Weapons makers have 'conned' US military into buying expensive equipment, Army Secretary says [View all]

Large defense companies have "conned" the U.S. military into buying expensive equipment when cheaper commercial options would have been available, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said.

Government accountability advocates and some lawmakers have long argued that defense contractors have overcharged the military. But Driscoll's comments were unusually blunt for a sitting government official speaking out against companies that supply the largest military in the world.

" (The) defense industrial base broadly, and the primes in particular, conned the American people and the Pentagon and the Army," Driscoll told reporters, referring to prime contractors that work directly with the government.

...

Previously, the Army has said that a Lockheed-owned Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter screen control knob that costs $47,000 as part of a full assembly could be manufactured independently for just $15.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/weapons-makers-have-conned-us-military-into-buying-expensive-equipment-army-2025-11-14/

Well, whaddaya expect when Congress lards up the Defense budget with hundreds of billions more than the contractors asked for? They aren't gonna leave that kind of money laying on the table...