"... Rather than procuring 48 planes per year for 10 years, why not 36 per year for 13 years? .." Or how about forcing military aircraft producers to use small

"... Rather than procuring 48 planes per year for 10 years, why not 36 per year for 13 years? .." Or how about forcing military aircraft producers to use smaller domestic partners to do subassembly, thereby "unbundling" the purchase? This would also create higher unit costs, but would also create an ecosystem of small manufacturers. I agree there is a strategic problem at play here, but the answer is forcing more competition instead of paying more to huge conglomerates. Manufacturing is set to take off over the next decade or two, and it's not going to be BigCo manufacturing. If we wish to address this strategic problem, we need more emphasis on mom and pop manufacturing.