tl;dr:
Inflation played havoc with cost estimates […] Pandemic-driven supply-chain challenges and labor shortages […] Executives of U.S. defense contractors tried to reassure investors they wouldn’t chase projects that presented high risks for cost overruns.
Understandable, gov can say “I will buy 100 planes at $750M each”, but it costs you $1B each, so you say no thanks
That’s what a contract is. In promise to pay and you promise to deliver. Would the corporations only accept $650M each if it ended up costing them $100M less to make each one? No, of course not, they’d bill the full $750M because that’s what they bid. Finding out that you underbid or under negotiated is a risk of contractual business.
Corps need to put their big girl panties on and deliver. Maybe pay the executives less next year instead.
Maybe national security industries shouldn’t be in the hands of private enterprise?
But I was told America’s MIC had infinite resources?
