The Trend Continues
Picked up from Barnett, this WSJ story illustrates the continuing shift from acquiring the few and the expensive to the cheap and the many.
Key snip:
The revised supplemental budget proposes to take $923 million from Air Force aircraft programs, including $389 million for two JSF planes, $388 million for five Lockheed-made C-130 cargo planes, and $146 million for a new tilt-rotor aircraft made by Boeing and Textron Inc.’s Bell Helicopter unit. The Navy would lose $375 million for five EA-18 aircraft built by Boeing and Northrop Grumman Corp.
Funds are instead flowing towards more armor kits, transport vehicles, and personnel. Expect to see more op-eds from Air Force advocates talking about the need to recapitalize the force after 15 years of continuous operations. Folks will be looking for some way to stem the hemorrhaging.
Tom around the web
Pride of place goes to a couple of weblogs that got tagged as ‘Thinking Bloggers’. Both China Law Blog and Asia Logistics Wrap were selected AND recommended Tom as a thinking blogger. Congratulations, guys, and thanks. + Long-time contributor TM…
Trackback by Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog — March 25, 2007 @ 7:10 pm