BOSTON The U.S. Army Missile & Space Intelligence Center at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., has obtained the Russian equivalent of a Patriot missile system for evaluation at a time when China is modifying these S300s (SA-10s) for export to third world nations. A chartered Volga-Dnepr Airlines Antonov An-124 landed at Huntsville International Airport one night last month, disgorged its cargo of one Russian SAM system into the hands of U.S. government officials and closed its doors by daybreak.

NEW YORK Investigators at the U.S. Air Force's Wright Laboratory are poised to begin evaluations of an advanced, swept-blade fighter/attack engine fan with projected performance levels that are expected to rival the 1997 goals for the Defense Dept.'s Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Technology initiative.