Americans, Israelis eye joint satellite project

American and Israeli defense firms hope to team up in designing
tactical military satellites. The Northrop Grumman Corp. said
this week that it and Israel Aerospace Industries plan to pitch the
idea of small spy satellites to the Pentagon, which was troubled by
China’s field testing in January of a missile designed to shoot down satellites. The initiative would involve creating several satellites at a cost of $175 million to $200 million each. The satellites, which weigh
less than 800 pounds, could be deliverable within two years of being ordered.