Miloch wrote in
:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-a...131400075.html

The Pentagon's annual budget request is a shopping list featuring some
of the most sophisticated, cutting-edge technologies available on the
planet. But one item that stood out in this year's request was the
military's embrace of a 1960s-era fighter jet that the Air Force said
it intends to acquire in significant quantities in the years to come.

The Air Force has proposed buying up to 80 Boeing (NYSE: BA) F-15
fighters at a total cost of nearly $8 billion over the next five
years. The F-15 was developed by eventual Boeing acquisition target
McDonnell Douglas in the late 1960s but has not been purchased by the
U.S. military for nearly 20 years.

To be clear, this is not just 1960s technology. Through the years,
Boeing has continued to modernize the design; in 2015, it unveiled
upgraded electronics and other improvements that the company says
should keep the fighter relevant through 2040. But given the
Pentagon's many options, the F-15 request is a surprise, especially
since the Air Force also wants to keep the pace of buying the newer
and more advanced Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) F-35 flat.

There's a lot of palace intrigue surrounding the decision, and it's
difficult to predict whether this request will eventually be funded by
Congress. But some of the commentary about the decision by military
officials provides valuable insight into the way the Pentagon
operates, and it helps lay out the bull case for investing in defense
stocks.

Finding the right tool for the job

At face value, the F-15 decision came down to the Pentagon wanting to
squeeze as much military might as possible from limited funding. The
Pentagon's explanation, as contained in its budget acquisition
summary, is that the F-35 and the smaller F-22 Raptor are too valuable
and too expensive to operate against certain lesser threats.

The purchase, according to the Pentagon report, "reflects the
Department's strategy to layer capability to address different threat
situations." The government is buying F-35s "to address advance
technology aircraft being deployed by Russia and China," the report
says. But to defeat lower-technology platforms, it wants to use older
designs "which nominally have lower operating costs when compared to
5th generation combat jets such as the F-22 and the F-35."


Boeing is taking a financial bath on the
737 Max fiasco and needs to squeeze money out of
a President eager to buy oodles of hardware, even
if it is dated