An unbroken cycle of consolidation in the US defence industry has created an industrial oligopoly of five "super primes" that are increasingly guilty of strangling competition, innovation and value for both the American warfighter and the taxpayer.
That is perhaps a pessimistic synopsis of a new report issued on 6 August by the Defense Science Board, but not an unfair one.
The report by the advisory panel contains an alarming indictment for both how the US Department of Defense chooses to buy military supplies and the increasingly anti-competitive practices used by its suppliers.
It should be no surprise that the board's task force looks offshore to find at least part of the solution.
In an era of rampant US consolidation, the injection of foreign suppliers has provided in many cases the only alternative to a sole-source contract for the Pentagon patron.
The US defence industry no longer possesses the wide swathe of skills and technologies needed to support a modern-era military, neither is it structured or incentivised to respond to a war against insurgents and terrorists.
Encouraging foreign firms to compete in the US market on an equal playing field with domestic companies is one of the best options available to the DoD and should be embraced.
Source: Flight International