- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
Pentagon fights defense industry consolidation
The big-spending Pentagon opened a campaign Tuesday against the consolidation of defense contractors, saying competition has dwindled as arms suppliers merge and supersize.
In an official report, the Department of Defense (DoD), which has a budget of $768 billion this year, said the shrinking number of suppliers threatens national security and limits the potential for developing new technologies essential to future warfare.
The report said the department needs to make concerted efforts to boost smaller companies, noting they generate more patented innovations than larger companies but can lack the financial strength to survive the department's often years-long procurement process.
"This is a national security concern, but it's also a major economic concern," said a senior government official in a briefing for media.
"Consolidation also threatens the small businesses that are critical to our economy over the past decade; the number of small businesses in the defense industrial base has declined by 40 percent," the official said.
The report noted that today just a handful of giant companies dominate supply to the US military: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman.
That group has shrunk sharply through the two decades of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Since the 1990s, the number of aerospace and defense prime contractors has narrowed from 51 to just five, the report said.
Suppliers of major weapons system have also fallen sharply in number.
Producers of tactical missiles have declined from 13 to three, fixed-wing aircraft suppliers fell from eight to three, and satellite makers have dropped from eight to four.
"Such consolidation leaves DoD increasingly reliant on a handful of companies for critical defense capabilities," the report said.
"Small businesses spur innovation, producing 16.5 times more patents than large firms, and form the next generation of suppliers to support the DoD mission," the report said.
Without action, it said, the Pentagon could lose 15,000 more suppliers over the next decade.
Pentagon officials said they would work with government antitrust regulators to combat consolidation.
The report came out just as Lockheed Martin withdrew its $4.4 billion takeover bid for Aerojet Rocketdyne, which produces rocket engines, after the Federal Trade Commission took action last month to block the merger on antitrust grounds.
L.K.Baumgartner--CPN