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The article deals with the issue of the effectiveness of radars and stealth aircraft. It cites the development of a new generation of stealth that will be seen in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the U.S. Navy's new Unmanned Combat Air System. It discusses the development of the active electronically scanned array radars by the U.S., French, British and Russian governments.

This article reports that French citizens are evacuating the Ivory Coast after being terrorized by rioting crowds, spurred on by government agitators, who destroyed homes and businesses in retaliation for a French attack on the nation's small, newly acquired and mercenary-piloted air force. The French military destroyed most of the Ivory Coast air force's Sukhoi Su25 Frogfoot attack aircraft and a number of Mil Mi-24 attack and Mi-8 transport helicopters that were purchased from Belarus only about six months ago. A senior U.S. official says French strike aircraft deployed from Chad and Gabon made the assault. The breakdown of the ceasefire is expected to aid Al Qaeda and other informally linked Muslim fundamentalist insurgent groups who use the less populated areas of the Sahara Desert's periphery to organize, equip, train and generate their own attacks in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Presents news briefs related to defense aeronautics as of November 3, 2003. Development of a demonstrator weapon by aeronautics firm Boeing Co. for the U.S. Joint Common Missile competition; Likelihood of lease of Boeing 767 tanker airplanes by the U.S. Air Force; Information on the expansion of reserve force of the French all-volunteer army.