Why does it seem that weapons costs only go up? A Congressional appropriations panel thinks the answer has to do with contract management processes, and it wants to take a look at them as soon as the Fiscal 2006 defense spending bill is out the door. Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.), the chairman of the House appropriations defense subcommittee, made it clear in a talk with the newsletter Defense Daily that he’d like to have hearings on the matter early next year. He added the review would affect decisions for the FY 2007 cycle. All of which raises a question: After more than three decades of hearings, probes, investigations, witch-hunts, studies, and reviews, can one more hearing possibly make a difference
The new defense reconciliation bill includes $7.2 billion for Air Force and Navy aviation accounts, almost half of which will buy more F-15EXs. While electronic warfare, drones, connectivity and airlift all get attention, the F-35 was conspicuously absent from the package, with no explanation given.