a system to allow surveillance planes or satellites to track moving targets, something existing bombs and missiles cannot do with precision. The system uses airborne radar that tracks a target and provides the information immediately to missiles in flight.” On the contrary some major defense companies are battling it out to be the primary defense supplier. Business Week reports that ‘ Boeing is bracing for yet another big blow because Lockheed Martin is positioned to beat out Boeing for the largest defense contract in US history. For Boeing, losing the JSF would come at a bad time: It’s already cutting 30,000 jobs at its commercial aircraft division in the wake of the WTC attacks. Winning the JSF contract would have restored 6,000 jobs in Seattle and St. Louis. Lockheed’s Ford Worth Factory, which now builds F-16s, would likely need up to 9,500 new workers if the company wins the contract. Losing the JSF will mean Boeing likely will turn into the military’s supplier for large cargo and refueling aircraft, while Lockheed becomes the sole builder of fighter jets.”There are a variety of ways in which the attacks are immediately affecting the demand for air travel, including through the fears of further terrorist attacks involving airlines, and through the impact on unrestricted spending which arises as consumer confidence declines. The IATA press release reported that “ In a monthly fall of a size not seen since the immediate aftermath of the Gulf War, more than 10 years ago, passenger traffic on the international scheduled services of IATA airlines declined 17 percent in September, compared to September 2000, and as a result showed no growth in the first nine months of the year. Carriers were unable to adjust their seat supply quickly enough; the passenger load factor fell from 78 percent in August to 69 percent in September.” The New York Times did a breakdown of the economic costs ...
