The US Department of Defence late last week formally announced the well-flagged $588m five-year programme to turn the US into a player in the flat panel screen industry. The Pentagon’s excuse for funding the effort is that it wants to put small displays in planes, ground weapons, live-action battlefield maps in combat headquarters, even in soldiers’ helmets. The seed money is to persuade majors such as Xerox Corp and AT&T Co to enter the flat-panel business. Four competitions next year will decide winning consortia; aliens are not excluded.
UNCLE SAM PUTS UP $588m FOR FLAT PANEL DEVELOPMENT
