Sequestration and the onerous effort required to do government contracting is causing many Air Force suppliers at the second tier and below to “walk away,” Boeing Defense President Chris Chadwick said Wednesday. Speaking at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Md., Chadwick said “they’re walking away for a number of reasons: sequestration, budget cuts,” and the fact that “the cost of doing business with the US government is not for the faint of heart.” Suppliers are “choosing to go … where the market’s more stable (and) the opportunity has more upside.” For Boeing, this has meant pulling suppliers into the company, also known as vertical integration. Also, “we’ve established new suppliers. There are often opportunities, especially in the small/disadvantaged business arena, where we can team with entrepeneurs and new businesses to create new capabilities,” he said.
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
