CompuServe Messages

If you think Clinton is ordering any new planes, I have a big surprise for you. The F-15 line is still open only because MD got a large order from Saudi Arabia. The F-15 and F-18 lines are shut, and F-16 production is either shut also or is about to. (I think they got an order from somewhere too) Once the lines shut for good, the same problems arise as with new designs. Few people outside the industry realize just how many small, specialized suppliers it takes to allow production for any major program, and how difficult some of these parts and systems are to build. Especially since in small quantities it isn't really worth the trouble. It isn't a question of Lockeed going out of business, it is all their suppliers. It was a constant battle to maintain the supplier base even three years ago, and I expect it has gotten much worse now. Without production of significant quantities of NEW items, the ability to make ANYTHING will simply evaporate. And with the shrinking of the military, (remember, what you don't think is happening fast enough) there are almost no orders for even OLD items. As for people in Congress not telling anyone this, the knowledgeable ones have been saying it ever since Clinton's initial budget almost eliminated new procurement, and axed most development programs. You, like the administration, just weren't listening. -Karl