Penny Wise Meets Modest Risk:
Lawmakers lost no time challenging the Pentagon’s plan to cancel the Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine. At one of the first hearings on the new defense budget, Rep. David Hobson (R-Ohio) questioned Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about the risk involved, considering past problems with “sole-sourcing jet engines.” In Hobson’s view, “We’re being, frankly, penny wise and pound foolish.” To which Rumsfeld replied: “Previous experience indicated that any sole-source risk was modest and acceptable. And, it saves $1.8 billion.” Hmmm.
F-35 Deliveries Soared to New Record in 2025
Jan. 8, 2026
Lockheed Martin says it delivered 191 F-35 fighters in 2025—just ahead of the goal it set for itself at the beginning of the year as it works to clear a backlog of jets in storage.
