in 1946 as a storage place for battle-worn Air Force squadrons; since 1965 it has accommodated surplus Army and Navy aircraft as well. By now the inventory ranges from workhorse World War II C-47s to sleek F-111 fighters, from two-seater orange "bug smashers" on which the Army trained its chopper pilots for Viet Nam to dozens of "Super Jolly Green Giant" helicopters that flew Viet Nam troop-carrying and rescue missions. Some are there because they are not needed now, and others because they...
...equally important job of MASDC is selling off surplus planes either to friendly foreign governments or on the open market at periodic public auctions. Business is brisk. Among the buyers are airplane dealers, corporate agents, crop-dusting outfits and aircraft-leasing operators. Foreign customers have included Honduras, Peru and the Republic of China. No bombers are sold no matter how friendly the foreign government, and thus far, Gronewald points out, there have been no sales to any Arab countries. "The Arabs buy new," he observes. Last year MASDC salvaged $206 million worth of spare parts; sold, donated (to federal...
...spread of Communist influence in Southeast Asia. Neighboring Thailand, presumably the next endangered domino, is well equipped to resist Vietnamese influence. Communist insurgents in the northeast have achieved little so far, and Thailand has sufficient economic and military strength-including 25,000 U.S. military personnel and 350 aircraft-to successfully counter any threat from outside...
Washington lifted its decade-old arms embargo on Pakistan, paving the way for Islamabad to buy antitank and anti aircraft missiles, as well as multipurpose fighter-bombers, on a cash basis. In return, there is speculation that Pakistan may give the U.S. a naval base at the Arabian Sea port of Gwador...