Entertainment, Computing and Warplanes for the American Dream of California

(To Leonardo Chiti)
21/04/17

The United States is commonly considered the country of great opportunities but also of strident contradictions. None of the States embodies these two sides of the American dream medal better than California and, in even more concentrated terms, its major urban centers.

With an area close to half of Lombardy and an almost double population (about 19 million residents of which over 4 million in the central municipality), the Greater Los Angeles Area is the first metropolitan area by extension and the second for US residents, at the shoulders of New York and in front of Chicago. Among the most famous neighborhoods of LA figure Beverly Hills, where there are the Hollywood villas of the stars of the cinema and show business, and the shops of the luxury brands of Rodeo Drive, the Fifth Avenue of the west coast.

At the same time, the city of angels has one of the highest crime rates in America, and has been the scene of violent revolts by the black population in the 1965 and 1992. In the aftermath of the first clashes, the Black Panther Party will be born, founded in 1966 in Oakland, on the east side of the San Francisco Bay, while, ironically, the serious spring riots of '92 (followed by images of the arrest of Rodney King and the acquittal of the policemen responsible for the relative beating), took place during the administration of the only black mayor in Los Angeles history, Tom Bradley, who still holds the record length of the mandate having been a citizen of the 1973 to the 1993.

Although in recent years the number of productions made in the Indian megalopolis of Bombay and Nigeria, has led to talk about Bollywood and Nollywood, the "dream factory" of Hollywood remains the most important and prestigious worldwide reference point for the entertainment, and during its history, which began in the mid-twentieth century, did not fail to contribute to the development of other important sectors of the Californian economy.

Silicon Valley's conglomeration of technological innovation is conventionally set at 1 Jan. 1939, in Palo Alto, near San Francisco, where William R. Hewlett (1913-2001), and David Packard (1912- 1996), in the latter's garage (now a museum), at the 367 of Addison Avenue, found Hewlett-Packard.

The first major order will come from the studios of Walt Disney Pictures that, in the same 1939, will purchase the oscillators for the synchronization of sound and image for the animated film Fantasy fabric. From that moment HP will be among the protagonists in the design and production of electronic equipment - voltmeters, ammeters, frequency meters, etc. - object of increasing requests from the film, telephone, radio and television and information technology sectors, with an important link to aerospace activity through radar and the creation of increasingly rapid and powerful calculation instruments.

Since the mid-80s the HP brand has become synonymous with printers but in its nearly eighty years of activity, the Palo Alto-based company has come to cover the entire production range of Information & Communication Technology, from calculators (office and paperbacks, for which he contended for the birthright and primacy in sales at Texas Instruments), personal computers (to which workstations and supercomputers will be added thanks to the acquisitions of Apollo Computer, in 1989, and Convex Computer Corporation, in 1995), right through to software development and data center services.

The 2015 marked the end of an era for Hewlett-Packard with the implementation of a restructuring-reorganization plan directed by the chief executive officer, Margareth Whitman (photo), which resulted in the cut of 30.000 redundant and the split into two companies: HP Enterprise specializing in management software and data center hardware equipment, led by Whitman, and HP Inc., which will focus on printers and PCs, with Dion Weisler at the top.

Despite the fact that it was one of the most complex split-up operations in history, combined with a decline in revenues and profits of 7,2% and 9,2%, in the 2015 Hewlett-Packard it was confirmed as one of the largest US groups by placing itself at 20 ° ranking of the US Fortune 500 and the 48 ° in the global version of the same ranking, with revenues for 103,355 billions of dollars.

The suburb of Anaheim (Orange County), in the southern part of the Los Angeles conurbation, was chosen in 1955 by Walt Disney as a place to build Disneyland that he himself will define: the happiest place on earth. Not far from this world capital of childish carefree (much appreciated by young and old), are the facilities of the Northrop-Grumman that in Redondo Beach (known for being one of the surf sanctuaries sung by the Beach Boys, where the tightrope walkers they try to emulate the protagonists of films like "A Wednesdays" and "Point Break"), has one of its main California locations along with those of Palmdale (in the north-east of the county of LA), and San Diego.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, John / Jack Northrop (1895-1981), despite not having undergone engineering studies, at twenty he was hired by Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Co. (which will become Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in the second half of years' 20), in whose offices he will work as a designer-designer for over two decades.

At the beginning of the 1939, in conjunction with the foundation of its company, Northrop collaborated with Donald Douglas on the design of the best American bombardier from World War II, the Douglas SBD Dauntless. This two-seater propeller-driven single engine entered into service in the 1940 in the ranks of the air force boarded, was also used by the USAAF under the designation A-24.

