That's a "healthy response" to Pentagon cutbacks, said one consultant.

Pratt & Whitney depends on military contracts for about 35 percent of its business and has been trying to shift its operation to more civilian products to offset Pentagon cutbacks.

Radical changes in either could do more harm to the Long Island economy than any Pentagon cutbacks.

Teledyne is the larger company, with 1995 sales of $2.6 billion, but its stock price has lagged as the company has adjusted to Pentagon cutbacks.

The organization hopes to prompt more thought about how Pentagon cutbacks can actually further economic growth, countering those who marshal economic arguments against a leaner military.

But sharply rising arms exports have partly offset the Pentagon cutback, and President Bush has helped the process, authorizing two recent sales.

E-Systems, a maker of sophisticated military electronics, appears to have eluded Pentagon cutbacks with earnings expected to grow an average of 15 percent a year through 1991.

Military contracts account for about 35 percent of Pratt & Whitney's business, and the company has been trying to shift its operation to more civilian products to offset Pentagon cutbacks.

While announcing the assistance program, state officials released the results of two years' study on New York State's reliance on Pentagon spending, the fallout of Pentagon cutbacks.

McDonnell has lost almost 10,000 jobs in the St. Louis area in recent months because of company and Pentagon cutbacks.