Pentagon Misses Hypersonic Deadline, Keeps Getting Your Billions
The U.S. Army, Bloomberg notes, has 'once again' failed to field its top-priority hypersonic weapon. (Funny how some failures are rewarded with more funding, isn't it?) This technological stumble follows a predictable pattern of defense contractors consistently under-delivering while simultaneously securing increased appropriations from Congress. Historically, programs like the F-35 Joint Strike
Fighter have blown past budgets and deadlines for decades, still collecting billions, yet somehow this never seems to slow the gravy-train for Lockheed Martin or Raytheon—the very companies profiting from these delays and endless 'research.' Instead of accountability, these missed deadlines often become justifications for more money, more 'urgency,' and more congressional hand-wringing. One might
wonder, how many hypersonic missiles could a nation buy for the price of, say, universal healthcare or comprehensive infrastructure repairs? But then again, those programs don't enrich the same political donors. (A quick glance at OpenSecrets.org would reveal who benefits most.)