"Contractors expect a slowdown after 8 boom years; Many foresee drop in spending on the military" by Dana Hedgpeth, Washington Post | October 14, 2008
WASHINGTON - At the Walter E. Washington Convention Center last week, Army soldiers, Pentagon weapons buyers, and defense company representatives milled about a cavernous trade show floor for a look at the latest military equipment and gadgets.
Huge tanks sat beside armored trucks and machine guns. In one aisle, a stack of fake sandbags were arranged around a free cappuccino stand sponsored by KBR, one of the biggest government contractors in Iraq.
The annual exposition - put on by the Association of the United States Army - is one of the largest industry shows of its kind in the country, and the bustling convention floor was a testament to the success of an industry that has enjoyed steadily rising sales over the last eight years.
Translation: WAR LIES PAY!
But the mood at the show was hardly celebratory. Rather, Topic A was whether those good times would continue. Many assumed they would not.
Attendees worried a new administration may be forced to cut back on defense spending as the nation strains under a global economic crisis and as presidential contenders talk about the eventuality of bringing troops home. Major weapons systems built by the likes of General Dynamics, of Falls Church, Va., or Lockheed Martin, of Bethesda, Md., are likely to face new scrutiny.
Yeah, sure they are. I'm so sick of being lied to by these shit War Dailies!
No one is expecting a dramatic drop in next year's Pentagon budget, there is a widespread expectation that spending will begin to level off. Many contractors have begun to prepare.
With nearly 60 percent of its $42 billion in annual sales coming from the Defense Department, Lockheed Martin is pursuing other areas of business to compensate for any slowdown in defense spending. For the past eight years, the company has tried to expand its information technology services business.
In recent years, Lockheed has landed multiyear contracts with such agencies as the National Archives, the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Institutes of Health to help manage records and to do other support services. Lockheed also plans to expand the services it provides to peacekeepers in places such as Sudan.
So Lockheed gonna be another Blackwater, huh?
"Our strategy is to leverage our core capabilities in adjacent markets," said Tom Jurkowsky, a Lockheed spokesman. He said the company's chief executive Robert Stevens often calls the company a "global security company," as opposed to being just a defense contractor.
Bob Trice, senior vice president of Lockheed's business development unit, said the defense industry will probably see fewer new weapons programs. For Lockheed, "we're already laser-focused on [information technology] and we will continue to be and we'll do the same with logistics and maintenance."
AmeriKa's only product: WAR!
