Speaking at a San Francisco conference on Tuesday, Boeing Chief Financial Officer James Bell proclaimed optimism that the proposed merger of Boeing and Lockheed Martin space launch services would go through. The Air Force and the Federal Trade Commission recently questioned whether projected savings would indeed materialize. (DR, 9/15/05) Bell believes federal regulators will approve the United Launch Alliance by next year.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.