The first major projects for the newly formed Northrop see the light in the 50 years in the training sector, with the parallel development of the N-156F models, which later became F-5, and N-156T, later renamed T-38 Heel.

Developed on the private initiative of the company to propose it to the US government as a tactical fighter, also aiming at exportation, the F-5 made the first flight 30 July 1959 and in the 1962 the Pentagon chose it for the assignment to the MAP (Military Assistance Program), with the designation Freedom Fighter. Following entry into service with the USAF, a squadron, consisting of a dozen aircraft, was sent to Vietnam, as part of the Skoshi Tiger program, which included evaluation tests - conducted between the 1965 and the 1966 - in missions of tactical support that earned him the green light for supply to the South Vietnamese air force.

In all versions the F-5 was built in around 2.600 specimens and its main training role by the USAF and the US Navy concerned the role of attacking aircraft during combat simulations.

The debut flight of the T-38 - the first supersonic trainer - took place on 10 on April 1959. Entered into service with the USAF in the 1961 and employed in the advanced stage of the training of pilots, this twin engine was built in almost 1.200 specimens, being also acquired by the air forces of Portugal, Taiwan and Turkey, as well as the US Navy. Thanks to various modernization interventions, with replacement of avionics and cell regeneration, it should remain in service until the change with the aircraft that will win the race in progress for the development of a new trainer in the framework of the TX program.

Jack Northrop's design ambitions were so innovative that they were considered visionary for most of his life. The first drawings relating to the aerodynamic concept of "flying wing" or "aircraft tuttal" seem to go back to 1929, which involved the construction of an aircraft without fuselage and empennage.

It will be necessary to wait until the 80 years for the full recognition of the aeronautical talent of Northrop, with the appearance in the skies of the B-2 strategic stealth bomber Spirit, whose operational capacity includes missions with both conventional and nuclear weapons.

Lo Spirit is certainly a flagship of aerospace technology made in the USA, although paid dearly for that mechanism that in cases of "superstar" programs (think for example to destroyers) Zumwalt), turns out to be perverse since, in order to limit total costs, the production target is lowered, thus making it impossible to benefit from significant economies of scale, which raises the unit cost, which for the assembled 21 B-2 has attested on the 2 billions of dollars.

The low radar observability of this "invisible bomber" is the result of the use of special construction and coating materials (absorbing radar paints), combined with sophisticated aerodynamic shapes in which the projections have been limited to the presence of the passenger compartment (which houses the two crew members), and of the four engines, elements designed to obtain a profile that is as smooth as possible.

Lo Spirit the first flight was the 17 July 1989 (photo) and in the 1993 it was delivered to the USAF, while the baptism of the fire arrived in the spring of 1999 with the outbreak of the Kosovo War. During the operation Allied Force, officially ended the 20 June of the same year, the B-2 showed off its qualities of strategic bomber (low traceability and great autonomy), carrying out a series of missions that, using the refueling in flight, came performed directly from the Whiteman base in Missouri.

Another protagonist of the American aerospace industry was Leroy Randle Grumman (1895-1982), whose company, in the years' 60, has linked its name to the realization of the lunar module used by NASA for the Apollo project.

Born in Huntington, New York, after graduating in engineering in the 1916 and a first training as a pilot, Grumman joins the Loening Aeronautical Engineering Co. in New York in the role of aircraft construction supervisor. When in the 1928 the Loening is acquired by another group that moves the plants in Bristol, Pennsylvania, Grumman decides to stay in New York and together with a group of colleagues he founded the Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co., which in the 1969 will become Grumman Aerospace .

From the very beginning the newly created aeronautical company will be able to assert its innovative capacity with the XFF-1931 1 construction, a Navy fighter with retractable landing gear and a closed cockpit consisting of a real cockpit. two characteristics not so common at the time.

During the Second World War Grumman will make a major contribution to US aviation, starting from FXXUMF Wildcat which flew for the first time the 2 September 1937, then entered online at the US Navy in December 1940, after the acquisition in the previous months by the British Navy who nicknamed him Martletthat Wildcat was produced in 7.800 specimens and despite being inferior to the Japanese fighter Mitsubishi A6 (the famous Zero), however, he did his part until the appearance, in the 1943, of his replacement, the F6F Hellcat, who had made the first flight on 26 June 1942.

Equipped with a more powerful engine, an armored interior and characterized by better performance in terms of maneuverability, attack strength and persistence in action thanks to the increase in operating range (2.100 km compared to the 1.240 of FXXUMXF), and the ability to load (both for bombs and ammunition for 4 machine guns from 6 mm), theHellcat it was built up to the second half of the 1945 in over 12.000 units.

