The new Pentagon plan envisions spending in 2007 of $84.2 billion for procurement of weapons and other systems, with modest growth in the following four years. The follow-up amounts are $99.7 billion (2008); $109 billion (2009), $111.7 billion (2010); and $118 billion (2011). It is not likely that these amounts will be sufficient to cover the cost of force modernization about a decade-and-a-half long “procurement holiday.”
Facing competition from fast-growing startups, Lockheed Martin is speeding up production of an “affordable, scalable” hypersonic glide body, dubbed the Next Generation Glide Body, the firm said in a June 24 release.