The Pentagon announced on Oct. 26 that it had awarded a contract to build a new generation of fighter jets (the Joint Strike Fighter, JSF) to Lockheed Martin Corp. over Boeing Co. Standard&Poor's ratings on Boeing (AA-/Watch Neg/A-1+) remain on CreditWatch following that development. The JSF contract, potentially the largest defense contract ever awarded, is expected to be worth more than $200 billion over the next two decades. While the loss of the JSF competition will clearly diminish Boeing's currently strong business position in the defense sector in the long term, it is not expected to have a major cash flow impact in the short term. The military action in Afghanistan has boosted demand for some of Boeing's
