Security Driving Wave of Defense Spending by Sean OíDriscoll The contrast between European and U.S. defense contractors is greater now more than ever. While U.S. forces are mopping up the last pockets of Iraqi resistance, the heads of Europeís three largest defense companies have drafted a letter to European leaders warning that large numbers of jobs are at risk unless governments substantially increase defense spending, saying that large increases in U.S. defense budgets have left U.S. companies far ahead of their European rivals. Back in Washington, however, the thought of Americaís three largest defense companies having to beg for contracts to keep up employment seems almost laughable, particularly in light of the proposed 2004 defense budget of nearly $380 billion. Not since the Reagan era have defense companies found business so easy, and itís reflected in the confidence of defense company forecasts...more... See Related Story: Iraqi Reconstruction Contracts Cause Trans-Atlantic Contention by Sean OíDriscoll USAID has awarded seven contracts worth $985 million for Iraqi reconstruction projects. With U.S. companies taking up the top positions, and subcontracting predominantly to U.S. and Middle Eastern companies, European contractors have strongly objected to these contracts, seeing them as a violation of international free trade rules...more...

Precision-Guided Weapons Star in High-Tech Warfare by Alan B. Nichols The plot could have been straight out of Hollywood. The go sign came shortly before 1:30 a.m. Baghdad time on March 19. Crack fighter pilots, nicknamed Tooms and Fuji, of the Black Sheep squadron in Qatar hopped into the cockpits of their F-117A Nighthawk stealth fi ghters and raced north. Destination: the Iraqi capital 700 miles and two hours away...more... Joint Operations Center Employed All-Digitized Battlefield in Iraq War by Alan B. Nichols Military historians may one day look back and proclaim that Operation Iraqi Freedom was a milestone in technological warfare. The operation was conducted from the forward location of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) located at Camp As Sayliyah 20 miles outside Doha, Qatar. As Sayliyah is a sprawling Army installment spread out over multiple acres that is home to numerous warehouses for materiel, mess operations and the billeting of soldiers. Gen. Tommy Franks, U.S. commander of CENTCOM, and his staff conducted the war from inside one of the buildings at the camp where the Joint Operations Center is located...more... Top 30 Defense-Oriented Companies