Subsequently, the F8F arrived to complete the "feline" trilogy Bearcat (photo), which made the first flight on 21 1944 August and entered service at the US Navy immediately after the conclusion of the second world war. Although due to the end of hostilities its production was limited to 1.260 specimens, for its performance in terms of handling and speed (especially regarding the rate of climb), the Bearcat It is considered the best pistol hunting aircraft ever.

During the Korean War, the flagship US aircraft was the F9F single engine Panther whose inaugural flight was the 24 November 1947, with subsequent entry into service in May 1949, to be then produced in 1.300 specimens. During the war the Marines and the US Navy used it mainly as a ground attack fighter but managed to get the better of some air combat actions.

In Vietnam it was the turn of the A-6 Intruder, a boarded bomber bomber, with a high load capacity (over 8 t), and advanced avionics whose radar and inertial navigation systems allowed to detect and hit targets in the absence of visibility. After the flight of the first prototype the 19 April 1960, and the entry into service in the 1963, its production has exceeded the 700 specimens in the various versions: A-6B for the anti-radar attack, A-6C for the night and KA- 6D as a tanker, while the model specialized in electronic warfare was called EA-6B Prowler.

The 21 December 1970 occurred the first flight of the plane that Hollywood made a movie star: the F-14 Tomcat. Among other things, just in California, near San Diego, there is the base of Miramar, headquarters of the training school for tactics of maneuvered aerial combat and the bombing of the US Navy, known as Top Gun. The corresponding USAF facility, called Red Flag, is located at the Nellis base in Nevada.

The performance of this supersonic board fighter with variable geometry wings, and its equipment - in particular the standard variant of the D variant, between the AWG-9 radar and the AIM-54 air-to-air missile Phoenix, with active guidance, that is equipped with its own radar, capable of a speed close to 4,3 Mach with an operating range of over 200 km - they made an aircraft significantly higher than any other in fleet protection. The deliveries of the F-14 started in the 1972 and in total 712 were produced, while in the 2001 their replacement with the F / A-18s began Super Hornet, which is completed in the second half of the 2006.

In 1994, with the acquisition of the New Yorker Grumman by the Californian Northrop, the two companies have joined forces consolidating their role as protagonists in the Defense sector. With reference to the most recent projects, a NG license proposal in the drone sector with the strategic reconnaissance project could not be missing Global Hawk (photo), employed by the USAF in Afghanistan since the end of the 2001, as part of the Operation Enduring Freedom.

In the 2007 the company of Falls Church (in Virginia, where the headquarters was established after the merger), was awarded the contract for a reconnaissance, surveillance and attack aircraft, related to the Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration program, US Navy.

Characterized by low observability and called X-47B, in 2013 carried out take-off and maneuvering maneuvers performed autonomously, same operating mode with which in April 2015 was the protagonist of the first refueling "self-managed" by an unmanned aircraft (Autonomous Aerial Refueling).

Finally, on the basis of a request for proposal issued in July 2014, in October of the following year the contract was awarded to Northrop-Grumman for the development of a strategic stealth bomber with conventional and nuclear war capacity, named B-21 Raider (image).

According to the world ranking of the first 100 enterprises of the Defense industry drawn up by SIPRI, the NG in 2015 confirms its 5 place, with 20.060 millions of dollars in military turnover (up compared to 19.683 2014), on a 'total business of 23.256 million (so the share in charge of the Defense is the 86%), 1.990 million of profits and 65.000 employees.

California has become the ultimate expression of the "melting pot" with stars and stripes, and its historical cosmopolitan vocation has originated a specific local variant of the American dream that often did not show itself in tune with the point of view, and the interests, compatriots residing in the other States of the Federation.

California has also contributed to the occurrence of some phenomena that we, here in Michigan, do not see with much pleasure. One of these is the boom in imports. Californians buy more import cars than citizens of any other state. In addition, the very strict anti-pollution provisions were born in California, which has become almost a foreign country (Lee Iacocca, “An autobiography”, Sperling & Kupfer, 1986).

In fact, the first ecologically inspired measures go back to the mandates of Pat Brown (photo), the predecessor of Ronald Reagan at the helm of the Golden State from the 1959 to the 1967, and father of the current governor Jerry Brown. This environmental legislative momentum has not prevented California from becoming the home of Hammer "junkers" and one of the world's areas with the highest circulation rate of pick-ups and SUVs, all vehicles that are not just low consumption standards and reduced environmental impact. ideal for lovers of the "green" lifestyle that, on their trips out in the open in nature, do not want to renounce the comfort, performance and ostentation of their social status, offered by cars of generous size (but with captivating lines ), and large displacement.

