Loren Thompson, a senior defense analyst with the Lexington Institute, notes that, if all plans remain unchanged, by early next decade, the Bush Administration will have closed production for all major military aircraft. Speaking Tuesday at the AFA Washington conference’s industrial base forum, Thompson said that defense industrial base issues are “simply … not a priority” for the Bush Administration.
This year’s Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting buzzed with talk of countering the rapidly evolving drone threat facing the entire U.S. military, including the Air Force. Leaders and defense industry officials discussed the need for new approaches to procurement and employment of a new class of these…