According to Driscoll, major defense suppliers including such giants as Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman and Boeing, repeatedly inflated the costs of the solutions provided. He pointed out that the government had partly contributed to this situation by creating mechanisms that allowed companies to charge “astronomical prices”. An example of such practices, he said, is the knob for controlling the screen of the Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter, which costs as much as PLN 47,000 as part of the set. USD, although the price of its production is only USD 15.
Driscoll emphasized that it was time for change.
“The system has changed. You will no longer be able to do this in the United States Army,” announced the Secretary of the US Army.
His statement was one of the harshest comments ever made by a government official towards leading suppliers of equipment to the US military.
The Pentagon is taking steps to reform the procurement process. In the face of growing global threats, the US military plans to improve technology acquisition, focusing on cooperation with smaller companies that offer more competitive solutions. As revealed by Reuters, it is planned to purchase at least one million drones in the next two to three years. Instead of traditional defense suppliers, the army wants to work with commercial drone manufacturers.
Read also: The US Army is facing a revolution. Americans rely on drones
The pressure on the defense industry has also been increased by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who in recent weeks called for an end to opposing the Right to Repair Act. This act is intended to allow the army greater flexibility in repairing equipment, which could significantly reduce the costs of its use.