However, the most interesting cue is given by the accusations of esterophilia moved by Iacocca to Californian motorists who, preferring foreign brands, would betray the sound principles of a dutiful economic patriotism, which is none other than one of the many names and the thousand faces of protectionism .

The inescapable necessity, to save Chrysler, of recourse to a federal guarantee of 1,5 billions of dollars (for an effective use of 1,2 billions, sum readily returned in 1983, with 7 years in advance), marked the conversion of Iacocca, until at that time fervent supporter of the free market and of the goodness of the Darwinian selection mechanism that distinguishes it, to the belief of the state intervention in the economy.

It is a fine example of that pragmatism considered a characteristic feature of the Anglo-Saxon mentis form (which Winston Churchill claimed by stating: I prefer to be right than to be consistent), but that is actually part of the "tools of the trade" of whoever heads a state or a company, it being understood that: the indispensable tactical flexibility must be guided by a clear and effective strategic vision, without the which, the pragmatic adaptation ability tends to expire in amateurism.

In reality, protectionism and liberalism can not exist in the pure state and are combined in different doses that are not the emanation of convictions of principle but of opposing interests, connected in turn to the international economic cycle that unfolds unequally, which leads to the advocates of free private initiative and state interventionism to constantly remix in relation to changes in the framework of power relations.

As a theory of the strongest, liberalism tends to prevail when the main competitors (or at least their majority), can guarantee a market share deemed satisfactory, while those who are in a disadvantaged state invokes aid and protection of the state. During the slowing down of the world economy, protectionist pressures re-emerge, which can be moderate in the event of a slight downturn, strong in the face of a sharp slowdown and so serious as to compromise the international order in the event of a global recession, especially if prolonged.

This dynamic not only affects the relations between powers but also between the sectors that make up the economic fabric and, within these, the orientations of the companies, which will be protectionist or liberal with different gradations, depending on the respective capacity or possibility. to take advantage of the relationship with the international trading system.

Although, as emerged at the beginning and in the final part of the 2000 years, the technological samples of Silicon Valley (photos) are certainly not immune to the crisis, on the whole (as pressed by new competitors such as the Chinese Alibaba and Huawei) , still maintain the leadership of one of the most dynamic sectors of a world economy that, for the 2017, the OCDE and the IMF estimate growth of 3,3% and 3,5% respectively.

The situation is quite different big three Detroit cars that have gone through multiple critical phases in the history of restructuring started in the 70 years, and which show greater difficulty in coping with the pressure of international competition. It is well understood why the big "dotcom" groups of California could not look favorably at the proclamations of the presidential candidate Donald Trump (not by chance readily tempered by the new president in his first meetings with the top management of Silicon Valley companies), which instead they sounded good to the ears of the Midwestern industrialists and their workers.

The ruling class of a nation must show itself capable of representing at best the plurality of centers of interest that make up its social stratification, coming to synthesize a general political line. In the United States this function took the form of mediation between the particular aspirations of the regional areas, an expression of the differentiated trend of the various economic cycles of development and crisis. Managing the confrontation between the different inclinations of economic policy of large US regions has always been the most challenging internal test bench for the Washington government.

In the presidential consultation last November, the 55 great electors of California (along with those of the entire coastal West), went to Hillary Clinton, while in Michigan, as well as in much of the Midwest, Donald Trump prevailed, also awarded by decisive passage in the republican field of nearby Pennsylvania, former world steel epicenter and already beneficiary of protective tariffs for steel made in the USA.

If there is a measure of economic policy - an adequate territorial division and federal budget allowing - that historically proved able to coagulate around the government a social block of majority consent in all key areas (from the Great North to the West Coast , passing through the South), this is constituted by a strong increase in military spending included in a broader public investment plan.

We will see if, and to what extent, the announced "surge" of funds for the Pentagon from 50-60 billions of dollars, within a state intervention program for 1.000 billion, will help "make America new big ", thus ripping a further extension on the times of US decline.

What is certain is that the California war industry will play a leading role in this attempt, with inevitable repercussions for the Silicon Valley net-economy, a branch of military technological research that has become a supplier of the Defense sector, and where they are located (in particularly in the Sunnyvale area), also the laboratories of some companies in the sector including Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.

(photo: Northrop Grumman / USAF / US Navy / web)