Britain has ordered 232 Eurofighters, Germany 180, Italy 121 and Spain 87. With 620 planes, the Eurofighter has the largest number of orders for any fighter in development. That can only help sell the fighter in countries that might question the cost predictions on a plane that now flies only as a prototype.

Eurofighter Aims to Challenge Dominance of Lockheed Jets

LONDON – In Europe, it is revered as a fearsome, lethal aircraft – the newborn pride of a defense industry that had fallen on hard times. In the U.S. defense industry, it is considered Europe’s answer to Lockheed Martin’s F-16 – two decades too late.

U.S. Space Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command are at a facility built inside Cheyenne Mountain, near Colorado Springs. It is the former NORAD Combat Operations Center, built in 1961 to hide ballistic missile command operations during the Cold War.

From High in Space, GPS to Guide Attack on Iraq

WASHINGTON – They aren’t much on sound and fury, but the Pentagon’s constellation of satellites whirring around in space could be its most potent weapon in an attack on Iraq.

The high court has offered little hope in recent years for those who want to maintain affirmative action programs aimed at reversing the effects of past discrimination. Last year, the court imposed limits on affirmative action in federal contracts.

Supreme Court Asked for Help in UT Racial Diversity Case

WASHINGTON – Saying the University of Texas Law School gains from “racial diversity in its classrooms,” the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court yesterday to strike down a lower court ruling that would end race as a factor in admissions. The department filed a 21-page brief in support of the state of Texas’ appeal of…

The court is expected to rule in the case by July. American began the AAdvantage program in 1981. It offers free tickets to air travelers who earn AAdvantage miles, either through flying on American or doing business with selected American associates, such as car rental companies or hotel chains.

High Court Hears American Frequent-Flier Case

WASHINGTON – Travelers angered over changes in American Airlines’ frequent-flier program should not be allowed to sue the carrier in state courts, a lawyer for the Fort Worth-based company argued before the Supreme Court yesterday.

"The situation in Texas is especially troubling," wrote Justice John Paul Stevens, whom Justices David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer joined in dissent.

4 High Court Dissenters Blast Texas Death Sentencing Law

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court let stand a Texas death sentencing law yesterday, but four dissenting justices said it “unquestionably tips the scales” against defendants.

Clinton called back attack planes last month after Saddam vowed to comply with U.N. inspectors. The president said he made clear "that if Saddam failed to cooperate fully, we would be prepared to act without delay, diplomacy or warning."

U.S. Missiles Rain on Iraq on Eve of Impeachment Debate

WASHINGTON – After a year of military threats, the United States launched a prolonged attack on Iraq, unleashing more than 200 cruise missiles as punishment for Baghdad’s refusal to allow the destruction of its chemical and biological weapons.

Chevy Volt

Yesterday’s event in Texas Stadium drew more than 140 dealers from the Southwest region, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and New Mexico. Photo: General Motors Corp.

The Arlington and Willow Run plants, GM sources and analysts say, are the subject of an internal review at GM to find out which facility could end up producing the company’s full-size, rear-wheel-drive cars. Photo: General Motors Corp.

In November 1989, GD acknowledged that F-16 production had fallen as many as 20 planes behind schedule because of production problems. The problems cost GD millions of dollars in delayed government payments, contract adjustments and overtime pay. Photo: U.S. Air Force

If GD sells all the assets it has put on the block, it will go from an $8.75 billion company (by 1991 sales) to a $6 billion company – if its remaining businesses continue at their current sales rate, which is unlikely in today’s defense spending climate.

While Ford, Chevy and GMC once ruled in full-size trucks, entries from Dodge and Toyota will fuel competition and maybe even force other companies to enter the battle. Photo: Chrysler/FCA

The controversy is rooted in part in the high cost of launching multimillion-dollar satellites.

The Air Force has begun to give all its personnel more time off after lengthy assignments abroad. For example, a 90-day stay in Bosnia will now earn a two-week vacation upon return. A 45-day deployment will result in a week off.

To equal or surpass the F-22, the Russians would have had to have made significant advances in their fighter technology.

The prospect of Supreme Court vacancies is worrying some conservatives, legal experts say, because Republican presidents appointed the three jurists who are considered most likely to retire – Rehnquist, 72; Stevens, 76; and O’Connor, 66.

Satellite service providers such as DirecTV and EchoStar, the biggest satellite broadcasters, have tens of millions of subscribers across America.

Lawmakers have been searching for ways to deal with the bills the Pentagon will face just after 2000 when it will attempt to produce three fighters at the same time, the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-22 stealth fighter and the F/A-18E/F. The combined cost of producing the Joint Strike Fighter and the other two planes has been estimated at $400 billion.