Most people simply don’t understand that aerospace talent is not “fungible,” said Wes Bush, Northrop Grumman’s CEO. In answering questions from the audience during his talk at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference on Monday, Bush said most industries can hire extra design workforce when it’s needed, lay off the workers when they’re not required, and hire new people when they’re needed again. “That’s not the way it works” in aerospace, he said. “It takes sustained understanding of how these things work”—stealth, propulsion, electronic warfare, among them—to advance the state of the art, he said. One of the key challenges in coming years will be how companies “bridge” their design talent from one project through a long hiatus until the next one comes along, said Bush. He told the Daily Report after his speech that there “would be a real negative impact” on industry’s ability to design stealth aircraft if the Air Force’s Long Range Strike Bomber is delayed “another year or two” because the design talent will evaporate away to other industries.
Pentagon Releases Cost of Living, BAH Rates for 2026
Dec. 30, 2025
The Pentagon will pay cost of living allowances to 127,000 service members in the continental U.S. in 2026, an increase of 66,000 members in 2025. Airmen and Guardians across the U.S. will also receive an average increase of 4.2 percent for their Basic Housing Allowance, compared to the 5.4 percent…
