Looming defense cuts will undoubtedly interrupt military supply chains and end up costing the government more money in the long run, according to one of the defense industry’s top executives.
Joanne Maguire, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems, told Reuters in a recent interview that while critical satellite programs will likely be spared from an estimated $500 billion in cuts, the industry could still be left reeling—and the U.S. government will end up footing the cost.
Reuters reports:
Maguire said military space programs were so essential to national security needs that they would likely survive the $500 billion in cuts, if Congress is unable to find alternate deficit-reducing measures.
She said it was clear that those cuts would affect mainly procurement and development programs, but there was no "quick fix" that would minimize their impact.
Lockheed and other major U.S. defense contractors are scrambling to shore up their weapons programs and find alternate sources of revenue given an expected decline in defense spending after a decade of sharp growth.