July 23, 2001

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WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

Airlock Mission Challenges Atlantis, Station Astronauts

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER The shuttle Atlantis and International Space Station crews last week successfully installed the outpost's 6.5-ton Boeing/NASA airlock and at least 1.5 tons of supporting systems, completing Phase II of station assembly.

By CRAIG COVAULT

WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

Operational Missile Defenses Face Massive Test Hurdles

HUNTSVILLE, ALA. Flush with funds for additional testing and product development, U.S. military leaders still face huge test requirements before being able to field even a rudimentary version of its planned layered missile defense architecture.

By ROBERT WALL

WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

USAF Kills Key Intel Effort

WASHINGTON The U.S. Air Force has decided to cut its losses on a critical signals intelligence program being developed by BAE Systems because of cost increases and schedule delays. The turmoil involves the low-band subsystem, the communications intelligence component of the U.S. Air Force-led Joint Airborne Sigint Family (JSAF).

By ROBERT WALL

Pentagon Embraces Murky Missile Defenses

HUNTSVILLE, ALA. Although the Pentagon plans to spend millions of dollars on new or reinvigorated missile defense technologies, many of those projects still haven’t been defined in great detail for even the military services that may be involved in them.

By ROBERT WALL

WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

Eclipse 500 Maneuvers To Keep Target Price

WASHINGTON Eclipse Aviation Corp., yielding to financial pressures created by increasingly risk-averse capital markets, expects to certify and deliver the first Eclipse 500 aircraft later than planned. Despite stretching out the development program, the company appears to have made substantial progress in the last six months in its quest to build an entry-level business jet priced at $837,500. Among the most notable strides:

By ANTHONY L. VELOCCI

Aerospace Profits Generally Strong

NEW YORK The Boeing Co. last week posted a 27% jump in secondquarter earnings on 4% higher revenues, while General Dynamics Corp. reported an 11% increase in earnings per share on 13% higher revenues. Raytheon Co. incurred a net loss of $67 million, or 19 cents a diluted share, compared with net income of $49 million, or 14 cents a diluted share, in the second quarter of 2000.

By ANTHONY L. VELOCCI

WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS

Spanish, Belgian Plans Boost Europe’s Milsats

PARIS Europe has further beefed up its rapidly expanding military telecom and recce satellite network with a pair of agreements involving Spain and Belgium. Spanish satcom operator Hispasat said last week that it would build and deploy two spacecraft for the Spanish ministry of defense and other government users in Spain, the U.S. and elsewhere, in association with Space Systems/Loral and various partners.

By MICHAEL A. TAVERNA

Defense Budget Trapped In Tax Cut/Deficit Bind

WASHINGTON The Democrat-controlled Senate Budget Committee claims the Administration will have to repeal at least part of its $1.3-trillion tax cut to finance a full defense recovery. The budget panel’s chairman, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), warned last week that a string of annual deficits, 2002-07, will reach as high as $55 billion and not fall below $22 billion.

By PAUL MANN

July 162001

July 302001

July 23, 2001

July 23, 2001

Western Performance, Eastern Price

By DAVID M. NORTH

Rumsfeld Implacable On B-1 Bomber Curbs

By PAUL MANN