A defense industry meeting in New York City earlier this month offered dire comments from DOD officials and industry executives as to the future state of defense budgets. According to a Dec. 27 New York Times replay, Ryan Henry, the Pentagon’s No. 2 policy man, told the crowd the budget of the past few years can’t be sustained. Boeing executive James Albaugh acknowledged that it “had been a great ride for the last five years,” but everyone knew the upcoming budgets would be flat. Albaugh predicted that the future would be “less about innovation and more about cost control.” In other words, it’s déjà vu all over again.
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.
