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But since you seem to be curious about who really profits from Israeli defense spending, I'll give you a hint: They are not Israelis at all. Want to profit from Israeli defense spending yourself? Those companies are hiring like crazy right now. A buddy of mine just got a kick-ass job at Raytheon.

Or did you think Israel was building fighter jets in a garage behind the Kenesset building?

Who cares about the electromagnetic emission for tracking? As soon as an artillery projectile comes above the horizon, it can be tracked with microwave anti-artillery radar, and its origin determined by analyzing the ballistic trajectory. The technology is already here.

1) Usually similiar to window-rattling thunder.

2) Well, according to the Northrop Grumman site , they used sensors to measure the difference in loudness and they hoped that with further study, they could "produce a noticeably quieter sonic boom." Therefore, I'm guessing it wasn't reduced by a large factor, but the very fact that they *can* reduce it via aircraft design is rather significant.

Submited on september 6, 2003:

Northrop, working with the Pentagon and NASA sucessfully tested a "quiet" supersonic flight wednesday at California's Edwards Air Force Base. In the tests, an F-5E aircraft with a modified nose section flew supersonically through the test range, shortly thereafter, an unmodified F-5E flew supersonically through the same airspace, with the sensors showing a clear reduction in the intensity of the sonic boom produced by the F-5E modified fuselage.

Along similar lines, Northrop Grumman is working on a naval uninhabitted combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) of their own. Take a look at their 'Pegasus' here.

The idea is that these things could be placed in storage and then pulled out only for when combat is imminent: pilots would be unable to tell the difference between simulator and real combat. Obviously, some random testing of the equipment is needed, but expensive training gets a whole lot easier and cheaper.

Finally, keep in mind, at this point they are going to be used for SEAD (supression of enemy air defenses) and precision strike, not air-to-air combat. That will be another 20 years off. Bandwidth is a killer in that application.

Along similar lines, Northrop Grumman is working on a naval uninhabitted combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) of their own. Take a look at their 'Pegasus' here.

The idea is that these things could be placed in storage and then pulled out only for when combat is imminent: pilots would be unable to tell the difference between simulator and real combat. Obviously, some random testing of the equipment is needed, but expensive training gets a whole lot easier and cheaper.

Finally, keep in mind, at this point they are going to be used for SEAD (supression of enemy air defenses) and precision strike, not air-to-air combat. That will be another 20 years off. Bandwidth is a killer in that application.