: Australia has delayed again its highest priority military purchase: new Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft. They had planned to fit radars on 737 airliners in a project dubbed Wedgetail. The Prime Minister and Defense Minister want the new radar planes, saying that the Royal Australian Air Force is crippled because it cannot provide its fighters with airborne radar backup. The problem is that the rest of the cabinet opposes the $1.17 billion program, wanting to spend the money on social programs.--Stephen V Cole