ABSTRACT
As the Cold War drew to a close, defense firms large and small began to step up sales to earthbound nondefense customers in the federal government, as well as to state, local, and even foreign governments. Some of these companies sold a variety of mundane products to civilian government agencies. The transportation sector offers defense companies one of their biggest opportunities in nonmilitary government markets. With the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, President George Bush set in motion a long-range program combining modern communications, electronics, and information processing to create a national transportation system that would carry people and goods safely and efficiently. Compared with surface transportation, the skies are friendlier. TRW, like Raytheon, is a major defense contractor whose nondefense business with government agencies is expanding. In 1990, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chose TRW to lead a sophisticated multicompany effort to mesh complex navigation and surveillance systems.
