President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday met with a team of military leaders, including Air Force leaders and acquisition officials. The team included Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson, Air Mobility Command chief Gen. Carlton Everhart, F-35 program executive Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence Lt. Gen. Jack Weinstein, according to a pool report of the briefing released by Politico. Other military leaders included Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William Moran, Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. James Syring, Navy acquisition head Vice Adm. David Johnson, and Naval Sea Systems Command chief Vice Adm. Thomas Moore. Trump said after the meeting he was “trying to get costs down,” primarily of the F-35.
Earlier this week, the People’s Republic of China confirmed it is halting its nuclear arms control talks with the U.S., in retaliation for the U.S. continuing to sell arms to Taiwan. The move reinforces a “pattern of behavior” from Beijing, experts say.